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CABBALAH
CABBALAH
first two letters of the beginning of the secondline, twenty-two commutations are produced.These anagrammatic alphabets obtain their respec-tive names from the first two specimen pairs ofletters which indicate the interchange. For in-stance, the first alphabet thus obtained is calledAlbath from the first words, the second
Abgath (HUH), and so on. Of course, with suchexegetical canons, any system of theosophy, oranything else, may be obtained from the Bible.
That the Cabbalah favours, to a certain extent,the doctrine of the Trinity and the Atonement, isnot only admitted by many Jewish literati who areadverse to the theosophy of the Cabbalah, but bysomeof its followers. We subjoin the most strikingpassages in the Sohar bearing on this subject.Discussing the import of the liturgical declara-tion about the Divine unity (Deut. vi. 43),where Jehovah occurs first, then Elohenu, andthen again Jehovah, it says : “ The voice thoughone consists of three elements, fire (i.e. warmth),air (i.e. breath), and water (i.e. humidity), yetall these are one in the mystery of the voice andcan only be one. Thus also Jehovah, Elohenu,and Jehovah, constitute one—three forms whichare one ” (Sohar, ii. 43 6). “ Come and see the
mystery of the word (i.e. Jehovah). There arethree degrees, and each degree exists by itself(i.e. in the Deity); although the three consti-tute one, they are closely united into one, and areinseparable from each other” (Sohar, iii. 65 a).Indeed one Codex of the Sohar had the followingremark on the words, “ Holy, holy, holy is theLord of hosts” (Is. iv. 3): (BTlp Ht Bmp
cnprt nn nr smp p nr), the first holy
denotes the Holy Father , the second the HolySon , and the third the Holy Ghost. Equallydistinct is the teaching of the Atonement. “ TheMessiah invokes all the sufferings, pain, andafflictions of Israel to come upon him. Now ifhe did not remove them thus and take themupon himself, no man could endure the suffer-ings of Israel, due as punishment for their trans-gressing the law: as it is written (Is. liii. 4),
‘ surely he hath borne our griefs and carried oursorrows ’ ” (Sohar, ii. 12). That these and similarstatements favour the doctrines of the NewTestament is moreover attested by the fact thata large number of Cabbalists, who occupied thehighest position in the synagogue, both as piousJews and literary men, have from time to timeembraced the Christian faith. We need onlyspecify Paul Ricci, physician to the emperorMaximilian I.; Julius Conrad Otto, author of
the Unveiled Secrets (BOP N^!l); John StephenRittangel, grandson of the celebrated Don IsaacAbravanel j and Jacob Frank, the great apostleof the Cabbalah in the 18th century, whoseexample in professing Christianity was followedby several thousands of his disciples. The testi-mony of these distinguished Cabbalists, whichthey give in their elaborate works, as to theaffinity of some of the doctrines of this theosophywith those of Christianity, is fully corroboratedby some of the most orthodox Jews.
7. The Canonical Codes of the Cabbalah. —Thetwo works which the Cabbalists claim as theauthoritative exposition of their doctrine, andwhich they indeed regarded as inspired records,are (1) the Book of Creation (m'V' 12D) and(2) the Sohar dillT)- Tub Book of Creation
pretends to be a monologue of the patriarchAbraham, and assumes that the contemplationsit contains are those which led the father of theHebrew race to abandon the worship of the starsand to embrace the faith of the true God. Thewhole treatise consists of six Perahim (D'p*l£3)or chapters, subdivided into thirty-three verybrief Mishnas (HUB^D) or sections. As the He-brew alphabet has twenty-two letters, and asthese letters are not only used phonetically butare employed as numerals, which are representedby the fundamental number ten , the patriarchAbraham thus obtains thirty-twu mediums orways of secret wisdom by which God created theuniverse, and shews from the gradual and syste-matic development of the creation, and from theharmony which prevails in all its multitudinouscomponent parts, that one God produced it all,and that He is over all. The patriarch Abrahamdeduces this from the analogy which subsistsbetween the visible things and the letters whichare the signs of thought, or the means wherebywisdom is expressed and perpetuated among men.The doctrines thus propounded are delivered inthe style of aphorisms or theorems, and are laiddown very dogmatically as becomes the authorityof the great patriarch Abraham.
The renowned Sohar, however, is, par excel-lence, the Bible of the Cabbalists. It is a com-mentary on the Pentateuch, according to itsdivision into the fifty-two hebdomadal lessons.Originally its name seems to have been “ Mid-rash ” or “ Let there be Light ” (“11N VT BH^D),deriving its title from the words in Gen. i. 4 rwith the exposition of which it begins. As itsopening theme is light, it afterwards obtainedthe laconic name Sohar (in’ll), i.e. Light, Splen-dour, an expression of frequent occurrence in thefirst page. It is also called “ Midrash of R.Simon b. Yochai,” because this Rabbi is its re-puted compiler. Interspersed throughout theSohar, either as parts of the text with distincttitles, or in separate columns, are the followingeleven dissertations. (1) Tosephta and Mathani-than (irYOnD, NnBDin), or Additions and Sup-plements which briefly discuss the topics of theCabbalah, calling the attention of the initiated tosome doctrine or explanation. (2) Hechaloth
(nfo*n) or the Mansions and Abodes, describingthe structure of Paradise and Hell. (3) SithreThorah (min '1HD), or the Mysteries of thePentateuch, describing the evolution of the Se-phiroth, primordial light, &c. (4) Midrash Ha-
Ngelam (D^yan tmn), or the Hidden Mid-rash, which deduces from the narratives in thePentateuch the esoteric doctrine by allegoricalrules of interpretation. (5) Raya Mehemana(fcODHD aOJH), or the Faithful Shepherd, re-cording the discussions between Moses the faith-ful shepherd, the prophet Elijah, and R. Simonb. Yochai. (6) Raze Derazin (('pi m), orthe Secret of Secrets, discoursing on physio-gnomy and psychology. (7) Saba Demishpatim(D'DSBW SOD), or the Aged, i.e . the prophetElijah, who discourses to R. Simon b. Yochai onmetempsychosis, based on the pericope cabledMishpatim, i.e. Exod. xxi. 1-xxiv. 18. (8)
Siphra Detzniutha (NmVOin K"1E)D), or theBook of Secrets, discoursing on the cosmogonyand demonology. (9) Idra Raba (fcO"l NTIN),or the Great Assembly, giving the discourses of