The cardinal doctrines of the Kabbalah embrace the nature of the Deity, the Divine emanations or Sephiroth, the cosmogony, the creation of angels and man, their destiny, and the import of the revealed law. According to this esoteric doctrine, God, who is boundless· and above everything, even above being and thinking, is called En Soph (aπeφoς) ; He is the space of the universe containing το παν, but the universe is not his space. In this boundlessness He could not be comprehended by the intellect or described in words, and as such the En Soph was in a certain sense À yin, non-existent (Zohar, iii. 283). To make his existence known and comprehensible, the En Soph had to become active and creative. As creation involves intention, desire, thought, and work, and as these are properties which imply limit and belong to a finite being, and moreover as the imperfect and circumscribed nature of this creation precludes the idea of its being the direct work of the infinite and perfect, the En Soph had to become creative, through the medium of ten Sephiroth or intelligences, which emanated from him like rays proceeding from a luminary.

Now the wish to become manifest and known, and hence the idea of creation, is co-eternal with the inscrutable Deity, and the first manifestation of this primordial will is called the first Sephira or emanation. This first Sephira, this spiritual substance which existed in the En Soph from all eternity, contained nine other intelligences or Sephiroth. These again emanated one from the other, the second from the first, the third from the second, and so υn up to ten.

The ten Sephiroth, which form among themselves and with the En Soph a strict unity, and which simply represent different aspects of one and the same being, are respectively denominated (1) the Crown, (2) Wisdom, (3) Intelligence, (4) Love, (5) Justice, (6) Beauty, (7) Firmness, (8) Splendour,

(9) Foundation, and

(10) Kingdom. Their evolution was as follows: “When the Holy Aged, the concealed of all concealed, assumed a form, he produced everything in the form of male and female, as things could not continue in any other form. Hence Wisdom, the second Sephira, and the beginning of development, when it proceeded from the Holy Aged (another name of the first Sephira) emanated in male and female, for Wisdom expanded, and Intelligence, the third Sephira, proceeded from it, and thus were obtained male and female, viz., Wisdom the father and Intelligence the mother, from whose union the other pairs of Sephiroth successively emanated ” (Zohar, iii. 290). These two opposite potencies, viz., the masculine Wisdom or Sephira No. 2 and the feminine Intelligence or Sephira No. 3 are joined together by the first potency, the Crown or Sephira No. 1; they yield the first triad of the Sephiric decade, and constitute the divine head of the archetypal man, as will be seen in the accompanying figure.

From the junction of Sephiroth No. 2 and 3 emanated the masculine potency Love or Mercy (4) and the feminine potency Justice (5), and from the junction of the latter two emanated again the uniting potency Beauty (6). Beauty, the sixth Sephira, constitutes the chest in the archetypal man, and unites Love (4) and Justice (5), which constitute the divine arms, thus yielding the second triad of the Sephiric decade. From this second conjunction emanated again the masculine potency Firmness (7) and the feminine potency Splendour (8), which constitute the divine legs of the archetypal man; and these sent forth Foundation (9), which is the genital organ and medium of union between them, thus yielding the third triad in the Sephiric decade. Kingdom (10), which emanated from the ninth Sephira, encircles all the other nine, inasmuch as it is the Shechina, or divine halo, which encompasses the whole by its all-glorious presence.

In their totality and unity the ten Sephiroth are not only denominated the World of Sephiroth, or the World of Emanations, but, owing to the above representation, are called the primordial or archetypal man ( = πρωτόγονον) and the heavenly man. It is this form which, as we are assured, the prophet Ezekiel saw in the mysterious chariot (Ezek. i 1-28), and of which the earthly man is a faint copy.

As the three triads respectively represent intellectual, moral, and physical qualities, the first is called the Intellectual, the second the Moral’ or Sensuous, and the third the Material World. In the figure of the archetypal man it will be seen that the three Sephiroth on the right are masculine, and represent the principle of rigour, that the three on the left are feminine and represent the principle of mercy, and that the four central or uniting Sephiroth represent the principle of mildness. Hence the right is called “the Pillar of Judgment,” the left “the Pillar of Mercy,” and the centre “the Middle Pillar.” The middle Sephiroth are synecdochically used to represent the worlds or triads of which they are the uniting potencies. Hence the Crown, the first Sephira, which unites Wisdom and Intelligence to constitute the first triad, is by itself denominated the Intellectual World. So Beauty is by itself described as the Sensuous World, and in this capacity is called the Sacred King or simply the King, whilst Kingdom, the tenth Sephira, which unites all the nine Sephiroth, is used to denote the Material World, and as such is denominated the Queen or the Matron. Thus a trinity of units, viz., the Crown, Beauty, and Kingdom, is obtained within the trinity of triads. But further, each Sephira is as it were a trinity in itself. It (1) has its own absolute character, (2) receives from above, and (3) communicates to what is below. “Just as the Sacred Aged is represented by the number three, so are all the other lights (Sephiroth) of a threefold nature” (Zohar, iii. 288). In this all-important doctrine of the Sephiroth, the Kabbalah insists upon the fact that these potencies are not creations of the En Soph, which would be a diminution of strength; that they form among themselves and with the En Soph a strict unity, and simply represent different aspects of the same being, just as the different rays which proceed from the light, and which appear different things to the eye, are only different manifestations of one and the same light; that for this reason they all alike partake of the perfections of the En Soph; and that as emanations from the Infinite, the Sephiroth are infinite and perfect like the En Soph, and yet constitute the first finite things. They are infinite and perfect when the En Soph imparts his fulness to them, and finite and imperfect when that fulness is withdrawn from them.

The conjunction of the Sephiroth, or, according to the language of the Kabbalah, the union of the crowned King and Queen, produced the universe in their own image. Worlds came into existence before the En Soph manifested himself in the human form of emanations, but they could not continue, and necessarily perished because the conditions of development which obtained with the sexual opposites of the Sephiroth did not exist. These worlds which perished are compared to sparks which fly out from a red-hot iron beaten by a hammer, and which are extinguished according to the distance they are removed from the burning mass. Creation is not ex nihilo ; it is simply a further expansion or evolution of the Sephiroth. The world reveals and makes visible the Boundless and the concealed of the concealed. And, though it exhibits the Deity in less splendour than its Sephiric parents exhibit the En Soph, because it is farther removed from the primordial source of light than the Sephiroth, still, as it is God manifested, all the multifarious forms in the world point out the unity which they represent. Hence nothing in the whole universe can be annihilated. Everything, spirit as well as body, must return to the source whence it emanated (Zohar, ii. 218). The universe consists of four different worlds, each of which forms a separate Sephiric system of a decade of emanations. They were evolved in the following order. (1) The World of Emanations, also called the Image and the Heavenly or Archetypal Man, is, as we have seen, a direct emanation from the En Soph. Hence it is most intimately allied to the Deity, and is perfect and immutable. From the conjunction of the King and Queen (i.e., these ten Sephiroth) is produced (2) the World of Creation, or the Briatic world, also called “the Throne.” Its ten Sephiroth, being farther removed from the En Soph, are of a more limited and circumscribed potency, though the substances they comprise are of the purest nature and without any admixture of matter. The angel Metatron inhabits this world. He alone constitutes the world of pure spirit, and is the garment of Shaddai, i.e., the visible manifestation of the Deity. His name is numerically equivalent to that of the Lord (Zohar, iii. 231). He governs the visible world, preserves the harmony and guides the revolutions of all the spheres, and is the captain of all the myriads of angelic beings. This Briatic world again gave rise to (3) the World of Formation, or Yetziratic World. Its ten Sephiroth, being still farther removed from the Primordial Source, are of a less refined substance. Still they are yet without matter. It is the abode of the angels, who are wrapped in luminous garments, and who assume a sensuous form when they appear to men. The myriads of the angelic hosts who people this world are divided into ten ranks, answering to the ten Sephiroth, and each one of these numerous angels is set over a different part of the universe, and derives his name from the heavenly body or element which he guards (Zohar, i. 42). From this world finally emanated (4) the World of Action, also called the World of Matter. Its ten Sephiroth are made up of the grosser elements of the former three worlds; they consist of material substance limited by space and perceptible to the senses in a multiplicity of forms. This world is subject to constant changes and corruption, and is the dwelling of the evil spirits. These, the grossest and most deficient of all forms, are also divided into ten degrees, each lower than the other. The first two are nothing more than the absence of all visible form and organization; the third degree is the abode of darkness; whilst the remaining seven are “the seven infernal halls,” occupied by the demons, who are the incarnation of all human vices. These seven hells are subdivided into innumerable compartments corresponding to every species of sin, where the demons torture the poor deluded human beings who have suffered themselves to be led astray whilst on earth. The prince of this' region of darkness is Sämäel, the evil spirit, the serpent who seduced Eve. His wife is the Harlot or the Woman of Whoredom. The two are treated as one person, and are called “the Beast” (Zohar, ii. 255-259, with i. 35).

The whole universe, however, was incomplete, and did not receive its finishing stroke till man was formed, who is the acme of the creation and the microcosm. “The heavenly Adam (fe., the ten Sephiroth) who enamated from the highest primordial obscurity (i.e., the En Soph) created the earthly Adam” (Zohar, ii. 70). “Man is both the import and the highest degree of creation, for which reason he was formed on the sixth day. As soon as man was created everything was complete, including the upper and nether worlds, for everything is comprised in man. He unites in himself all forms” (Zohar, iii. 48). Each member of his body corresponds to a part of the visible universe. “Just as we see in the firmament above, covering all things, different signs which are formed of the stars and the planets, and which contain secret things and profound mysteries studied by those who are wise and expert in these things; so there are in the skin, which is the cover of the body of the son of man, and which is like the sky that covers all things above, signs and features which are the stars and planets of the skin, indicating secret things and profound mysteries whereby the wise are attracted who understand the reading of the mysteries in the human face” (Zohar, ii. 76). The human form is shaped after the four letters which constitute the Tetragrammaton. The head is in the shape of ’, the arms and the shoulders are like ∏, the breast like % and the two legs with the back again resemble ∏ (Zohar, ii. 72). The souls of the whole human race pre-exist in the World of Emanations, and are all destined to inhabit human bodies. Like the Sephiroth from which it emanates, every soul has ten potencies, consisting of a trinity of triads. (1) The Spirit (Π0E^) j which is the highest degree of being, corresponds to and is operated upon by the Crown, which is the highest triad in the Sephiroth, and is called the Intellectual World; (2) the Soul (∏∙U), which is the seat of the moral qualities, corresponds to and is operated upon by Beauty, which is the second triad in the Sephiroth, and is called the Moral Work!; and (3) the Cruder Soul (^⅛2), which is immediately connected with the body, and is the cause of its lower instincts and the animal life, corresponds to and is operated upon by Foundation, the third triad in the Sephiroth, called the Material World. Each soul, prior to its entering into this world, consists of male and female united into one being. When it descends on this earth the two parts are separated and animate two different bodies. “At the time of marriage the Holy One, blessed be he, who knows all souls and spirits, unites them again as they were before; and they again constitute one body and one soul, forming as it were the right and the left of the individual. . . . This union, however, is influenced by the deeds of the man and by the ways in which he walks. If the man is pure and his conduct is pleasing in the sight of God, he is united with that female part of the soul which was his component part prior to his birth” {Zohar, i. 91). The soul’s destiny upon earth is to develop those perfections the germs of which are eternally implanted in it, and it ultimately must return to the infinite source from which it emanated. Hence, if, after assuming a body and sojourning upon earth, it becomes polluted by sin and fails to acquire the experience for which it descends from heaven, it must three times reinhabit a body, till it is able to ascend in a purified state through repeated trials. If, after its third residence in a human body, it is still too weak to withstand the contamination of sin, it is united with another soul, in order that by their combined efforts it may resist the pollution which by itself it was unable to conquer. When the whole pleroma of pre-existent souls in the world of the Sephiroth shall have descended and occupied human bodies and have passed their period of probation and have returned purified to the bosom of the infinite Source, then the soul of Messiah will descend from the region of souls; then the great Jubilee will commence. There shall be no more sin, no more temptation, no more suffering. Universal restoration will take place. Satan himself, “the venomous Beast,” will be restored to his angelic nature. Life will be an everlasting feast, a Sabbath without end. All souls will be united with the Highest Soul, and will supplement each other in the Holy of Holies of the Seven Halls {Zohar, i. 45, 168; ii. 97).

According to the Kabbalah all these esoteric doctrines are contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. The uninitiated cannot perceive them; but they are plainly revealed to the spiritually minded, who discern the profound import of this theosophy beneath the surface of the letters and words of Holy Writ. “If the law simply consists of ordinary expressions and narratives, such as the words of Esau, Hagar, Laban, the ass of Balaam, or Balaam himself, why should it be called the law of truth, the perfect law, the true witness of God? Each word contains a sublime source, each narrative points, not only to the single instance in question, but also to generals” {Zohar, iii. 149, cf. 152).

To obtain these heavenly mysteries, which alone make the Torah superior to profane codes, definite hermeneutical rules are employed, of which the following are the most important. (1) The words of several verses in the Hebrew Scriptures which are regarded as containing a recondite sense are placed over each other, and the letters are formed into new words by reading them vertically. (2) The words of the text are ranged in squares in such a manner as to be read either vertically or boustrophedon. (3) The words are joined together and redivided. (4) The initials and final letters of several words are formed into separate words. (5) Every letter of a word is reduced to its numerical value, and the word is explained by another of the same quantity. (6) Every letter of a word is taken to be the initial or abbreviation of a word. (7) The twenty-two letters of the alphabet are divided into two halves; one half is placed above the other; and the two letters which thus become associated are interchanged. By this permutation, Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, becomes Lamed, the twelfth letter; Beth becomes Mem, and so on. This cipher alphabet is called Albam, from the first interchangeable pairs. (8) The commutation of the twenty-two letters is effected by the last letter of the alphabet taking the place of the first, the last but one the place of the second, ana so forth. This cipher is called Atbash. These hermeneutical canons are much older than the Kabbalah. They obtained in the synagogue from time immemorial, and were used by the Christian fathers in the interpretation of Scripture. Thus Canon V., according to which a word is reduced to its numerical value and interpreted by another word of the same value, is recognized in the New Testament (comp. Rev. xiii. 18). Canon VI. is adopted by Irenaeus, who tells us that, according to the learned among the Hebrews, the name Jesus, contains two letters and a half, and signifies that Lord who contains heaven and earth D'DE> !TliT] (Against Heresies, ii.

xxiv., vol. i. p. 205, ed. Clark). The cipher Atbash (Canon VIII.) is used in Jeremiah xxv. 26, li. 41, where Sbeshach is written for Babel. In Jer. li. 1, <∣∣Q0 ∏b> Leb-Kamaι’(A. V., “the midst of them that rise up against me”), is written for DΠt2*D, Chaldaea, by the same rule.

It is necessary to advert to the relation between the Kabbalah and Christianity in order to account for the extraordinary part which this theosophy played in the Christian church, especially at the time of the Renaissance. We have already seen that the Sephiric decade, or the archetypal man, like Christ, is considered to be of a double nature, both infinite and finite, perfect and imperfect. More distinct, however, is the doctrine of the Trinity. On Deut. vi. 43, where Jehovah occurs first, then Elohênü, and then again Jehovah, we are told “The voice though one, consists of three elements, fire {i.e, warmth), air {ue., breath), and water {i.e., humidity), yet all three are one in the mystery of the voice and can only be one. Thus also Jehovah, Elohênü, Jehovah, constitute one—three forms which are one” {Zohar, ii. 43; compare iii. 65). Discussing the thrice holy in Isaiah vi. 3, one codex of the Zohar had the following remark: “The first holy denotes the Holy Father, the second the Holy Son, and the third the Holy Ghost” (comp. Galatinus, De Arcanis Cathol., lib. ii. c. 3,...