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Tags:נֹטֶ֣ה צָפ֣וֹן עַל־תֹּ֑הוּ תֹּ֥לֶה אֶ֝֗רֶץ עַל־בְּלִי־מָֽה׃ (איוב כו:ז)
“[Elohim] stretches out the North over the Abyss,
and suspends the Earth upon Nothingness.” (Job 26:7)
“[Elohim] stretches out the North over the Abyss,
and suspends the Earth upon Nothingness.” (Job 26:7)
The Sefer Yetsirah is an esoteric cosmological work whose earliest layer was written by an unknown author during the Tannaitic period (1st-2nd centuries CE). A second layer was added in the Amoraic period (3rd-6th centuries CE), but variations of the text only became more widely extant in the Geonic period (7th-9th centuries). Three variations of the text were known by the 10th century: a Short version, a Long Version, and a variation that R’ Saadya Gaon translated and commented upon in Arabic. The text of the Sefer Yetsirah presented here follows the “experimental exercise” produced by Dr. A. Peter Hayman in his Sefer Yeṣira: Edition, Translation, and Text-Critical Commentary, “Appendix III: The Earliest Recoverable Text of Sefer Yeṣira” (Mohr Siebeck, 2004). Hayman looked through the extant early manuscripts, translations, and commentaries witnessing each strand of the text in order to locate his “earliest recoverable text.” By carefully analyzing these manuscripts, Hayman reconstructed a layer of the text common to the three versions that may have circulated early in the Geonic period (or perhaps even earlier). Absent from Hayman’s earliest recoverable text are the astrological, anatomical, and some of the linguistic material found in later versions. (Such material may have originated as an esoteric commentary or gloss, on this earlier layer or even earlier layers of the work. “It is the glory of Elohim to conceal a thing; but the glory of kings to search a matter out” –Proverbs 25:2.)
As a practical text, the strongest resonance of the Sefer Yetsirah for me has been in the petiḥah for the Shema and the morning liturgy leading up to it (Nishmat, Yishtabaḥ, the blessing Yotser Ohr, etc.). The custom long has been that for those reciting the Shema alone (i.e. without a minyan), that they preface their pronunciation of the shema and their closed-eye meditation on the expanse of divinity in the cosmos with the words, El Melekh Ne’eman (El Majestic and Trustworthy). Additionally, the liturgical Shema is normally written out with the Ayin and the Daled enlarged, spelling “עד” (eid, witness). Close readers will find reference to both the term El Melekh Ne’eman and cosmic, calendrical, and anatomical witnesses in the chapters 1 and 6 of the Sefer Yetsirah.
I’ve limited my adaptation of Hayman’s important work to the re-arrangement of several sections of text in “chapter 6.” (I’ve restrained myself against splitting chapter 6 into two smaller segments, one concerning “the witnesses” and the other concerning the “theory of opposition.” I am interested in arranging some of the supplemental astrological and anatomical material in the Long version, separately — but that will have to wait for another time.) I have made no changes to the text of the Sefer Yetsirah itself, as Hayman faithfully transcribed it, however, I have set this text side-by-side with an English translation. Hayman did not provide a direct translation for his “experimental exercise” although much can be derived from his translations of the Short, Long, and “Saadyan” recensions that he did translate. The translation I provide here deviates at times from what Hayman offered for these recensions, but not by very much. I have also added vocalization (niqud), using Lazarus Goldschmidt’s Sepher Jeṣirah: Das Buch Der Schōpfung (1969), as a guide along with Avraham Leader’s pointed edition of the Sefer Yetsirah (Even Ḥoshen, 2007). (Please comment if you think you have found an error in the niqqud.)
For details on Hayman’s construction and his review of the available recensions of Sefer Yetsirah, please refer to his complete commentary in Sefer Yeṣira: Edition, Translation, and Text-Critical Commentary (Mohr Siebeck, 2004). Section numbers, offered in brackets above each translated section were adopted by Hayman from I. Gruenwald’s “A Preliminary Critical Edition of Sefer Yezira”, Israeli Oriental Studies I (1971), 132-177. I have added six chapter breaks which Hayman notes in his introduction, adding a chapter title (“The Proof”) to the final chapter based on its subject matter. Square brackets around certain sections of text indicate that there is some doubt as to whether the included wording was present in an earlier layer of the text (Hayman, p.124).
I provide this derivation of Dr. A. Peter Hayman’s “earliest recoverable text” of the Sefer Yetsirah here for others who might also wish to incorporate the text of the Sefer Yetsirah into their daily practice.
Aharon N. Varady
Summer 5776
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| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם נְתִיבוֹת פְּלִאוֹת חָכְמָה חָקַק יָהּ יהוה צְבָאוֹת בְּשָׁלֹשׁ סְפָרִים בְּסֵפֶר וּסְפַר וְסִפֻּר. |
[§1] Thirty-two wondrous paths of wisdom Yah YHVH Tsevaot, carved out[1] The word here has the meaning of tracing, inscribing and engraving, as when a scribe or other artisan makes an indelible mark on stone or another medium. Hayman prefers the plain meaning, to carve out. I prefer tracing, as it makes sense to me in the contexts it is used in the Sefer Yetsirah, as a creative step prior to “hewing” (חצב) but done, wondrously, by means of elemental forces, speech and language. by means of three delineations (sefarim)[2] from ספר, “cuttings” or “accountings.” I think the valence here is scribal, architectural, design: actively separating (i.e., cutting) by means of semiotic treatment. Hayman translates as “three types of things” which is understandably neutral given his interest in avoiding kabbalistic anachronisms on this work from Antiquity. : with writing (b’sefer), and enumeration (u’səfar), and narration (v’sippur).[3] For the Saadyan recension, Hayman translates: “with writing, and numbers, and speech.” |
פרק א׳: עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה |
Chapter 1: Ten Sefirot of “Bli-mah” |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה מִסְפַּר עֶשֶׂר אֶצְבָּעוֹת חָמֵשׁ כְּנֶגֶד חָמֵשׁ וּבְרִית יָחִיד מְכוּוֶנֶת בָּאֶמְצַע בְּמִילַּה וְלָשׁוֹן וְפֶּה. |
[§3] Ten sefirot[4] R’ Aryeh Kaplan notes in his commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah that the ten sefirot directly refer to the ten creative utterances in Genesis 1. Each of these creative acts is a kind of separation, one thing from another. of bli-mah (Nothingness)[5] A reference to the hapax legomenon in Job 26:7, נֹטֶ֣ה צָפ֣וֹן עַל־תֹּ֑הוּ תֹּ֥לֶה אֶ֝֗רֶץ עַל־בְּלִי־מָֽה׃ “he has suspended the world on bli mah — nothing.” Alternately, “emptiness.” Bli Mah literally translates to “without” or “absence” of “what.” Hayman translates בלימה as “the basis,” the implicit question of the author here being: “What is the foundation on which the God has constructed the Universe?” A language of mechanics is perhaps most proper for this metaphysics and so I understand blimah as the suspension point or fulcrum — the singular point on which a lever pivots or a pendulum swings. I understand the relationship with the shoresh (root), בלם — to hold in, curb, check, stop, muzzle, restrain, restrict — in the manner in which our physical laws define our physical reality. Alternately, the limit of nothing may establish the form (יצר) of creation. — the number of the ten fingers, five opposite five, and the covenant of the Unique One is exactly in the middle, in word and tongue and mouth. |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה עֶשֶׂר וְלֹא תֵּשַׁע, עֶשֶׂר וְלֹא אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה הָבֵן בְּחָכְמָה וְחַכֵּם בְּבִינָה בְּחוֹן בָּהֶם וַחֲקוֹר מֵהֶם וְהַעֲמֵד דָּבָר עַל־בֻּרְיוֹ וְהֹשֵׁב יוֹצֵר עַל־מְכוֹנוֹ. |
[§4] Ten sefirot of bli-mah — ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand with wisdom, and be wise with understanding. Test them and investigate them, and get the matter clearly worked out and restore the Creator to their place.[6] This is one of the rare instances of a gendered reference to the divine Creator. My preference is to replace male-by-default Hebrew grammar with gender-neutral alternatives unless indicating the gender is significant. Thus, I have here translated “their place” rather than “his place.” |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה בְּלוֹם פִּיךָ מִלְּדַבֵּר בְּלוֹם לִבְּךָ מִלְּהַרְהֵר וְאִם רָץ לִיבְּךָ שׁוּב לַמָּקוֹם שֶׁכַּךְ נֶאֱמַר רָצוֹא וָשׁוֹב (יחזקאל א:יד) וְעַל דָּבָר זֶה נִכְרְתָה בְּרִית. |
[§5] Ten sefirot of bli-mah: restrain (b’lom) your mouth from speaking, restrain your mind (lev)[7] literally, heart but it always bears repeating that until recently, the heart was the locus of the mind as attested by Galen. from thinking. And if your mind races return to the Maqom, for thus it is written “running and returning” (Ezekiel 1:14). And concerning this matter a covenant was made. |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה נָעוּץ סוֹפָן בִּתְחִילָּתָן וּתְחִילָּתָן בְּסוֹפָן כְּשַׁלְהֶבֶת בְגַחֶלֶת שֶׁהַיּוֹצֵר אֶחָד וְאֵין לוֹ שֵׁינִי וְלִפְנֵי אֶחָד מָה אַתָּה סוֹפֵר. |
[§6] Ten sefirot of bli-mah. Their end is fixed in their beginning and their beginning in their end, as the flame to the burning coal and form (a mental image) that the Creator is one, and he has none second to him; and before one, what can you count? |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה וּמִידָּתָן עֶשֶׂר שֶׁאֵין לָהֶן סוֹף עוֹמֶק רֵאשִׁית וְעוֹמֶק אַחֵרִית עוֹמֶק טוֹב וְעוֹמֶק רַע עוֹמֶק רוּם וְעוֹמֶק תַּחַת עוֹמֶק מִזְרָח וְעוֹמֶק מַעֲרָב עוֹמֶק צָפוֹן וְעוֹמֶק דָּרוֹם וְאָדוֹן יָחִיד אֵל מֶלֶךְ נֶאֱמָן מוֹשֵׁל בְּכוּלָּן מִמְּעוֹן קָדְשׁוֹ וְעַד עֲדֵי עַד |
[§7] Ten sefirot of bli-mah and their measure is ten for they have no end: dimension of first and dimension of last, dimension of good and dimension of evil, dimension of above and dimension of below, dimension of east and dimension of west, dimension of north and dimension of south. And the unique Master, El, majestic and trustworthy,[8] Find this invocation directly preceding the Shema for use in prayer “without a minyan,” attesting to a practice of solitary and cosmic contemplation. rules over them all from his holy abode for ever and ever. |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה צְפִיָּתָן כְּמַרְאֵה הַבָּזָק (יחזקאל א:יד) וְתַכְלִיתָם אֵין לָהֶן קֵץ וּדְבָרוֹ בָהֶן כְּרָצוֹא וָשׁוֹב וּלְמַאֲמָרוֹ כְסוּפָה יִרְדּוֹפוּ וְלִפְנֵי כִסְאוֹ הֵם מִשְׁתַחֲוִים |
[§8] Ten sefirot of bli-mah. Their appearance? “like a vision of lightning,” (Ezekiel 1:14) and their end? — they have no limit. And his word (davar) is in them as though “running and returning” (ibid),[9] Here is another inspiration for the practice of “running and returning” in contemplating divine expansiveness. I understand davar here to be akin to Logos. and they pursue his command like the storm wind, and before his throne they bow down. |
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה אַחַת רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים זוֹ הִיא רוּחַ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ |
[§10] Ten sefirot of bli-mah. One — the Ruaḥ Elohim Ḥayyim (Spirit of the Living God).[10] קול ורוח ודיבור (Voice, and wind, and word) This phrase is absent in the recension of R’ Saadya Gaon. Gruenwald comments that “the three words may well point to possible Logos-speculation which lie at the bottom of this section of the book” (1972: p.500). Hayman agrees with Weinstock that the phrase is a “conspicuous enigmatic addition” (1972: 45, n. 8), that the two kinds of ruaḥ are distinguished in the very next section (Mss. 12), and that identifying the two kinds of ruaḥ here compounds the ambiguity of its meaning rather than clarifying it (Hayman, p81-82). The identification of ruaḥ with a Jewish conception of Logos appears significant here, as an introduction to Mss. 12 in its short recension, which further explains that ruaḥ was carved and hewed in the aleph-bet. — this is the Ruaḥ haQodesh (the Holy Spirit). |
שְׁתַּיִם רוּחַ מֵרוּחַ חָקַק וְחָצַב בָּהּ אַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת הַשָׁמַיִם |
[§12] Two – wind from Ruaḥ: he carved and hewed in it the four winds of heaven. |
שָׁלֹש מַיִם מֵרוּחַ חָקַק וְחָצַב בָּהֶם תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ רֶפֶשׁ וָטִיט חֲקָקָן כְּמִין עֲרוּגָה הַצִיבָן כְּמִין חוֹמָה סִיכָכָן כְּמִין מַעֲזִיבָה |
[§13] Three — water from wind: he carved and hewed in it tohu and bohu (Genesis 1:2), mud and mire. He carved them like a sort of garden-bed. He erected them like a sort of wall, and he wove them like a sort of ceiling. |
אַרְבַּע אֵשׁ מִמַּיִם חָקַק וְחָצַב בָּהּ כִּסֵּא כָּבוֹד וְכֹּל צָבָא מָרוֹם שֶׁכַּךְ כָּתוּב עֹשֶׂה מַלְאָכָיו רוּחוֹת (תהלים קד:ד) |
[§14] Four — fire from water: he carved and hewed in it the Throne of Kavod and all the heavenly host, for thus it is written: “he makes his angels winds” (Psalms 104:4). |
חָמֵשׁ חָתַם רוּם פָנָה לְמַעְלָה וַחֲתָמוֹ בְּיה״ו שֵׁשׁ חָתַם תַּחַת פָנָה לְמַטָּה וַחֲתָמוֹ בְּיו״ה שֶׁבַע חָתַם מִזְרָח פָנָה לְפָנָיו וַחֲתָמוֹ בְּהו״י שְׁמֹנֶה חָתַם מַעֲרָב פָנָה לַאֲחֹרָיו וַחֲתָמוֹ בְּהי״ו תֵּשַׁע חָתַם דָּרוֹם פָנָה לִימִינוֹ וַחֲתָמוֹ בְּוי״ה עֶשֶׂר חָתַם צָפוֹן פָנָה לִשְׂמֹאלוֹ וַחֲתָמוֹ בְּוה״י |
[§15] Five — he sealed above. He turned upwards and sealed it with YHV. Six — he sealed below. He turned downwards and sealed it with YVH. Seven — he sealed the east. He turned in front and sealed it with HYV. Eight — he sealed the west. He turned to his right and sealed it with HVY. Nine — he sealed the south. He turned to his right and sealed it with VYH. Ten — he sealed the north. He turned to his left and sealed it with VHY. |
אֵילּוּ עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִי־מָה רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים וְרוּחַ מַיִם אֵשׁ. מַעְלָה מַטָּה מִזְרָח מַעֲרָב צָפוֹן וְדָרוֹם |
[§16] These ten sefirot of bli-mah: the Ruaḥ Elohim Ḥayyim; and wind, water, fire; above, below, east, west, north, and south. |
פרק ב׳: עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת |
Chapter 2: Twenty-two Letters |
עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת יְסוֹד שָׁלֹשׁ אִמּוֹת שֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת וּשְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה פְּשׁוּטוֹת. |
[§9] The twenty-two letters are the foundation: three primary,[11] Literally, “mothers.” seven double, and twelve simple (letters). |
[עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת חֲקוּקוֹת בְּקוֹל חֲצוּבוֹת בְּרוּחַ קְבוּעוֹת בַּפֶּה בַּחֲמֵשׁ מְקוֹמוֹת א״ח ה״ע ב״ו מ״ף ג״י כ״ק ד״ט לנ״ת ז״ס שר״ץ] |
[§17][12] The second part of Mss. 17, omitted here, organizes the letters by the place of articulation in the mouth. Hayman notes that “the closest parallel to the theory of phonetics expressed here…is found in an Arabic treatise Kit’ab Al-Ayin produced by the Muslim scientist and linguist Al-Halil (c. 710-775/91)….parallels…discussed by Allony (1972:88-91)” (p.95). [The twenty-two letters: they are carved out by the voice, hewn out with wind, fixed in the mouth in five positions: Alef, Ḥet; He, Ayin; Bet, Vav; Mem, Pe; Gimel, Yod; Khaf, Qof; Dalet, Tet; Lamed, Nun, Tav; Zayin, Samekh; Shin, Resh, Tsadi.] |
עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת קְבוּעוֹת בְּגַלְגַּל חֹזֵר גַלְגַּל פָּנִים וְאָחוֹר סִימָן לַדָּבָר אֵין בְּטוֹבָה לְמַעְלָה מֵעוֹנֶג וְאִם בְּרָעָה לְמַטָּה בַּנֶּגַע |
[§18] The twenty-two letters. They are fixed on a wheel. The wheel rotates backwards and forwards. A sign for the matter: if in good, above pleasure (oneg), and if in evil, below pain (nega). |
עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת חֲקָקָן חֲצָבָן צֵרְפָן שְׁקָלָן וֶהֱימִירָן [כֵּיצַד שְׁקָלָן וֶהֱמִירָן אָלֶף עִם כֻּלָּן, וְכֻלָּן עִם אָלֶף בֵּית עִם כֻּלָּן, וְכֻלָּן עִם בֵּית וְכֻּלָּן חוֹזְרוֹת חֲלִילָה נִמְצְאוּ יוֹצְאוֹת בְּמָאתַיִם וּשְׁלֹשִים וְאֶחָד שְׁעָרִים נִמְצָא כָּל־הַיְצוּר וְכָל־הַדִּבּוּר יוֹצֵא בְּשֵׁם אֶחָד] |
[§19] Twenty-two letters: he carved them out, he hewed them, he combined them, he weighed them and he exchanged them. [How did he weigh and exchange them? Alef with them all, and them all with Alef; Bet with them all, and them all with Bet; And they all rotate in turn. The result is that they go out by two-hundred and thirty-one openings.[13] or “gates” The result is that all creation and all speech (dibur) go out by one name.] |
יָצַר מִתּוֹהוּ מַמָּשׁ וְעָשָׂאוֹ בַּאֵשׁ וַיֶשְׁנוֹ וְחָצַב עַמּוּדִים גְּדוֹלִים מֵאֲוִיר שֶׁאֵינוֹ נִתְּפַשׁ. |
[§20] He formed substance from tohu,[14] Hayman notes that one of the major difficulties presented by the text of the Sefer Yetsirah was its disagreement with the principle, creatio ex nihilo, evident in the absence of the verb ברא in the text. and he made it with fire and it exists! and he hewed out great columns from intangible air.[15] Hayman notes that “great columns of intangible air” is “simply a reference to the biblical pillars of heaven (Proverbs 9:1, Job 9:6, 26:11, etc.).” In some manuscripts (but omitted here), Mss. 21 presents these great columns as linked pairs of letters. |
פרק ג׳: שָׁלוֹשׁ אִימּוֹת |
Chapter 3: Three Primary Letters |
שָׁלוֹשׁ אִימּוֹת אמ״ש יְסוּדָן כַּף זְכוּת וְכַף חוֹבָה וּלְשׁוֹן חֹק מַכְרִיעַ בֵּינְתַּיִים. |
[§23] Three primary letters: Alef, Mem, Shin. Their basis is the scale of acquittal and the scale of guilt, and the language of statute (ḥoq) decides between them. |
שָׁלוֹשׁ אִימּוֹת אמ״ש סוֹד גָּדוֹל מְכוּסֶּה וּמוּפְלָא וְחָתוּם בְּשֵׁשׁ טַבָּעוֹת וּמִמֶּנוּ יוֹצְאִין אֵשׁ מַיִם וְרוּחַ וּמְחוּתָּל בִּזָכָר וּנְקֵבָה. |
[§24] Three primary letters: Alef, Mem, Shin — a great secret, hidden and ineffable, and sealed with six seals. And from it goes out: fire, water, and air, and it is wrapped up in male and female. |
שָׁלֹשׁ(ָה) [אִמּוֹת] אֵשׁ לְמַעְלָה מַיִם לְמַטָּה וְרוּחַ [חֹק מַכְרִיעַ] בֵּינְתַּיִים. |
[§25] Three [primary letters]: fire above, water below, and wind is [the rule deciding] between them. |
שָׁלוֹשׁ אִימּוֹת אמ״ש מֵם דּוֹמֶמֶת שִׁין שׁוֹרֶקֶת אָלֶף רוּחַ חֹק מַכְרִיעַ בֵּינְתַּיִים. |
[§26] Three primary letters: Alef, Mem, Shin. Mem is silent.[16] Kaplan translates dommemet here as “hums” Shin shishes. Alef is the rule of wind deciding between them. |
[הִמְלִיךְ אֹת אָלֶף בְּרוּחַ וְקָשַׁר לוֹ כֶּתֶר וְחָתַם בּוֹ אֲוִיר בָּעוֹלָם רְוָיָה בְּשָׁנָה וּגְוִיָּה בְּנֶפֶשׁ.] |
[§32] [He made the letter Alef rule over wind and bound to it a crown and sealed with it air in the Cosmos, humidity in the year, and the chest in the body (nefesh).] |
[הִמְלִיךְ אֹת מֵם בְּמַיִם וְקָשַׁר לוֹ כֶּתֶר וְחָתַם בּוֹ אֶרֶץ בָּעוֹלָם וְקוֹר בְּשָׁנָה וּבֶטֶן בְּנֶפֶשׁ.] |
[§33] [He made the letter Mem rule over water and bound to it a crown and sealed with it earth in the Cosmos, cold in the year, and the belly in the body.] |
[הִמְלִיךְ אֹת שִׁין בְּאֵשׁ וְקָשַׁר לוֹ כֶּתֶר וְחָתַם בּוֹ שָׁמַיִם בָּעוֹלָם וְחוֹם בְּשָׁנָה וְרֹאשׁ בְּנֶּפֶשׁ.] |
[§34] [He made the letter Shin rule over fire and bound to it a crown and sealed with it heaven in the Cosmos, heat in the year, and the head in the body.] |
פרק ד׳: שֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת |
Chapter 4: Seven Double Letters |
שֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת בג״ד כפר״ת מִתְנַהֲגוֹת בִּשְׁתֵּי לְשׁוֹנוֹת חַיִּים וְשָׁלוֹם וְחָכְמָה וָעוֹשֶׁר חֵן זֶרַע מֶמְשָׁלָה וּמִתְנַהֲגוֹת בִּשְׁתֵּי לְשׁוֹנוֹת בֵּי בֵי גִּימַל גִמַל דֶּלֶת דֶלֶת כַּף כַף פֵּי פֵי רֵּישׁ רֵישׁ תָּיו תָיו רַק וְקָשֶׁה גִיבּוֹר וְחָלָּשׁ |
[§37a] Seven double letters: Bet, Gimel, Dalet; Khaf, Phe, Resh, Tav. They are pronounced with the tongue in two different positions: life and peace and wisdom and wealth, prosperity, beauty, and mastery. They are pronounced with the tongue in two different positions: Bet/Vet, Gimel/Ghimel, Dalet/Dhalet, Kaf/Khaf, Pe/Fe, Resh/Rhesh, Tav/Thav — soft and hard, a paradigm of strong and weak. |
[שֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת בג״ד כפר״ת מִשְׁתַּמְשׁוֹת בְּשְׁתֵּי לְשׁוֹנוֹת בֵּי בֵי גִּימַל גִמַל דֶּלֶת דֶלֶת כַּף כַף פֵּי פֵי רֵּישׁ רֵישׁ תָּיו תָיו רַךְ וְקָשֶׁה תַּבְנִית גִבּוֹר וְחַלָּשׁ כְּפוּלוֹת שֶׁהֵן תְּמוּרוֹת תְּמוּרַת חַיִּים מָוֶת תְּמוּרַת שָׁלוֹם רַע (ישעיה מה:ז) תְּמוּרַת חָכְמָה אִוֶּלֶת תְּמוּרַת עוֹשֶׁר עוֹנִי תְּמוּרַת זֶרַע שְׁמָמָה תְּמוּרַת חֵן כִּיאוּר תְּמוּרַת מֶמְשָׁלָה עַבְדוּת] |
[§37b] [Seven double letters: Bet, Gimel, Dalet; Khaf, Phe, Resh, Tav. They are pronounced with the tongue in two different positions: Bet/Vet, Gimel/Ghimel, Dalet/Dhalet, Kaf/Khaf, Pe/Fe, Resh/Rhesh, Tav/Thav — soft and hard, a paradigm of strong and weak. They are double letters because they are opposites. The opposite of life is death; the opposite of peace is evil;[17] After Isaiah 45:7 the opposite of wisdom is folly; the opposite of wealth is poverty; the opposite of prosperity is desolation; the opposite of beauty is ugliness; and the opposite of mastery is slavery.] |
שֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת בג״ד כפר״ת שֵׁשׁ קְצָווֹת וְהֵיכַל קָדוֹשׁ מוּכָן בְּאֶמְצָע [וְהוּא נוֹשֵׂא אֶת כּוּלָם] |
[§38] Seven double letters: Bet, Gimel, Dalet; Khaf, Phe, Resh, Tav. Six edges and the holy temple set in the middle [and it supports them all]. |
שֶׁבַע כְּפוּלוֹת בג״ד כפר״ת חֲקָקָן חֲצָבָן צֵרְפָן וְצָר בָּהֶן כוֹכָבִים יָמִים וּשְׁעָרִים |
[§39] Seven double letters: Bet, Gimel, Dalet; Khaf, Phe, Resh, Tav. He carved them, he hewed them, he combined them, and formed with them the starry planets, the days, and the openings.[18] Some recensions clarify that these are the seven openings in the head |
כְּאֵיזֶה צָד צְרָפָן שְׁתֵּי אֲבָנִים בּוֹנוֹת שְׁנֵי בָּתִּים שָׁלוֹשׁ בּוֹנוֹת שִׁשָּׁה בָּתִּים אַרְבָּע בּוֹנוֹת עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּע בָּתִּים חָמֵשׁ בּוֹנוֹת מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים בָּתִּים שֵׁשׁ בּוֹנוֹת שֶׁבַע מֵאוֹת וְעֶשְׂרִים בָּתִּים שֶׁבַע בּוֹנוֹת חֲמֵשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וְאַרְבָּעִים בָּתִּים מִיכַּאן וְאֵילָךְ צֵא וַחֲשׁוֹב מַה שֶׁאֵין הַפֶּה יְכוֹלָה לְדַבֵּר וּמַה שֶׁאֵין הַאוֹזֶן יְכוֹלָה לִשְׁמוֹעַ |
[§40] How did he combine them? — two stones build two houses; three build six houses; four build twenty-four houses; five build one hundred and twenty houses; six build seven hundred and twenty houses; seven build five thousand and forty houses. From here on go out and ponder what the mouth cannot speak, and what the ear cannot hear.[19] In contemporary factorial notation, the implicit equation here is “t(n) = n!” (Many thanks to Nir Krakauer and Matt Tuozzo for their assistance.) Sequence A000142 in the On-line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, “Factorial numbers: n! = 1*2*3*4*…*n (order of symmetric group S_n, number of permutations of n letters). The earliest publication that discusses this sequence appears to be the Sepher Yezirah [Book of Creation], circa AD 300. (See Knuth, also the Zeilberger link) – N. J. A. Sloane, Apr 07 2014. For n >= 1, a(n) is the number of n × n (0,1) matrices with each row and column containing exactly one entry equal to 1.” 1 × 1 = 1 2 × 1 = 2 3 × 2 = 6 4 × 6 = 24 5 × 24 = 120 6 × 120 = 720 7 × 720 = 5040 8 × 5040 = 40320 9 × 40320 = 362880 10 × 362880 = 3628800 11 × 3628800 = 39916800 12 × 39916800 = 479001600 13 × 479001600 = 6227020800 14 × 6227020800 = 87178291200 15 × 87178291200 = 1307674368000 16 × 1307674368000 = 20922789888000 17 × 20922789888000 = 355687428096000 18 × 355687428096000 = 6402373705728000 19 × 6402373705728000 = 1.21645100408832E+017 Also see the wikipedia entry “Factorials.” |
פרק ה׳: שְׁתֵים עֶשְׂרֵה פְּשׁוּטוֹת |
Chapter 5: Twelve Simple Letters |
שְׁתֵים עֶשְׂרֵה פְּשׁוּטוֹת הו״ז חט״י לנ״ס עצ״ק יְסוּדָן רְאִיָה שְׁמִיעָה רִיחָה שִׂיחָה לְעִיטָה תַּשְׁמִישׁ מַעֲשֶׂה הִילּוּךְ רוֹגֶז שְׂחוֹק הִרְהוּר שֵׁינָה. |
[§45] Twelve simple letters: He, Vav, Zayin, Ḥet, Tet, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tsadi, Qof. Their basis is sight, hearing, smelling, talking, eating, sexual intercourse, action, walking, anger, laughter, thought, sleep. |
שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר גְּבוּלֵי אֲלַכְסוֹן גְּבוּל מִזְרָחִית צְפוֹנִית גְּבוּל מִזְרָחִית דְּרוֹמִית גְּבוּל מִזְרָחִית רוּמִית גְּבוּל מִזְרָחִית תַּחְתִּית גְּבוּל צְפוֹנִית תַּחְתִּית גְּבוּל צְפוֹנִית מַעֲרָבִית גְּבוּל צְפוֹנִית רוּמִית גְּבוּל מַעֲרָבִית תַּחְתִּית גְּבוּל מַעֲרָבִית דְּרוֹמִית גְּבוּל מַעֲרָבִית רוּמִית גְּבוּל דְּרוֹמִית תַּחְתִּית גְּבוּל דְּרוֹמִית רוּמִית |
[§47] Twelve diagonal lines: the north-eastern line, the south-eastern line, the upper eastern line, the lower eastern line, the lower northern line, the north-western line, the upper northern line, the lower western line, the south-western line, the upper western line, the lower southern line, the upper southern line. |
שְׁתֵים עֶשְׂרֵה פְּשׁוּטוֹת חֲקָקָן צֵרְפָן חֲצָבָן שְׁקָלָן וֶהֱמִירָן וְצָר בָּהֶם מַזָּלוֹת וְחֳדָשִׁים וּמַנְהִיגִים |
[§48a, Long and Saddyan Recension form] Twelve simple letters. He carved them, he combined them, he hewed them, he weighed them and he exchanged them, and formed with them constellations, the months, and the principle (bodily) organs. |
פרק ו׳: רַאֲיָה לַדָּבָר |
Chapter 6: The Proof |
[אֵילּוּ עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם אוֹתִיּוֹת שֶׁבָּהֶן יָסַד יָהּ יהוה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רָם וְנִשָּׂא שֹׁכֵן עַד וְקָדוֹשׁ שְׁמוֹ (ישעיה נז:טו)] |
[§56a] [These are the twenty-two letters by which (the Cosmos) was founded (by) Yah YHVH Tsevaot, Elohim Ḥayyim, Elohei Yisrael, “high and lofty, dwelling for ever, and holy is his name” (Isaiah 57:15).] |
שְׁלֹשָׁה אָבוֹת וְתוֹלְדוֹתֵיהֶן וְשִׁבְעָה כֹּבֵשִׁים וְצִבְאוֹתֵיהֶן וּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר גְבוּלֵי אֻכְלוּסִין וּרְאָיָה לַדָּבָר עֵדִים נֶאֱמָנִים עוֹלָם שָׁנָה וָנֶפֶשׁ |
[§58a] Three patriarchs[20] Hayman notes that the inconsistency in terminology, “mothers” vs. “fathers” in describing the primary letters Alef, Mem, and Shin, may point to an earlier version of the text (or texts). and their progeny, and seven conquerors and their armies, and twelve borders of the populace. And a proof for the matter — trustworthy witnesses:[21] The custom of enlarging the Ayin (in Shema, שמע) and the Daled (in Eḥad, אחד) seems to me connected here. The “witnesses” may essentially be creative prompts for this contemplative practice. the Cosmos, the year, and the body. |
[חִיצָה אֶת הַעֵדִים וְהַעֲמִידָן אִחָה אֶחָד לְבַדּוֹ עוֹלָם לְבַדּוֹ, שָׁנָה לְבַדָּה נֶפֶשׁ לְבַדָּה]. |
[§43c][22] Hayman has this section set between §40 and §45 (falling at the end of chapter 4 or the beginnning of chpater 5). I have moved §43c here (to chapter 6) to clarify the narrative of the witnesses of Creation, i.e., establish the witnesses (58a) and then separate them so their testimonies remain individual and thus authoritative. [He split up the witnesses and made each one stand by itself — the Cosmos by itself, the year by itself, and the body by itself.] |
חֹק עֲשָׂרָה שְׁלֹשָׁה וְשִׁבְעָה וּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר פְקוּדִין בִּתְּלִי וְגַלְגַּל וָלֵב. תְּלִי בְּעוֹלָם כְּמֶלֶךְ עַל־כִּסְאוֹ גַּלְגַּל בְּשָׁנָה כְּמֶלֶךְ בִּמְדִינָה לֵב בְּנֶפֶשׁ כְּמֶלֶךְ בְּמִלְחָמָה |
[§59] There is a statute (ḥoq) of ten, three, seven, and twelve. They are present in the Hook (tali)[23] i.e., a cosmic pivot from which the Cosmos is suspended as a pendulum, I imagine. , the celestial sphere,[24] literally, the “Wheel” and the mind. The Hook in the Cosmos is like a king on his throne; the celestial sphere in the year is like a king in a province, the mind in the body is like a king at war. |
עָשָׂאן כְּמִין מְרִיבָה וְעֲרָכָן כְּמִין מִלְחָמָה גַּם אֶת־זֶה לְעֻמַּת־זֶה עָשָׂה הָאֱלֹהִים (קהלת ז:יד) |
[§48a, Short Recension form] He made them a sort of disputation, he arranged them a sort of battle, “one opposite the other Elohim made them” (Kohelet 7:14). |
שְׁלֹשָׁה אֶחָד אֶחָד לְבַדּוֹ עוֹמֵד שִׁבְעָה שְׁלֹשָׁה חָלוּקִין עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה וְאֶחָד חוֹק מַכְרִיעַ בֵּינְתַּיִים שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר עוֹמְדִין בְּמִלְחָמָה שְׁלֹשָׁה אוֹיֵבִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה אוֹהֲבִים שְׁלֹשָׁה מְחַיִּים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה מְמִיתִים וְכּוּלָּן אָדוּקִין זֶה בְּזֶה |
[§48b][25] Hayman has §48a (Short Recension form) and §48b together between §60b and §61. I have moved them one step up, as it were, between §59 and §60b. Three — each one by itself; seven stand (in opposition) — three against three, and one is the statute which holds the balance between them. Twelve stand in battle array; three hate but three love; three give life but three kill. And all of them are engaged[26] literally, are fastened. Hayman has, “adhered.” with one another. |
גַּם כָל חֵפֶץ זֶה לְעוּמַּת זֶה עָשָׂה אֱלֹהִים טוֹב לְעוּמַּת רַע רַע מֵרַע וְטוֹב מִטּוֹב טוֹב מַבְחִין אֶת רַע וְרַע מַבְחִין אֶת טוֹב טוֹבָה גְּנוּזָה לַטּוֹבִים |
[§60b] “So Elohim has made every object, one opposite the other” (cf. Kohelet 7:14): good opposite evil — evil from evil and good from good. Good brings evil to light and evil brings good to light. Good is stored up for the good. |
כְּשֶׁהֵבִין אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ וְצָר וְצֹרַף וְחָקַר וְחָשַׁב וְעָלְתָה בְּיַדוֹ נִיגְלָה עַלָיו יהוה׃ |
[§61] When Avraham our father understood and formed and combined and investigated and pondered and succeeded, YHVH was revealed to him. |
Source
The basis of the text of the Sefer Yetsirah presented here follows the “experimental exercise” produced by Dr. A. Peter Hayman in his Sefer Yeṣira: Edition, Translation, and Text-Critical Commentary, “Appendix III: The Earliest Recoverable Text of Sefer Yeṣira” (Mohr Siebeck, 2004). As Dr. Hayman notes, this is a preliminary and speculative reconstruction based upon the textual witnesses of the three recensions emerging in the Geonic period. Please refer to Dr. Hayman’s work for additional details.
Click to access sefer-yetsira-earliest-recoverable-text-a.-peter-hayman-Mohr-Siebeck-2004.pdf
Notes
| 1 | The word here has the meaning of tracing, inscribing and engraving, as when a scribe or other artisan makes an indelible mark on stone or another medium. Hayman prefers the plain meaning, to carve out. I prefer tracing, as it makes sense to me in the contexts it is used in the Sefer Yetsirah, as a creative step prior to “hewing” (חצב) but done, wondrously, by means of elemental forces, speech and language. |
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| 2 | from ספר, “cuttings” or “accountings.” I think the valence here is scribal, architectural, design: actively separating (i.e., cutting) by means of semiotic treatment. Hayman translates as “three types of things” which is understandably neutral given his interest in avoiding kabbalistic anachronisms on this work from Antiquity. |
| 3 | For the Saadyan recension, Hayman translates: “with writing, and numbers, and speech.” |
| 4 | R’ Aryeh Kaplan notes in his commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah that the ten sefirot directly refer to the ten creative utterances in Genesis 1. Each of these creative acts is a kind of separation, one thing from another. |
| 5 | A reference to the hapax legomenon in Job 26:7, נֹטֶ֣ה צָפ֣וֹן עַל־תֹּ֑הוּ תֹּ֥לֶה אֶ֝֗רֶץ עַל־בְּלִי־מָֽה׃ “he has suspended the world on bli mah — nothing.” Alternately, “emptiness.” Bli Mah literally translates to “without” or “absence” of “what.” Hayman translates בלימה as “the basis,” the implicit question of the author here being: “What is the foundation on which the God has constructed the Universe?” A language of mechanics is perhaps most proper for this metaphysics and so I understand blimah as the suspension point or fulcrum — the singular point on which a lever pivots or a pendulum swings. I understand the relationship with the shoresh (root), בלם — to hold in, curb, check, stop, muzzle, restrain, restrict — in the manner in which our physical laws define our physical reality. Alternately, the limit of nothing may establish the form (יצר) of creation. |
| 6 | This is one of the rare instances of a gendered reference to the divine Creator. My preference is to replace male-by-default Hebrew grammar with gender-neutral alternatives unless indicating the gender is significant. Thus, I have here translated “their place” rather than “his place.” |
| 7 | literally, heart but it always bears repeating that until recently, the heart was the locus of the mind as attested by Galen. |
| 8 | Find this invocation directly preceding the Shema for use in prayer “without a minyan,” attesting to a practice of solitary and cosmic contemplation. |
| 9 | Here is another inspiration for the practice of “running and returning” in contemplating divine expansiveness. I understand davar here to be akin to Logos. |
| 10 | קול ורוח ודיבור (Voice, and wind, and word) This phrase is absent in the recension of R’ Saadya Gaon. Gruenwald comments that “the three words may well point to possible Logos-speculation which lie at the bottom of this section of the book” (1972: p.500). Hayman agrees with Weinstock that the phrase is a “conspicuous enigmatic addition” (1972: 45, n. 8), that the two kinds of ruaḥ are distinguished in the very next section (Mss. 12), and that identifying the two kinds of ruaḥ here compounds the ambiguity of its meaning rather than clarifying it (Hayman, p81-82). The identification of ruaḥ with a Jewish conception of Logos appears significant here, as an introduction to Mss. 12 in its short recension, which further explains that ruaḥ was carved and hewed in the aleph-bet. |
| 11 | Literally, “mothers.” |
| 12 | The second part of Mss. 17, omitted here, organizes the letters by the place of articulation in the mouth. Hayman notes that “the closest parallel to the theory of phonetics expressed here…is found in an Arabic treatise Kit’ab Al-Ayin produced by the Muslim scientist and linguist Al-Halil (c. 710-775/91)….parallels…discussed by Allony (1972:88-91)” (p.95). |
| 13 | or “gates” |
| 14 | Hayman notes that one of the major difficulties presented by the text of the Sefer Yetsirah was its disagreement with the principle, creatio ex nihilo, evident in the absence of the verb ברא in the text. |
| 15 | Hayman notes that “great columns of intangible air” is “simply a reference to the biblical pillars of heaven (Proverbs 9:1, Job 9:6, 26:11, etc.).” In some manuscripts (but omitted here), Mss. 21 presents these great columns as linked pairs of letters. |
| 16 | Kaplan translates dommemet here as “hums” |
| 17 | After Isaiah 45:7 |
| 18 | Some recensions clarify that these are the seven openings in the head |
| 19 | In contemporary factorial notation, the implicit equation here is “t(n) = n!” (Many thanks to Nir Krakauer and Matt Tuozzo for their assistance.) Sequence A000142 in the On-line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences, “Factorial numbers: n! = 1*2*3*4*…*n (order of symmetric group S_n, number of permutations of n letters). The earliest publication that discusses this sequence appears to be the Sepher Yezirah [Book of Creation], circa AD 300. (See Knuth, also the Zeilberger link) – N. J. A. Sloane, Apr 07 2014. For n >= 1, a(n) is the number of n × n (0,1) matrices with each row and column containing exactly one entry equal to 1.” 1 × 1 = 1 2 × 1 = 2 3 × 2 = 6 4 × 6 = 24 5 × 24 = 120 6 × 120 = 720 7 × 720 = 5040 8 × 5040 = 40320 9 × 40320 = 362880 10 × 362880 = 3628800 11 × 3628800 = 39916800 12 × 39916800 = 479001600 13 × 479001600 = 6227020800 14 × 6227020800 = 87178291200 15 × 87178291200 = 1307674368000 16 × 1307674368000 = 20922789888000 17 × 20922789888000 = 355687428096000 18 × 355687428096000 = 6402373705728000 19 × 6402373705728000 = 1.21645100408832E+017 Also see the wikipedia entry “Factorials.” |
| 20 | Hayman notes that the inconsistency in terminology, “mothers” vs. “fathers” in describing the primary letters Alef, Mem, and Shin, may point to an earlier version of the text (or texts). |
| 21 | The custom of enlarging the Ayin (in Shema, שמע) and the Daled (in Eḥad, אחד) seems to me connected here. The “witnesses” may essentially be creative prompts for this contemplative practice. |
| 22 | Hayman has this section set between §40 and §45 (falling at the end of chapter 4 or the beginnning of chpater 5). I have moved §43c here (to chapter 6) to clarify the narrative of the witnesses of Creation, i.e., establish the witnesses (58a) and then separate them so their testimonies remain individual and thus authoritative. |
| 23 | i.e., a cosmic pivot from which the Cosmos is suspended as a pendulum, I imagine. |
| 24 | literally, the “Wheel” |
| 25 | Hayman has §48a (Short Recension form) and §48b together between §60b and §61. I have moved them one step up, as it were, between §59 and §60b. |
| 26 | literally, are fastened. Hayman has, “adhered.” |
“סֵפֶר יְצִירָה | Sefer Yetsirah, a derivation of A. Peter Hayman’s experimental “earliest recoverable text” — vocalized and translated by Aharon Varady” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
Aharon N. Varady (translation)
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