Note 5 — I.

Now, the medium by which the En Soph made his existence known in the creation of the world are ten Sephiroth5 (‏ספירות‎) or intelligences, which emanated from the Boundless One (‏אין סוף‎) in the following manner:—At first the En Soph, or the Aged of the Aged (‏עתיקא דעתיקין‎) or the Holy Aged (‏עתיקא קדישא‎), as he is alternately called, sent forth from his infinite light one spiritual substance or intelligence. This first Sephira, which existed in the En Soph from all eternity, and became a reality by a mere act, has no less than seven appellations. It is called—I, the Crown (‏כתר‎), because it occupies the highest position; II, the Aged (‏עתיקא‎), because it is the oldest or the first emanation—and this name must not be confounded with the Aged of the Aged, which, as we have seen, is the appellation of the En Soph; III, the Primordial Point (‏נקודה ראשונה‎), or the Smooth Point (‏נקודה פשוטה‎), because, as the Sohar tells us, “When the Concealed of the Concealed wished to reveal himself, he first made a single point: the Infinite was entirely unknown, and diffused no light before this luminous point violently broke through into vision;” (Sohar, i, 15 a). IV, the White Head (‏רישא הוורה‎); V, the Long Face, Macroprosopon (‏אריך אנפין‎), because the whole ten Sephiroth represent the Primordial or the Heavenly Man (‏אדם עילאה‎), of which the first Sephira is the head; VI, The Inscrutable Height (‏רום מעלה‎), because it is the highest of all the Sephiroth proceeding immediately from the En Soph. Hence, on the passage “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold the King of Peace6 with the Crown!” ( Song of Solomon iii, 2 ) the Sohar remarks, “But who can behold the King of Peace, seeing that He is incomprehensible, even to the heavenly hosts? But he who sees the Crown sees the glory of the King of Peace.” (Sohar ii. 100 b.) And, VII, it is expressed in the Bible by the Divine name Ehejeh, or I Am (‏אהיה‎ Exod. iii, 4 ), because it is absolute being, representing the Infinite as distinguished from the finite, and in the angelic order, by the celestial beasts of Ezekiel, called Chajoth (‏חיות‎). The first Sephira contained the other nine Sephiroth, and gave rise to them in the following order:—At first a masculine or active potency, designated Wisdom (‏חכמה‎), proceeded from it. This Sephira, which among the divine names is represented by Jah (‏יה‎ Isa. xxvi, 4 ), and among the angelic hosts by Oplianim (‏אפנים‎ Wheels), sent forth an opposite, i.e. a feminine or passive, potency, denominated Intelligence (‏בינה‎), which is represented by the divine name Jehovah (‏יהוה‎), and angelic name Arelim (‏אראלים‎), and it is from a union of these two Sephiroth, which are also called Father (‏אבא‎) and Mother (‏אמא‎), that the remaining seven Sephiroth proceeded. Or, as the Sohar (iii, 290 a) expresses it, “When the Holy Aged, the Concealed of all Concealed, assumed a form, he produced everything in the form of male and female, as the things could not continue in any other form. Hence Wisdom, which is the beginning of development, when it proceeded from the Holy Aged, emanated in male and female, for Wisdom expanded, and Intelligence proceeded from it, and thus obtained male and female—viz., Wisdom, the father, and Intelligence, the mother, from whose union the other pairs of Sephiroth successively emanated.” These two opposite potencies—viz., Wisdom (‏חכמה‎) and Intelligence (‏בינה‎)—are joined together by the first potency, the Crown (‏כתר‎); thus yielding the first triad of the Sephiroth.