Kabbalah & numerology
The Tree of Life, the sefirot, the Hebrew letters, gematria and the numbers of the Pythagorean tradition.
Abraham Abulafia and ecstatic Kabbalah: the science of letters
Abraham Abulafia, a 13th-century kabbalist born in Saragossa: letter combination, breath and divine names as a meditative path from Spain to Sicily.
Chaldean and Pythagorean numerology: how the two systems differ
Chaldean and Pythagorean numerology compared: the two tables, the missing 9 in the Chaldean system, compound numbers and the real origins of both.
Chesed and Gevurah: mercy and severity on the Tree of Life
Chesed and Gevurah, the fourth and fifth sefirot: generosity that expands and rigour that measures, with their names, symbols and balance in Kabbalah.
Chokmah and Binah: Wisdom and Understanding in Kabbalah
Chokmah and Binah, the two supernal sefirot: the flash of Wisdom and the shaping of Understanding, the Father and Mother of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Daat, the hidden sefirah: knowledge and the abyss in Kabbalah
Daat, Knowledge: why it is missing from the ten classic sefirot, its role in the Lurianic school and in Hasidism, and the abyss of Hermetic tradition.
Ein Sof: the Infinite of Kabbalah and the three veils before light
Ein Sof, the nameless Infinite of Kabbalah: origin of the term, negative theology, its link to the sefirot and the three veils of the Hermetic tradition.
The four worlds of Kabbalah: Atziluth, Beriah, Yetzirah, Assiah
The four worlds of Kabbalah from emanation to action: the verse of Isaiah, the letters of the divine Name, the elements and the levels of the soul.
Gematria: the numerical value of the Hebrew letters
What gematria is, how the value of Hebrew words is calculated, which methods exist and how the tradition reads numerical equivalences between words.
Isaac Luria and Safed Kabbalah: tzimtzum, broken vessels, tikkun
Isaac Luria's doctrine in Safed: the divine contraction, the breaking of the vessels, the scattered sparks and tikkun as the repair of the world.
Kether, the Crown: the first sefirah of the Tree of Life
Kether, the first sefirah: names, symbols and place on the Tree of Life, from the Name Ehyeh to the primordial point, read as tradition and inner work.
The life path number: calculating it from the date of birth
How to calculate the life path number from the date of birth, why the methods give different results and how the numerological tradition interprets it.
Malkuth, the Kingdom: the Shekhinah and presence in the world
Malkuth, the tenth sefirah: the Kingdom, the Shekhinah as divine presence in the world, and the symbols of the Moon, David and the Sabbath in Kabbalah.
The master numbers 11, 22 and 33: meaning in numerology
What the master numbers 11, 22 and 33 are in modern numerology, why they are not reduced, their symbolism and their possible echoes of Kabbalah.
Aleph, Mem, Shin: the three mother letters and the elements
The three mother letters of the Sefer Yetzirah: Aleph, Mem and Shin as air, water and fire, their sound, seasons, body and paths on the Tree.
The name number in Pythagorean numerology: how to calculate it
How to calculate the name number with the Pythagorean table: letter values, reduction, the soul number from vowels and the personality number.
Netzach, Hod and Yesod: the lower triad of the Tree
Netzach, Hod and Yesod, the lower triad of the sefirot: endurance, form and foundation, with divine names, planetary correspondences and an inner reading.
Notarikon and temurah: acrostics and cipher alphabets in Kabbalah
Alongside gematria, Kabbalah uses notarikon, which reads words as acrostics, and temurah, which swaps letters through alphabets such as Atbash and Albam.
Counting the Omer: 49 days through the seven sefirot
The counting of the Omer read through Kabbalah: seven weeks for seven sefirot, the combined days, Lag BaOmer and work on the inner qualities.
Pardes: the four levels of reading the sacred texts
Pardes, the «orchard» of Jewish tradition: peshat, remez, derash and sod as four levels of reading, and the story of the four sages who entered the Pardes.
Sefer Yetzirah: the Book of Formation and the 32 paths
The Sefer Yetzirah, founding text of Kabbalah: the ten sefirot belimah, the twenty-two letters, the 231 gates and a cosmos of numbers and sounds.
The Tetragrammaton YHVH: the four letters of the divine Name
The Tetragrammaton YHVH in Jewish tradition and Kabbalah: why it is not spoken, its value of 26, the twelve permutations and the link with the sefirot.
The three pillars of the Tree of Life: mercy, severity, balance
The three pillars of the Tree of Life: which sefirot form them, the link with the columns Jachin and Boaz, and how to read them as inner forces.
Tiferet, Beauty: the heart of the Tree of Life
Tiferet, the sixth sefirah and centre of the Tree of Life: harmony between mercy and severity, the Name YHVH, Jacob, the Sun and its role as mediator.
The 22 paths of the Tree of Life and the Hebrew letters
The twenty-two paths joining the sefirot: how they are numbered, why they match the Hebrew letters and how the various diagrams of the Tree differ.
The Zohar, the Book of Splendour: history and structure
The Zohar, central work of Kabbalah: its appearance in 13th-century Castile, Moses de León, the Aramaic language, its sections and main themes.