Preface
2. Mystical Anatomy
One of the most basic teachings of Kabbalah is that every well-defined set of objects possesses the property of “inter-inclusion,” appearing as a hologram where each element of the set reflects and manifests all of the others in itself. Based upon this principle, Kabbalah sees in each one of the parts or limbs or organs of the body a reflection and manifestation of the entire body. Indeed, we can now more readily understand the recently revealed biological phenomenon that the genes of each cell of the body encode the entire body.
Keeping this in mind, we will now analyze several parts of the body: the eyes, the fingers and the toes, the tongue and the brit, and the mouth.
The Eye
In Kabbalah, we are taught that the eye is a miniature mirror that reflects the entire human being, both body and soul, as created in the image of God.[1] Our sages compare God’s gift of sight (“light”) to the eye—to His gift of the soul to the body.[2]
With regard to a bride, our sages say that the beauty of a bride’s eyes reflect the beauty of her whole body.[3] True Torah sages, likened to the beautiful eyes of a bride, are called “the eyes of the congregation.”[4] In addition to their insight into the Torah and their foresight with regard to worldly events, their unblemished beauty, the infinite depth of personality shining from their own eyes, reflects the innermost beauty of the Jewish people as a whole.
In a similar vein, the Torah speaks of guarding one’s most beloved as “guarding the apple of the eye.”[5]
The eye possesses four colors that correspond to the four letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah, as well as to the four legs of the “Divine throne” and of the “Divine chariot” described in the mystical vision of the prophet Ezekiel.[6] These four colors are the white of the eye, the red blood vessels visible in the eye, the color of the iris, and the black pupil of the eye.
White contains, as one, all colors. The white of the eye reflects the initial, all-inclusive point of the yud of God’s Name. It corresponds to the right axis of the Tree of Life, namely the intellectual property of chochmah, the faculty of wisdom or Divine insight, and to its derivative along the right axis, the emotive property of chesed, the attribute of loving-kindness. Notably, these are the spiritual attributes of Abraham.
Around and penetrating the white of the eye, wisdom, are tiny but visible red blood vessels.[7]
In his blessing to his twelve sons before his passing, Jacob blessed Judah that his eyes should become red from good wine.[8] From this we understand that wine, which itself is red and is even referred to in the Torah as the “blood of grapes,”[9] brings out the red in the eyes. The red in the eyes reflects the first hei of God’s Name and corresponds to the left axis of the Tree of Life, namely, the intellectual property of binah, the faculty of understanding or the ability of the soul to meditate on the Divine (the spiritual service described metaphorically in Hassidism as “drinking wine”). The red of the eye also corresponds to the derivative of binah along the left axis, the emotive property of gevurah, the attribute of might, together with its inner characteristic, the attribute of awe. Notably, these are the spiritual attributes of Isaac.
When we speak of the color of the eye, which distinguishes one individual from another, we refer to the color of the iris. The iris can be blue, brown, or yellow-green, with various shades in between such as hazel, which is a yellow-brown. The particular color of each individual’s eyes reflects the vav of God’s Name and corresponds to the central faculty of the mind, knowledge or da’at. The sages teach that it is each individual’s da’at that distinguishes his or her personality from that of another: “Just as each individual’s face is unlike another’s, so is each individual’s da’at unlike another’s.”[10]
Da’at is referred to as the “key” that opens all of the six chambers, i.e., attributes of the heart, including the three emotive properties and the three behavioral properties, collectively known as the midot. These in turn correspond to the full spectrum of the colors of the rainbow.
With respect to the particular colors of the iris, the various shades of blue correspond to the emotive and behavioral attributes of the right axis (in contrast to the intellectual faculty situated at the apex of the right axis, chochmah—white), chesed (“loving-kindness”) and netzach (“victory”); the various shades of brown correspond to the emotive and behavioral attributes of the left axis (in contrast to the intellectual faculty situated at the apex of the left axis, binah—red), gevurah (“might”) and hod (“thanksgiving”); the various shades of yellow-green correspond to the middle axis, tiferet (“beauty”) and yesod (“foundation”).[11]
Although da’at opens all the chambers of the heart, its major derivative along the middle axis, its primary manifestation in the emotions, is the attribute of tiferet (yellow) and its immediate and direct derivative, the attribute of yesod (green). In the terminology of the Torah, yellow and green are considered different shades of the same primary color, yellow-green (yarok).[12] Yellow is the color of the sun and green is the color of vegetation nourished by the sun’s light rays by the process of photosynthesis.
Tiferet (“beauty”) is defined in Kabbalah as the harmonious blending of colors. This initially refers to the harmonious blending of chesed (blue) and gevurah (brown), but in a larger sense means that tiferet comprises all the colors. With regard to the color of the iris, then, this means that even the various shades of blue and brown may ultimately be considered shades of yellow-green.[13]
Since the colors of the iris correspond to the midot, and the central, all-inclusive midah is tiferet, the primary color, it follows that the particular color of an individual’s eye in a certain sense reflects or suggests the full spectrum of the rainbow.
The spiritual attributes corresponding to the colors of the iris are those of Jacob of whom it is said that “his bed was complete.”[14] Jacob’s twelve sons, the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, were identified with the complete spectrum of colors. Each tribe possessed its own color, which was displayed on its tribal flag and represented as one of the twelve gems on the breastplate of the High Priest.[15]
Finally, we come to the pupil of the eye, whose color, or rather, absence of color, is black.[16] The pupil is referred to in the Torah idiomatically as the “daughter of the eye,” the most precious and guarded part of the eye. In Kabbalah, the “daughter” figure is associated with malchut (“kingdom”), the last of the ten sefirot. Malchut, “possessing nothing of its own,”[17] only that which it receives from above, corresponds to black, the experience of existential lowliness and distance from God, which is malchut’s inner characteristic.
This is also the character trait identified with the archetypal soul of malchut, King David, who said, “and I shall [always] be lowly in my own eyes.”[18]
The power of sight itself emanates from the inner point of the pupil. Sight occurs when external, physical light hits the eye, activating the eye’s innate power to emanate its own spiritual light, which then “photographs” the scene of its field of vision.[19]
As in the beginning of creation, light shines in the darkness.[20] The prophet Jeremiah states, “from afar God appears to me.”[21] It is from the innermost point of the existential state of feeling “afar” from God (the inner point of the black pupil of the eye) that God’s light shines in the eyes of man.
In the next chapter, we will explore a Kabbalistic analysis of Ezekiel’s vision of the “dry bones.” According to this analysis, the four components of the human body—bones, blood vessels, flesh, and skin—correspond to the four Hebrew letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah. The fifth, spiritual level that gives life to the body, the spirit—as the verse states, “from four directions, come, O spirit, and blow into these corpses, that they may live”[22]—corresponds to the fifth, transcendent level of God’s Name, the upper tip of the yud.
As we have seen above, the four colors of the eye correspond to the four letters of God’s Name, moreover, since the eye encapsulates the entire physical body and spirit of life, its four colors also correspond to the four components of the human body as follows:
י upper tip of yud |
power of sight |
spirit of life |
י yud |
white of eye |
bones |
ה hei |
red of eye |
blood vessels |
ו vav |
colors of iris |
flesh |
ה hei |
black pupil |
skin |
In the following description of the formation of man, the sages establish the correspondence of the spirit of life to the sight of the eye,[23] as well as that of the father (associated with chochmah) to the color white, and that of the mother (associated with binah) to the color red:[24]
There are three partners in [the formation of] man: the Holy One, blessed be He, the father, and the mother.
The father contributes the whiteness, which becomes the bones, the sinews, the nails, the brain in the head, and the white of the eye.
The mother contributes the redness, which becomes the blood, the skin, the flesh, the hair, and the black [pupil] of the eye.
And the Holy One, blessed be He, contributes the spirit [of life], the soul, the form of the face, the sight of the eyes, the hearing of the ears, the speech of the mouth, the raising of the hands, the walking of the legs, understanding, and intellect.[25]
י |
keter |
power of sight |
God’s light |
י |
chochmah |
white of eye |
Abraham |
ה |
binah “understanding” |
red of eye |
Isaac |
ו |
midot (and da’at) |
colors of iris |
Jacob |
ה |
malchut |
black pupil |
David |
As stated above, the power of sight emanates from the pupil. This is an instance of the principle that “the end is wedged in the beginning and the beginning in the end.”[26]
In order to refine and heal our eyes we must guard them from seeing evil.[27] We must attune our eyesight to seek only the good in the world around us. If evil enters our field of vision, we must be quick to turn our eyes away. Even of God, it is said, “He sees iniquity but does not dwell on it.”[28] King David beseeches God in the Book of Psalms, “Turn my eyes away from seeing vanity.”[29]
In addition to guarding our eyes from evil, we must always make a conscious effort to focus our eyesight on God’s presence before us, as reflected in His providence over us, as it is said, “I place God in front of me always.”[30] Ideally, guarding one’s eyesight and focusing at all times on God finds its expression in the teaching of the sages that the truly righteous would never look outside the four cubits around them. These four cubits allude to the “four cubits of halachah,”[31] which themselves allude, as taught in Kabbalah, to the four letters of the Name Havayah.
When studying Torah, one should concentrate and consciously focus his eyesight on the holy letters of the Torah. We are taught that “letters [i.e., looking at the letters in the Torah] make wise.”[32] The insight of chochmah (especially with regard to the Divine wisdom of the Torah) relates in general to the sight of the eyes.
As we will see later, with regard to the eyes of the physician, the deepest expression of love is through the eyes. Therefore, to heal one’s eyes one should always intend to look at all those with whom he comes in contact with love (so much the more with regard to his beloved ones—his spouse, his family, and so on).
Fingers—Tongue; Toes—Brit
The Principle of Balance
King David envisions the creation as the working of God’s fingers: “When I see Your heavens, the working of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have established....”[1]
Certainly, the most evident allusion to the ten sefirot in the human body is the ten fingers. Indeed, we find at the beginning of Sefer Yetzirah,[2] the first Kabbalistic text:
The ten ineffable sefirot correspond to the ten fingers—five opposite five—and the single covenant[3] is placed in the middle, in the word of the tongue and the circumcision of the brit.[4]
Here, we find the first explicit portrayal or tangible model of the ten sefirot in Kabbalah.[5] We also find the first presentation of the most fundamental principle of tikun (“rectification”) in Kabbalah in the qualities of balance and equilibrium.[6] Balance between the right and left axes of the sefirot is dependent upon the middle axis of the sefirot in general, and upon the faculty of da’at (“knowledge”) in particular. Da’at is the seat of the soul’s power of sensitivity.
Physically, sensitivity becomes manifest as the sense of touch in the fingers. In Kabbalah, establishing perfect balance and equilibrium is a function of “touching and not touching,” gentle “touching” relating in particular to the innate sensitivity of the five fingers of the right hand and sublime “not touching” relating to the innate sensitivity of the five fingers of the left hand.[7]
(Further on, in our discussion of the healing energy latent in the hands of the physician, we will explain how he must reach the perfect state of balance in his hands, applying the principle of “touching and not touching” in treating his patients.)
Da’at serves to balance the creative tension produced between the two symmetric groups of five sefirot each. Da’at is able to balance and regulate the two groups of five because it itself subdivides into two categories of five. These two categories of da’at are described in Kabbalah as the “two crowns” of da’at:
❖ the “crown of chasadim” possesses five levels of chesed (“loving-kindness”)—the “positive” powers of attraction at the level of mind, corresponding to the five fingers of the right hand;
❖ the “crown of gevurot” possesses five levels of gevurah (“might”)—the “negative” powers of repulsion at the level of mind, corresponding to the five fingers of the left hand.
“Five Opposite Five”—from Mind to Toes
These two sets of five inherent to da’at, “five opposite five,” prevail throughout creation. They extend from the mind to permeate the first five emotive and behavioral characteristics of the heart (from chesed to hod). Each of these five characteristics becomes energized with the vitality necessary to express itself in reality by one chesed of da’at (positive, attractive force) and one gevurah of da’at (negative, repellent force).
The reason that only the first five of the six characteristics of the heart described above need to be individually energized by the chasadim and gevurot of da’at, and not the sixth, is that the first five are particular, individual attributes of the heart. By contrast, the sixth, yesod, is the comprehensive sense of equilibrium and balance—“foundation” (i.e., a sense of being grounded)—which concentrates and fuses the five particular attributes that precede it into one holistic experience.
From the heart, these ten individual forces—five and five—extend to manifest themselves, physically, in the five fingers of the right hand (corresponding to the five chasadim of da’at) and the five fingers of the left hand (corresponding to the five gevurot of da’at). The energies descend in the body to manifest once more, at the very extremity of the body, in the five toes of the right foot and five toes of the left foot.
Thus, there are four levels of manifestation of the five chasadim and five gevurot of da’at: in their origin in the mind, in the heart, in the fingers, and in the toes. The first two of these levels, in the mind and in the heart, are concealed, while the latter two levels, in the fingers and toes, are revealed. This, then, suggests that these four levels of manifestation may be seen to correspond to the four letters of the Name Havayah.
The mind corresponds to the yud of the Name, which, in particular, relates to chochmah, as is said, “chochmah is the mind.”[1] Likewise, the heart corresponds to the first hei of the Name, which, in particular, relates to binah, as is said, “binah is the heart.”40 The fingers correspond to the vav of the Name, which, in particular, relates to the midot, seen as extensions of tiferet. The toes correspond to the latter hei of the Name, which, in particular, relates to malchut; they are extensions of the feet, the lowest part of the body (the contact point of the body to the earth), which are often seen to signify malchut.
י yud |
chochmah |
five mental attractive forces and five mental repellent forces |
mind |
ה hei |
binah |
these forces as they permeate the attributes of the heart |
heart |
ו vav |
midot |
these forces as they find physical expression in the hands |
fingers |
ה hei |
malchut |
these forces as they find physical expression in the feet |
toes |
As the ten chasadim and gevurot of da’at become manifest at four distinct levels, we have, in total, forty forces, twenty attractive forces and twenty repellent forces, the first two sets of ten manifest spiritually (in the mind and heart) and the latter two sets of ten manifest physically (in the fingers and toes). These forty individual forces correspond to the forty days of the giving of the Torah to Moses—the personification of da’at—on Mt. Sinai.[2] The Ten Commandments were engraved on two tablets—“five opposite five,” as we shall see.
How the Sefirot divide into “Five opposite Five”
In Hebrew, each one of the fingers possesses an individual name: the thumb is agudal; the index finger is etzba; the middle finger is amah; the ring finger is kemitzah; the little finger is zeret. The name of the thumb, agudal, derives from the word for “greatness” (gedulah), a synonym in Kabbalah for “loving-kindness” (chesed), as in the verse from the Book of Chronicles[1] that explicitly enumerates the five attributes of the heart (the remaining four fingers corresponding to the four subsequent attributes):
To you, O God, are the greatness [loving-kindness],
and the might, and the beauty, and the victory,
and the glory, for all is in heaven and earth.
left hand |
gevurot |
|
chasadim |
right hand |
agudal |
repellent force of chesed |
attractive force of chesed |
agudal |
|
etzba |
repellent force of gevurah |
attractive force of gevurah |
etzba |
|
amah |
repellent force of tiferet |
attractive force of tiferet |
amah |
|
kemitzah |
repellent force of netzach |
attractive force of netzach |
kemitzah |
|
zeret |
repellent force of hod |
attractive force of hod |
zeret |
Furthermore, we are taught in Kabbalah that the five chasadim and five gevurot of da’at correspond to the ten sefirot—for da’at, whose inner essence is the power of “unification,” which unites the intellectual faculties of the mind and unites the mind with the heart, crystallizes in itself all of the ten sefirot. These can be seen to divide into two groups of five in two distinct fashions:
❖ the first five, more spiritually oriented sefirot (from keter to gevurah) are considered “right” relative to the latter five, more physically oriented sefirot (from tiferet to malchut);
❖ the five sefirot of keter, chochmah, chesed, tiferet, and netzach all tend to the right, the chesed principle, whereas the five sefirot of binah, gevurah, hod, yesod, and malchut all tend to the left, the gevurah principle. (The middle axis of the sefirot is seen to descend diagonally, from right to left, placing its two higher sefirot, keter and tiferet, to the right, and its two lower sefirot, yesod and malchut, to the left.)
According to the first scheme, we have:
left hand |
gevurot |
|
chasadim |
right hand |
agudal |
tiferet |
keter |
agudal |
|
etzba |
netzach |
chochmah |
etzba |
|
amah |
hod “thanksgiving” |
binah “understanding” |
amah |
|
kemitzah |
yesod “foundation” |
chesed |
kemitzah |
|
zeret |
malchut “kingdom” |
gevurah |
zeret |
According to the second scheme, we have:
left hand |
gevurot |
|
chasadim |
right hand |
agudal |
binah “understanding” |
keter |
agudal |
|
etzba |
gevurah |
chochmah |
etzba |
|
amah |
hod “thanksgiving” |
chesed |
amah |
|
kemitzah |
yesod “foundation” |
tiferet |
kemitzah |
|
zeret |
malchut “kingdom” |
netzach |
zeret |
The Tablets of the Covenant
As noted above, Sefer Yetzirah’s model of the ten sefirot as “five opposite five” finds its most significant expression in the two tablets of the covenant given to Moses at Mt. Sinai, upon which were engraved the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments are the foundation of all of the 613 commandments of the Torah, which divide into positive, attractive forces—the 248 active commandments (the do’s, each of which entails a spiritual, attractive force toward good)—and negative, repellent forces—the 365 prohibitive commandments (the don’t’s, each of which entails a spiritual, repellent force away from evil). In general, the five chasadim of da’at motivate the performance of the active commandments, while the five gevurot of da’at fortify the soul to refrain from wrongdoing and thereby observe the prohibitive commandments.
The tablets are called “the tablets of the covenant,” alluding to the “single covenant,” situated between the “five opposite five.” The higher covenant of “the word of the tongue” corresponds to the sefirah of da’at above the five sefirot from chesed to hod. The lower covenant of “the circumcision of the brit” corresponds to the sefirah of yesod, the sixth of the characteristics of the heart, which concentrates and fuses the five sefirot above it into one, holistic experience. Yesod, the unifying power in the heart, reflects da’at, the unifying power in the mind. Implicit in the two tablets of the covenant are these two covenants.
Procreation
Da’at and yesod are alluded to by the word “all” in the above verse from the Book of Chronicles: “for all is in heaven and earth.” “All” in heaven above (in the soul, the mind) refers to da’at, the power that concentrates all the intellectual faculties and connects them to the heart; “all” on earth below (in the soul, the heart) refers to yesod, the power that concentrates all the emotive and behavioral attributes and connects them to malchut, the ultimate reality of “earth” below.
Significantly, the average numerical value of the two words da’at (474) and yesod (80) is the same as that of the word for “seed” (zera, 277). The procreative seed of new life is drawn from da’at to yesod. Indeed, the brit of yesod cannot be actualized without being aroused by the power of da’at.[1]
In Kabbalah, we are taught that the six days of creation correspond to the six emotive attributes of the heart. Adam was created on the sixth day and was intended to be the “righteous one, the foundation (yesod) of the world.”[2] The very essence of human existence is to “balance” and thereby rectify all of reality. For this reason the human being, and only the human being among all creation, was given the power of da’at.
Adam was told to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”[3] As noted above, in our discussion of eye-color, the sages teach us that there are “three partners in man: the Holy One, blessed be He, the father, and the mother.” The father and the mother each contribute five properties to their child. The father provides: (1) the bones, (2) the sinews, (3) the nails, (4) the brain, and (5) the white of the eyes. The mother provides: (1) the blood, (2) the flesh, (3) the hair, (4) the skin and (5) the black of the eyes. God contributes an additional ten properties, including the soul.
From this model, we may infer that the five chasadim represented by the five fingers of the right hand correspond to the five contributions of the father (the five chasadim of da’at derive from the “father”-image in Kabbalah) and that the five gevurot of the left hand correspond to the five contributions of the mother (as the five gevurot of da’at derive from the “mother”-image in Kabbalah). The “single covenant” that is placed in the middle is the gift of God, the soul of life.[4]
We are able to create new life only when we reach the age of puberty, when we first receive the faculty of da’at. Furthermore, yesod itself is stimulated to awaken only through the force of da’at, as noted above. As da’at is the seat of all the senses of the soul, it arouses sensitivity in general, and the sensitivity of yesod in particular.
The Sense of Touch and the Higher and Lower Unions
Just as there are the five physical senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, so are there five corresponding spiritual senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch (as experienced in a meditative or dream state). The five spiritual senses correspond to the five fingers of the right hand, while the five physical senses correspond to the five fingers of the left hand. All proceed from and are aroused by da’at, including the sense of touch—the kiss of the tongue and the conjunction of marital union—and it is da’at that serves to balance and unite all in the experience of the Divine.
This is aptly demonstrated in gematria.[1] As enumerated in the Mishnah,[2] each hand possesses 30 bones—14 revealed joints and 16 concealed joints. These are 30 of the 248 bones that compose the skeleton and correspond to the 248 positive commandments. Together, the two hands possess 60 bones, corresponding to the 60 Hebrew letters of the Priestly Blessing:
May God bless you and protect you.
May God shine His countenance upon you and be gracious to you.
May God turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace.[3]
The priests recite this blessing with their hands raised (the blessing itself is referred to as “the raising of the palms”). The light of the 60 letters emanates from the 60 bones of the two hands.[4]
The letter lamed, whose numerical value is 30, represents the 30 bones of each hand. The two lamed’s of the two hands, when facing each other, form an image of the heart. The word for “heart” (lev) is spelled lamed beit—beit signifying “two”—thus implying “two lamed’s.”[5]
The heart, which is “in the middle” of the two hands, ascends to express itself in the “word of the tongue” and descends to express itself in the “circumcision of the brit.”[6]
In Kabbalah, the right hand is called “the great hand”[7] and the left hand is called “the strong hand.”[8] The body itself is in the middle, between the two hands, and is aroused by their union as in two hands clapping; this is why the body is called the “middle hand” or “uplifted hand.”[9] The power of the “uplifted hand” is to ascend, thereby elevating the emotive attributes of the heart to the inner consciousness and perception of the mind, which finds expression in the covenant of the “word of the tongue.”
The “five fingers” of the “uplifted hand” are, in fact, the five phonetic origins of speech in the mouth:
- the throat (from which emerge the four letters alef, hei, chet, and ayin),
- the palate (from which emerge the four letters gimel, yud, kaf, and kuf),
- the tongue (from which emerge the five letters dalet, tet, lamed, nun, tav),
- the teeth (from which emerge the five letters zayin, samech, tzadik, reish, shin), and
- the lips (from which emerge the four letters beit, vav, mem, and pei).
(As we shall see, the mouth also contains all of the ten sefirot—with the tongue corresponding to the middle axis of da’at, tiferet, and yesod. Thus, it is clear why the tongue in particular, represents the “single covenant” in the mouth.)
The five phonetic origins of speech in the mouth together with the ten fingers of the hands equal 15. These are the 15 “fingers” of the “three hands”—“the great hand,” “the strong hand,” and “the uplifted hand.” Relative to the mouth (which possesses five origins of speech), the brit is singular in the sense that it possesses one origin of procreative energy. This 1 together with the 10 toes of the feet equal 11.
We thus see how the “higher union” and “lower union” of God’s Name Havayah is most beautifully reflected by the human model portrayed in Sefer Yetzirah. The “higher union” appears in the first two letters of the Name Havayah (yud, hei), which equal 15. The “lower union” appears in the last two letters of the Name Havayah (vav, hei) which equal 11.
In Kabbalah, the “higher union” is referred to as the “union of kissing,” while the “lower union” is referred to as the “union of body.” In the supernal worlds, the “higher union of kissing”[10] gives birth to angels[11] (which are without bodies), while the “lower union of body” gives birth to souls (that enter physical bodies).[12]
The tongue and the brit are the body’s two essential points of “intercourse”—that is, they are the two primary energy centers or contact points, situated along the middle line of the body. In Kabbalah, the energy issued from each of these centers or contact points merges with that of one’s soul-mate to procreate. The power to procreate physically issues from the lower of these points, while the power to procreate spiritually (i.e., to give birth to energies that can surface as ideas or impulses, or, in the higher spiritual worlds, to give birth to angels) issues from the higher point of the mouth and tongue.
We are further taught in Kabbalah that there exists an additional energy center/contact point—the middle point of the chest, the contact point of “embrace.” This point, relative to the points above and below it, represents an intermediate level of connective energy—more material than that of the point above it, yet more spiritual than that of the point below it.[13]
Kabbalah teaches that meditative practice—the soul’s spiritual endeavor to contact and become one with God—is similar to the physical union of soul-mates. Physical union begins from the middle point, the point of embrace, ascends to the higher point, the kiss, and finally descends to the lower point, the actual state of cleaving to one’s beloved to become one. (As the Book of Genesis states: “And he shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh.”[14])
Two Levels of Da’at
As we saw above, the balancing power of the soul is manifest in the secret of the “single covenant,” which appears at two levels—in the tongue (to balance the ten fingers), the faculty of da’at, and in the brit (to balance the ten toes), the attribute of yesod. On a deeper level, these two covenants correspond to the two levels of da’at itself—da’at elyon (“higher da’at”) and da’at tachton (“lower da’at).”
Da’at elyon is the perspective of all of created reality from a vantage point from “above.” From this perspective, the Creator Himself is the one and only true essence of all being, and reality is perceived as having no independent existence outside its Creator. Da’at tachton is creation’s perspective of its Creator from its vantage point “below,” that is, from within created reality. From this perspective, creation recognizes the existence of its Creator but is unable to truly know Him.
Of all the leaders of the Jewish people, it was Moses, the greatest of all men, who fully united and integrated the two levels of da’at. In the Torah, he is called “the man of God,”[1] which is interpreted by the sages[2] as follows:
❖ “from mid-point and above [he was] God,” meaning that he had the power to perceive reality through the “eyes” of God;
❖ “from mid-point and below [he was] man,” meaning that he had the power to humbly know God, man’s Creator, through the eyes of man.
Furthermore, it is said of Moses that “the Shechinah [Divine Presence] speaks through the throat of Moses.”[3] From this we learn that the external expression of da’at elyon is through “the words of the tongue,” especially in speaking words of Torah in general and revealing the inner mysteries of the Torah in particular.
The external expression of da’at tachton is through the union of husband and wife, as referred to in the original union of man and woman: “and Adam knew Eve, his wife.”[4] The modesty necessary in the union of husband and wife reflects our inability to know the Creator’s essence,[5] especially at that very moment in which we most emulate our Creator—the moment of creating new life.
Thus, we can see how the tongue and the brit, the two manifestations of the “single covenant” which represents the union of God and humanity, are interrelated in essence, both emanating from da’at.
We may further infer that their rectification is also interdependent. The rectification of the faculty of speech (to speak only good and sweet words) and the guarding of the covenant of the brit (to express only true love for one’s spouse in marital relations) depend upon and influence one another. For this reason, the two terms—“the word [milah] of the tongue” and “the circumcision [milah] of the brit”—are the same.
Three Stages of Spiritual Growth
The Ba’al Shem Tov links these concepts to the vision of the prophet Ezekiel. This vision, which encompasses the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel, is considered the most mystical passage of the Bible:
And I saw, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north,
a great cloud, and a flashing fire,
and a translucent glow surrounded it,
and out of the midst of it, out of the midst of the fire,
was something like the chashmal.[1]
The Hebrew word chashmal appears only in the context of this vision,[2] and is understood by tradition to be a type of light or energy that is also personified as a specific type of angel. The word is a compound of the words chash, meaning “silent” and mal, meaning “speaking.” Therefore, these angels are said to be “sometimes silent, sometimes speaking.”[3]
Between the two extremes of silence and speech, Kabbalah identifies a third, intermediary stage. The allusion to this stage is in the double meaning of the second syllable, mal, which can also be translated as “circumcision.” We thus have three stages: silence, circumcision, and speech.
The Ba’al Shem Tov then connects these three stages with his three-stage process of spiritual growth, called “submission,” “separation,” and “sweetening.” We can chart these correspondences as follows:
chash |
silence |
submission |
mal |
circumcision |
separation |
mal |
speech |
sweetening |
The first stage of spiritual growth—chash or “silence”—is also alluded to in the opening sentences of Sefer Yetzirah (segments of which were quoted above):
With thirty-two wondrous pathways of wisdom, God engraved...and He created His world with three books: “scribe,” “book,” and “story.” [These are] the ten ineffable sefirot and the twenty-two letters of foundation…. The ten ineffable sefirot correspond to the ten fingers—five opposite five—and the single covenant is placed in the middle, in the word of the tongue and the circumcision of the brit.
The root of the word for “ineffable” or “unutterable” (blimah) is subsequently used in Sefer Yetzirah in the phrase, “shut [belom] your mouth from speaking,” thus referring to the phase of silence (chash). We can discern from this that in order to proceed on a path of spiritual growth we must first meditate in silence on the mysteries of the “ten ineffable sefirot” and then actualize the potential of our lower (human-like) da’at and our higher (God-like) da’at.
Higher and Lower Worlds
The higher and lower da’at further correspond to the higher and lower worlds, which are also alluded to in the opening of Sefer Yetzirah:
❖ the ten fingers correspond to the ten sefirot of the world of Atzilut,[1] the higher world, whose consciousness is exclusively that of da’at elyon;
❖ the ten toes correspond to the ten sefirot of the world of Beriah, the lower world, whose consciousness is that of da’at tachton.
These twenty elements of the human body, together with the two balance-points—the tongue and the brit—are associated with the twenty-two Hebrew letters, as we can see by drawing the following representation, in which the tongue is above the ten fingers and the brit is above the ten toes:
א |
||||||||||
כ |
י |
ט |
ח |
ז |
ו |
ה |
ד |
ג |
ב |
|
ל |
||||||||||
ת |
ש |
ר |
ק |
צ |
פ |
ע |
ס |
נ |
מ |
The two letters that correspond to the “single covenant,” manifest at its two levels, are alef and lamed. These two letters combine to form the two-letter Name of God, pronounced Kel. This Name appears in the song of Hannah with reference to the two levels of da’at: “for God is a God [Kel] of [two levels of] knowledge.”[2]
Hannah, who was barren for many years, had prayed silently to conceive a son, whom she promised to dedicate to God’s service. When she finally conceived and gave birth to the prophet Samuel, she sang this song of thanksgiving.
Hannah’s song is the Biblical source for the existence of the two levels of da’at described above. These two levels are alluded to in the two letters of God’s Name Kel as portrayed above:
❖ Alef corresponds to the intuitive wisdom and insight of the mind, as it is written: “I will teach you [aalefcha] wisdom.”[3]
❖ Lamed corresponds to the emotive power of the heart, for the letter lamed represents the “heart” (lev) throughout the Torah, as we saw earlier.[4]
Thus, we learn that the inner insight of the mind (the consciousness of da’at elyon) finds its external expression in the tongue, whereas the inner emotion of the heart (the consciousness of da’at tachton) finds its external expression in the brit.
When the hands are raised—as in the recitation of the Priestly Blessing—the tongue that blesses is situated between the ten fingers. When the hands are lowered, it is the brit that is between the ten fingers.[5]
It was stated above that da’at elyon serves to balance the ten fingers (the ten sefirot of the world of Atzilut) and that da’at tachton serves to balance the ten toes (the ten sefirot of the world of Beriah). However, when the fingers are lowered, we now see that it is da’at tachton (the covenant of the brit) that balances the ten fingers. This teaches us that the union of the supernal sefirot of Atzilut gives birth to the consciousness of da’at tachton in Beriah and below.
Furthermore, there is also a relation between da’at elyon (the tongue) and the lower worlds (the toes): the Divine service of souls in the lower worlds reveals, ultimately, da’at elyon on earth.
Moreover, da’at elyon and da’at tachton of the tongue and the brit at times invert. The emotions of the heart find their expression in the words of the tongue. The seminal essence of the mind contracts into the seed of the brit.[6] Ultimately, the revelation of the Divine essence on earth depends upon the rectification and sanctification of “the circumcision of the brit.”
To summarize our discussion thus far, let us quote the end of Sefer Yetzirah,[7] which summarizes the content of the entire book:
These are the twenty-two letters with which [ten Names of God] were engraved. And with them He made the three books and with them He created His Universe…and when our father Abraham of blessed memory came, he looked and observed, and understood and studied, and engraved and carved; he succeeded in creation…. Immediately, the Master of All, blessed be His Name forever, revealed Himself to him, and seated him in His bosom and kissed him on his head and called him “Abraham, the one who loves Me.” And He made a covenant with him and his seed forever…. And He made a covenant between the ten fingers—the covenant of the tongue, and between the ten toes—the covenant of circumcision. And He bound the twenty-two letters of the Torah to his tongue and revealed to him His secret. He drew them with water, ignited them with fire, blasted them with wind, burned them with seven, and led them with twelve constellations.
As we see, the ending of Sefer Yetzirah returns to its opening. This phenomenon of making a full circle is described in Sefer Yetzirah itself (as noted above): “Its end is wedged in its beginning.”
The Talmud[8] mirrors this concept when it declares that “all goes after the seal”: the final statement of a Torah text encapsulates the entire content of the text, while especially relating to its beginning (which as well contains the essential seed of all to follow).
The all-inclusive power of the beginning itself reflects the principle of da’at elyon (since the term “higher” [elyon] in Hebrew also implies “earlier,” in the sense of “beginning”), the higher covenant of the tongue. The all-inclusive power of the end corresponds to da’at tachton (since “lower” [tachton] implies “later,” in the sense of “end”), the lower covenant of circumcision.
This relates to the fact that in the Book of Genesis, the covenant that God made with Abraham had two stages or manifestations:
- the first was the “covenant between the pieces,” in which God promised Abraham and his descendants the entire Land of Israel;[9]
- the second was the covenant of circumcision, in which God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations.[10]
The first, “higher” covenant, the spiritual power of the Jewish people to inherit the Promised Land, “the land of the living,”[11] depends upon the articulation of the words of the Torah.[12] The tongue is situated between the ten fingers of the hands, which represent the ability “to do.” Thus, the relationship of tongue to fingers is seen to reflect the principle of studying the words of the Torah in order to behave according to its teachings.
The second, “lower” covenant, that of circumcision, is situated between the ten toes, which represent the ability which children inherit from their parents, to continue along their path. Thus, the relationship of circumcision to toes is seen to reflect the parents’ firm commitment to educate their offspring to follow along their positive path of life.
After describing the two manifestations of the single covenant as given to Abraham, Sefer Yetzirah concludes by reviewing the basic secrets and groupings of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which it had previously described as “bound one to the other.”[13] The power that binds them all together is the power of the “one” above the twenty-two. The absolute “one” both encompasses the twenty-two from above and permeates them from within.
These two manifestations of the “one,” as transcendent (sovev kol almin) and as immanent (memalei kol almin), also correspond to the two manifestations of the single covenant, the hovering spirit that issues from the tongue and the essential seed that is drawn by the brit.[14]
The Single Covenant |
|
word of the tongue |
brit |
da’at elyon |
da’at tachton |
“covenant of the pieces,” |
covenant of circumcision, |
manifestation of “one” as transcendent |
manifestation of “one” as immanent |
Tongue (social intercourse) and brit (marital intercourse) are two manifestations of the one concept of covenant. When we connect, in covenant, to God, by correct speech and correct use of our procreative organs as defined in Jewish law, we are sound and healthy.[15] With connection comes stability and vitality. Severance of the bond of love to God (His Torah, His people, and His land), by incorrect use of our tongue and brit, creates imbalance in our psychological and physiological systems.[16] Healing power comes with the reinforcement of the consciousness of the “single covenant.”
The Mouth
Our analysis of the mouth is based on the following correlations:
left axis |
middle axis |
right axis |
binah “understanding” |
chochmah “wisdom” |
|
da’at “knowledge” |
||
gevurah “might” |
chesed “loving-kindness” |
|
tiferet “beauty” |
||
hod “thanksgiving” |
netzach “victory” |
|
yesod “foundation” |
||
malchut “kingdom” |
In the mouth, the palate corresponds to the sefirah of chochmah (“wisdom”). Just as the inner eye of wisdom experiences new flashes of insight, so do the taste buds of the palate, on the inner spiritual plane, experience new tastes of truth. (The taste buds of the tongue integrate the taste of truth to influence one’s character.) In Psalms we read, “Taste and see that God is good.”[1] The very word chochmah is read in Kabbalah as cheich-mah, “the palate of the sublime.”
Just as the palate is the lower extension or reflection of the brain, generally identified with chochmah, so is the throat understood to be the higher extension or reflection of the heart, generally identified with binah (“understanding”).[2] The throat is thus understood to be the binah of the mouth. In Kabbalah, we speak of the union of the palate and the throat, reflecting the supernal union of chochmah and binah[3] in the mouth.
The tongue, which in the mouth corresponds to the middle axis of the sefirot, possesses three “centers of energy”: its back, its length, and its tip, corresponding to the three sefirot along the middle axis: da’at, (“knowledge”) tiferet, (“beauty”) and yesod (“foundation”).
At the back of the tongue, where the tongue is attached to the throat, lies its power to connect—the point of da’at. Of this point it is said, “if there is no da’at there is no binah; if there is no binah there is no da’at.”[4]
The length of the tongue itself corresponds to the sefirah of tiferet (“beauty”). Here lies the power of “language” or “tongue.” In the tongue lies the beauty of self-expression, the eloquent blend of rich vocabulary.
The tip of the tongue corresponds to the sefirah of yesod (“foundation”), the holy covenant in the mouth. Of this oral energy center it is said, “the covenant of the tongue corresponds to the covenant of the flesh [i.e., the brit].”[5] We have addressed at length this correspondence of tongue to brit above.
At its tip, the tongue touches, as it were, the empty cavity of the mouth itself. The oral cavity is indeed the essence of the mouth, for as the mouth in general corresponds to the sefirah of malchut (“kingdom”), the empty vessel that receives the lights of all the higher sefirot, so, in the detailed analysis of the mouth, the cavity is its own particular level of malchut, the very end of the middle axis of the sefirot. The touching of the tip of the tongue to the mouth’s cavity is thus an analog to the marital union of husband and wife, yesod and malchut.
The upper and lower jaws with their two rows of teeth correspond to the two sefirot of chesed (“loving-kindness”) and gevurah (“might”). Chewing food is like processing an idea to make it digestible. This process depends upon the two primary emotive attributes of the soul. Chesed motivates the desire of the soul to “integrate” the sparks present in external reality, to elevate the Divine life-force contained within the food to enliven man, while gevurah performs the actual grinding of the teeth, breaking the food into digestible particles, of which is said, “malchut [in our context, the mouth] is built [made able to perform its function to eat] out of gevurah.”[6]
Similar to the upper and lower jaws and teeth, the upper and lower lips correspond to the two sefirot of netzach (“victory”) and hod (“thanksgiving”). These guard the entrance to the mouth from the outside.[7] In addition, the lips—through a kiss—serve to convey an expression of the soul deeper than words. In a kiss, they join the tip of the tongue to form the union of the triplet netzach-hod-yesod within the mouth.[8]
In the Torah, we find that disease results from the misuse of the mouth: incorrect eating[9] and incorrect speaking.[10] The Torah defines the parameters of what is permissible (spiritually and physically healthy) to eat and what is permissible and proper to speak.
With regard to speech, we find in the Book of Proverbs that “death and life are in the hand of the tongue.”[11] As we have seen, it is the tongue in particular that connects the three levels—the intellectual, the emotive, and the behavioral—all within the mouth itself, as the middle axis.
In the previous section, we saw that the tongue corresponds to da’at elyon. When rectified, the tongue is able to express the concept that God is the one and only true reality; when blemished, it gives expression only to one’s own ego. When rectified, it is the tongue that, by speaking words of Torah and expressing love for others, conveys the healing, life-giving power inherent in the Divine soul to the physical body as a whole.
© כל הזכויות שמורות למכון גל עיני. הטקסט מיועד ללימוד ולשימוש אישי בלבד.