This article is taken from an excerpt in the April 2021 issue of Fraternal Review titled, “Kabbalah and Freemasonry.”
The Kabbalah is a system of Jewish mysticism, likely developed during the Second Temple era and based on the vision of Ezekiel. The Ancient History Encyclopedia states the Talmud speaks of “certain rabbis expounding the ‘secrets’ of God’s chariot.” The secrets could only be passed down orally to select students. The word comes from the Hebrew קַבָּלָה, meaning “to receive.”
In the Path of Kabbalah, Michael Laitman states that the “Creator created the creature with a desire to receive that which the Creator wanted to give him.” The Creator has the will and power to bestow. Laitman continues to state that a person receives a spiritual power in order to equalize the will of the Creator. This equalization is revealed only to one who will not use the power for personal gain, but to “bestow the contentment upon the Creator.”
THREE CATEGORIES OF KABBALAH
Theoretical aspects
Meditative aspects
Magical aspects
The theoretical deals with the spiritual worlds and souls. The meditative deals with states of consciousness. Most people tend to concentrate on the third aspect, the magical.
KABBALAH IN BOOKS
The most popular book of the Kabbalah is the Zohar, a commentary on the Torah. The Talmud and other commentaries interpret the Torah in terms of legal work. Deborah Kerdeman explains that the Zohar interprets the Torah as “a system of symbols which reveal the secret laws of the universe and even the secrets of God.” In the Zohar, God is viewed as the Ein Sof (אין סוף), literally meaning “without end.” The Ein Sof is understood to be the hidden aspects of God.
TREE OF LIFE
Masons are taught there should be Wisdom to contrive, Strength to support and Beauty to adorn. This adage comes from the Tree of Life. The Kabbalah is represented by the Tree of Life, consisting of ten spheres, referred to as Sefirot.
TEN SPHERES
The first is Kether (Crown, or the divine will of God), and the other nine sephirot are below.
The right pillar consists of Chochmah (Wisdom), Chesed (Kindness), and Netzach (Eternity). The left pillar consists of Binah (Understanding), Gevurah (Strength, Severity), and Hod (Splendor). The central pillar contains Da’at (Spiritual Discernment, or Knowledge), Tiphareth (Beauty), Yesod (Foundation), and Malkuth (Kingdom, or the Material World).
TWENTY-TWO PATHS
These are connected by 22 different paths, expressing different interactions between the Sefirot: Kingdom, Foundation, Victory, Splendor, Beauty, Mercy, Severity, Wisdom, Understanding, and Crown. The paths of the Tree of Life also correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The Sefer Yetzirah, or the Book of Creation, is generally considered to have been written by the patriarch Abraham, about 4,000 years ago. Rabbi Saadia Gaon characterizes the book as describing how things came into being, creation. It is believed that it describes how God used the ten-sphered Kabbalistic Tree of Life and the twenty-two Hebrew letters to create the universe.
THREE PILLARS
The Sephirot are divided into three Pillars. The three Sephirot on the left comprise the “Pillar of Severity,” the center is the “Pillar of Equilibrium,” and the right is known as the “Pillar of Mercy.” They allude to the qualities of God, the benign of the right modifies the rigor of the left, so that Divine Justice is always tempered by Divine Mercy.
In 1 Kings 7:15-22, Hiram Abiff casts two bronze pillars to be placed on the portico in front of the Temple. The right column was set first and named Jachin, the left was named Boaz. These pillars represent the duality of the universe. Jachin (וְיָכִין) translates to “he establishes” while Boaz (בֹעַז) translates to “in the strength of” or “in him is strength.” Jachin is the pillar of Mercy, and Boaz is the pillar of Severity. Jachin is the man and represents the Celestial Sphere, and Boaz is the woman representing the terrestrial.
Jachin and Boaz also have esoteric meaning in the Bible. Jachin appears in Genesis 46, and Boaz is mentioned in the Book of Ruth. Jachin and Boaz represent the Unity of Being and Unity of Thought. The middle pillar is Unity or Equilibrium. Unity of the being and thought is best stated in Psalms 133:1, “A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”
Written by Bro. Mark Poliner, Guest Editor