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Rabbinical Eras

Bahir or Sefer Ha-Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר (Hebrew, "Book of the Brightness") is an anonymous mystical work, attributed pseudepigraphically to a first century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben ha-Kanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai) because it begins with the words, "R. Zugot (תְּקוּפָת הַזּוּגוֹת ( (təqūphāth hazZūghôth) refers to the period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE in which word /š n/ and /t n/ --> Geonim ( Hebrew: גאונים also transliterated Gaonim) were the presidents of the two great rabbinical colleges of Sura Pseudepigrapha (from Ancient Greek ψευδής Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Nehunya ben ha-Kanah ( Hebrew: נחוניה בן הקנה) was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries Yochanan ben Zakai (יוחנן בן זכאי c 30 BCE - 90 CE) was one of the Tannaim, an important Jewish sage in the era of the Second Temple Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah said". It is also known as Midrash of Rabbi Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah מִדְרָשׁ רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא בֶּן הַקָּנָה.

It was first published in the 12th century, in southern France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Historians suspect Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor, also known as Isaac the Blind, wrote it at that time. Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר also known as Isaac the Blind, (c An important problem in this ascription is that "eyn sof" ("that which is without end") as a term naming God does not occur in the Bahir though it does in the works of Isaac the Blind.

It is an early work of esoteric Jewish mysticism which eventually became known as Kabbalah. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism.

Part of a series on
Kabbalah
Subtopics
Sephirot · Qliphoth · Raziel · Ein Sof · Tzimtzum · Tree of Life · Seder hishtalshelus · Jewish meditation · Kabbalistic astrology · Jewish views of astrology
People
Shimon bar Yochai · Moshe Cordovero · Isaac the Blind · Bahya ben Asher · Nahmanides · Azriel · Isaac Luria · Chaim Vital · Jacob Emden · Jonathan Eybeschutz · Chaim ibn Attar · Nathan Adler · Vilna Gaon · Shalom Sharabi · Chaim Joseph David Azulai · Shlomo Eliyashiv · Baba Sali · Ben Ish Chai
Texts
Zohar · Sefer Yetzirah · Bahir · Heichalot
Categories
Kabbalah · Judaism · Jewish mysticism · Occult
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Title

Nahmanides, in his commentary on the Torah, (Genesis 1) is one of the first to quote the work under the title Midrash R. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Sephirot "enumerations" '''Sephiroth''' '''Sefiroth''' (סְפִירוֹת singular Sephirah also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] Qliphoth, kliffoth or klippot ( Heb קליפות qelippot, meaning "peels" "shells" or matter singular קליפה Raziel ( Heb רזיאל "Secret of God " is an Archangel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah Ein Soph or Ayn Sof ( Hebrew אין סוף, literally "without end" denoting "boundlessness" and/or " Nothingness " In Jewish Mysticism, Tzimtzum (צמצום Hebrew: "contraction" or "constriction" refers to the notion in the Kabbalistic theory of See also Sephirot (Kabbalah See also Tree of life (disambiguation for other meanings of the term Seder hishtalshelus (Hebrew סדר השתלשלות means the "order of development" or "order of evolution" where the word Hishtalshelus (or Jewish meditation can refer to several traditional practices of contemplation visualization analysis and gaining intuitive insights See also Jewish views of astrology Note This article does not describe normative Judaism as practiced by the majority of Jewish In Hebrew astrology was called hokmat ha-nissayon, "the wisdom of prognostication" in distinction to hokmat ha-hizzayon (wisdom of star-seeing or Astronomy Shimon bar Yohai, ( Aramaic: רבן שמעון בר יוחאי Shimon son of Yohai, Simon son of Yohai or Rashbi (רשב"י pronounced Moses ben Jacob Cordovero or Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570 ( Hebrew: משה קורדובירו) known by the Acronym Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר also known as Isaac the Blind, (c Bahye ben Asher ( Hebrew: בחיי בן אשר) or Bahye ben Asher ben Halawa also known as the Rabbeinu Behaye, born about the middle of the Nahmanides (1194 &ndash c 1270 was a Catalan Rabbi, philosopher, Physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator. Azriel of Gerona Azriel ben Menahem ( Heb עזריאל בן מנחם) (c Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534 – July 25 1572) was a Jewish mystic in Safed. Rabbi Chaim ben Yosef Vital (1543 in Safed - 23 April 1620 in Damascus) was one of the most famous exponents of Kabbalah. Jacob Emden ( (the Yabets) was a Jewish Rabbi and notable Talmudist and prominent opponent of the Shabbethaians. Jonathan Eybeschutz ( Kraków 1690 - Altona 1764 was a Talmudist Halachist, Kabbalist, and secret Shabbatean, holding Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar חיים בן משה אבן עטר was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Mequenez, Morocco, in 1696 died in Jerusalem Nathan Adler (1741-1800 was a German Kabalist born in Frankfurt, December 16, 1741. Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew Acronym Gra (" G aon Sar Shalom Sharabi ( Hebrew: שר שלום מזרחי דידיע שרעבי also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Rabbi Chaim Joseph David ben Isaac Zerachia Azulai (1724 &ndash 21 March 1807) ( Hebrew: חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv (12 Tevet, 1841 - March 13 (27 Adar) 1925 (שלמה בן חיים חייקל אלישיב, also known as the Leshem or Ba'al Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (ישראל אבוחצירא known as Baba Sali באבא סאלי (بابا صلى "praying father" (1890-1984 was a Moroccan Yosef Chaim ( 1 September, 1832 – 30 August, 1909) ( Hebrew: יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Hakham Like the rest of Rabbinic literature, the texts of Kabbalah were once part of an ongoing oral tradition though over the centuries much of the Oral Torah has been For the village in southern Israel see Tzohar The Zohar (זהר lit Splendor or Radiance) is widely considered the most important Sefer Yetzirah ( Hebrew, "Book of Creation" ספר יצירה is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish Esotericism. Heichalot (The Palaces refers to a collection of Jewish literature Nahmanides (1194 &ndash c 1270 was a Catalan Rabbi, philosopher, Physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Nehunya ben ha-Kanah. ("R. Nehunya b. ha-Kanah said," the opening sentence)

Among medieval Kabbalists it became known as Sefer ha-Bahir, taken from its opening comment, "One verse says: 'And now men see not the light which is bright (bahir) in the skies'" (Job 37:21). The Book of Job ( איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible.

Authorship

Kabbalists ascribed authorship of the Bahir to R. Nehunya, a rabbi of the Mishnaic era, who lived around 100 CE. Medieval Kabbalists write that the Bahir did not come down to them as a unified book, but rather in pieces found in scattered scrolls and booklets. The scattered and fragmentary nature of the Bahir's text, which sometimes ends discussion in mid-sentence, and which often jumps randomly from topic to topic, supports this claim.

The historical critical study of this book points to a later date of composition. For some time scholars believed that it was written in the thirteenth century by Isaac the Blind, or by those in his school. The first sentence, "And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies" (Job 37:21), being isolated, and having no connection with what follows, was taken to be an allusion to the blindness of its author. However, modern scholars of Kabbalah now hold that at least part of the Bahir was an adaptation of an older work, the Sefer Raza Rabba. This older book is mentioned in some of the works of the Geonim; however no complete copies of Sefer Raza Rabba are still in existence. Geonim ( Hebrew: גאונים also transliterated Gaonim) were the presidents of the two great rabbinical colleges of Sura However, quotes from this book can still be found in some older works.

Many scholars of Kabbalah hold that the Bahir adds gnostic elements to the older work. The question of how much gnosticism has influenced Kabbalah is one of the major themes of modern-day research on Kabbalah, see the works of Gershom Scholem and Moshe Idel for more information. Gerschom Scholem ( December 5, 1897 &ndash February 21, 1982) also known as Gerhard Scholem, was a Jewish philosopher and

There is a striking affinity between the symbolism of Sefer ha-Bahir, on the one hand, and the speculations of the Gnostics, and the theory of the "aeons," on the other. The fundamental problem in the study of the book is: is this affinity based on an as yet unknown historical link between the gnosticism of the mishnaic and talmudic era and the sources from which the material in Sefer ha-Bahir is derived? Or should it possibly be seen as a purely psychological phenomenon, i. e. , as a spontaneous upsurge from the depths of the soul's imagination, without any historical continuity?
"Bahir", Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing

History

Contents

The Bahir assumes the form of an exegetic midrash on the first chapters of Genesis. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic It is divided into sixty short paragraphs, and is in the form of a dialogue between master and disciples.

The main characters are "R. Amora" (or "Amorai"), and "R. Rahamai" (or "Rehumai"). Some statements in the book are attributed to R. Berechiah, R. Johanan, R. Bun, rabbis mentioned in the later midrashic literature.

The Bahir contains commentaries explaining the mystical significance of Biblical verses; the mystical significance of the shapes of the Hebrew letters; the mystical significance of the cantillation signs and vowel points on the letters; the mystical significance of statements in the Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation"); and the use of sacred names in magic. Sefer Yetzirah ( Hebrew, "Book of Creation" ספר יצירה is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish Esotericism.

There are two hundred aphorism-like paragraphs. Each paragraph uses references from the Torah to expand upon its presentation. As with all Kabbalistic texts the meanings are highly symbolic and subject to numerous opportunities for interpretation. A common analogy is used throughout. A king, his servants, his daughter and his gardens are all used to explain a meaning, first of Torah and then in general, of the main topic of the text. The paragraphs refer to each other in segments and are broken into five sections in the Aryeh Kaplan translation. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (1934-January 281983 was a noted American Orthodox Rabbi and author with a background in both Physics and Judaism These sections are loosely grouped together but they do more or less stay within the underlying themes given by their title.

Sections

Section 1 (v. 1-16) consists of commentary on the first verses of Genesis or of the Creation Story.

Section 2 (v. 17-44) talks about the Aleph-Beth or the Hebrew alphabet and gets its inspiration from the Sefer Yetzirah, which links these letters of creation to the overall mysticism presented in the Torah. Sefer Yetzirah ( Hebrew, "Book of Creation" ספר יצירה is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish Esotericism. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to

Section 3 (v. 45-122) concerns the Seven Voices and the Sefirot. Sephirot "enumerations" '''Sephiroth''' '''Sefiroth''' (סְפִירוֹת singular Sephirah also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]

Section 4 (v. 124-193) is grouped under the section title of Ten Sefirot.

Section 5 (v. 193-200) completes the discourse and is called Mysteries of the Soul.

Sefirot

The Hebrew word "sefirot" was first described in Sefer Yezirah as corresponding to the ten basic numbers, and did not possess the meaning that later Kabbalists gave to it. Sephirot "enumerations" '''Sephiroth''' '''Sefiroth''' (סְפִירוֹת singular Sephirah also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] It is in the Bahir that we find the first discussion of the Kabbalistic concept of Sefirot as divine attributes and powers emanating from God.

Creation of the universe

The world, according to the "Bahir," is not the product of an act of creation. Like God, this book existed from all eternity, not only in potentiality, but in actuality; and the Creation consisted merely in the appearance of that which was latent in the first "Sefirah," "Or ha-Ganuz," or, as it is called, "Keter 'Elyon," which emanated from God. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity.

This Sefirah gave birth to "Hokmah" (Wisdom), from which emanated "Binah" (Intelligence). From these three, which are the superior "Sefirot", and from the primary principles of the universe, emanated, one after another, the seven inferior Sefirot from which all material beings are formed. All the ten Sefirot are linked one to the other, and every one of them has an active and a passive quality—emanating and receiving. The efflux of one Sefirah from another is symbolized in the form of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Thus the gimel (ג), shaped like a tube open at each end, represents a Sefirah, which receives strength at one end and discharges it at the other. The ten Sefirot are the energy of God, the forms in which His being manifests itself.

Reincarnation

The "Bahir" adopts the concept of reincarnation to solve the question of why the just may suffer in this world, while the wicked may be prosperous: "The just may have been wicked in their former lives, and the wicked righteous. "

Editions and commentaries

One of the most accurate manuscripts of the final form of Sefer Bahir was written in 1331 by Meir ben Solomon Abi-Sahula; his commentary on the Bahir was anonymously published as Or ha-Ganuz, "The Hidden Light".

It has been translated into German by Gershom Scholem (1923) and into English by Aryeh Kaplan.

Recently it has been critically edited by Saverio Campanini. See The Book of Bahir. Flavius Mithridates' Latin Translation, the Hebrew Text, and an English Version, edited by Saverio Campanini with a Foreword by Giulio Busi, Torino, Nino Aragno Editore 2005.

See also

External links and references

General links on Kabbalah

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