Author’s Introduction
[more elegant intro. This is an entry into my work- concluding less casual]
When I first started doing research for this paper, what most interested me was investigating de Vidas’ perspective on supernatural representations of evil such as the demons Samael and Lilith. I did not know if de Vidas saw these symbols as mere metaphors for immoral actions, or if he saw them as having some sort of literal reality. Upon further investigation of these concepts in Reishit Chochmah however, I realized that de Vidas’ view of these symbols and their relationship to physical reality is complex. He sees these symbols for evil as metaphors for sin while at the same time maintaining that these symbols have an actual reality on the supernal level. De Vidas takes this perspective on the symbols of kabbalah for granted. Perhaps this is because his community accepted this view of reality as fact.
Through looking at de Vidas’ comments about evil I realized that whether the residents of the supernal realms (demons, angels etc…) have a physical reality or not is not a concern in Reishit Chochmah. I realized that my modern biases might be preventing me from understanding how kabbalistic symbols can be both metaphor and real at the same time.
Many of the passages which I investigated that discussed evil appeared in the first Gate of Reishit Chochmah, the Gate of Yirah (or fear). In this Gate, de Vidas describes the attribute of Yirah as being the essential first step on the kabbalists’ path. While I was reading this Gate, my modern perspective on Yirah came into conflict with that expressed by de Vidas. My scientifically trained mind assumed that Yirah was simply fear of punishment from an all-powerful transcendent diety. De Vidas’ attribute of Yirah was not however, the Yirah which I assumed it was. As will be seen in this essay, de Vidas viewed Yirah as a recognition of the limits of human knowledge to grasp the mystery of God and God’s process of filling this world. Yirat chet, fear of sin, does not come from a fear of punishment, but rather from a fear of the universal consequences of human action on the entire universe and the Godhead Itself. I learned that according to de Vidas, one cannot act ethically without a recognition that God is ultimately unknowable and fills the universe (this is Yirah).
At first this idea seemed somewhat strange to me. Eventually, however, I saw that this perspective on ethical action provides a critique to the modern scientific world-view which posits that everything can ultimately be known by humanity. The scientist can only know anything scientifically by taking it apart and examining the component parts. De Vidas’ critique, however, would contend that this perspective inevitably leads to immorality.
I realized that my own initial inability to understand whether de Vidas’ symbols were metaphor or reality was related to the limited modern scientific world-view. I grasped that for de Vidas, the only way in which we can begin to understand and express how the unknowable element of reality sustains, binds and connects all levels of existence is through the symbols of the kabbalah. Symbols by their nature are 'fuzzy'. They are able to all-at-once express a multitude of conscious and unconscious meanings and associations. Carl Jung expresses this in his essay, "Approaching the Unconscious" in the book he edited called Man and His Symbols. He says,
As I have already pointed out, a dream is quite unlike a story told by the conscious mind. in everyday life one thinks out what one has to say, selects the most telling way of saying it, and tries to make one's remarks logically coherent. For instance, an educated person will seek to avoid a mixed metaphor because it may give a muddled impression of his point [...] Perhaps it may be easier to understand this point if we first realize the fact that the ideas with which we deal in our apparently disciplined waking life are by no means as precise as we'd like to believe. On the contrary, their meaning (and their emotional significance for us) becomes more imprecise the more closely we examine them... For in our daily experience, we need to state things as accurately as possible, and we have learned to discard the trimmings of fantasy both in our language and in our thoughts- thus losing a quality that is still characteristic of the primitive mind. Most of us have consigned to the unconscious all the fantastic psychic associations that every object or idea possesses. The primitive, on the other hand, is still aware of these psychic properties; he endows animals, plants, or stones with powers that we find strange and unacceptable1
The 'primitive mind' as described by Jung clearly applies to de Vidas and his contemporaries. De Vidas’ 'fuzzy' symbolic understanding of the world is essential to his acting ethically. The entrance into this symbol set is the idea of Yirah, discussed above. Yirah illustrates clearly the mindset of the 'primitive mind'. De Vidas' Yirah means accepting that there are limits to human knowledge, and that all of life is infused and interconnected through a variety of symbols with the unknowable, and each other. Jung says that the 'primitive,' "endows animals, plants, or stones with powers that we find strange and unacceptable.”2
The modern logical mind rejects these symbols as imprecise, while the 'primitive' embraces these symbols because they are able to provide a more rich and meaningful understanding of the multifaceted nature of reality.
As discussed later in this essay, De Vidas believed that different colored gems had different magical properties; "...and thus, from this one can discern the secret of precious stones and gems. There are some whose color is white, and their magical cure is favor and benevolence, and some are red and their magicial cure is to bring down terror. But everything comes from the High Root, from the Upper Attributes.” 3 His kabbalistic symbol set informs his entire reality. There are limits to human knowledge which can be gained with the logical mind, and symbols which originate from the subconscious mind are a more complete way of describing the relationship between different things in the world.
The title of the book is Reishit Chochmah, the Beginning of Wisdom. It is interesting to note that in the world of the kabbalah, the sefirah of Chochmah represents the unconscious mind, while Binah represents the conscious logical mind.4 Further, Yirah, the recognition that there are things which are impossible to understand with the logical mind is the Gate which leads to Wisdom which leads us to ethical action. In order to act ethically, we must understand our relationships symbolically.
The modern scientific worldview works on the assumption that all natural phenomena are explainable through the human intellect. In order to perform controlled experiments, it objectifies and de-mystifies the universe. This method of finding truth has provided society with many technological advances. However, its inherent flaws are that it requires that all events and things are actually comprehensible. Also, it requires an objectification of the universe which does not allow the scientist to have an effect on the object on which he or she is experimenting. The scientific method can only describe those things in the universe that we can control and objectify in a controlled experiment. The scientific world view says that we are surrounded by a universe of dead matter, and that human consciousness appears only on our planet and only developed as a result of billions of years of evolution of this dead matter. However, the human spirit cannot thrive in this dead universe. This universe of dead matter which is controllable through the human intellect does not allow for moral behavior.
De Vidas’ view is that universal Consciousness preceded matter, and that all matter is animated by this Consciousness. When we sin, as seen in Chaper 7 of the Gate of Yirah (my primary translation), we are denying that this animating higher Consciousness exists, and that we are all connected to it. We deny that our every action causes the trans-universal effect that de Vidas believes it does. We therefore fall into the grasp of Samael obscuring the flow of light from the Ein Sof, and separating ourselves from the rest of creation.{Woah- too much too fast]
In "rational societies" as Jung calls them, we have lost this worldview which allows us to empathize with creation, recognize the limits of our understanding, and therefore act ethically. In Jung's words, "...in our civilized life, we have stripped so many ideas of their emotional energy, we do not really respond to them any more.”5
In the case of de Vidas, and the non-rational mind, these emotionally charged supernatural symbols are essential in developing a sense of Yirah which is the first step in an ethical life. Ethical life requires a symbolic understanding of reality which cannot be logically explained or quantified. Jung says, "Something more is needed to bring certain things home to us effectively enough to make us change our attitude and our behavior. That is what 'dream language' does; its symbolism has so much psychic energy that we are forced to pay attention to it.”6
Jung describes our modern rational minds’ unfortunate loss of Yirah in the modern world: [is this de vidas’ yirah? Jung’s crit of mid 20th c modern view inspired me to think of how we can use symbols in recon]]
What psychologists call psychic identity, or 'mystical participation,' has been stripped off our world of things. But it is exactly this halo of unconscious associations that gives a colorful and fantastic aspect to the primitive's world. We have lost it to such a degree that we do not recognize it when we meet it again. With us such things are kept below the threshold; when they occasionally reappear, we even insist that something is wrong[...] We are so accustomed to the apparently rational nature of our world that we can scarcely imagine anything happening that cannot be explained by common sense[...]The attitude of modern civilized man sometimes reminds me of a psychotic patient in my clinic who was himself a doctor. One morning I asked him how he was. He replied that he had had a wonderful night disinfecting the whole of heaven with mercuric chloride, but that in the course of this through-going sanitary process he had found no trace of G-d. Here we see a neurosis or something worse. Instead of G-d or 'fear of G-d,' there is an anxiety neurosis or some kind of phobia. The emotion has remained the same, but its object has changed both its name and nature for the worse[...]
For one finds that many dreams present images and associations that are analogous to primitive ideas, myths, rites. These dream images were called 'archaic remnants' by Freud; the phrase suggests that they are psychic elements surviving in the human mind from ages long ago. This point of view is characteristic of those who regard the unconscious as a mere appendix of consciousness (or, more picturesquely, as a trash can that collects all the refure of the conscious mind).
Further investigation suggested to me that this attitude is untenable and should be discarded. I found that associations and images of this kind are an integral part of the unconscious, and can be observed everywhere- whether the dreamer is educated or illiterate, intelligent or stupid. They are not in any sense lifeless or meaningless 'remnants.' They still function, and they are especially valuable[...] 7
The modern scientific perspective that contradicts de Vidas is a perspective held by Mordecai Kaplan as a (some would argue essential) aspect of Reconstructionist theology. Kaplan’s perspective is clearly stated in the following quote:
To the modern man, religion can no longer be a matter of entering into relationship with the supernatural. The only kind of religion that can help him live and get the most out of life will be the one which will teach him to identify as divine or holy whatever in human nature or in the world about him enhances human life. Men must no longer look upon God as a reservoir of magic power to be tapped whenever they are aware of their physical limitations. It was natural for primitive man to do so. He sought contact with his god or gods primarily because he felt the need of supplementing his own limited powers with the external forces which he believed were controlled by the gods.8
[delete] As a result of the prevalence of this idea in Kaplan’s thought, I decided for the translation piece of my master’s thesis to translate a passage that describes de Vidas’ attribute of Yirah and its relationship to ethical action. I wanted to use de Vidas’ Yirah to make an argument against Kaplan’s modernist view of God, which I feel is still held by many Reconstructionists today. This critique would posit that ethical action is ultimately impossible without a recognition of the supernatural.
I chose as my primary text for translation Yirah 7, which is about Yirah and yirat chet. This was a perfect text to illustrate how ethical action for de Vidas arises from an awareness of the supernatural. It is my hope that the presentation of this text provides the reader with a counterpoint to Kaplan’s naturalist theology. Perhaps Reconstructionists who read this paper will realize that Yirah and supernatural theology are more complex than Kaplan’s estimation of them as primitive.
The second text which I translated in this paper was Ahavah 4: 30-32. I chose to include a text from Ahavah as well in my paper because through my investigation of Yirah, I discovered that for de Vidas, Yirah and Ahavah form an inseparable pair. One cannot simply refrain from unethical actions out of fear that they will have a trans-universal effect. In addition to fear, the acolyte must also cultivate Love. De Vidas says,
My teacher, may peace be upon him wrote regarding this passage [from the Zohar] [...] that the intent is that one should have fear that one will not cause, by reason of one’s sins, a separation of the Shechinah from the name YHVH, which is Tiferet. He should say in his heart, ‘how can I cause the separation of lovers and friends through my own sins’...and we will find that it is this aspect of Yirah that brings us to Ahavah, because it is not enough that one does not sin, but rather, one should try to do the mitzvot to unify and bring Ahavah closer [...] of course, if one is only afraid of the punishment, one will not fulfill the mitzvot.9
According to de Vidas, Yirah corresponds to the negative commandments, while Ahavah corresponds to the positive ones. Ahavah is added as a motivator for action, “so that one will do the mitzvot and the Torah from the heart and from the soul with a great desire.”10 One must not solely refrain from unethical actions because she is afraid of damaging the universe, she must also perform ethical actions out of a love of God. This idea is essential to understanding de Vidas’ theology. This is why I decided to include a passage from Ahavah.
There are a few reasons why I chose this particular passage from Ahavah (4: 30-32) as my second translation text. First, this passage is short and easy to read because it includes a [pandering] I thought that my readers would prefer de Vidas’ narrative style to his expository style. Second, this text is special in that the story that is attributed to Yitzhak of Acco is not seen in any of Yitzhak of Acco’s extant manuscripts. In addition, according to Moshe Idel, this story is essential to understanding the idea of devekut (clinging to God).11 Third, this section of Reishit Chochmah has personal significance for me. Before I began researching the Reishit Chochmah I had already been exposed to Ahavah 4: 30-32 through a live telling of the tale on a tape called “Stories of Longing,” by Eve Ilsen. At that time I was unaware that the Reishit Chochmah was the story’s source. This story was one of my favorite Jewish stories, so when I realized that Reishit Chochmah was the tale’s source, I decided to include a translation of it in my paper.
The fourth reason I chose this text is that it demonstrates that lust is not a negative[new word- phrase positi]. This passage encourages us to have sexual longing. Our perception of medieval values seems to contract this, and yet de Vidas says in the end of this passage, “one who has never desired a woman is similar to an ass or worse...”
Over time, however, I have come to truly love this text. My current feelings about this text are beautifully demonstrated in a story told by a rabbi of Poland in the 18th century about Reishit Hokhmah: “Jacob Shraga reports that when his son Menahem was dying, the latter requested his father to give him a copy of Reishit ochmah. Menahem opened the book to a certain passage in ‘The Gate of Holiness’, which he had been studying before he fell ill, and placed it on his head. According to his father, Menahem wept and cried out, ‘Woe unto me that I am going to be separated from this holy book!’”12
Tzfat, Mystical Ethics and Reishit Chochmah
Reishit Chochmah was written between 1570 and 1575 CE in the town of Tzfat in northern Israel by Eliyahu de Vidas. It used the classics of Jewish writing (the Talmud, midrash, Torah etc.) to teach ethics (musar). Many other Jewish medieval writings dealt with ethics. What distinguishes this work is that it was among the first pieces of Jewish literature that also utilized Jewish mystical (kabbalistic) thought, including the Zohar (which it quotes extensively), to explain the importance of ethical behavior. Similar manuscripts written during this period include Azikri's13 Sefer Haredim and Cordovero's Tomer Devorah, also written in the town of Tzfat. These texts popularized kabbalah by creating a format that was both accessible and acceptable for the ordinary Jew.14 According to Gershom Scholem, these efforts at the mass dissemination of kabbalah utilizing ethical concepts was successful,15 having had an influence on generations of Jews until the present day.
The unique town of Tzfat was the epicenter for these Kabbalists. Perhaps this is why their approach was so successful. Tzfat was a pietistic community where the entire population of Jews practiced Judaism with a special zeal and depth of spiritual creativity.
There were many unique practices, prayers and philosophies that were developed in Tzfat. Rabbis of Tzfat, such as Moshe Cordovero and Shlomo Alkabetz headed small groups of spiritually focused Jews. A resident of Tzfat could be a member of one of these groups and also be a member of one of Tzfat’s many synagogues (e.g.- Sefardic, Ashkenazic or Arabic (Mustarab)). Some examples of these groups of haverim were the Associates (Haverim), and the Tent of Peace (Sukkat Shalom).16 Each had their own specific practices. For example, the Haverim headed by Alkabetz and Cordovero would trek out to the graves of Talmudic rabbis in the hills, sometimes barefoot, prostrate themselves on the graves, have esoteric discussions, and experience automatic speech.17 Werblowsky calls this practice “‘automatic thinking.’”18 According to Cordovero in Tomer Devorah, they did this in order to imitate the exile of the Shechinah.19
The Haverim, in addition to the other groups, also developed codes of behavior for their members. An example of this are the hanhagot or moral precepts of Cordovero which were not meant exclusively for the guidance of their author, but formed a sort of handbook for the Haverim.20 The hanhagot were ethical precepts, demanding the highest level of compassion. These precepts demanded more stringency than that required by normative Jewish law in the 613 mitzvot.21
All of the groups in Tzfat had their own hanhagot. The Society of Penitents, for example, were known for their severe ascetic practices. 22 Members of this group fasted during the day, and sometimes for several days during the day and night. Some of them would put on sack cloth and ashes and mortify themselves in order to bring atonement. De Vidas describes the practices of the Society of Penitents as follows; “I saw many of them rise in the middle of the night, when they would commence to study, which occupied them until the morning, and then fast the whole day. All this they were able to accomplish by special Divine aid, for man does not live by bread alone.”23
Not all of the practices were ascetic and disciplinary. For example, HaLevi Berukhim describes a group whose only purpose was “rejoicing at the conclusion of every Sabbath.”24
Day to day life for the entire Jewish community of Tzfat was imbued with religiosity. This informed the practical ethics of Tzfat’s kabbalistic musar literature. The members of the Jewish community who came from many different nations, worked together to foster a sense of repentance, morality, learning and spirituality in each other. They also had an intense yearning that the Messiah would come soon to redeem the Jewish people, and repair the primal fault of the universe, the exile of the Shechinah (the presence of God).
They had a collective view of sin, good deeds and atonement. By exhibiting a higher level of piety through the performance of specific mitzvot and by seeking atonement for their own sins and the sins of others, they believed that they would help hasten the redemption (and restore the Shechinah from exile). To atone, Isaac Luria25 prescribed to some of his followers that they should fast and lie on the ground for forty days, rolling naked in the snow and on thorns “for especially egregious sins.”26
In addition to redemption, many of Tzfat’s residents were motivated by a specific belief in reincarnation (gilgul). In his Sefer Ha-Gilgulim, Hayim Vital 27gives insights into the concept of reincarnation and its relationship to the mitzvot:
There are righteous people, lesser in degree than others, who have rested in the next world, and there are righteous people who are very great, such as Moses, our master, of whom it is said in the Tikkunim that his duration lasts until sixty myriad generations. The reason for this distinction is that Moses needs to complete his portion, which is very great and his transmigrations are not completed so soon [as others].
Through this, one can also understand that there are righteous people who die in their youth, such as Rabbi Bun, who did not die (kareth) because of a transgression. Rather he died because he had already completed what he needed to complete of all the six hundred and thirteen commandments and other things; that is why he died in his youth...28
Redemption was seen as a collective process performed by the souls of the world throughout time. Therefore, when a person sinned their actions were viewed as hindering this process and harming the universe. This belief was a strong motivation for ethical behavior.
There were many other innovative ritualistic practices that came from their kabbalistic belief system. As an example, every night a group of men would meet in the synagogue at midnight, to pray, study, and mourn the exile of the Shechinah in an attempt to hasten the redemption. The source of this ritual is The Zohar, which describes midnight as being a particularly auspicious time for the study of Torah.29 The Zohar bases this idea on a passage from the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Megillah (12b). Elliott Horowitz relates the popularization of this ritual to the consumption of coffee30 in the Middle East. De Vidas extensively discusses the practice of awakening at midnight to study Torah and asserts that it is an “obligation.”31 This ritual32 was adopted by some Jews in later centuries.33
Also, Tzfat’s mystics meditated for long periods of time on Biblical verses, and combinations of the syllables in the names of God, which were intended to result in the unification of the bifurcated forces above and below.34 Vital describes how he would lay on the graves of Talmudic sages, perform unification meditations, and be blessed with a visitation from the spirit of a departed sage who would provide help and advice.35
Tzfat was also a town of Jewish legalists. Most leaders of the ascetic and mystical movements were also distinguished scholars.36 The prime example of this is Joseph Karo, who wrote the Shulchan Aruch.
However, the demarcation between mystic and legalist was blurry. As an example, Joseph Karo was occasionally possessed by a maggid (a benevolent spirit) who instructed him and his disciples. The Maggid Meisharim provides accounts of these possessions,37 likely induced through a combination of sleep deprivation, fasting and constant recital of the Mishnah. From Karo, we see that even the rabbis of Tzfat who focused on the sober details of halacha believed intensely in the supernatural, along with the power of ritual and ethical action to effect positive change which would resonate on a supernatural level.
Clearly the primary motivation of the town was to bring redemption and heal the universe through good deeds. This is the essence of de Vidas’, mystical-ethical perspective. In the introduction to the Reishit Chochmah de Vidas states: “The existence of the truth is known, that the main idea behind engagement in Torah learning is to bring one to fulfill his learning through action.”38
Why Tzfat, and Why was it Successful?
Tzfat was not mentioned in the Torah or the Talmud. Its first appearance in Jewish history dates from about the thirteenth century.39 In 1490, it had such a small Jewish community that Peretz Colobo, the religious leader of Tzfat at the time, “had to maintain a small grocery in order to support himself, the community being too small to pay him.”40 By 1603 however, it contained not less than eighteen Talmudic yeshivot and twenty-one synagogues, besides a large school for the children of the poor, with twenty teachers, and four hundred pupils, “maintained by wealthy Jews in Constantinople, who also provided the latter with clothes.”41
So why did Tzfat, this small town in the Galilean hills in northern Turkish controlled Palestine become such an important Jewish community? Most people attribute this to the destruction of the great centers of Jewish learning in Europe during the Inquisition.42 Joseph Dan describes the evolution as follows: "Scores of Jewish communities, which for many centuries produced Jewish scholars, poets, philosophers, and halakhists, vanished at the stroke of a monarch's pen. The most firmly established Jewish families in Europe, which for centuries were the focus of the financial and political power of European Jewry, became scattered refugees [...]”43
The need for a new center for Jewish thought and culture to replace Spain combined with an emotional and philosophical need to reinvigorate Jewish theology to account for persecution.44 The extensive phenomenon of the conversos probably also contributed to the desire to form a center which would help maintain Jewish (particularly Sefardic) culture.
History provided an opportunity for the Jewish community to develop this new center in Palestine when it was seized from the Egyptian Mamluks by the Turks (led by Selim I) in the years 1516-1517. The Turks had an amicable and benevolent relationship with the Jews in Palestine, although they were the ruling power. In particular, the Sultan who succeeded Selim I, Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566), “left his mark on Eretz-Israel by means of construction projects, economic rehabilitation, and augmented trade and industry.”45 The current walls of Jerusalem’s old city were built by Suleiman to protect its residents from Beduin incursion.46
In the Book of Visions (Sefer Hezyonot) the diary of Chaim Vital, the relationship between the Turks and Jews is evident. There was probably some degree of spiritual intermingling. Chayim Vital, even mentions consulting a “magician and sorcerer”47 who is Muslim.
Why was Tzfat, a non-biblical city, selected as the new epicenter over Jerusalem? One possible reason is that the Ottoman government did not tax the Jews in Tzfat as heavily as they did in Jerusalem.
Another important factor was Tzfat’s location. Tzfat was located closest to Syria, was on the Damascus-Acre highway, and a number of Talmudic scholars (including Shimon Bar Yochai) were supposedly buried nearby. In addition, it was thought that the Messiah would appear in the Galilee region.
Tzfat probably also developed into a huge center because of its natural resources. It had a “plentiful water supply and rich agricultural hinterland […]”48 which “enhanced its position as the preferred site for the establishment of a broad-based textile industry […]”49 Also, according to David, “A significant portion of this industry’s world- renowned wares were exported to foreign markets.”50 David says later on that, “only a minority settled in Jerusalem, which offered fewer economic opportunities by comparison.”51
Tzfat developed as the response of the Jewish community to great losses. It drew wide financial and moral support from the world Jewish community, and particularly from the previously mentioned Jews in Constantinople and Damascus52 who sent wool to encourage the wool industry in Tzfat, and charity for the town's poor. World Jewry's attempts to create an epicenter for Jewish culture in Tzfat were extremely successful53 producing new Jewish ritual, theory and poetry adopted by large segments of the Jewish world.
A possible reason for the success of the rabbis of Tzfat in disseminating their message was the discovery of printing by Guttenberg c. 1450. By 1475 the first book was printed in Hebrew 54 and by 1490, over a hundred Hebrew titles had been published, putting the tools of scholarship into the hands of almost everyone.55 There was a great need to systematize all of this newly published information. It would seem that the rabbis of Tzfat helped fulfill this role.
De Vidas’s Reishit Chochmah draws from many earlier Jewish texts, synthesizing and systematizing them. The invention of the printing press must have had an effect on his use of such a wide variety of sources, and the successful dissemination of his mystical-ethical message.
Eliyahu de Vidas, the Author of Reishit Chochmah, His Life, His Friends, and Ethical Kabbalah
Though little is known about particulars of the life of Eliyahu de Vidas, a certain amount can be speculated from incidental comments in Reishit Chochmah and a few details can be gleaned from corroborating historical facts. Eliyahu De Vidas was probably born between 1522 (the year of birth of his teacher Moshe Cordovero) and 1542 (the year of birth of one of his contemporaries- Chayim Vital). His family was likely of Sefardic descent given their family name, and the great migration of Sefardic families to Tzfat during the 16th century.
In terms of recorded members of De Vidas's family, we know another scholar of Sefardic origin named Shmuel Ben Habib de Vidas, who was the author of a commentary on the book of Eicha published in Salonika (the birthplace of Cordovero's teacher Alkabetz) in 1596. We also know that Eliyahu De Vidas was the brother-in-law of Shalom HaCohen, a teacher in Tzfat, and grandfather of the author of the work Ma’aseh Tuvia.56
We do not really know where de Vidas was born. He may have been born in Tzfat, or his family may have migrated there after he was born.57 We do know that he was raised in Tzfat and studied Torah with the great scholars there like Cordovero, Luria, Avraham HaLevi Berukhim, and Shlomo Alkabetz. ’58 We also know that de Vidas wrote Reishit Chochmah in Tzfat.
Moshe Cordovero (1522-1570) was one of Tzfat’s great teachers of mystical knowledge. He was the brother-in-law and student in esoteric matters of Shlomo Alkabetz (c. 1505-1584). Alkabetz,59 a native of Salonika who moved to Tzfat, was a famous scholar, ritual innovator, and poet.
At first, Alkabetz taught Cordovero and was head of an academy in Tzfat dedicated to esoteric studies. After a time, Cordovero and Alkabetz switched roles, and Cordovero became the principal master of esoteric studies in Tzfat. 60 In exoteric matters Cordovero was a disciple of Yosef Karo (1488-1575).61
Although Karo apparently thought highly of Cordovero and his abilities as a rabbinical scholar,62 he is best known for his mystical works. Among these works are Pardes Rimmonim, Tomer Devorah, Elimah Rabbati and Or Ne’erav.
The Pardes Rimmonim is generally known as one of the first clear explanations of kabbalah, which synthesized past trends in kabbalah, and illustrated the logical dialectical emanation of the sefirot 63 from the primordial Will of Ein Sof.64 It also dealt with many other kabbalistic concepts, such as colors, names of God, and kavvanot. Cordovero completed this work at the age of 26. He wrote other kabbalistic works such as Elimah Rabbati (a commentary on the Zohar’s Idrot), and Or Ne’erav (an introduction to his Kabbalah), but most important to us in this discussion is his work combining kabblah and ethics- Tomer Devorah. Though Cordovero wrote Tomer Devorah before Reishit Chochmah, it was published afterward.
De Vidas and Cordovero were very close. Waldman, in his introduction to Reishit Chochmah, quotes Vital (Likkutei Torah) who talked about Luria’s perspective on the relationship between the two men: “The Ari described the deep spiritual connection between the rabbi and his student. In a past life, the two of them were Benayahu son of Yehoaida who was reincarnated through Zechariah the prophet who was killed. Afterwards, his ruach and nefesh split into the two righteous gentiles Shemayah and Avtalyon [...] afterwards his ruach reincarnated into Moshe Cordovero, and his nefesh into Eliyahu de Vidas, who wrote Reishit Chochmah. Thus they loved each other.”65
In Tomer Devorah, Cordovero discusses the performance of ethical behavior as a form of imitation of divine qualities. He takes each of the sefirot, and explains what ethical qualities one needs to achieve in order to be like God on that particular level. Ethical action in Tomer Devorah is transformed into a mystical practice. The result of this is that we not only help ourselves when we are ethical, but we are also able to contribute to the repair of the universe, unifying the Kadosh Baruch Hu and the Shechinah. Perhaps the ethical nature of the Tomer Devorah is just a pre-requesite for the more meditative kabbalah of Pardes Rimmonim.
We know that De Vidas knew Isaac Luria,66 as he mentions him on five separate occasions in Reishit Chochmah. We also know that De Vidas knew Chayim Vital, as Vital mentions De Vidas and Luria together in Shaar Ruach HaKodesh.:
[...] I asked my teacher [Luria] about the use of magical names in practical kabbalah which is prohibited by later kabbalists, and how R' Yishmael and R' Akiva in the Heichalot passages used awesome Names [...] and he answered me[...] that in their time [....] they were completely pure of all impurities[...] but we are impure like the dead […] R' Eliyahu De Vidas told me that he had also asked my teacher this question mentioned above, that we found that we saw all the earlier rabbis using names. He answered him [...] that even the angel of Death is made a friend of the perfectly righteous [...] If one has no sin whatsoever, and no prosecutor to judge him when he dies [...] until even the Angel of Death becomes his friend- then this type of man can use the Blessed Names and not be punished [...] Another time my teacher answered this man mentioned above [De Vidas] in another way. His answer was, 'Know that all the names and amulets that we find written now in books are flawed...even those of experts have many mistakes in them. Therefore, it is forbidden to use them’ [...] 67
Vital also relays several yichudim (special mystical meditations) that Luria gave to De Vidas68. It seems that de Vidas was the only person to have been given such instructions who was not a formal disciple of Luria.69
As I just discussed, Vital mentions De Vidas in conjunction with Luria and De Vidas mentions Luria five70 times in Reishit Chochmah. This all demonstrates some sort of relationship between De Vidas and Luria. Despite this, Reishit Chochmah bears little of uniquely Lurianic teachings, focusing more on the kabbalistic model of Cordovero. Is there such a great difference between Luria and Cordovero’s kabbalistic models? According to Cordovero himself, Cordovero’s system only differs from Luria’s in that he dealt more with the sefirot, and Luria dealt more with the partzufim.71
According to Dan, Luria’s system is extremely similar to Cordovero’s, but Luria’s theology contained “three powerful symbols...tzimzum, the ‘contraction’ of the Godhead; the shevirah, the ‘breaking’ of the divine ‘vessels’;...and tikkun, the ‘mending’ of the divine realm and the redemption.”72 De Vidas does mention the ten klipot or broken vessels in the context of evil (Yirah 8:17) and tikkun in reference to the mitzvot and reincarnation (Yirah 13:85), though the specific words tzimtzum (contraction) and nitzotz (spark of holiness) seem to be lacking from Reishit Chochmah. Also, Cordovero deals with the idea of tzimtzum in Pardes Rimmonim.
Possibly the distinction between the two systems derives from their different countries of origin. Cordovero’s kabbalistic system emanates from Salonika and the Spanish elite high-culture (from Alkabetz and Yosef Taitzach), while Luria’s comes from Egypt. Whatever the differences, it is clear that the same basic premise of causing universal and theurgic changes through ethical action is presented by both Luria and Cordovero. It is also clear that Cordovero and Luria influenced de Vidas, but he considered Cordovero his principal teacher.
Cordovero died in the summer of 1570, the same year that Isaac Luria arrived in Tzfat from Egypt. Unfortunately, Luria only lived in Tzfat for two years as he died at age 38, in August, 1572.73 According to legend, before Cordovero died, he predicted that his successor as head of the mystical academy in Tzfat would be the one who would see a pillar of fire escorting his coffin.74 Luria was the one who saw the fire.
1570 was also the year that de Vidas began writing Reishit Chochmah. It is not known whether or not he actually began writing before Cordovero’s death. Most of the text was clearly written after Cordovero’s death. In Shaar HaYirah of Reishit Chochmah, De Vidas mentions seeing Cordovero in a dream three months after his death,
I, the writer [De Vidas] in the year 5330 (1570) had a dream in which [the] soul [of Cordovero] came to me from ‘that world,’ about three months after his death. I knew that he was dead, and I asked him all the matters concerning ‘that world’. However, he only told me about issues of hibbut hakever75 at length. Afterwards, he said to me that they judge in that world and punish for the details of things more than a person could conceive, and those who stay behind [on earth] should listen and fear.76
Many assume that de Vidas began writing after Cordovero’s death. However, an apocryphal story77 seems to contradict this. The story relates that de Vidas showed a part of Reishit Chochmah to Cordovero, and Cordovero asked if he really fulfilled everything he mentions in Reishit Chochmah.78
De Vidas completed Reishit Chochmah on the 18th of Adar, 5335 (1575). It was sent to a publisher in Venice in the same year, but was not printed until 1579. As mentioned above, the Tomer Devorah was not printed until 1589.
It is likely that de Vidas wrote Reishit Chochmah as an introductory manual to Cordovero’s kabbalistic teachings, particularly the Pardes Rimmonim. De Vidas discusses his reasons for writing Reishit Chochmah:
[…] because I was given the authority to copy my teacher's book, 'Pardes,' and the truth is [...] one who tries to enter into the Inner Wisdom without repentance and good acts will never enter into the Wisdom [...] therefore I set out to create this book- to explain the ways that one who would enter into the Wisdom needs [...] For this reason I called it 'Reishit Chochmah’ (The Beginning of Wisdom'- it is a beginning and an entrance into the Inner Wisdom).79
“Inner Wisdom” signifies the kabbalistic symbol set of Cordovero, and of Tzfat’s kabbalah in general.
The exact date of de Vidas’ death is unknown. It is clear that he had already passed away by the year 1593, the date of the second printings of Reishit Chochmah in Venice and Cracow.80 Some think that he died between the years 1579 (the date of the first printing of Reishit Chochmah when we know he was still alive) and 1585.81
Reishit Chochmah has influenced many subsequent generations of Jews, and even Shabbatians.82 Examples of famous Jewish figures influenced by Reishit Chochmah are Isaiah Horowitz, the 17th century rabbi who wrote the mystical-ethical work, the Shnei Luchot HaBrit, and the Baal Shem Tov (Reishit Chochmah was extremely influential for the entire hasidic movement).83
Finally, according to Fine, who translated pieces of Jacob Poyetto’s condensed version of Reishit Chochmah, a sign of Reishit Chochmah’s popularity is that it was subjected to many adaptations and digests.84
Reishit Chochmah was written as an introduction manual and compendium to the wisdom of Tzfat, and the circle of Tzfat’s teachers of mysticism and piety (Cordovero, Alsheich, Alkabetz, Luria, Karo). It functions as a moral commentary on existing Jewish texts and was influenced by many different sources. With the variety of texts that it cites, it also ends up functioning as a compendium of Jewish sources. As stated earlier, since the printing press had just recently been created anthologies of texts were probably needed85. Some of de Vidas’ sources are not even available to modern scholarship in their original version (e.g.- the Yitzhak of Acco story from Shaar Ahavah translated later on in this essay.)
In Reishit Chochmah, De Vidas begins by introducing a certain mystical ethical concept, for example, Yirah. He then quotes a wide variety of sources such as midrash and Talmud to prove his mystical ethical point. The array of sources that he quotes or paraphrases from can be divided into three categories:86 1) Talmudic and midrashic sources especially Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, a work about morals 2) Non-kabbalistic texts from the medieval period which he integrates into his ethical kabbalistic framework. Some of these sources are Sefer Hareidim by Eliezer Azikri, Menorat ha-Ma’or by Isaac Aboab, Sefer ha-Yashar attributed to Rabbenu Tam, Menorat ha-Ma’or by Israel Alnaqawa and Chovot Ha-Levavot (Duties of the Heart), by R’ Bachya ibn Pekuda (1050-1120).87 3) Kabbalistic texts such as Ha-Bahir, and Brit Menuhah.88
Most important of all to de Vidas was the Zohar, which he quotes extensively. He reproduces many long passages. Besides his teacher Cordovero, the Zohar can be said to be de Vidas’ greatest influence. Practically every chapter of Reishit Chochmah has a quote from the Zohar. According to Fine, De Vidas occasionally quotes a zoharic passage out of context and then interprets it to suit his ethical message.89
In addition, De Vidas quotes many teachings that he received from Cordovero. Cordovero also combined zoharic mysticism and ethics in Tomer Devorah. However, de Vidas’ explanation of the ethical mystical symbol set is much more long and drawn out given the number and variety of sources he interprets.
Reishit Chochmah is structured as five Gates (each one a book): 1) The Gate of Fear (Yirah), 2) the Gate of Love (Ahavah), 3) the Gate of Repentance (Teshuvah), 4) the Gate of Holiness (Kedushah) 5) the Gate of Humility (Anavah).90 Many shortened versions of Reishit Chochmah have been written. In Reishit Chochmah HaKatzar by Jacob Poyetto, the chapters are in a different order: 1) Repentance, 2) Holiness, 3) Humility, 4) Fear 5) Love. It is clear from the introduction to the original Reishit Chochmah that de Vidas felt that any introduction to the inner wisdom should start with cultivating a sense of Yirah. It is also clear that de Vidas intentionally placed Yirah and Ahavah as the first two Gates of the volume. Fine says, “This reordering, as well as an analysis of the kind of material he chose to include, suggests that Poyetto was primarily interested in making available to readers the practical dimensions of de Vidas’ work. Nonetheless, it is important to note that Poyetto’s version is not lacking in conceptual and theoretical discussion.”91
I feel that when de Vidas placed Yirah and Ahavah first, he revealed his moral and religious priorities, and perhaps those of Tzfat’s rabbis as well. Poyetto had different priorities, so he reordered the Gates.
Each Gate has from 7 to 17 portions, or chapters. The structure in each Gate may vary, but the subject is treated similarly by engaging in several different levels of discussion.92
As an example of the kinds of topics discussed in an average Gate, the chapter headings for the Gate of Yirah (the main focus of my translation) are as follows:
1) An explanation of the nature of Yirah; 2) Things which inspire the “Inner Yirah” talked about in the first chapter; 3) An explanation of Yirah due to shame; 4) An explanation of several aspects of fear of sin; 5) An explanation of the manner of Yirah which comes from the side of the defect which arrives above in the Shechinah; 6) About the care a person should take to distance himself from the tricks of the Yetzer HaRa, and the sins that a person repeatedly goes after; 7) An explanation of the disgrace of sin; 8) An explanation of Yirah so that one’s soul will not be pushed to the outside on its ascension above; 9) An explanation of the defect of sin in one’s body, in one’s neshamah and in the Shechinah; 10) An explanation of the remaining aspects of the defect; 11) A few specifics about Yirah because of Judgement; 12) An explanation of Yirah because of death, and the remainder of things which depend on it; 13) An explanation of the specifics of the sins which we are punished for in Gehinom, and the meaning of gehinom.; 14) An explanation of Yirah because of punishment and death; 15) Some specifics of things that the Fearful (HaYarei) should do so that Yirah will be recognized in him93
Other Gates’ chapters proceed in the same way, introducing one of the five attributes, explaining its place in relation to the other attributes, then, in later chapters, providing a deeper explanation of issues involved with the essence of attribute, and finally, ways to inspire and maintain the attribute.94
The Mystical Ethical Symbol Set of the Reishit Chochmah, Some Mystical Ethical Concepts, and the Concept of Yirah as the First Step in Approaching this System.
The mystics of 16th century Tzfat approached every moment with a sense of awe and reverence. To them everything in this physical world corresponded to a kabbalistic symbol on high. This is also the Reishit Chochmah’s perspective, and that of Tzfat’s kabbalistic ethical literature in general. Tzfat’s kabbalistic ethical literature intellectually interprets the world and the mitzvot through the symbol set of kabblah.
Yosef Dan asserts, “The new kabbalistic ethical literature did not teach its readers what to do; this they knew from halakhic and earlier ethical works. It taught their readers a new meaning for the traditional demands, denoting the vast significance that these symbols carried for the cosmos, for the Jewish people as a whole, and even, in a theurgic way, for the completeness of the divine realm itself.”95
De Vidas and his contemporaries and teachers (Azikri, Cordovero, Luria, Vital) practiced a form of ethical theurgy. Their kabbalistic and ethical beliefs are combined, creating a world of purpose, compassion and order.
Ein Sof, Malchut and Yirah
Tzfat’s mystics believed that the source of everything in the universe is Ein Sof, Without End, the Infinite Light.96 Ein Sof’s “light” goes through a limiting process (described in depth in Cordovero’s Pardes Rimmonim), in order to continually pour its life force into all of creation.
De Vidas discusses the Ein Sof in the beginning of Reishit Chochmah in the context of the quality of Yirah (Fear or Awe). The first step in a persons’ ascent towards the holiness of Ein Sof and compassion of Chochmah (inner Wisdom) is the acquisition of Yirah, which is in itself a recognition of the greatness of the Ein Sof.97
In Tomer Devorah, Cordovero places the quality of Yirah in the chapter on the sefirah of Malchut.98 Also, the traditional kabbalistic association is of Yirah and the Shechinah. In spite of this, in a quote which will appear later in this essay, we will see that Yirah in Reishit Chochmah is only obtained through a recognition of the esoteric nature of the Ein Sof and Keter.99
Yirah is the basis of Reishit Chochmah. The book derives its name from the quote in Psalms: “Reishit Chochmah yirat HaShem sechel tov le’chol oseyhem [The Beginning of Wisdom is the fear/awe/Yirah of God, a good understanding to all who do the commandments.]” As I mentioned above, the traditional kabbalistic association of Yirah with the Shechinah places Yirah at the beginning of any mystical quest.100
As I also mentioned above, Reishit Chochmah is an instruction manual for those who wish to enter specifically into the study of Cordovero’s inner wisdom. De Vidas feels that the first step on the path to the inner wisdom of Cordovero’s kabbalah, and the mystical quest in general, is this attribute of Yirah.
In the quote from Psalms, Yirah is intimately connected with ethical action. De Vidas draws this connection out in his introduction, citing several different sources. He says:
It is known to be true that the main point of engaging in Torah learning is to bring one to fulfill their learning through action. As they (the rabbis) interpreted in tractate Brachot, the second portion (17, A): ‘There was a jewel in the mouth of Rava: ‘The purpose of Wisdom is repentance and good acts. This is so that one will not learn and repeat one’s learning, and then proceed to despise one’s father, mother, one’s rabbi, and anyone one who is greater than one in wisdom or rank. As it is said: “(Psalms 111, 10) : The beginning of Wisdom is fear of God, a good understanding to all those who do the Mitzvot.’ It didn’t say, ‘to all those who learn the mitzvot,’ but rather ‘to all those who do the mitzvot’. This implies [that a good understanding is given] to those who do them (good acts/mitzvot) lishmah101. And everyone who does them for other reasons would be better off having never been created.
Moreover, when it says: ‘For those who do them lishmah etc...’ this statement may seem superfluous, but rather it is there to teach us that the essence of Torah lishmah is ‘the Torah that one learns out of a desire to fulfill it.’ And this is the understanding of the passage: When one’s fear of God proceeds the acquisition of wisdom, wisdom will give a good understanding to all those who do them (good acts). The sole purpose of wisdom is fear of God, so that wisdom will teach one the ways of fear. We need wisdom to be ‘a good mind to those who do the mitzvot (good acts)’, so that through them wisdom will be fulfilled, since one does not learn wisdom except to make it a vessel for fear, and fear represents action.” 102
From here, we can clearly see that de Vidas believes that the first step on the path to inner wisdom is Yirah, and that Yirah is intimately connected to ethical action. Yirah is also intimately connected with the Ein Sof.103
In the first passage of the first Gate, the Gate of Yirah, de Vidas relates Yirah to the Ein Sof:
This Yirah is explained by the Rashbi, may he rest in peace, in the portion Bereishit: ‘This is the essence of Yirah: A person should be in awe of his Master because He is Great and Sovereign, the Essence and the Root of all the worlds, and everything is like nothing before Him. As it is said, ‘all the inhabitants of the earth are like nothing before Him(Daniel 4:32).’....
These words are small in number, but great in quality. They need significant explanation, and they will be explained, with the help of God, with our meager intelligence strictly according to their simple meaning [...] The essence of fear (Yirah) is to be in awe before the Cause of all Causes, and the Purpose of all Purposes, because It is the Essence and Root of all the worlds. In other words, the Blessed One sustains and fills them with Its life force.
This is the first mitzvah that we were commanded to do in the Torah, to know that there is a God. As it is said, ‘I am The Lord your God (Exodus 20:1).’ 104
This “cause of all causes” is the Ein Sof. Conceding Its existence and our inability to grasp Its Greatness is an aspect of Yirah.
Ein Sof, Keter, Sefirot, and other Mystical symbols used by de Vidas.
Ein Sof is beyond everything we know in this earthly plane. It is compared to an infinite light. In order for this finite plane to exist however, it must be constantly enlivened by this infinite light. To enliven the physical, the Ein Sof must go through a process of filtering and channeling of its infinite light, becoming slowly more finite. This is similar to the concept of tzimzum, or contraction. The light of Ein Sof is filtered and reflected, becoming the sefirot, or emanations. These are the qualities of the natural plane that help humans understand the supernatural. These emanations have been compared to neoplatonic primal qualities or attributes of the universe. As I mentioned in the previous section, Cordovero equates the sefirot to ethical qualities in Tomer Devorah.
The first emanation from the infinite unknowable Ein Sof is Keter. It is the highest spiritual level next to Ein Sof. Keter also appears infinite to humans like Ein Sof, but it is a bit easier to comprehend being of a lesser degree of infinity. Some call Keter ‘Will’, and the Zohar also occasionally describes it as ‘Nothingness- Ayin’. In Tomer Devorah, Cordovero says that there are 13 attributes of compassion that a human being can emulate which emanate from the sefirah of Keter.105
The source of all compassion in Tzfat’s mystical ethical universe is thus Keter.106 De Vidas describes a metaphor for the relationship between the Ein Sof and the sefirot (and Keter in particular) by quoting the Zohar:
[...]It [the Cause of all Causes] does not have and end or a beginning, so that all of the lights that are in all of the upper world, and all the more so those things that are farther below this, all of them are darkness next to It. As they interpreted in the Tikkunim: ‘The High Keter (Crown), even though it is the original light, a pure light, a perfectly pure light, it is black next to the Cause of all Causes. And there is no light that can stand next to the Cause of all Causes. All the shining pure lights are darkness before It.107
The light of the ten sefirot flows through 4 different Worlds108 as well, each World corresponding to a letter in the name of God, Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh, until it reaches the world and sefirah which is the farthest removed from the Infinite Pure Light of Ein Sof that being Malchut in the world of Asiyah- (represented by Heh in the name of God). This last sefirah is also called the Shechinah, and is the Soul of God in this physical world.
The four letters are also called the four elements, or the four directions:
[...]there are four letters which are the roots of the four elements, as they interpreted in the Zohar... ‘Come and See: The four elements are the originals, the secret of faith, and they are the essences of all the worlds, and the secret of the high holy chariot. And they are: fire, wind, water and dust. They are the high secret, the essences of all the worlds, the essences of everything. From them comes gold and silver, copper and iron...and they are four, like the four winds of the world...fire to the north, wind to the east, water to the south, and dust to the west...and they are all one.’109
Moshe Cordovero 110describes the process of materialization of the sefirot with color. Ein Sof is seen as an infinitely bright light (brighter than Keter). Keter is a blinding invisible white light 111 Chochmah is a color that includes all colors; Binah is yellow and green; Chesed is white and silver; Gevurah is red and gold; and Tiferet is yellow and purple.112 In this way Ein Sof goes through a limiting process and is revealed by the supernal qualities (sefirot) which enliven the physical world. This transformation of Ein Sof’s light is one of the symbols used by Cordovero and de Vidas for the relationship between different ethical attributes and the Infinite.
They used these kabbalistic metaphors of the sefirot and colors to interpret their physical surroundings as well as their ethics. For them, this outlook literally and figuratively colored their perceptions of the world. For example De Vidas talks about the different colors of stones used for magical cures (segulot). He points out that a white stone creates an effect in the physical world corresponding to the right side of the tree which is called favor, and the color red, which corresponds to terror, creates the opposite effect : “...and thus, from this one can discern the secret of precious stones and gems. There are some whose color is white, and their magical cure is favor and benevolence, and some are red and their magical cure is to bring down terror. But everything comes from the High Root, from the Upper Attributes.”113
As mentioned earlier, Cordovero states in Tomer Devorah that there are different ethical attributes inherent in each one of these sefirot that humans should emulate. Through emulating these characteristics they hoped to unite the spiritual and physical universes which have been separated. They would thus heal the primal fault in the universe, which is depicted in the world of the sefirot as a separation of YH- from VH, or in other words, separation of the Shechinah from the upper worlds.
In another mystical ethical interpretation from Reishit Chochmah, the good impulse is seen as coming from the right side of the tree of life, while the evil one comes from the left. 114 The left side, though connected to the evil impulse, also has ethical characteristics (i.e.- self-discipline) associated with it which are important for our imitating the characteristics of God. Ultimately, ethical action however, actually comes from the middle pillar, an ethical middle ground between the characteristics of the left and right sides reminiscent of the ethics in Rambam’s Shmoneh Prakim. One who acts from the middle pillar does not cause the separation of the lower from the upper worlds, and the compassion of the divine is free to flow into the human world.
Reishit Chochmah also uses the tree of life metaphor to describe the Torah and mitzvot. He does this through quoting Zohar:
One who engages in both Torah Study and Deeds for the sake of the Holy Blessed One and the Shechinah, and is not doing them to gain a reward, but rather as one who is obligated to his father and mother- will surely be attached and recorded in the Middle Pillar and it is as if the Shechinah is in him and they have become one. However, one who learns Torah but does not do Mitzvot, or does Mitzvot without Torah, it is as if they are in a state of separation as it were. But these two things are like a tree whose branches spread out to the right and the left, and the actual tree is the unity of these two aspects in the middle.115
The realization that there is a constant process of Ein Sof’s emanation through the symbolic four worlds and/or 10 sefirot into the world of the physical is an aspect of the attribute of Yirah for De Vidas.116 The name of God is present in all of creation, and we must therefore be in awe.
The flexibility of de Vidas’ kabbalistic symbols is clear . In several places throughout the Reishit Chochmah de Vidas compares Yirah to the letter yod in the name of God, Ahavah, or love to the letter heh, and voice (kol) and speech (dibbur) to the second vav and heh 117but in other places, yod-heh is the Torah and Mitzvot, and vav heh are Ahavah and Yirah 118
De Vidas describes the four letters of God’s name as being imprinted on each thing in this physical world,119 including each organ and tendon of the human body. For de Vidas, in order to cultivate Yirah one must realize that the name of God is stamped on the entire body and all mundane things.
The light of the Ein Sof flows through all of the sefirot in all of the 248 organs and 365 tendons of the body. Ethically, the 248 bodily organs are seen as corresponding to the positive mitzvot, and the tendons connecting all the organs correspond to the negative mitzvot, and the days of the year.120 When one transgresses one of the mitzvot, they obscure the light of God flowing through that particular organ. This is the essential problem of sin in the eyes of the Reishit Chochmah. When one sins, the divine light which should be flowing through all of the emanations from Ein Sof which have their physical manifestations in the organs and tendons, the very fabric of the body are obscured. When one obstructs this light, the soul is stripped away leaving a space for Samael (the symbolic evil being in place of angels) to enter the body and soul,121 negatively affecting the divine realm turning the sefirot into kelipot,122 and creating disease in soul and body. This is another reason for the need for Yirah. If one realizes the negative effect on so many levels that sinning creates, one will have Yirat Chet, fear of sin. De Vidas therefore provides the ethical ideal of Yirah with a kabbalistic framework.
Another kabbalistic symbol de Vidas utilizes is the soul. Generally, the soul is divided into three123 parts. The three parts of the human soul are called the nefesh (the physical soul- corresponding to Malchut), the ruach (the middle soul- corresponding to the middle 6 sefirot), and the neshamah (the spiritual soul, corresponding to Binah). According to De Vidas, these parts of the soul are qualities that humans have an inherent ability to cultivate through three different kinds of action. These actions are; doing good deeds (nefesh), speaking words of Torah (ruach), and purification of one’s thoughts (neshamah).124
Originally a person’s neshamah is perfectly spiritual, with no defects. Before birth, the neshamah learns the entire Torah and is “greater than the angels.”125 People are connected to God through the neshamah.126 The neshamah is said to be in the brain,127 and thoughts of teshuvah come from the neshamah.128 The neshamah goes up to the supernal worlds at night 129and bears witness to the deeds of a person.130 It comes back at midnight131 and gives people power and health.132 Through this discussion, one sees the power of the neshamah, and what a pity it is when its’ light is obscured through sin.
Unfortunately, all three parts of an individuals soul do not get to be enlivened by the light of God if that individual sins and creates a defect in the organs of the body which allows a dark space for Samael to enter.133 The nefesh rests on the body, the ruach rests on the nefesh and neshamah rests on the ruach. If there is a defect created in the body, the nefesh and the other two parts of the soul are removed from a person’s body.134
When one is doing mitzvot, speaking Torah and purifying the mind, however, the light is flowing properly from God, all of one’s body’s organs are undamaged, have an analogue soul in the nefesh, the ruach, and the neshamah,135and angels move through all the worlds and sefirot.
Angels and Devils
Angels are the inhabitants of the supernal four worlds which the three parts of the soul of a human also inhabit. They allow the free flow of shefa (or sometimes ‘Light’) to move from world to world. They are spiritual and without an evil impulse. 136 When a person sins, the light is obscured, allowing a demon (typically Samael) to enter the world in place of an angel through the very defect that is self-created in his own soul through sinning.137 In one particular passage, De Vidas describes the entrance of evil into an individual utilizing the symbol of the priest’s temple sacrifice,
To know the meaning behind the lion and the dog know...that the image of a lion who would descend onto the altar was named Uriel...but we need to know why Uriel would come down. It seems that the reason was explained by the Rashbi...in the matter of Raphael and Uriel. He explained there that Raphael is in Tiferet, because from there healing and life continue downward, and Uriel is in Malchut [...]
Concerning the matter of the dog, the Zohar interpreted there in the Portion of Bereshit: ‘If they did not merit- a dog would come down. And what is the name of this dog? Baladan is his name- because it is not a man at all (baladan- bal adam), but rather a dog and its face is a dog’s.’[...]
‘the evil impulse from the right side is called a snake. From the left side, the side of Esau, of the level of Samael- it is called a dog. He is the agent of Gehinom....and it is within his will to consume the impure neshamah with his fire, the fire of Gehinom[...]’
The Zohar said that the evil impulse (yetzer hara) is from the power of Lilith. As it was explained above, the temptations of the evil impulse are from the side of Lilith- from the right side which is called a snake. From the left side it is called a dog, and it says that the dog is the agent of Gehinom and cries out[...]138
According to this kabbalistic ethical interpretation of the tree of life, Samael, who comes from the left side of the tree, the side of judgement and rigor, does not tempt humanity through an impulse to sin. The tempting comes from the demon on the right side of the tree, the snake (Lilith) who tempts people. Once a person has followed the evil impulse brought on by Lilith, this individual creates a defect in their soul into which Samael enters and passes judgement. If one does not sin, the person merits a visitation from the angel Uriel. Uriel comes from Malchut which is in the middle column of the tree and enlivens the individual with the light of God which comes from the angel Raphael (which is also in the middle pillar, in Tiferet).
Letters the Sefirot and Ethics
Other inhabitants of these symbolic realms of the spirit are the 22 letters which are said to connect the sefirot to each other. According to de Vidas, the progression of the sefirot into the physical is also described as moving through 32 139 pathways. This teaching dates back to the Sefer Yetzirah. These 32 pathways correspond to the ten sefirot and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet on the tree of life. The 22 letters are represented by the 22 constellations140 in this world (Assiyah), but they too have physical analogs in the spiritual world, which helped to create our universe.
In the ethical systems of Cordovero and de Vidas, the sefirot and letters of the tree of life are used as symbols to convey ethical characteristics. Through emulating the foundational sefirot (and letters) in this way, humankind causes a unification of all of the worlds, and the upper and lower sefirot, so that compassionate shefa can flow freely from Keter to the world of Assiyah. However, if one is not balanced in the emulation of these characteristics (e.g. balancing the sefirot of Compassion and Rigor through Tiferet) and tends towards the left or right side of the tree, he creates a defect in that area of his human-sefirot-soul-world system. This ultimately contributes to the delaying of the final redemption, when the shefa in all physical objects are raised and the Shechinah is no longer in exile.
Another kabbalistic symbol which de Vidas uses that is more ethical and less theosophical in its original character is gilgul.141 In the Gate of Yirah, de Vidas discusses reincarnation as something to inspire Yirah, and help people complete tasks in this life, so they do not have to return to complete them in a future life:
Also, one needs to fear out of faith in reincarnation (that our rabbis taught us, and Pythagoras agrees with them....) because it is very bitter for the neshamah, more than the judgement of Gehinom.
My teacher, may peace be upon him, wrote that it can be compared to the story of a man who went out on merchant’s journey of two or three years to a certain place and there he thought he would make a profit on his sales. When he arrived there, they said to him: ‘all of your effort to arrive here was for nothing and purposeless, because the merchandise that you have in your possession is not worth anything here.’ The poor man returned back to where he came from with a bitter spirit. How troubled this man must have been because of his lack of understanding and intelligence, that he did not research and look what the fitting product would be in the place where he was going to make money. The moral is self-explanatory. Specifically, when a person knows that the majority of souls in our generation are reincarnated, and comes to perfect now what he didn’t fix at first, if he leaves this world without fixing what he came to fix, all his efforts in this world will be accounted for nothing, and he needs to return a third and fourth time until it is perfected, and his punishment will be great because he didn’t fix it at first […]
As to why a neshamah might need to be reincarnated after it is purified in Gehinom, my teacher may he rest in peace responds that reincarnation happens for two reasons. One: for the lack of a mitzvah that the neshamah didn’t complete and it needs to return to complete it in the right way. For this one needs to reincarnate, because Gehinom is only concerned with purification, not to complete something that is lacking. Also, because it is possible that one will come to fix and purify what wasn’t possible for Gehinom to purify. This means that there are sins that Gehinom purifies, and there are those which Gehinom doesn’t purify, and one needs to come to complete these things [...]
You must know that the secret of reincarnation depends on the secret of Thought [...] There is an indication of this in the Tikkunim. It says there, ‘and if yod becomes reincarnated,’ look there. And so, we must fear reincarnation, because it is a place of fear [...] It is a place where the Holy Blessed One exercises judgement with a fine measure with the righteous. The Tikkunim said that each organ that isn’t fixed as is fitting, returns to become reinarnated. A man should tremble greatly because of this, and should pay attention to details in his actions, and he should complete his nefesh as is fitting so that he will not trouble his Master.142
Thus for de Vidas reincarnation is a useful kabbalistic symbol in that it inspires Yirah, and helps people to do mitzvot correctly in this life so they don’t have to be reincarnated.143 An individual should be particularly careful about his behavior, because according to de Vidas reincarnation is not the worst that can happen to a person. Those who follow the impure side are made into the demons of the world after their deaths.144
I have selected an entire chapter from Yirah (7), the first Gate. I have made an attempt to remain consistent with the flow of de Vidas’ narrative. De Vidas provides an explanation of 5 different means by which a sinner angers God. This passage illustrates de Vidas’ use of kabbalistic symbolism to convey ethical concepts, in this case the concept of fear of sin. Fear and fear of sin is the main motivator for action for de Vidas.
In this passage, there are five means by which the sinner “angers the Blessed Creator” which are all meant to provoke Yirah, and they are:
1) The first has 2 aspects. They are A) “the sinner takes the King for granted,” denying that God has providence over him. He tries to hide himself from God (so that God will not see him sinning). B) “God fills the heaven and the earth,” but through sinning the sinner removes the presence of God (Shechinah) that is within the limb engaged in the sin for the period of time that the sin is committed.
2) The sinner changes the divine attribute of love into its harsh alternative, the attribute of judgment. There are four ways in which God demonstrates love for Israel. These are changed into ways that God shows disdain for Israel. These correspond to the 4 letters in the name of God and are: friendship (havivin), defense (sanegoria) , love (ahavah) and separation (havdalah).
3) As a result of a sinner’s actions all Israel is punished. This is the collective view of sin, punishment and redemption held by the mystics of Tzfat that was discussed earlier. De Vidas compares this aspect of fear of sin to the story (from a midrashic source) told of a man who bores holes underneath himself in a boat carrying many people. He says to them, “What’s wrong, I’m only boring under myself?”
4) Sinners anger God in that God gives two paths to follow, a good or evil one. Sinners forsake the good path and follow the evil one.
5) Through sinning with a particular bodily organ, the sinner creates a defect or impurity in the nefesh of that organ. This defect ends up damaging all three souls, and all the organs and tendons of each soul.145 This defect in the nefesh removes the divine light of the neshamah and leaves an empty hole through which Samael enters. “So it is with the sin according to its magnitude- the same organ which is damaged in one’s neshamah is called an empty space in his nefesh. It is called an empty space because the neshamah is holy, and sin is a spoiled impure spirit from Samael. Through the impure spirit’s entrance into the neshamah, its’ spirituality is removed, and that place is made an empty space with no spirituality [...] It will lack the light in that place, and the darkness from Samael will rule there. Thus one who creates a defect through his eyes will darken the eyes of his neshamah.”146 This also explains the need for purity in order to receive the divine shefa and approach God.
The major point that de Vidas makes in this passage is that through sinning, the balance of this universe and the supernal realms are upset. This dictum is typical of the thought processes of the ethical kabbalists of Tzfat in the 16th century. The net effect is to create in the acolyte a fear of sin, because he knows that his sinning has a trans-universal effect.
When one sins his physical body is damaged, his soul is damaged and others are hurt through the balance of the divine realm being disturbed. In this way, De Vidas uses kabbalistic symbols to inspire Yirah. De Vidas encourages one to see the universal implications of acting unethically and develop a healthy sense of fear of immorality. To me, de Vidas’ fear of immorality is one of the benefits of his kabbalistic ethical system.
In this translation, de Vidas compares love of a woman to love of the Shechinah. Moshe Idel discusses the tale which de Vidas quotes in this passage in the context of an analysis of the practice of hitbodedut.147 This story attributed by de Vidas to Yitzhak of Acco is not extant in any of our current manuscripts from Yitzhak of Acco.148 Idel also suggests that this story may have been of sufi origin.149 Idel’s discussion demonstrates that de Vidas’ views on hitbodedut and devekut are part of an involved process of unification with the divine.150
De Vidas’ view of devekut151 is complex. De Vidas describes a three step process of clinging to God. These three steps are “cleaving,” “longing,” and “desiring” God.152 Fine quotes this passage when he discusses de Vidas’ act of “desiring” God. He points out that this aspect of desire to attach to God is extremely sensual. For de Vidas, erotic desire is turned into longing for God.
The reasons I decided to translate a short section from Ahavah in addition to the section from Yirah are clearly expressed in this statement by de Vidas: “My teacher, may peace be upon him wrote regarding this passage [...] that the intent is that you should fear so that you will not cause by reason of your sins to separate the Shechinah from the name YHVH, which is Tiferet. You should say in your heart, ‘how can I cause through my own sins to separate the love of lovers and friends’ [...] And we will find that it is this aspect of Yirah that brings us to Love, because it is not enough that you do not sin, but rather, you should try to do the mitzvot to unify and bring Love closer [...] of course, if you are only afraid of the punishment, you will not fulfill the mitzvot.”153 Ahavah and Yirah form an inseparable couple. One must not just fear the Greatness of Ein Sof, Awe at the stamp of the four letter name on every creation, and fear sin because it disturbs the cosmic structure as discussed above. One must also love God and the universe, and yearn to redeem the Shechinah. One should do this with erotic intensity. Ahavah balances the quality of Yirah, and together they form a complete whole:
Since Yirah is the key to all service, one is not prepared to do any mitzvah until he knows Who commanded him and that God is the singular Master. His service should be special before Him, as it is explained in the end of the first Gate [...] It is likely that the reason one fears the King is to be careful that he doesn’t transgress against what He commanded him not to do. And so it is found in the words of the Rashbi, may peace be upon him: ‘365 were given from the left, from the Yirah of Gevurah, the fear of Isaac. 248 were given from the right, from Ahavah, from the level of Avraham. As it is said of him [...]’ It is likely that Ahavah is an added level, and it is two things. The first is that one should be complete in one’s performance of a positive mitzvah; and also to add Ahavah to it, so that one will do the mitzvot and the Torah from the heart and from the nefesh from a great desire [...] Since Yirah and Ahavah are two big pillars of service, the Torah puts them together [...] because Yirah and Ahavah hint at the first two letters that are in the name of God [...] and so we saw to unify the Name [...] I put Yirah before Ahavah because of the reason put forth by the Rashbi in the tikkunim that they are related to the positive and negative commandments. The negative commandments came first because they depend on the name Y’H. So now, we need to explain Ahavah which is related to V’H in order to unify the name YHVH.154
The Gate of Yirah
Chapter 7
1) One must fear sin, because the sinner angers the Blessed Creator in several ways. The first way is seen in what it says in Scripture: "Can one hide oneself in secret places that I will not see him? Utters God. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Utters God. "
This verse is explained in Midrash Tanhuma: "‘Can one hide oneself in secret places....' this can be compared to the story about an architect who built a city and made inside of it underground secret passageways...” Similarly the Holy Blessed One says to the adulterers: 'Do you think you can hide from me? As it is said, 'The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, No one will spot me; and he disguises his face. ' The adulterer says, 'no one knows me;’ [And God responds] ‘and as for Me, my eyes wander all over the earth.'
What is the way of transgressors? They observe a time of gloom, a time of darkness. And so it is with thieves: "In the dark they dig through houses,". And therefore the Bible says, "Ha! Those who try to hide plans in deep places from God- their actions take place in darkness, and they say, 'who sees us, who knows what we are doing?'"
The sin of the adulterer is severe for he removes the Shechinah so to speak. He fills the high places and the low places, as it is said, 'Do I not fill the heaven and the earth?'
Where does the adulterer commit his sin? When he goes to commit adultery, he says to the Omnipresent: leave, and give me an hour alone. And God So to Speak, because God is patient and compassionate, gives him the space. As it is said, ' For God knows empty men; and when God sees wickedness, God may not discern it.' And it says in Job, 'and he disguises his face.' (They do not want the woman to become pregnant, rather solely that their passion may be fulfilled, but they do not know that the Holy Blessed One publicizes their deeds in the world). They who sit in the secret high places pay attention- that she is pregnant from him, it will be a troubled child, and its face will look like that of the adulterer.
2) As an explanation of what it said, there are two kinds of ugliness and disgrace in the sinner: The first is that the sinner takes the King for granted, saying that He does not have providence over him, since he hides himself. This is the meaning of the verse, "'Can one hide oneself in secret places that I will not see him? Utters God." Here the text parses its reasoning. "Do I not fill the heaven and the earth?" This is the second defect, that the sinner removes the Shechinah So to Speak, while the Holy Blessed One fills [heaven and earth]...
Similarly, they said in the Mishnah: "Whoever does not mind the honor of his maker, it would be better if he had never come into existence." They said in the Gemara: "R. Joseph said: It refers to one who commits a transgression in secret. For R. Isaac said: When one commits a transgression in secret, it is as though they thrust aside the feet of the Shechinah for it is said: "'So says God: The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool'."
And similarly, they said in Brachot, in Tefillat HaShachar:
"When R' Johanan ben Zakkai got very sick, his students went in to visit him [and so on]...” “They said to him, 'Master, bless us.' He said to them, 'May it be God's will that the fear of heaven will be on you like the fear of flesh and blood.'
His disciples said to him: 'So Far? He said to them:' If only one could attain that level of reverence. Know this: when a person wants to commit a transgression he says, 'I hope no one will see me.'"
3) Similarly, R' Shimon bar Yochai interpreted the parable that they mentioned in the preceding interpretation of, "Can one hide oneself in secret places..."
“Hiyya opened his discourse by quoting the verse: ‘’Can one hide oneself in secret places that I will not see him?’ Utters God.’ How blind and insensitive is humankind who don’t pay attention to and don’t know the honor of their Master, of whom it is written,'Do I not fill the Heaven and earth? (Ibid.)' How do people imagine that they can hide from their sins, saying, 'Who sees us?' And ‘who knows us?' Where in the world would they hide themselves?
There was once a king who built a palace and constructed underneath it a secret subterranean chamber. One day the members of his palace rose in revolt against the king, who then laid siege to the palace with his army. The rebels sought safety by hiding in the subterranean passages and chambers. The king said: 'I made these secret places, and you think you can escape from me by hiding there?' This is what is written in the Scripture, 'Can one hide himself in secret places that I won't see him?' Which is to say, 'I have created all crevasses and caverns, and I made darkness and light, how could you possibly hide from me?'”
4) "Come and see. When one sins before his Master and continues to hide, the Holy Blessed One judges him openly. When one purifies oneself, however, God will then seek to hide him so that he will not be seen in 'the Day of the Anger of God'.”
Similarly, in Midrash Bemidbar Rabbah (the 9th part), they cited a similar parable regarding the behavior of the adulterer and the adulteress. In the moral of the story they say:
“So, the Holy Blessed One says to adulterers: ‘Do you think you can hide yourselves from Me? Did I not create hearts,’ as it is written in the Scripture, ‘I God, search the heart, I test the kidneys... etc. (Jer. XVII, 10).’ Thus it says, ‘And you forgot God that bore you (meholeleka).’ ‘I,’ says God, ‘created you and constructed you with cavities upon cavities (mehilim) -namely the hearts and kidneys- but you forget Me and speak falsely, saying that I do not see and do not know of your actions.’”
On the issue of God’s providence, Elihu says, ‘Because His eyes are on the ways of humanity, and He will see all one’s steps. God is good, a fortress in the day of trouble; and knows those who trust in Him. There is no darkness, and no shadow of death in which those who perform immoral actions can hide...(Job 34:21-22).’
5) To move on, the sinner angers the creator in a second way: There is an aspect of the Blessed One which bestows goodness and compassion, and the sinner converts this aspect from the attribute of compassion to the attribute of judgement. As they said (may their memory be a blessing), ‘Cursed are the evil, for they convert the attribute of compassion to the attribute of judgement.’ And it is written [in Psalms], ‘and God’s compassion is on all God’s creations,’ They interpreted in Tanhumah that this refers to the righteous. This is the language of the biblical passage, ‘God is Good, a fortress (Nachum 1:8)’ Could it be saying that God’s goodness extends to all? The Bible further teaches, ‘and God is aware of those that trust in God.’ Similarly, (in Lamentations) ‘God is good to those that hope in God.’ Could God’s goodness really extend to all? The bible further teaches in Eicha, ‘to those that seek God.’ Similarly, it says, ‘God is good to all (Psalms).’ Could God’s goodness really apply to all? The bible teaches, ‘and God’s compassion is on all God’s handiwork.’
In the preceding passage, creations are equated with the righteous. This is because the righteous are creations that are special to God. This issue is expressed in Isaiah, ‘and your people, all of them righteous ... are my creation in which I glory (Isaiah 60:21).’ And thus it says in the Zohar, in the portion Lech Lecha, that the righteous are the fruit of the creation of the Holy Blessed One.
Further, it says in Tanhumah on a verse from Hosea (9:7) ‘God will throw them out, because they did not listen to God, and they will wander among the nations.’ “The Holy Blessed One said, ‘I am called God the Compassionate and Giving in Grace (Exodus 34:6)’ and because of your sins, you created this very same disappointment in God; As it is said, ‘God was like an enemy.’”
Similar to this idea is the idea that when one performs one transgression, one creates his own prosecutor (Avot 4:11). The prosecutor is prepared to accuse and to arouse judgments, until he is given the right to collect in judgment from the one who created him. This is the meaning of the passage, ‘Humans will pay for their actions (Job 34:11)’- as it is explained in the Zohar on the portion Korah.
6) Further, they (the rabbis) said about the passage (Isaiah 1:14), ‘My soul hates your months and your sacred feast times they are troubling to me...’: “What is the meaning of ‘are troubling to me’?
Eleazar said, ‘The Holy Blessed said, ‘It is not sufficient for sinners that they are sinning, but they are troubling me to figure out which harsh decree I will bring against them.”
Moreover, they said about the passage (Jeremiah 3:19), ‘How I will put you among the nations.’:
“R. Eleazar Ben Padat said, ‘What does ‘I will put you (aSHiTech)’ mean? It occurred to me that it means that it will be Me (God) and you (Israel) in the world- ‘how have you (pl.) made me bring other nations of the world into your midst?’ The language here is of separation, and so (in another passage) the Torah says, ‘and Jacob separated (yaSheiT) the flock (Genesis 30:2).’
Hama Bar Hanina said: ‘there was a great love between Me and you (Israel)- how could it be that you (pl.) made it so I would come to hate you (pl.)?’ This language clearly has a hateful connotation, as it is said, ‘and I will put hatred between you and the woman (Genesis 3:15).’
Yehoshua Ben Levi said: ‘I would have offered you (pl.) defense on your behalf, how have you made it so that I prosecute you and obligate you.’ This language is clearly language of obligation, as it is said ‘if a ransom is put (yuSHaT) upon him (Exodus 21:30).’
Berchiah said: ‘they were close friends to Me, like one who has one field which one fertilizes, howes and weeds- how have you (pl.) caused me to abandon you like abandoned property?’ This language is none other than that of abandoned property, as it is said, ‘I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard...I will lay it waste (aShiTeihu), it will be neither pruned or howed... (Isaiah 5:6)’.”
7) The explanation of the above passage is that there are four aspects of love which the Holy Blessed One has for Israel, but because of our sins we will turn all of them into their hateful opposites. It is possible to relate each of the above four aspects of love to each of the letters of the name of God (YHVH) respectively. But every one of these Tanaitic rabbis mentioned in the above passage agree that this is all one and the same aspect, and they did not disagree with each other, and the enlightened will understand the matter on his own. But I will give you a little hint: Berchiya said that the last of these four aspects is the one which corresponds to the final Heh in the name of God: ‘like one who has one field which one fertilizes, hoes and weeds...etc...’
8) The third way in which the sinner angers the Holy Blessed One is that all of Israel are punished on his account. In the midrash from Leviticus Rabbah, “’Israel is a scattered sheep (Jeremiah 50:17).’ Israel is being compared to a sheep- why? What is the way of the sheep? When it is hurt on any of its limbs, all of them feel it; so it is with Israel. One person sins, and all are punished. R’ Shimon Bar Yochai taught: This can be compared to two men who were on a ship, and one of them took a sharp object and began punching holes underneath where he was sitting. His traveling companions said to him, ‘why are you doing that?’ He said to them, ‘What does it matter to you?! Aren’t I only drilling under myself?!’ They said to him, ‘because you’ll flood the ship.’ Job too said this, ‘I have surely made a mistake, and the fault lies with myself (Job 19:5).’ For he adds to his sin a crime which he extends among us.’”
9) The fourth way in which the Holy Blessed One is angered by evil people is that God gave them the good way and the evil way, and they forsake the good way. Therefore they said in the midrash on the verse, ‘he thinks of evil on his bed, he stations himself on an evil path,’; “God gave them two ways, one evil and one good, and they forsake the good and follow the evil. And similarly in scripture, ‘those who leave the path of righteousness...are happy to do evil (Proverbs 2:13-14).’ This is the one who stations himself on a path which is not good.
10) The fifth way that the Holy Blessed One is angered by the evil person is through the evil that he causes himself and his soul as a result of his sins. As the rabbis said in the midrash, on the verse, “purge me with hyssop, and I will be clean,”: “Whoever performs a transgression- it is as if he has incurred impurity onto his soul, and he must be sprinkled with hyssop. Why king David become impure? Solely because his sinning rendered his soul impure. Therefore he says, ‘My heart is an empty space within me.’”
One must understand how one can create a defect in his soul [nefesh], of which it could be said that he kills the soul [nefesh] and makes it into an empty space instead. This is known from what is summarized in the Zohar, and in the Tikkunim. Humans have a nefesh, a ruach and a neshamah from the animal and the throne 155as they interpreted in the Tikkunim (T. 70) in the beginning of the portion Mishpatim.
One should know, just as in the physical body of a human being there are 248 physical organs, so too the neshamah dressed in these 248 organs has in it 248 spiritual organs. The neshamah is called the ‘real human’- as we interpreted above. This is illustrated by what was written [in the Scripture], “and God made humans in God’s image,” this refers to the neshamah. This is because the body is called ‘human flesh’ [not simply ‘human’]. As it is said in the Torah, “upon human flesh, it should not be poured.”
R’ Shimon bar Yochai explained correctly when he said, “the soul belongs to the holy side, and the body is the human’s covering. It is said, ‘flesh and bones dress me...” - because the flesh is the clothing of a human. The phrase ‘human flesh’ is used all the time in this context. This means that the human is actually inside, and the flesh is its clothing.
11) The neshamah is made up of 248 spiritual organs, and it becomes active156 and dresses itself in a drop of sperm to bring forth a vessel for divine action. In this manner the soul is imprinted on the body. This is why there are thousands and tens of thousands of different kinds of people, according to their specific type of soul. As they interpreted in the Tikkunim, the soul is made up of 248 organs.
R’ Shimon bar Yochai interpreted in the Zohar, and in several places, that the soul (ruach) will appear in the lower garden of eden in the clothing of the practical mitzvot, and in the form that we had in this world. He says that in the lower garden of eden, the righteous recognize each other. This is the meaning of, ‘how great is your goodness which you have laid on those who fear you- which You have done for those that trust in You in the sight of humanity (Psalms 31:20).’ Further, the Zohar says in Ra’aya Mehemeina,
“What is the reward of the (neshamah) soul in the world to come? The Holy Blessed One dresses it, as it was in the beginning in the clouds of glory. At first, in the beginning, it resembled a representation of the body, made up of 248 organs. Likewise, it also resembled the 248 mitzvot, and 248 lights spreading from this representation.”
12) Just as the ruach includes a complete structure of 248 organs, so too does the nefesh which is in the courtyard of death, and the neshamah, which ascends to the upper garden of eden.
Through this introduction we may understand the matter of sin, and why it is fitting that it could be called an empty space in the soul (nefesh). Just as the blow which an enemy strikes against a person’s body is called an empty space (hallal), so the sword of Samael which enters into the 248 organs of the nefesh makes it into an empty space (hallal) and impurifies it. It is like the impurity of the dead. This is because the light of the holy neshamah has been removed and the impure spirit of Samael rests there. It creates a grave impurity, the father of all impurities, which is death. So, the sinner casts away the holy neshamah, and puts in Samael in its place and impurifies himself like the dead. For this reason sinners are called “the dead” during their lives.
Why is it called an empty space (hallal) and not death in the nefesh? A living person who is killed is called an empty space (hallal) because the life of the blood is removed from him. ‘The blood is the nefesh, (Deut. 12:23).’ The body remains an empty space without life. The word empty space (hallal) is related to, “Your desecrators (meHalleleiha) will surely die.” As they interpreted in portion Bereshit (6, 1) concerning the matter of one who impurifies himself in an interior point, that very same point remains an empty space.
So it is with sin, one who creates a defect in the essence of the nefesh, which is the heart, makes an empty space (hallal) there. The rule is that from the mundane, we may understand the spiritual. Each fatal blow contributes to his becoming an empty space (hallal). So it is with the sin according to its magnitude- the same organ which is damaged in one’s neshamah will be called an empty space in their nefesh. It will be called an empty space, because the soul (neshamah) is holy, and sin is a spoiled impure spirit from Samael. Through the impure spirit’s entrance into the neshamah, its’ spirituality is removed, and that place is made an empty space with no spirituality. This is what is meant by a defect, for the word defect implies a lack. It will lack the light in that place, and the darkness from Samael will rule there.
Thus, one who creates a defect in his eyes will darken the eyes of his neshamah. If he needs to reincarnate because of the greatness of the defect, he will need to be blind, and darkness and the clouds of Samael will rule over his eyes. As the Rashbi may he rest in peace interpreted in the Tikkunim:
“Samael is darkness, the Snake is gloom. Of him (Samael) it is said, ‘I will clothe the sky in gloom [this is his feminine aspect] and I will cover them in sackcloth.’ Woe to the neshamah when it is clothed in their gloom. Regarding one’s neshamah being clothed in their gloom it is said: ‘and his eyes were dim so that he could not see.’ They darken the coverings of the eyes, so that they do not have permission to look at the Holy Blessed One and his Shechinah (presence). It is said of the light and the lamp illuminating the eyes: ‘...and those that look out the window are dimmed...’ As Koheleth said, ‘before the sun and the light are darkened...’ Regarding the light and the lamp it is said, ‘for the mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is a light.’”
13) “Why are the light and the lamp darkened in peoples’ eyes? Because they were not engaged in the Torah and mizvot with fear and love which are the letters yod and heh of the tetragrammaton. Immediately when they engage in Torah and Mitzvot with fear and love, it is the holy blessed one's obligation to cause it (the darkness) to pass from the world and from the neshamah. This is because the darkness divides between the letters yod hey and the letters vav hey of the tetragrammaton, and at the very moment that the darkness is made to pass from the neshamah, immediately, 'all of the neshamah will praise yah.'”
14) “Who is this darkness? It is Samael and the snake. Who causes them to rule over the eyes? The Scripture teaches the secret: 'but your sins made a separation between you and your god.' It is because of them that David said, 'open my eyes so I can see the wonders of your Torah.' At this very same moment, in place of the darkness governing over the lights of the eyes, the lights turn the balance and rule over the darkness.'”
15) It is explained in the above text that Samael and the Snake are darkness and darken the eyes, and that this is because of sin. As Isaiah said in the above passage, "but your sins made a separation between you and your god.…”
Incidentally, it is also explained in the text above that the reason for the darkening of the eyes is because of not engaging in the Torah and Mitzvoth with fear (Yirah) and love (Ahavah).
16) Let us return to our explanation. Each defect that a person creates is a defect in the neshamah, and darkens its light, and for this reason the sin is called an empty space in the nefesh. Now, along these lines, let us say that each and every sin that a person creates a defect with is called an empty space. The meaning of this is that it could be a small death or a large death, all defects are called death- Just like poverty which is thought of as a kind of death. Other rabbis also explained the reason that the removal of God's flow and God's light is called death. So it is with the issue of the empty space- each time the light of the neshamah is removed because of sin, and the empty space which Samael may enter through remains, there will be an empty space in the nefesh.
17) Since it has been explained that sin is a darkening of the neshamah, we will be able to understand their text in Tana deVei Eliyahu. It is brought out in the collection in the verse, “God will give an Omer offering”. R' Shimon Ben Yochai taught: When Adam Rishon had not yet sinned, he would hear the Voice and stand on his feet. As it is said: “They heard the voice of God YHVH.” But after he sinned he would hear and hide himself. As it is said, “The human hid himself.”
What is written about when Israel had not yet sinned? “The image of God's glory was like a devouring flame.” R' Aba bar Kahana said: "Seven curtains of fire would sparkle in each other, and Israel would see them and not be awed or afraid. But after they had sinned, they could not even bare to look at the face of the agent (Moses).” The Torah says, "Aharon and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and he had beams of light coming from his face, and they were afraid to approach him."
The reason for this is that with a pure and bright neshamah, one is able to look at light. This is like how someone who is standing in a bright place is not harmed by the light of the sun- but if someone is in a dark place and sunlight strikes their eyes, they will tremble, and turn around, and shut their eyes. So it is with Israel: When the Torah was given, the filth of their sins was laid out. Their souls were purified by means of the counting of seven weeks of purification. In addition, three days before receiving the Torah, they were warned not to approach a woman, as it is said, "they prepared themselves for three days to not go near a woman." Also, they washed their shirts in a ritual bath. All these were good preparations to purify their souls to receive the Torah. It was by these means that they could bear to look. However, when they sinned, they returned to being seized by the filthiness of the darkness of the snake. Their souls were darkened until the point that they could no longer even look, even at the face of the agent.
An Explanation of the Love of the Shechinah- How our Love for Her Should Be.
One should find that his desires are completely directed when doing mitzvot. One should also approach Torah study in the same way. [When one's desire is passionately directed toward something- i.e. Torah study] the will of one's bodily soul (nefesh) will become strong, and all of the body's senses will be nullified, and one will attach one's bodily soul to the analysis of the Torah, until one no longer feels any matter from the things which belong to this world. This similar to what the Rabbis of blessed memory said in the Gemara about Rava, and how he would investigate the Torah, and sit on his hand. He would have blood coming out of his fingernails, but he wouldn't feel the blood coming out of him, because of the greatness of his cleaving to the Torah. I have seen the same thing with the later scholars- they had this great quality of cleaving to the Torah until they didn't feel the matters of this world at all. The reason for this is that the desire for other thoughts are nullified when one is immersed in the object of his longing and the fire of the love of it is ignited in his heart until he eats drinks and sleeps and all of his thoughts are on his passion. This is how one's desire for the Holy Blessed One should be.
We may learn the above idea from a story that R Yitzhak of Acco of blessed memory wrote. He said:
“One day the king's daughter left her bathing place, and one of the men from the settlements of the capital saw her. He breathed a heavy sigh, and said, ‘who will put you into my care so that I can treat you as I please?’
She said to him, ‘in the cemetery this will be, and not here and now.’
When he heard these words he was happy, because he thought she was telling him to go to the cemetery, and to sit himself there, and she would come to him, and he would be able to treat her as he pleased. But she didn't intend that. What she wanted to say was that there (in the graveyard) was the only place where the small and the great, the young and the old, the cursed and the honored are all equal. ‘The small and the great are there (Job 3:19),’- there [in death] everything is equal, but not here and now, because the daughter of a king is not brought up to allow one of the masses to approach her.
But that man got up and went to the cemetery, and sat himself there, and he bound the thoughts of his mind to her, and he kept thinking of her form. And then, from the enormity of his desire for her he stripped his thoughts of all his sense perceptions, and he directed his mind to think solely of that woman's form and her beauty.
Day and night, he continued to sit in the graveyard, and there is where he ate, drank and slept. He said to himself, ‘if she doesn't come today, she'll come tomorrow.’ He did this for many days.
It can not be the fleshy form of the princess which I love, he decided. There is something else about her, something very special and unique, something enduring and divine. And thus he began to contemplate the divine spark in forms which gives them such beauty and grace. In time he turned from the divine which clothes itself in forms, to the loveliness of the eternally divine, which is without form or name.157
And so, from the enormity of his stripping the thoughts in his mind of all other sense perceptions and binding them continually to one thing, and from his solitude and complete desire, his bodily soul was stripped of sense perceptions, and he returned musing until he was stripped of all his perceptions. And then, he attached himself to God, until in a small number of days he had stripped away all of his other sense perceptions and was drawn toward a realization of God. So he came to be a pure servant, a man of the holy God, until his prayers were listened to and his blessings worked for every traveler. Merchants and judges and anyone that passed the road there came to him in order to receive his blessing, until the knowledge of his name traveled very far.”
So, R Yitzhak of Acco may his memory be a blessing wrote by means of a story that one who has never desired a woman is similar to an ass or worse...
For all service to God must begin with the discrimination and further sublimation of lofty feelings. Thus the words ‘desire’ and ‘learning’ must be understood. He who fastens his desire exclusively to one thing in the Torah- so that day and night he thinks of nothing else- will surely attain to the highest and most amazing levels of the soul. Such a one needs no fasts and austerities. All depends on the steadfastness and intensity of his longing for Torah, which must be like one who longs for his beloved […]
Conclusion
De Vidas says that Yirah comes from two general beliefs. These beliefs are that there is a Cause of all Causes, namely, the unknowable Ein Sof, and that Ein Sof continually fills all of creation with Its’ light’: “The essence of fear (Yirah) is to be in awe before the Cause of all Causes, and the Reason of all Reasons, because It is the Essence and Root of all the worlds. In other words, It is the Blessed One who sustains and fills them with Its life force [...] This is the first mitzvah that we were commanded to do in the Torah, to know that there is a God. As it is said, ‘I am the Lord your God. (Exodus 20:1)’”158 De Vidas’ Yirah is not an irrational fear of punishment from a transcendent God, but rather a fear of the reprecussions of sin on the universe and the Godhead. This seems to contradict the modern scientific perspective that religion which utilizes the concept of a transcendent God is primitive.
In Tomer Devorah (in the last chapter on the sefirah of malchut) Cordovero discusses the attribute of Yirah. Yirah is an integral part of Malchut’s ethical attributes which must be emulated. Cordovero says regarding Yirah:
Another of the aspects of the attribute of malchut, a very important one among all the other attributes of the entire divine service is Yirah (fear) of God, the Honored and the Awesome. However, Yirah itself is extremely dangerous, in that it may causes defects and cause the ‘outside’ powers to enter. If one is afraid of suffering or death, or Gehinom, this is fearing the ‘outside’ powers. This is because all of these actions [suffering, death etc...] are from the ‘outside’ powers. It is likely that the essential Yirah is to fear God. This type of Yirah happens when one thinks about three things [...] 1) The Greatness of the Fashioner of everything is on all of existence [...] 2) Divine providence is constantly at work [...] 3) Since God is the root of all souls, and all of them are rooted in God’s sefirot, the sinner creates a defect in God’s palace. How could he let the palace of the King be dirtied by his evil actions? [...] 4) Defective actions push away the Shechinah from above, and one should fear that they will be causing this great evil to separate the desire of the King for His Queen.159
Cordovero describes Yirah as a belief in the unknowable Ein Sof, and the symbolic way in which the compassionate light of Ein Sof flows into the world. He also adds that this light can be tainted through unethical actions, and the flow can be obstructed. Improper Yirah, fear of death or punishment is not healthy Yirah according to Cordovero. It belongs to the ‘outside’ forces, the world of Samael and Lilith. We must have a sense of Yirah which is actually more of a sense of wonder at the Greatness of Ein Sof, which fills the whole universe through a process which we can only understand symbolically.
De Vidas describes this process (through which the Ein Sof flows into the world) through the kabbalistic symbols of the 4 worlds, the sefirot, angels and devils, light and darkness etc… For de Vidas in addition to Cordovero, these symbols are his mystical way of describing a process that is beyond logical human explanation. Adopting these symbols is the essential first step towards acquiring healthy Yirah . Since Yirah is intimately connected with ethical action it can be said that the first step toward making ethical choices and performing ethical actions is adopting the mystical symbol set which is described at length in Reishit Chochmah.
A core idea of this symbol set which is intimately connected to Yirah is the idea of Ein Sof, the Unknowable, and it’s process of flowing into the world. It is a provocative idea that one cannot begin to live an ethical lifestyle until one recognizes that there is an element of reality that is not within the grasp of the human mind (Ein Sof). This is an idea that some post-modern religious thinkers have adopted in their arguments against modernist scientific thinking.160
Finally, De Vidas believed that different colored gems had magical properties. “And thus, from this one can discern the secret of precious stones and gems. There are some whose color is white, and their magical cure is favor and benevolence, and some are red and their magical cure is to bring down terror. But everything comes from the High Root, from the Upper Attributes.”161 His kabbalistic symbols become the basis of his perception of reality. He recognized that there are limits to human knowledge which can be gained by the logical mind, and that symbols which originate from the inner mind more completely describe nature and the way humans interact with their environment. Yirah, the recognition that life’s conditions are often impossible to understand with the logical mind, is the Gate which leads to Wisdom. Wisdom ultimately leads humankind to ethical action. In order to act ethically, humans must recognize the many facets of reality that are only understood through the use of symbols.
To de Vidas’ the universe is interconnected, multifaceted and infused with God’s energy. This is an essential aspect of his ethics, and the ethics of the rabbis of Tzfat. Can humans learn moral behavior in a completely secular context without Yirah and a transcendent God which de Vidas and the rabbis of Tzfat saw as essential? This is a question which is relevant after the holocaust which by its very existence provided a critique to modernist thinkers like Mordecai Kaplan who asserted that God is not transcendent. The answer to this question remains a matter of debate.
1 Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols, p. 27
2 Ibid.
3 Yirah 5:26 [All translations from Reishit Chochmah are mine unless otherwise noted.]
4 See Kaplan's commentary to Sefer Yetzirah.
5 Jung p. 33
6 Ibid.
7 Jung pp. 31-2
8 Kaplan, The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion, p. 25.
9 Yirah 1:42
10 Ahavah Introduction.
11 See Introduction to Author’s Translation of Passage (4:30-32) from Ahavah.
12 Fine 90
13 Author of the famous love poem to God- Yedid Nefesh (included in Sefer Hareidim)
14 Fine, Safed Spirituality, p. 83
15 In Sholem’s Kabbalah, p. 73 it says: "This literature did more for the mass dissemination of Kabbalah than those books dealing with Kabbalah in the narrower sense whose mystical content was comprehensible only to a few."
16 Fine calls them ‘brotherhoods’ (Fine p. 10)
17 Schechter p. 238, Jacobs p. 123, Fine p. 9 (this practice was called gerushin- divorces)
18 Werblowsky p. 50, “It is a peculiar technique of spontaneously producing discursive, intellectual, even highly specialized theoretical and speculative material without any conscious effort or thought.”
19 Miller p. 125
20 Ibid.
21 Some of the precepts of the hanhagot include: (translation of hanhagot by Schechter p. 238-9): “[...]not to be betrayed into anger, as anger delivers man into the power of sin; not to speak evil of any creature, including animals;[...] never take an oath, even on the truth; never to speak an untruth under any condition [...] ; not to indulge in banquets except on religious occasions [...] to behave in a kindly spirit toward their fellow-men, even though they be transgressors; to meet with one of the Associates for one or two hours every day for the purpose of discussing matters spiritual; to talk over with an Associate every friday the deeds accomplished during the week, and then set out for the reception of Queen Sabbath [...] ; to confess their sins before every meal and before going to sleep; to use the sacred language (Hebrew) when speaking with the Associates [...]”
22 Shechter 245, Fine 11.
23 (Ibid. Schechter)
24Fine 11, cf. Shechter 249
25 One of history’s most famous Jewish mystics who lived in Tzfat from 1570- 1572 and had an influence on de Vidas, as seen later in this essay.
26 Fine 13 (source in Sefer Hasidim)
27 Vital was a disciple of Isaac Luria and Cordovero and a peer of de Vidas though the Reishit Chochmah is more representative of Cordovero than Luria’s teachings, and Vital is generally known as Vital’s most important disciple. Interestingly, after Luria’s death, Vital kept his teachings secret except to a small number of followers, while de Vidas had the Reishit Chochmah (which he considered an entrance into Cordivero’s wisdom) published for the entire world Jewish population. Today, Luria’s teachings are more well known than Cordovero’s. though the differences between the two are not very great (see discussion later on).
28 Meltzer p.193
29 Fine 17, See also Horowitz, Elliot. “Coffee, Coffeehouses and the Nocturnal Rituals of Early Modern Jewry.” AJS Review 14 (1989): 17-46.
30 Horowitz, Elliot. “Coffee, Coffeehouses and the Nocturnal Rituals of Early Modern Jewry.” AJS Review 14 (1989): 17-46.
31 See Reishit Chochmah, Kedusha 7:59
32 The main ritualistic innovator in Tzfat was Shlomo Alkabetz, the author of Lecha Dodi, the central prayer of the Kabbalat Shabbat service, which was itself developed in Tzfat. The Tikkun Leyl Shavuot, practiced by some Jews today, is another ritual developed in 16th century Tzfat.
33 See Schochet, Tzavaat HaRivash (Schochet p. 3). Later Eastern European mystics, such as the Baal Shem Tov, adhered to this practice and proscribed rising at midnight to study Torah, but this is not surprising as the Besht derived many of his teachings from those of the mystics of Tzfat, particularly Reishit Chochmah. Part of the Besht’s advice to his students in Tzavaat HaRivash includes reading a little Musar everyday.
34 Faierstein 26, 251, Jacobs 162
35 Jacobs p. 162, Fine p. 23. Vital’s magical kabbalistic side is seen in his writings. In Sefer Hezyonot, he visits many different magicians and mediums (See Yosi Hiyut’s articles on the topic). His writings are significantly different than those of Cordovero and de Vidas in that he focuses on these magical themes.
36 Schechter 250
37 Jacobs p. 124, Werblowsky pp. 257- 259.
38 Reishit Chochmah, Introduction p. 1
39 Schechter 206
40 Kaplan 171
41 Schechter 209, for more details on the history of Tzfat see Avraham David, To Come to the Land.
42 Dan p. 83, David pp. 6-8.
43 Dan pp. 84
44 “The prestige of Jewish philosophy declined dramatically after the expulsion from Spain, and in the following centuries its impact on Jewish culture declined and in some places almost vanished. The world of Jewish thought was waiting for new ideas and new interpretations of Jewish tradition, which would take into account the recent upheavals, both physical and spiritual, of the expulsion from Spain. (Dan pp. 85).”
45 David p. 2
46 Ibid.
47 Faierstein 51. See endnote 23 above.
48 David p. 3
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid, p. 4
52 Schechter 230
53 "Safed gave to Judaism...the most important elements of Jewish culture in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, when the center moved to Eastern Europe. The basic pillars upon which the structure of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe rested were built in Safed in the sixteenth century (Dan 86)."
54 Kaplan 170
55 Ibid.
56 Waldman 60
57 According to Shimon Benyoset, the translator of the recent book, The Beginning of Wisdom, “He was born in Safed, and became an orphan at an early age. His childhood was spent in utmost poverty.” Though this source seems to feel that de Vidas was born to a poor family in Tzfat, the Encyclopedia Judaica and Avraham David do not provide such information on his childhood.
58 This can be inferred from comments in the Reishit Chochmah where he refers to the above rabbis. In particular, he refers to Cordovero in Reishit Chochmah on many occasions as ‘my teacher’.
59 See footnote 32.
60 Fine 31
61 Cordovero was so highly thought of that at 16 years old he was one of the four rabbis given ordination in the experiment of R’ Jacob Berab, the head rabbi of Tzfat before Karo.
62 Schechter 237, Fine 30
63 Divine Emanations
64 Meltzer 199-201
65 Likutei Torah- Parashat Hayyeh Sarah 70:79 [translation mine]
66 Isaac Luria’s system of tzimtzum-shvirat hakelim and tikkun olam is very similar to that of Cordovero, though the symbology and ritual of Luria’s system is arguably more innovative.
67 Waldman 61-62- translation mine.
68 Ibid.
69 Fine 84
70 See Waldman
71 See Schechter p. 261
72 Dan 102
73 Faierstein 6
74 Ibid.
75 After one dies they are required to appear before their loved ones in dreams before they can move on- this is called hibbut hakever.
76 Yirah 12:49
77 See Waldman’s introduction to Reishit Chochmah. Presented by R. Chayyim Palachi in his introduction to the book Tochachat Chayyim (1977).
78 Waldman 63
79 Reishit Chochmah, Intro. 45, trans. mine
80 Fine 84
81 Waldman 64. Accodring to Waldman, Shmuel Aripol of Tzfat refers to de Vidas as if he is already dead in his book Lev Chacham which was published in 1585. In The Beginning of Wisdom’s (tr. Shimon Benyoset) introduction (p. xxxc) it reports de Vidas’ death as being in Hebron in 1587.
82 Fine 90
83 See my comments above on Tzva’at HaRivash and Fine’s introduction to the Reishit Chochmah HaKatzar from Safed Spirituality.
84 Ibid. 87
85 Refer to Kaplan Meditation and Kabbalah (the chapter on Cordovero) for this discussion.
86 Ibid. 85
87 This book, which de Vidas quotes in his introduction, is a treatise on ethics that de Vidas found particularly important. It emphasizes the “duties of the heart” over the “duties of the limbs”. Hovot Ha-Levavot is also said to have been influenced by medieval Islamic thought.
88 See also Waldman 65
89 Fine believes that he cites them in ways that weren’t the intention of the original author (Fine 86).
90 In Waldman’s edition these five Gates are included in 3 volumes.
91 Ibid. Fine 86-7
92 Fine 85
93 I have translated the chapter headings for the Gate of Yirah directly from the Hebrew of Waldman’s edition. They sound somewhat strange, but I believe this sort of translation for chapter headings gives a sense of the way de Vidas wrote.
94 “The net effect is to immerse the reader in a comprehensive analysis of both conceptual and practical dimensions of the kabbalistic life as conceived by de Vidas (Fine 85).” For a deeper discussion of the structure of the Reishit Chochmah, see Mordechai Pachter’s PhD thesis, Homiletic and Ethical Literature of Safed in the Sixteenth Century [though difficult to find], which Fine himself used to write about the structure, or Fine’s, Safed Spirituality.
95 Dan 100
96 On several occasions Cordovero, De Vidas and Azikri all compare Ein Sof to Light. In Pardes Rimmonim’s Sha’ar HaGavanim, Cordovero uses this image. It is actually taken from a zoharic passage which compares keter to Ein Sof. Azikri also uses this image of Ein Sof as light in the beginning of Sefer Hareidim. He uses the image from the Zohar but also uses a story from the Gemara which he interprets kabbalistically, the Ein Sof radiates its light of the sefirot on the world like the sun shines on all of Caesar’s kingdom.
97 Yirah Introduction, p. 1.
98 Interestingly, the chapter on the sefirah of Malchut (which contains a discussion of Yirah) is the last chapter of Tomer Devorah.
99 This idea is similar to that presented in the 15th Gate of Pardes Rimmonim “From Below to Above,” in which Cordovero shows through a quote from Sefer Yetzirah that Malchut is bound up in keter and Ein Sof and visa versa. The quote from Sefer Yetzirah is that “Its end is wrapped up in Its beginning.” See the diagram in Pardes Rimmonim for clarification of how this works.
100 See Tomer Devorah last chapter.
101 For the acts’ own sake, and not for mercenary reasons. One is performing acts not because their learning dictates, but rather solely for the purpose of doing the act
102 Reishit Chochmah, Introduction, p. 1
103 See footnote 86
104 Reishit Chochmah, Yirah Perek 1:2-3....
105 Tomer Devorah Chapter 1
106 Look at the first three chapter’s of Azikri’s Sefer Hareidim as well.
107 Yirah 1:13
108 The residents of these four worlds are different kinds of angels. Sometimes in the Reishit Chochmah, the letter Yod corresponds to Yirah or Fear, Vav corresponds to Ahavah, or love 96and the second vav and heh correspond to Voice and Speech. In general, the Reishit Chochmah loves to divide ethical values up into kabbalistic symbols involving the numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5, 7, 10 and 13.
109 Ahavah 5:23
110 In the Pardes Rimmonim
111 From Crodovero’s Pardes Rimmonim, Shaar Hagavanim. Kaplan 181.
112 Ibid.
113 Yirah 5:26
114 Ahavah 5:40
115 Reishit Chochmah Intro. 12
116 Yirah 2:22-23
117 Yirah 2:23, Kedushah 10:11, Teshuvah 10:4
118 Yirah 7:13
119 Ibid. ot 22
120 Yirah 10:16
121 Yirah 10:14
122 Yirah 8:7
123 Sometimes five
124 Kedusha 4:36
125 Yirah 4:34
126 Ahavah 6:10
127 Kedushah 7:7-9
128 Teshuvah 1:45
129 Ahavah 9:5
130 Yirah 11:1-8
131 Kedushah 7: 35-40
132 Teshuvah 6:15, Kedusha 7:95
133 Kedusha 4:20
134 Ahavah 3:31
135 Yirah 7:12
136 Yirah 1:25
137 Yirah 7
138 Yirah 8:13
139 Yirah 15:11, Ahavah 2:33
140 Yirah 1:25
141 Reincarnation
142 Yirah 13:80-85
143 More on gilgul see Sefer Ha-Gilgulim by Vital, David Wexelman, The Jewish Concept of Reincarnation, and Scholem, On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead.
144 Kedushah 4:42
145 Three souls each of which has a total of 613 organs and tendons.
146 Yirah 7:12
147 Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah. Pp. 112- 152. According to Idel hitbodedut can be translated as concentration.
148 Ibid. 115
149 Ibid. 113
150 Ibid. 115. Idel says regarding this passage, “The meaning of the sensuous and clinging to the intelligibles, together with a detailed description of the process, appears in an extremely important passage attributed to R. Isaac of Acre, quoted in the book Reishit Chochmah by R. Elijah de Vidas.”
151 Communion with God
152 Fine p. 20.
153 Yirah 1:42
154 Ahavah Introduction
155 Two different parts of the supernal world where these parts of the soul originate.
156 At the moment of conception.
157 This paragraph is from Zalman Shachter in The Garden of Pomegranates.
158Reishit Chochmah, Yirah 1:2-3
159Miller 127-129 [translation mine].
160 For a good discussion of Jewish post-modern morality see: Toward a Jewish (M)orality: Speaking of Postmodern Jewish Ethics, by S. Daniel Breslauer.
161 Yirah 5:26