Sefer Yetzirah Class 9

Mishna 1.6 in the Ramak Version which is usually Mishna 1.7 in other versions.

Hebrew

עשר ספירות בלימה מדתן עשר שאין להם סוף, נעוץ סופן בתחילתן ותחילתן בסופן כשלהבת קשורה בגחלת. שאדון יחיד הוא ואין שני לו. ולפני אחד מה אתה סופר:

Transliteration

Esser Sefirot BelieMah Medatan Esser Sheain Lahem Sof, NehOtz Sofen Batachelaten Vetachekaten Besofen Cashalhabat KeShorah Bafachlat. SheAdon Yachid Hu VeAin Shaini Lo. Velifnai Echad Mah Ata Sopar.

Translation

Ten Sephiroth of Nothingness. Their end is embedded in their beginning and their beginning in their end like a flame in a burning coal. For the Master is singular. He has no second and before One what do you count?

When one reads the English translation of this Mishna one thinks that one understands this message. Yet there are truly deep aspects of this Mishna that gets revealed using the tools of the Kabbalah. That is what we will be doing in this class this week. We will demonstrate the various tools and how to use them and by so doing delve deeper into this Mishna.

Let's start with the surface level.

You know what 10 Sefirot Belie Mah represents. That is different levels of consciousness. We have been taught that there is no beginning and end in each one of them yet in the aggregate there is a beginning called Keter and an end called Malchut. Now this Mishna says that the end is embedded in their beginning. and vice verse. What does this mean? What does embed mean?

Does embed mean glued together? Attached in some way? Connected? What exactly is the meaning of embed which is the Hebrew word NehOotz. NehOtz has a shoresh that means pierce, stab, or stick. These all just mean stuck together or connected.

If the Keter is the beginning in what way does the beginning pierce the end which is Malchut? Let us look at the English meaning of these words. Keter means Crown while Malchut means Kingdom. Can a Kingdom be included in the Crown? If we think of the Crown metaphorically rather than as a physical item it helps us begin to understand these two terms and their connection.

The next phrase in the Mishna gives us additional insight. "Like a flame and its coal. The flame needs a source of fuel yet teh flame is the fire. The source or the coal is something totally different than a flame yet we can understand how the coal is connected to the flame. Take away the coal and the flame is no more. Take away the Keter and there is no Malchut. Why is that? Because the Keter sustains the Malchut. It feeds the malchut. The Kabbalists teach that the Malchut and all that will eventually be revealed in the process of moving from the Keter to the malchut is all included in the Keter.

This is the meaning of the end is in the beginning. The vice a versa is not exactly intuitive. How does the end shape the beginning? It does not except in the effect of the action of Man. How is that possible? Because Man is the beginning in the frame of reference of the thought of creation. Let us contemplate this bit.

Thought is consciousness. Does thought have a beginning and an end? Where does thought come from? In man the thought comes from outside of Man. Therefore it has a beginning. That moment when it is first recognized. When does a thought end? When the man starts to act on the thought. Therefore the end of a thought can be considered the start or the Keter of the actual action. If thought is portential then action is the actual. The end is the beginning. is now clearly understood. The beginning is the end is not yet clear.

If the thought is "to create Man" then the end is the beginning, since the thought is the beginning yet it is actually a thought that is the end being man. Is this clear?

What is the meaning of the Master is singular? He has no second?

In Genesis Chapter 1 the Torah refers to the first day as Day One not the first day. First implies that there are others. He has no second in this Mishna is saying the same thing there is only 1 not a first above another. Then why do we need to know that the master is singular? Singular implies different aspects that are on the same level. All of these aspects are unified so that from the inside they act as one aspect. This is very difficult to understand.

Our body has two arms. They act independantly and unified at the same time. This needs to be contemplated.