The Talmud speaks of "sitrei torah" and "razei torah" (secrets
of the torah), and parts of the secret tradition are called "ma'aseh bereshit" (the work of creation) and "ma'aseh
merkabah" (the work of the chariot). The earliest known Jewish text on cosmology was the Sefer Yetsirah (the Book of
Creation), which appeared from sometime between the 3rd and 6th centuries. It explained creation as a process involving the
ten divine numbers (sefirot) of God and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Combined, they were said to represent the 32
paths of wisdom. Another major early text was the Sefer ha-bahir (Book of Brightness), which has had a profound effect on
Jewish mysticism since the 12th century. In the 13th century, the Sefer ha-temuna (Book of the Image) appeared in Spain and
dealt with the idea of cosmic cycles; each aeon, or cycle, was said to have a different Torah.
The famous Zohar, properly called Sefer ha-zohar (Book of Splendour), also appeared in medieval Spain. It was written
between 1280 and 1286 by Moses b. Shem Tov de Leon in Guadalajara. The Zohar is a powerful and beautiful book to read, elaborating
on the mystery of creation and the mystery of the ten sefirot, which were:
Keter (Supreme Crown);
Hokhmah (Wisdom);
Binah (Intelligence);
Gedullah (Greatness) or Hesed (love);
Gevurah (Power) or Din (Judgment);
Tiferet (Beauty); or Rahamim (Compassion);
Nezah (Endurance);
Hod
(Majesty);
Zaddik (Righteous One) or Yesod (Foundation of the world);
Malkhut (Kingdom) or Atarah (Diadem).
The ten sefirot are emanated successively from above to below, and each
one reveals another stage in the divine process. In their totality, they make up "the tree of emanation", known
to many now as the Tree of Life.
Following their expulsion from Spain
in 1492, the Jews were more than ever devoted to serious study of The Tree of Life, as interest in messianic hopes and
the future increased. By the middle of the 16th century, the centre of the movement was Safed, Galilee, where Isaac
ben Solomon Luria lived.
Luria's influence was profound, and probably surpassed only by the Zohar. Lurianic teachings
developed several basic doctrines, the "withdrawal" of the divine light, for example. Luria's writings
had a major influence on the doctrines of modern Hasidim, the communities of which still exist today. In more recent times,
Jewish academics and other scholars and writers are continuing to research this important subject today.
