#zohar — Public Fediverse posts

Kabbalah, Part 1

Also spelled Qabalah or Qabbala. It literally means the act of receiving, acceptance.

This is an esoteric method, discipline, & school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (“receiver”).

Jewish Kabbalists originally developed transmissions of the primary texts of Kabbalah within the realm of Jewish tradition. Often using classical Jewish scriptures to explain & demonstrate their mystical teachings.

Kabbalah came out of earlier forms of Jewish mysticism in 12th-13th century Occitania, specifically in Languedoc, among Hakhmei Provence.

Following the movement of Jews from Southern France & Spain, it was found in the Rhineland school of Judah the Pious, al-Andalus, L& was reinterpreted during the Jewish mystical Renaissance in the 16th-century Ottoman Palestine.

The Zohar was authored in the late 13th century, likely by Moses de Leon. Isaac Luria (16th century) is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah. Lurianic Kabbalah was popularized in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century onwards.

The primary texts of the major lineage in medieval Jewish tradition are the Bahir, Zohar, Pardes Rimonim, & Et Chayim (‘Ein Sof’). The early Hekhalot literature is recognized as ancestral to the sensibilities of this later flowering of the Kabbalah, & more especially, the Sefer Yetzirah is acknowledged as the forerunner from which many of these books draw their formal inspiration.

The Sefer Yetzirah is a brief document of only a few pages, written many centuries before the high & late medieval works (sometime between 200-600 CE), detailing an alphanumeric vision of cosmology & may be understood as a kind of prelude to the major phase of Kabbalah.

The history of Jewish mysticism encompasses various forms of esoteric & spiritual practices aimed at understanding the divine & the hidden aspects of existence. This mystical tradition has evolved greatly over millennia, influencing & being influenced by different historical, cultural, & religious contexts.

Among the most prominent forms of Jewish mysticism is Kabbalah, which developed in the 12th century & has since become a central component of Jewish mystical thought. Other notable early forms include prophetic & apocalyptic mysticism, which are evident in biblical & post-biblical texts.

The roots of Jewish mysticism can be traced back to the biblical era, with prophetic figures such as Elijah & Ezekiel experiencing divine visions & encounters. This tradition continued into the apocalyptic period, where texts like 1 Enoch & the Book of Daniel introduced complex angelology & eschatological themes.

The Hekhalot & Merkabah literature, dating from the 2nd century to the early medieval period, further developed these mystical themes. This focuses on visionary ascents to the heavenly palaces & the divine chariot. Hekhalot literature (from the Hebrew word for “Palaces”) relates to visions of entering Heaven alive.

Merkabah (or Merkavah) mysticism is a school of Jewish mysticism, centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1, or in the hekhalot literature, concerning stories of ascents to the heavenly palaces & the Throne of God.

According to the Zohar, Torah study can proceed along 4 levels of interpretation (exegesis). These 4 levels are called pardes from their initial letters (PRDs, “orchard”):

• Peshat (“simple”): The direct interpretations of meaning.
• Remez (“hints”): The allegoric meanings (through allusion).
• Derash (from the Hebrew darash, “inquire” or “seek): Midrashic (rabbinic) meanings, often with imaginative comparisons with similar words or verses.
• Sod (“secret” or “mystery”): The inner, esoteric (metaphysical) meanings, expressed in kabbalah.

Kabbalah is considered by its followers as a necessary part of the study of the Torah. The study of the Torah (the Tanakh & rabbinic literature) is an inherent duty of observant Jews.

There are 3 different types of Kabbalah: Lurianic Kabbalah, Meditative-Ecstatic Kabbalah, & Practical Kabbalah. These 3 types can be distinguished by their basic intent with respect to God:

• The Theosohical/Theosophical-Theurgic tradition of Theoretical Kabbalah (the main focus of the Zohar & Luria) seeks to understand & describe the divine realm using the imaginative & mythic symbols of human psychological experience. Its theosophy also implies the innate, centrally important theurgic influence of human conduct on redeeming or damaging the spiritual realms, as man is a divine microcosm. The purpose of traditional theosophical kabbalah was to give the whole of normative Jewish religious practices this mystical metaphysical meaning.
• The Meditative tradition of Ecstatic Kabbalah strives to achieve a mystical union with God, or nullification of the meditator in God’s Active intellect. Abraham Abulafia’s “Prophetic Kabbalah” was the supreme example of this. Though marginal in Kabbalistic development. His alternative to the program of theosophical Kabbalah. Abulafian meditation built upon the philosophy of Maimonides, whose followers remained a rationalist threat to theosophical Kabbalists.
• The Magico-Talismanic tradition of Practical Kabbalah endeavours to alter both the Divine realms & the World using practical methods. While theosophical interpretations of worship see its redemptive role as harmonizing heavenly forces, Practical Kabbalah properly involved Practial Kabbalah properly involved white-magical acts, & was censored by Kabbalists for only those completely pure of intent, as it relates to lower realms where purity & impurity are mixed. Consequently, it formed a separate minor tradition shunned from Kabbalah. Practical Kabbalah was prohibited by the Arizal until the Temple is rebuilt & the required state of ritual purity is attainable.

According to Kabbalistic belief, early kabbalistic knowledge was imparted orally by the Patriarchs, prophets, & sages. Eventually, to be “interwoven” into Jewish religious writings & culture. According to this view, early kabbalah was, around the 10th century BCE, an open knowledge practiced by over a million people in ancient Israel.

Foreign conquests drove the Jewish spiritual leadership of the time (the Sanhedrin) to hide the knowledge & make it secret, fearing that it might be misused if it fell into the wrong hands.

From the Renaissance onward, Jewish Kabbalah texts entered non-Jewish (Gentile) spaces. Where they studied & translated by Christian Hebraists & Hermetic occultists. Christian Hebraists are scholars of Hebrew texts who approach the works from a Christian perspective.

The syncretic traditions of Christian & Hermetic Kabbalah developed independently of Jewish Kabbalah. They read Jewish texts as universalist ancient wisdom preserved from Gnostic traditions of “the olden days.” Both adapted the Jewish concepts freely from their Jewish understanding. This made it possible to merge with multiple other theologies, religious traditions, & magical associations. In the time of the Age of Reason, Christian Kabbalah declined. Hermetic Kabbalah took a much different route, a route that some secretive “societies” went: they went underground.

The technical definition of Kabbalah varies according to sect & the aims of those following it. In its earliest & original usage in ancient Hebrew, it means “reception” or “tradition.” In this context, it tends to refer to any sacred writing written after (or otherwise outside of) the 5 books of the Torah. (This is the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament.)

After the Talmud was written, it refers to the Oral Law. In the much later writings of Eleazar of Worms (circa 1350), it refers to theurgy or the conjuring of demons & angels by the invocation of their secret names.

The nature of the divine prompted kabbalists to envision 2 aspects to God: 1.) God is essence, absolutely transcendent, unknowable, limitless divine simplicity beyond revelation, & 2.) God in manifestation, the revealed persona of God through which He creates, sustains, & relates to humankind.

Kabbalists speak of the 1st as the Ein Sof (“the infinite/endless,” literally “there is no end”). Of the impersonal Ein Sof, nothing can be grasped.

However, the 2nd aspect of divine emanations, accessible to human perception, dynamically interacting throughout spiritual & physical existence, reveals the divine immanently, & is bound up in the life of man. Kabbalists believe that these 2 aspects aren’t contradictory but complement 1 another, emanations mystically revealing the concealed mystery from within the Godhead.

As a term describing the Infinite Godhead beyond Creation, Kabbalists viewed the Ein Sof itself as too sublime to be referred to directly in the Torah. It’s not a Holy Name in Judaism. No name could contain a revelation of the Ein Sof.

The structure of emanations has been described in various ways: Sephirot (divine attributes) & Partzufim (divine “faces”), Ohr (spiritual light & flow), Names of God & supernal Torah, Olamot (spiritual worlds), a Divine Tree & Archetypal Man, Angelic Chariot & Palaces, male & female, enclothed layers of reality, inwardly channels (“limbs” of the King) & the divine Souls of Man.

These symbols are used to describe various levels & aspects of Divine manifestation, from the Pnimi (inner) dimensions to the Hitzoni (outer). It’s solely in relation to the emanations, certainly not the Ein Sof Ground of all Being, that Kabbalah uses anthropomorphic symbolism to relate psychologically to divinity.

The Sephirot/Sefirot/Sefirah are the 10 emanations & attributes of God with which He continually sustains the existence of the universe. These emanations are viewed as parts of God’s divine nature, which reveal themselves in different ways.

The Zohar & other Kabbalistic texts elaborate on the emergence of the sephirot from a state of concealed potential in the Ein Sof until their manifestation in the mundane world. In particular, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (known as “the Ramak”) describes how God emanated the myriad details of finite reality out of the absolute unity of Divine Light via the 10 sephirot, or vessels.

According to Lurianic cosmology, the sephirot correspond to various levels of creation. 10 sephirot are in each of the 4 Worlds. 4 Worlds within each of the larger 4 Worlds, each containing 10 sephirot, which themselves contain 10 sephirot, which themselves contain 10 sephirot, to an infinite number of possibilities.

They emanated from the Creator for the purpose of creating the universe. The sephirot are considered revelations of the Creator’s will (ratzon), & they shouldn’t be understood as 10 different “gods” but through the Emanations. It’s not God who changes but the ability to perceive God that changes.

Divine creation through the 10 Sephirot is an ethical process. They represent the different aspects of Morality. Loving-Kindness is a possible moral justification found in Chessed, & Gevurah is the Moral Justification of justice, & both are mediated by Mercy, which is Rachamim.

However, these pillars of morality become immoral when taken to extremes. When Loving-Kindness becomes extreme, it can lead to sexual depravity & a lack of Justice to the wicked. When Justice becomes extreme, it can lead to torture & the Cain-ing of innocents & unfair punishment.

The tzadikim or “righteous” ascend these ethical qualities of the 10 sephirot through righteous action. If there were no tzadikim, the blessings of God would become completely hidden, & Creation would cease to exist.

While real human actions are the “Foundation” (Yesod) of this universe (Malkuth), they must be accompanied by the conscious intention of compassion. Compassionate actions are often impossible without faith (Emunah), meaning trusting that God seems hidden.

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Kabbalah, Part 1

Also spelled Qabalah or Qabbala. It literally means the act of receiving, acceptance.

This is an esoteric method, discipline, & school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (“receiver”).

Jewish Kabbalists originally developed transmissions of the primary texts of Kabbalah within the realm of Jewish tradition. Often using classical Jewish scriptures to explain & demonstrate their mystical teachings.

Kabbalah came out of earlier forms of Jewish mysticism in 12th-13th century Occitania, specifically in Languedoc, among Hakhmei Provence.

Following the movement of Jews from Southern France & Spain, it was found in the Rhineland school of Judah the Pious, al-Andalus, L& was reinterpreted during the Jewish mystical Renaissance in the 16th-century Ottoman Palestine.

The Zohar was authored in the late 13th century, likely by Moses de Leon. Isaac Luria (16th century) is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah. Lurianic Kabbalah was popularized in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century onwards.

The primary texts of the major lineage in medieval Jewish tradition are the Bahir, Zohar, Pardes Rimonim, & Et Chayim (‘Ein Sof’). The early Hekhalot literature is recognized as ancestral to the sensibilities of this later flowering of the Kabbalah, & more especially, the Sefer Yetzirah is acknowledged as the forerunner from which many of these books draw their formal inspiration.

The Sefer Yetzirah is a brief document of only a few pages, written many centuries before the high & late medieval works (sometime between 200-600 CE), detailing an alphanumeric vision of cosmology & may be understood as a kind of prelude to the major phase of Kabbalah.

The history of Jewish mysticism encompasses various forms of esoteric & spiritual practices aimed at understanding the divine & the hidden aspects of existence. This mystical tradition has evolved greatly over millennia, influencing & being influenced by different historical, cultural, & religious contexts.

Among the most prominent forms of Jewish mysticism is Kabbalah, which developed in the 12th century & has since become a central component of Jewish mystical thought. Other notable early forms include prophetic & apocalyptic mysticism, which are evident in biblical & post-biblical texts.

The roots of Jewish mysticism can be traced back to the biblical era, with prophetic figures such as Elijah & Ezekiel experiencing divine visions & encounters. This tradition continued into the apocalyptic period, where texts like 1 Enoch & the Book of Daniel introduced complex angelology & eschatological themes.

The Hekhalot & Merkabah literature, dating from the 2nd century to the early medieval period, further developed these mystical themes. This focuses on visionary ascents to the heavenly palaces & the divine chariot. Hekhalot literature (from the Hebrew word for “Palaces”) relates to visions of entering Heaven alive.

Merkabah (or Merkavah) mysticism is a school of Jewish mysticism, centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1, or in the hekhalot literature, concerning stories of ascents to the heavenly palaces & the Throne of God.

According to the Zohar, Torah study can proceed along 4 levels of interpretation (exegesis). These 4 levels are called pardes from their initial letters (PRDs, “orchard”):

• Peshat (“simple”): The direct interpretations of meaning.
• Remez (“hints”): The allegoric meanings (through allusion).
• Derash (from the Hebrew darash, “inquire” or “seek): Midrashic (rabbinic) meanings, often with imaginative comparisons with similar words or verses.
• Sod (“secret” or “mystery”): The inner, esoteric (metaphysical) meanings, expressed in kabbalah.

Kabbalah is considered by its followers as a necessary part of the study of the Torah. The study of the Torah (the Tanakh & rabbinic literature) is an inherent duty of observant Jews.

There are 3 different types of Kabbalah: Lurianic Kabbalah, Meditative-Ecstatic Kabbalah, & Practical Kabbalah. These 3 types can be distinguished by their basic intent with respect to God:

• The Theosohical/Theosophical-Theurgic tradition of Theoretical Kabbalah (the main focus of the Zohar & Luria) seeks to understand & describe the divine realm using the imaginative & mythic symbols of human psychological experience. Its theosophy also implies the innate, centrally important theurgic influence of human conduct on redeeming or damaging the spiritual realms, as man is a divine microcosm. The purpose of traditional theosophical kabbalah was to give the whole of normative Jewish religious practices this mystical metaphysical meaning.
• The Meditative tradition of Ecstatic Kabbalah strives to achieve a mystical union with God, or nullification of the meditator in God’s Active intellect. Abraham Abulafia’s “Prophetic Kabbalah” was the supreme example of this. Though marginal in Kabbalistic development. His alternative to the program of theosophical Kabbalah. Abulafian meditation built upon the philosophy of Maimonides, whose followers remained a rationalist threat to theosophical Kabbalists.
• The Magico-Talismanic tradition of Practical Kabbalah endeavours to alter both the Divine realms & the World using practical methods. While theosophical interpretations of worship see its redemptive role as harmonizing heavenly forces, Practical Kabbalah properly involved Practial Kabbalah properly involved white-magical acts, & was censored by Kabbalists for only those completely pure of intent, as it relates to lower realms where purity & impurity are mixed. Consequently, it formed a separate minor tradition shunned from Kabbalah. Practical Kabbalah was prohibited by the Arizal until the Temple is rebuilt & the required state of ritual purity is attainable.

According to Kabbalistic belief, early kabbalistic knowledge was imparted orally by the Patriarchs, prophets, & sages. Eventually, to be “interwoven” into Jewish religious writings & culture. According to this view, early kabbalah was, around the 10th century BCE, an open knowledge practiced by over a million people in ancient Israel.

Foreign conquests drove the Jewish spiritual leadership of the time (the Sanhedrin) to hide the knowledge & make it secret, fearing that it might be misused if it fell into the wrong hands.

From the Renaissance onward, Jewish Kabbalah texts entered non-Jewish (Gentile) spaces. Where they studied & translated by Christian Hebraists & Hermetic occultists. Christian Hebraists are scholars of Hebrew texts who approach the works from a Christian perspective.

The syncretic traditions of Christian & Hermetic Kabbalah developed independently of Jewish Kabbalah. They read Jewish texts as universalist ancient wisdom preserved from Gnostic traditions of “the olden days.” Both adapted the Jewish concepts freely from their Jewish understanding. This made it possible to merge with multiple other theologies, religious traditions, & magical associations. In the time of the Age of Reason, Christian Kabbalah declined. Hermetic Kabbalah took a much different route, a route that some secretive “societies” went: they went underground.

The technical definition of Kabbalah varies according to sect & the aims of those following it. In its earliest & original usage in ancient Hebrew, it means “reception” or “tradition.” In this context, it tends to refer to any sacred writing written after (or otherwise outside of) the 5 books of the Torah. (This is the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament.)

After the Talmud was written, it refers to the Oral Law. In the much later writings of Eleazar of Worms (circa 1350), it refers to theurgy or the conjuring of demons & angels by the invocation of their secret names.

The nature of the divine prompted kabbalists to envision 2 aspects to God: 1.) God is essence, absolutely transcendent, unknowable, limitless divine simplicity beyond revelation, & 2.) God in manifestation, the revealed persona of God through which He creates, sustains, & relates to humankind.

Kabbalists speak of the 1st as the Ein Sof (“the infinite/endless,” literally “there is no end”). Of the impersonal Ein Sof, nothing can be grasped.

However, the 2nd aspect of divine emanations, accessible to human perception, dynamically interacting throughout spiritual & physical existence, reveals the divine immanently, & is bound up in the life of man. Kabbalists believe that these 2 aspects aren’t contradictory but complement 1 another, emanations mystically revealing the concealed mystery from within the Godhead.

As a term describing the Infinite Godhead beyond Creation, Kabbalists viewed the Ein Sof itself as too sublime to be referred to directly in the Torah. It’s not a Holy Name in Judaism. No name could contain a revelation of the Ein Sof.

The structure of emanations has been described in various ways: Sephirot (divine attributes) & Partzufim (divine “faces”), Ohr (spiritual light & flow), Names of God & supernal Torah, Olamot (spiritual worlds), a Divine Tree & Archetypal Man, Angelic Chariot & Palaces, male & female, enclothed layers of reality, inwardly channels (“limbs” of the King) & the divine Souls of Man.

These symbols are used to describe various levels & aspects of Divine manifestation, from the Pnimi (inner) dimensions to the Hitzoni (outer). It’s solely in relation to the emanations, certainly not the Ein Sof Ground of all Being, that Kabbalah uses anthropomorphic symbolism to relate psychologically to divinity.

The Sephirot/Sefirot/Sefirah are the 10 emanations & attributes of God with which He continually sustains the existence of the universe. These emanations are viewed as parts of God’s divine nature, which reveal themselves in different ways.

The Zohar & other Kabbalistic texts elaborate on the emergence of the sephirot from a state of concealed potential in the Ein Sof until their manifestation in the mundane world. In particular, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (known as “the Ramak”) describes how God emanated the myriad details of finite reality out of the absolute unity of Divine Light via the 10 sephirot, or vessels.

According to Lurianic cosmology, the sephirot correspond to various levels of creation. 10 sephirot are in each of the 4 Worlds. 4 Worlds within each of the larger 4 Worlds, each containing 10 sephirot, which themselves contain 10 sephirot, which themselves contain 10 sephirot, to an infinite number of possibilities.

They emanated from the Creator for the purpose of creating the universe. The sephirot are considered revelations of the Creator’s will (ratzon), & they shouldn’t be understood as 10 different “gods” but through the Emanations. It’s not God who changes but the ability to perceive God that changes.

Divine creation through the 10 Sephirot is an ethical process. They represent the different aspects of Morality. Loving-Kindness is a possible moral justification found in Chessed, & Gevurah is the Moral Justification of justice, & both are mediated by Mercy, which is Rachamim.

However, these pillars of morality become immoral when taken to extremes. When Loving-Kindness becomes extreme, it can lead to sexual depravity & a lack of Justice to the wicked. When Justice becomes extreme, it can lead to torture & the Cain-ing of innocents & unfair punishment.

The tzadikim or “righteous” ascend these ethical qualities of the 10 sephirot through righteous action. If there were no tzadikim, the blessings of God would become completely hidden, & Creation would cease to exist.

While real human actions are the “Foundation” (Yesod) of this universe (Malkuth), they must be accompanied by the conscious intention of compassion. Compassionate actions are often impossible without faith (Emunah), meaning trusting that God seems hidden.

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The Watchers

A watcher is a type of biblical angel. It shows up in both plural & singular forms in the Book of Daniel. This is where reference is made to the holiness of the beings. The Book of Enoch (2nd-1st century BC) refer to both good & bad Watchers, with a mani focus on the rebellious ones.

In Daniel 4:13, 17, & 23, there’s 3 references to the class of “watcher, holy ones.” The term was intro’ed by Nebuchaddnezzar who said he saw ” a watcher, a holy cone come down from Heaven.” He described how in his dream the watcher said that Nebuchdnezzzar will eat grass & be crazy. This punishment is “by the decree of the watchers, the demand by the word of the holy ones…” “that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.”

The 1st Book of Enoch devotes a lot of attention to the fall of the Watchers. The 2nd Book of Enoch addresses the Watchers who are in the 5th Heaven where the fall took place. The 3rd Book of Enoch gives attention to the unfallen watchers.

In the Book of Enoch, the Watchers are angels sent to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for/after human women, & at the prodding of their leader, Samyaza, defect to illicitly instruct mankind & have kids with them, arriving at Mount Hermon. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim savage giants who pillage the earth & endanger humanity.

Samyaza & his associates further taught their human “charges” arts & tech such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, & other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once.

Eventually, God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim. But 1st sends the archangel Uriel to warn Noah so as not to completely destroy the human race. The watchers are bound “in the valley of the Earth” until Judgment Day (Jude 1:6). This is where some theories pop up. Like they’re in the Marianus Trench or in the depths of the Grand Canyon or in a mountain base.

The Book of Enoch also lists the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who married & consummated unnatural unions with human women, & who taught forbidden knowledge. Some are listed in the Book of Raziel (Sefer Raziel Hamalakh), the Zohar, & Jubilees. Here’s a short list of them:

• Araqiel: Taught humans the signs of the earth (geomancy). However, in the Sibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as a fallen angel (or watcher) but as 1 of the 5 angels who lead the souls of humans to judgment.
• Armaros: In I Enoch, taught humanity the resolving of enchantments.
• Azazel: Taught humans to make knives, swords, shields, & how to devise ornaments & cosmetics, metallurgy (specifically in the context of war)
• Gadreel: Taught the art of cosmetics (camouflage), the use of weapons & killing blows (martial arts & weaponry).
• Baraqel: Taught the signs of the stars (astrology)
• Chazaqiel: Taught humans the signs of the clouds (meteorology)
• Kokabiel: In the Book of Raziel, he’s a high-ranking, holy angel. In I Enoch, he’s a fallen watcher, resident of Hell, & commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding.
• Penemue: Taught mankind the art of writing with ink & paper, & taught the kids of men the bitter & the sweet & the secrets of wisdom.
• Sariel: Taught mankind about the courses of the moon.
• Samyaza: 1 of the leaders of the fall from Heaven in Vocabulaire de l’Angelolgie.
• Shamsiel: Once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as 1 of the 2 chief aides to the archangel Uriel, when Uriel bore his standard into battle, & is the head of 365 legions of angels & also crowns prayers, accompanying them into the 5th Heaven. In Jubilees, he’s referred to as 1 of the Watchers. He’s a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
• Yeqon/Jeqon: He was the ringleader who 1st tempted the other Watchers into having adult spicy naked time with humans. His accomplices were: Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, & Kasdaye, who were all identified as individual “Satans.”

The Jewish pseudepigraphon 2nd Book of Enoch (Slavonic Enoch) referred to the Grigori. They’re the same as the Watchers in 1st Enoch. Chapter 18 presents the Grigori as countless soldiers with human appearance.

They’re located in the 5th Heaven. They’re identified as “the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail (Yes, you are reading that correctly) rejects the Lord of light.” One version of 2 Enoch adds that their number was/is 200 myriads (2 million).

Chapter 29, referring to the 2nd day of creation, before the creation of human beings, says that “One from out the order of angels” or “one of the ranks of the archangels” “conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to the Lord’s power. And the Lord threw him out from the height with his angels, & he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.”

The Mercer Dictionary of the Bible makes a distinction between the Grigori & the fallen angels by stating that in the 5th Heaven, Enoch sees “the giants whose brothers were the fallen angels.”

The longer recension of 2 Enoch 18:3 identifies the prisoners of the 2nd Heaven as the angels of Satanail.

First Corinthians 11:10, according to early Church Father Tertullian, refers to the Watchers. He taught that the lust of the Watchers was the reason for St. Paul’s directive to Christian women to wear a head covering. Tertullian referenced the case of a woman who was touched on the neck by an angel “who found her to be a temptation.”

According to Philo of Byblos, Sanchuniathon mentioned “some living beings who had no perception, out of whom intelligent beings came into existence, & they were called Zophasemin (In Hebrew: “Watchers of Heaven”). And they were formed like the shape of an egg.”

In the 1999 movie Dogma, the character Bartleby (played by Ben Affleck) is mentioned to have formerly been a Watcher. In the TV show Supernatural (season 10), the Grigori with 1 Tamiel (under the name “Peter Holloway”) appears as the main enemy of the episode. At 1 point, a picture is shown that is implied to be a painting of a Grigori. In the original Dragon’s Dogma, the dragon is called Grigori.

In the 1998 movie City of Angels (this is 1 of our founders’ favorite movies), Nicolas Cage plays a watcher angel who falls in love with a human woman (played by Meg Ryan).

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The Watchers

A watcher is a type of biblical angel. It shows up in both plural & singular forms in the Book of Daniel. This is where reference is made to the holiness of the beings. The Book of Enoch (2nd-1st century BC) refer to both good & bad Watchers, with a mani focus on the rebellious ones.

In Daniel 4:13, 17, & 23, there’s 3 references to the class of “watcher, holy ones.” The term was intro’ed by Nebuchaddnezzar who said he saw ” a watcher, a holy cone come down from Heaven.” He described how in his dream the watcher said that Nebuchdnezzzar will eat grass & be crazy. This punishment is “by the decree of the watchers, the demand by the word of the holy ones…” “that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.”

The 1st Book of Enoch devotes a lot of attention to the fall of the Watchers. The 2nd Book of Enoch addresses the Watchers who are in the 5th Heaven where the fall took place. The 3rd Book of Enoch gives attention to the unfallen watchers.

In the Book of Enoch, the Watchers are angels sent to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for/after human women, & at the prodding of their leader, Samyaza, defect to illicitly instruct mankind & have kids with them, arriving at Mount Hermon. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim savage giants who pillage the earth & endanger humanity.

Samyaza & his associates further taught their human “charges” arts & tech such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, & other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once.

Eventually, God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim. But 1st sends the archangel Uriel to warn Noah so as not to completely destroy the human race. The watchers are bound “in the valley of the Earth” until Judgment Day (Jude 1:6). This is where some theories pop up. Like they’re in the Marianus Trench or in the depths of the Grand Canyon or in a mountain base.

The Book of Enoch also lists the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who married & consummated unnatural unions with human women, & who taught forbidden knowledge. Some are listed in the Book of Raziel (Sefer Raziel Hamalakh), the Zohar, & Jubilees. Here’s a short list of them:

• Araqiel: Taught humans the signs of the earth (geomancy). However, in the Sibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as a fallen angel (or watcher) but as 1 of the 5 angels who lead the souls of humans to judgment.
• Armaros: In I Enoch, taught humanity the resolving of enchantments.
• Azazel: Taught humans to make knives, swords, shields, & how to devise ornaments & cosmetics, metallurgy (specifically in the context of war)
• Gadreel: Taught the art of cosmetics (camouflage), the use of weapons & killing blows (martial arts & weaponry).
• Baraqel: Taught the signs of the stars (astrology)
• Chazaqiel: Taught humans the signs of the clouds (meteorology)
• Kokabiel: In the Book of Raziel, he’s a high-ranking, holy angel. In I Enoch, he’s a fallen watcher, resident of Hell, & commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding.
• Penemue: Taught mankind the art of writing with ink & paper, & taught the kids of men the bitter & the sweet & the secrets of wisdom.
• Sariel: Taught mankind about the courses of the moon.
• Samyaza: 1 of the leaders of the fall from Heaven in Vocabulaire de l’Angelolgie.
• Shamsiel: Once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as 1 of the 2 chief aides to the archangel Uriel, when Uriel bore his standard into battle, & is the head of 365 legions of angels & also crowns prayers, accompanying them into the 5th Heaven. In Jubilees, he’s referred to as 1 of the Watchers. He’s a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
• Yeqon/Jeqon: He was the ringleader who 1st tempted the other Watchers into having adult spicy naked time with humans. His accomplices were: Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, & Kasdaye, who were all identified as individual “Satans.”

The Jewish pseudepigraphon 2nd Book of Enoch (Slavonic Enoch) referred to the Grigori. They’re the same as the Watchers in 1st Enoch. Chapter 18 presents the Grigori as countless soldiers with human appearance.

They’re located in the 5th Heaven. They’re identified as “the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail (Yes, you are reading that correctly) rejects the Lord of light.” One version of 2 Enoch adds that their number was/is 200 myriads (2 million).

Chapter 29, referring to the 2nd day of creation, before the creation of human beings, says that “One from out the order of angels” or “one of the ranks of the archangels” “conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to the Lord’s power. And the Lord threw him out from the height with his angels, & he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.”

The Mercer Dictionary of the Bible makes a distinction between the Grigori & the fallen angels by stating that in the 5th Heaven, Enoch sees “the giants whose brothers were the fallen angels.”

The longer recension of 2 Enoch 18:3 identifies the prisoners of the 2nd Heaven as the angels of Satanail.

First Corinthians 11:10, according to early Church Father Tertullian, refers to the Watchers. He taught that the lust of the Watchers was the reason for St. Paul’s directive to Christian women to wear a head covering. Tertullian referenced the case of a woman who was touched on the neck by an angel “who found her to be a temptation.”

According to Philo of Byblos, Sanchuniathon mentioned “some living beings who had no perception, out of whom intelligent beings came into existence, & they were called Zophasemin (In Hebrew: “Watchers of Heaven”). And they were formed like the shape of an egg.”

In the 1999 movie Dogma, the character Bartleby (played by Ben Affleck) is mentioned to have formerly been a Watcher. In the TV show Supernatural (season 10), the Grigori with 1 Tamiel (under the name “Peter Holloway”) appears as the main enemy of the episode. At 1 point, a picture is shown that is implied to be a painting of a Grigori. In the original Dragon’s Dogma, the dragon is called Grigori.

In the 1998 movie City of Angels (this is 1 of our founders’ favorite movies), Nicolas Cage plays a watcher angel who falls in love with a human woman (played by Meg Ryan).

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Make a monthly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a yearly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

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The Watchers

A watcher is a type of biblical angel. It shows up in both plural & singular forms in the Book of Daniel. This is where reference is made to the holiness of the beings. The Book of Enoch (2nd-1st century BC) refer to both good & bad Watchers, with a mani focus on the rebellious ones.

In Daniel 4:13, 17, & 23, there’s 3 references to the class of “watcher, holy ones.” The term was intro’ed by Nebuchaddnezzar who said he saw ” a watcher, a holy cone come down from Heaven.” He described how in his dream the watcher said that Nebuchdnezzzar will eat grass & be crazy. This punishment is “by the decree of the watchers, the demand by the word of the holy ones…” “that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.”

The 1st Book of Enoch devotes a lot of attention to the fall of the Watchers. The 2nd Book of Enoch addresses the Watchers who are in the 5th Heaven where the fall took place. The 3rd Book of Enoch gives attention to the unfallen watchers.

In the Book of Enoch, the Watchers are angels sent to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for/after human women, & at the prodding of their leader, Samyaza, defect to illicitly instruct mankind & have kids with them, arriving at Mount Hermon. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim savage giants who pillage the earth & endanger humanity.

Samyaza & his associates further taught their human “charges” arts & tech such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, & other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once.

Eventually, God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim. But 1st sends the archangel Uriel to warn Noah so as not to completely destroy the human race. The watchers are bound “in the valley of the Earth” until Judgment Day (Jude 1:6). This is where some theories pop up. Like they’re in the Marianus Trench or in the depths of the Grand Canyon or in a mountain base.

The Book of Enoch also lists the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who married & consummated unnatural unions with human women, & who taught forbidden knowledge. Some are listed in the Book of Raziel (Sefer Raziel Hamalakh), the Zohar, & Jubilees. Here’s a short list of them:

• Araqiel: Taught humans the signs of the earth (geomancy). However, in the Sibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as a fallen angel (or watcher) but as 1 of the 5 angels who lead the souls of humans to judgment.
• Armaros: In I Enoch, taught humanity the resolving of enchantments.
• Azazel: Taught humans to make knives, swords, shields, & how to devise ornaments & cosmetics, metallurgy (specifically in the context of war)
• Gadreel: Taught the art of cosmetics (camouflage), the use of weapons & killing blows (martial arts & weaponry).
• Baraqel: Taught the signs of the stars (astrology)
• Chazaqiel: Taught humans the signs of the clouds (meteorology)
• Kokabiel: In the Book of Raziel, he’s a high-ranking, holy angel. In I Enoch, he’s a fallen watcher, resident of Hell, & commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding.
• Penemue: Taught mankind the art of writing with ink & paper, & taught the kids of men the bitter & the sweet & the secrets of wisdom.
• Sariel: Taught mankind about the courses of the moon.
• Samyaza: 1 of the leaders of the fall from Heaven in Vocabulaire de l’Angelolgie.
• Shamsiel: Once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as 1 of the 2 chief aides to the archangel Uriel, when Uriel bore his standard into battle, & is the head of 365 legions of angels & also crowns prayers, accompanying them into the 5th Heaven. In Jubilees, he’s referred to as 1 of the Watchers. He’s a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
• Yeqon/Jeqon: He was the ringleader who 1st tempted the other Watchers into having adult spicy naked time with humans. His accomplices were: Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, & Kasdaye, who were all identified as individual “Satans.”

The Jewish pseudepigraphon 2nd Book of Enoch (Slavonic Enoch) referred to the Grigori. They’re the same as the Watchers in 1st Enoch. Chapter 18 presents the Grigori as countless soldiers with human appearance.

They’re located in the 5th Heaven. They’re identified as “the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail (Yes, you are reading that correctly) rejects the Lord of light.” One version of 2 Enoch adds that their number was/is 200 myriads (2 million).

Chapter 29, referring to the 2nd day of creation, before the creation of human beings, says that “One from out the order of angels” or “one of the ranks of the archangels” “conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to the Lord’s power. And the Lord threw him out from the height with his angels, & he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.”

The Mercer Dictionary of the Bible makes a distinction between the Grigori & the fallen angels by stating that in the 5th Heaven, Enoch sees “the giants whose brothers were the fallen angels.”

The longer recension of 2 Enoch 18:3 identifies the prisoners of the 2nd Heaven as the angels of Satanail.

First Corinthians 11:10, according to early Church Father Tertullian, refers to the Watchers. He taught that the lust of the Watchers was the reason for St. Paul’s directive to Christian women to wear a head covering. Tertullian referenced the case of a woman who was touched on the neck by an angel “who found her to be a temptation.”

According to Philo of Byblos, Sanchuniathon mentioned “some living beings who had no perception, out of whom intelligent beings came into existence, & they were called Zophasemin (In Hebrew: “Watchers of Heaven”). And they were formed like the shape of an egg.”

In the 1999 movie Dogma, the character Bartleby (played by Ben Affleck) is mentioned to have formerly been a Watcher. In the TV show Supernatural (season 10), the Grigori with 1 Tamiel (under the name “Peter Holloway”) appears as the main enemy of the episode. At 1 point, a picture is shown that is implied to be a painting of a Grigori. In the original Dragon’s Dogma, the dragon is called Grigori.

In the 1998 movie City of Angels (this is 1 of our founders’ favorite movies), Nicolas Cage plays a watcher angel who falls in love with a human woman (played by Meg Ryan).

Make a one-time donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a monthly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a yearly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Rate this:

The Watchers

A watcher is a type of biblical angel. It shows up in both plural & singular forms in the Book of Daniel. This is where reference is made to the holiness of the beings. The Book of Enoch (2nd-1st century BC) refer to both good & bad Watchers, with a mani focus on the rebellious ones.

In Daniel 4:13, 17, & 23, there’s 3 references to the class of “watcher, holy ones.” The term was intro’ed by Nebuchaddnezzar who said he saw ” a watcher, a holy cone come down from Heaven.” He described how in his dream the watcher said that Nebuchdnezzzar will eat grass & be crazy. This punishment is “by the decree of the watchers, the demand by the word of the holy ones…” “that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.”

The 1st Book of Enoch devotes a lot of attention to the fall of the Watchers. The 2nd Book of Enoch addresses the Watchers who are in the 5th Heaven where the fall took place. The 3rd Book of Enoch gives attention to the unfallen watchers.

In the Book of Enoch, the Watchers are angels sent to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for/after human women, & at the prodding of their leader, Samyaza, defect to illicitly instruct mankind & have kids with them, arriving at Mount Hermon. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim savage giants who pillage the earth & endanger humanity.

Samyaza & his associates further taught their human “charges” arts & tech such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, & other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once.

Eventually, God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim. But 1st sends the archangel Uriel to warn Noah so as not to completely destroy the human race. The watchers are bound “in the valley of the Earth” until Judgment Day (Jude 1:6). This is where some theories pop up. Like they’re in the Marianus Trench or in the depths of the Grand Canyon or in a mountain base.

The Book of Enoch also lists the leaders of the 200 fallen angels who married & consummated unnatural unions with human women, & who taught forbidden knowledge. Some are listed in the Book of Raziel (Sefer Raziel Hamalakh), the Zohar, & Jubilees. Here’s a short list of them:

• Araqiel: Taught humans the signs of the earth (geomancy). However, in the Sibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as a fallen angel (or watcher) but as 1 of the 5 angels who lead the souls of humans to judgment.
• Armaros: In I Enoch, taught humanity the resolving of enchantments.
• Azazel: Taught humans to make knives, swords, shields, & how to devise ornaments & cosmetics, metallurgy (specifically in the context of war)
• Gadreel: Taught the art of cosmetics (camouflage), the use of weapons & killing blows (martial arts & weaponry).
• Baraqel: Taught the signs of the stars (astrology)
• Chazaqiel: Taught humans the signs of the clouds (meteorology)
• Kokabiel: In the Book of Raziel, he’s a high-ranking, holy angel. In I Enoch, he’s a fallen watcher, resident of Hell, & commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding.
• Penemue: Taught mankind the art of writing with ink & paper, & taught the kids of men the bitter & the sweet & the secrets of wisdom.
• Sariel: Taught mankind about the courses of the moon.
• Samyaza: 1 of the leaders of the fall from Heaven in Vocabulaire de l’Angelolgie.
• Shamsiel: Once a guardian of Eden as stated in the Zohar, served as 1 of the 2 chief aides to the archangel Uriel, when Uriel bore his standard into battle, & is the head of 365 legions of angels & also crowns prayers, accompanying them into the 5th Heaven. In Jubilees, he’s referred to as 1 of the Watchers. He’s a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.
• Yeqon/Jeqon: He was the ringleader who 1st tempted the other Watchers into having adult spicy naked time with humans. His accomplices were: Asbeel, Gadreel, Penemue, & Kasdaye, who were all identified as individual “Satans.”

The Jewish pseudepigraphon 2nd Book of Enoch (Slavonic Enoch) referred to the Grigori. They’re the same as the Watchers in 1st Enoch. Chapter 18 presents the Grigori as countless soldiers with human appearance.

They’re located in the 5th Heaven. They’re identified as “the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail (Yes, you are reading that correctly) rejects the Lord of light.” One version of 2 Enoch adds that their number was/is 200 myriads (2 million).

Chapter 29, referring to the 2nd day of creation, before the creation of human beings, says that “One from out the order of angels” or “one of the ranks of the archangels” “conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to the Lord’s power. And the Lord threw him out from the height with his angels, & he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.”

The Mercer Dictionary of the Bible makes a distinction between the Grigori & the fallen angels by stating that in the 5th Heaven, Enoch sees “the giants whose brothers were the fallen angels.”

The longer recension of 2 Enoch 18:3 identifies the prisoners of the 2nd Heaven as the angels of Satanail.

First Corinthians 11:10, according to early Church Father Tertullian, refers to the Watchers. He taught that the lust of the Watchers was the reason for St. Paul’s directive to Christian women to wear a head covering. Tertullian referenced the case of a woman who was touched on the neck by an angel “who found her to be a temptation.”

According to Philo of Byblos, Sanchuniathon mentioned “some living beings who had no perception, out of whom intelligent beings came into existence, & they were called Zophasemin (In Hebrew: “Watchers of Heaven”). And they were formed like the shape of an egg.”

In the 1999 movie Dogma, the character Bartleby (played by Ben Affleck) is mentioned to have formerly been a Watcher. In the TV show Supernatural (season 10), the Grigori with 1 Tamiel (under the name “Peter Holloway”) appears as the main enemy of the episode. At 1 point, a picture is shown that is implied to be a painting of a Grigori. In the original Dragon’s Dogma, the dragon is called Grigori.

In the 1998 movie City of Angels (this is 1 of our founders’ favorite movies), Nicolas Cage plays a watcher angel who falls in love with a human woman (played by Meg Ryan).

Make a one-time donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a monthly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Make a yearly donation

Your contribution is appreciated.

Rate this:

Archangel Raphael

The name Raphael comes from the Hebrew Rafa’el, meaning “God has healed” or “Medicine of God.”

He’s not mentioned in the Tanakh/Old Testament or the New Testament; he’s definitely in the Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is a deuterocanonical work recognized by Catholic & Orthodox churches. He’s also mentioned in 1 Enoch, both books date from around the 3rd & 2nd centuries BC.

In later Jewish tradition(s), he became identified as 1 of the 3 heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. While the Bible doesn’t name him, Midrashic tradition identifies Raphael as 1 sent to heal Abraham’s pain after his circumcision.

Later Christian tradition(s) identified him with healing & as the angel who stirred the waters at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2-4. But he isn’t specifically named in this passage.

In Islam, his name is Israfil. He’s understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73. In this passage, he’s standing with a trumpet to his lips eternally, ready to announce the Day of Judgment.

In Gnostic tradition(s), Raphael is represented on the Ophite Diagram. This diagram is/are a ritual & esoteric diagram used by the Ophite sect of Gnosticism.

In the Book of Tobit, Raphael takes the human form of a man named Azarias. He serves as a protector for young Tobias on a perilous journey to Media. Azarias instructs Tobias on how to use the heart, liver, & gall of a giant fish to create medicinal ointments. These are used to drive away a demon (Asmodeus) & to cure the blindness of Tobias’ dad, Tobit.

Because Raphael safely guided Tobias across vast distances, he became the patron saint of travelers, pilgrims, & even modern-day hitchhikers.

His name comes from the Hebrew meaning “to heal,” & can be translated as “God has healed.” In Tobit, he goes by the name Azariah while in disguise as a man. In the book, he acts like a doctor/physician & expels, uses an extraordinary fish to heal Tobit’s eyes, & binds the demon Asmodeus. While in 1 Enoch, he’s “set over all disease & every wound of the children of the people.” He also binds the armies of Azazel & throws them into the valley of fire.

According to the Babylonian Talmud, Raphael was 1 of 3 angels who appeared to Abraham in the Oak Grove (Oak wood/trees have been used for millennia in spiritual traditions) of Mamre, in the Hebron region.

Michael walked in the middle because he was the “greatest,” with Gabriel on his right & Raphael on his left. Each had a specific mission they were commanded to carry out: Gabriel’s was to destroy Sodom; Michael’s was to tell Sarah that she was going to have Isaac; & Raphael’s was to heal Abraham from his recent circumcision & to save Lot. Now, the healing of the circumcision is HUGE in this context. Because Abraham was the 1st Hebrew/Jew to get a circumcision. AND he was a grown old man when he got it. He wasn’t a baby who’d “forget” the pain & healed up in a couple of days.

In the Midrash Konen, it’s revealed that Raphael was originally named Libbiel (“God is my heart”). In the Midrash, God takes counsel with His angels before He creates Adam, the 1st man. The angels weren’t all of 1 opinion, with differing views & reasons.

The Angel of Love & Angel of Justice both were in favor of Man’s creation as he (humans) would be affectionate & loving, alongside practicing Justice. The Angel of Truth & the Angel of Peace opposed Man’s creation, as he (humans) would be full of lies & be quarrelsome.

To invalidate his protest, God cast the Angel of Truth down from Heaven to Earth. When the others cried out against the treatment of their companion, He said, “Truth will spring back out of the earth.” Before their objections, God had only told the Angels of the good that would be among the humans. But didn’t tell them of the evil, either.

Despite not knowing the whole truth, the angels were nevertheless prompted to cry out: “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” God replied: “The fowl of the air & the fish of the sea, what were they created for? Of what avail a larder full of appetizing dainties, & no guest to enjoy them?” The angels couldn’t but exclaim: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the Earth! Do as is pleasing in Thy sight.” For not a few of the angels, their opposition bore fatal consequences.

When God summoned the band under the Archangel Michael & asked their opinion on the creation of man, they answered scornfully: “What in man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visited him?” God stretched out his little finger, & all were consumed by fire except their Chief Michael. And the same fate befell under the leadership of the archangel Gabriel; he alone of all was saved from destruction.

The 3rd band consulted by the Archangel Libbiel. He learned from his predecessors’ horrible fate, so he warned his troops. “You’ve seen what misfortune overtook the angels who said, ‘What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Let us have care not to do likewise, lest we suffer the same dire punishment. Gor God will not refrain from doing in the end what He has planned. Therefore, we should yield to His wishes.”

Having been warned, the angels spoke: “Lord of the world (Not the universe? Huh.), it’s well that Thou hast thought of creating man. Do Thou create him according to Thy will. And as for us, we’ll be his attendants & his minsters, & reveal unto him all our secrets.”

Thereupon, God changed Archangel Libbiel’s name to Raphael, the Rescuer, because his Host of Angels had been rescued by his sage advice. He was appointed the Angelic Prince of Healing, who has in his safekeeping all the celestial remedies, the types of medical remedies used on Earth.

In the Midrash Tanhuma (a.k.a. Yelammedenu, this is the name given to a homiletic Midrash on the ENTIRE Torah), Satan became envious of the righteous. R. Matthew bar Heresh, after seeing him sitting occupied in Torah study, without looking at anyone’s wife or any other woman.

Believing it to be impossible for a righteous man to exist in the world without sin, Satan asks God how He sees Rabbi Matthew; He sees him as completely righteous. Satan then asks for permission to test Rabbi Matthew (Is this starting to sound like the Job story to anyone else?), which God grants again.

So Satan transforms himself into a beautiful woman upon finding the rabbi studying the Torah. After seeing that Satan would continue to truly & tempt him from all sides. He (the Rabbi) used hot pins to blind himself, so his evil inclination prevailed. Satan trembles in dismay & goes back to report to God.

When God gets the report, He calls Raphael, Prince of the Healing Arts, commanding Raphael to go heal the rabbi’s eyes. When Raphael goes to the rabbi to heal him, Raphael reveals his identity & mission. Rabbi Matthew tells Raphael that he doesn’t want to be healed.

Raphael returns to God & tells God what the rabbi said. When hearing this, God commands Raphael to tell the rabbi not to fear, because his evil inclination will not prevail. When the rabbi heard this from Raphael’s mouth, the rabbi accepted the healing & wasn’t afraid.

In Rabbeinu Bahya, a commentary on the Torah written by Rabbi Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340), the Camp of Ephraim (situated to the west of the Tabernacle (Numbers 2:18)), corresponded to the celestial camp headed by the archangel Raphael, supported by the angels Zavdiel & Achziel.

It’s also said that this is the camp that Moses alluded to when he prayed that Miriam be asked from her tzaraath by saying “please God heal her” (Numbers 12:13). He appealed to the attribute represented by Raphael.

In the Beginning of Wisdom, an introduction to Kabbalistic thought composed by Rabbi Aharon Meir Altshuler (1835-1905) in Warsaw between 1887 and 1893. Raphael is said to be the Sephirah of Tiphereth (Beauty). He’s said to act as an intermediate conduit between Chesed (Kindness) corresponding to Michael, & Din (Judgment) corresponding to Gabriel. Uriel (a.k.a. Nuriel) is also said to act as an intermediate conductor alongside Raphael.

It’s explained that when he inclines to Chesed, he’s called Uriel. But when he inclines Din, he’s called Nuriel. In the same context, the Sefer Ha Bahir calls Raphael, the “Prince of Peace” (“Sar Salom”). The text states that the reconciliation between Michael (the prince of God’s right) & Gabriel (the prince of God’s left) is the meaning of the verse, “He imposes peace in His heights” (Job 23:2). With Raphael being the Archangel of Air that establishes peace between fire & water.

In Kabbalistic astrology, Raphael is most commonly associated with the Sun (alongside Michael) & Mercury (the planet). The Zohar associates him with the image of man in the tetramorph (A symbolic arrangement of 4 differing elements, or the combination of 4 disparate elements in 1 unit) of the Four Holy Living Creatures (these are a class of heavenly beings in Judaism, described in the 1st & 10th chapters of the Book of Ezekiel), alongside the zodiac sign of Aquarius, & in ration to the image of man; the Sephriah of Malkhuth (Kingdom) & the Earth.

As well as Tiphereth & Malkhuth, the Zohar also has Raphael corresponding to the Sephirah of Hod (Majesty), the Euphrates river, the left leg of the body, & the Israelite tribe of Ephraim.

It’s also customary in Judaism to invoke Raphael as 1 of the Four Archangels after 1 recites the Shema (This is a Jewish prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the Jewish morning & evening prayer services.) before going to bed; with Michael by your right side, Gabriel by your left side, Uriel before you, & Raphael behind you.

The New Testament only names 2 archangels (Michael & Gabriel, respectfully). But because of Raphael’s association with healing, he became identified with the unnamed angel of John 5:1-4, who periodically stirred up the Pool of Bethesda.

Because of his actions in the Book of Tobit & the Gospel of John, Raphael is considered a protector & healer. Thus, the patron of travelers, the blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, & Catholic studies.

He’s perhaps most seen in depictions of Tobias & the Angel, from the Book of Tobit, showing him walking with Tobias & his dog through a landscape. The subject became very popular in Italy from about 1450 for a century, as devotion to Raphael increased, at least partly through confraternities dedicated to him. A confraternity is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, & approved by the Church hierarchy.

In altarpieces & the like, Tobias, his fish, & his dog may be used as identifying attributes of Raphael.

Raphael is said to guard pilgrims on their journey, & when depicted as a single figure, is often depicted holding a staff. Also, he’s often pictured holding or standing on a fish, which alludes to his healing of Tobit with the fish’s gall. Early mosaics often show him & other archangels in the clothing of a Byzantine courtier.

The feast day of Raphael was included for the 1st time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, on October 24. With the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the feast was transferred to September 29 for celebration together with the archangels Saints Michael & Gabriel.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum permitted, within certain limits for public use, the General Roman Calendar of 1960, which has October 24 as Raphael’s feast day. He’s commemorated in some Spanish dioceses on the old date & with a procession on May 7 in Cordoba, Spain.

In the Diocese of Warsaw-Praga, he’s commemorated on October 3 (with Michael & Gabriel). The feast was transferred from September 29 (Devotion of St. Florian’s Cathedral).

The archangel Raphael is commemorated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on November 8 in the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & the Other Bodiless Powers.

In the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the dedication of the church of St. Raphael on the back of a whale is commemorated on August 26 (or 3 Pagumen, this is an intercalary month of the ancient Egyptian, Coptic, & Ethiopean calendars are a period of 5 days in common years & 6 days in leap years in addition to those calendars’ 12 standard months, sometimes reconned as their 13th month.).

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Raphael’s feast on Kouji Nabot 3 & Koiak 13.

In the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate, St. Raphael the Archangel is commemorated on October 24.

The Archangel Raphael is said to have appeared in Cordoba, Spain, during the 16th century. In response to the city’s appeal, Pope Innocent X allowed the local celebration of a feast in the Archangel’s honor on May 7, the date of the principal apparition.

St. John of God (founder of the Hospital order that bears his name) is also said to have received visitations from Saint Raphael, who encouraged & instructed him.

In tribute to this, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God’s facilities are called “Raphael Centers” to this day. The 18th-century Neapolitan nun, St. Maria Francesca of the 5 Wounds, is also said to have seen apparitions of St. Raphael.

In the Mormon tradition, Doctrine & Covenants 128:21 (this is part of a letter dated Sept. 7, 1842) refers to an appearance or manifestation of Raphael to Joseph Smith as 1 of several angels who had appeared to him either together or separately.

Raphael is a venerated archangel, according to Islamic tradition. In Islam, he’s called Israfil. Israfil will blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Day of Judgment (Yawn al-Qiyamah). The trumpet is constantly poised at his lips, ready to go at Allah’s orders.

Certain Islamic sources indicate that, created at the beginning of time, Israfil has 4 wings, & is so tall as to be able to reach from the earth to the pillars of Heaven. A beautiful angel who is a master of music, Israfil sings praises to God in 1,000 different languages, the breath of which is used to inject life into hosts of angels who add to the songs themselves.

Further, he’s probably the highest angel, since he also mediates between God & other archangels, reading on the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfooz) to transmit the commands of God. Although disputed, some reports assert he visited Muhammad prior to the archangel Gabriel.

According to Sufi traditions reported by Imam Rafa’il, the Ghawth or Qutb (‘perfect human being’) is someone who has a heart that resembles that of the archangel Israfil, signifying the loftiness of this angel. The next in are the saints who are known as the Umdah or Awtad, amongst whom the highest ones have their hearts resembling that of the archangel Mikhail (Michael), & the rest of the lower-ranking saints having the heart of Jibrail (Gabriel), & that of the previous prophets before the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The earth is believed to always have 1 of the Qutb.

In another account, Rafa’il is mentioned by name in the Islamic tradition narrated by Ath-Tha’labi from Ali. He’s said to have met Dhu al-Qarnayn, who’s mentioned in the last part of Sura 18 of the Quran, al-Kahf (“The Cave”). Dhu al-Qarnayn (The 2 Horned One) is believed by some to be Alexander the Great.

The angel told Dhu al-Qarnayn about the Water of Life (Ayn al-Hayat). Hearing that there was such a spring, Dhu al-Qarnayn wanted to drink the Water of Life. But the only 1 who had succeeded in drinking it was his cousin, Khidir. In Islamic tradition, Khidr is the mystical guide popularly quoted, especially in Sufi traditions, who has attained a long life & appears to have selected Islamic saints throughout the times.

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#Zohar faisait partie des dizaines d'activistes internationaux placés en garde à vue lorsque les forces navales #Israéliennes ont pris d'assaut la mission humanitaire en eaux internationales. #PALESTINE-ONLINE

⭕Les organisateurs de la #Flottille-Sumud-Mondiale ont annoncé la libération de l'activiste #Zohar, qui avait été détenu par les forces d'occupation #Israéliennes après l'interception de la #Flottille à destination de #Gaza.

"Introduction to the #Zohar: The Wisdom of Truth by #Rabbi #YehudaLeibHaLeviAshlag addresses with extraordinary precision the questions serious learners carry but rarely find answered: what #Torah and #mitzvot are actually for, why we suffer, how the soul relates to G-d, what the Zohar is and why it matters now. The #BaalHaSulam wrote this from inside the catastrophe. In his final section he writes that all the glory of #Israel in #Poland and #Lithuania has been reduced to a handful of refugees in the #HolyLand, and that it falls to those who remain – #sharithapletah – the surviving remnant, to repair what has been broken. That weight runs through every word.

He opens with six questions, none of them rhetorical..."

https://jewishpress.com/the-ladder-is-not-the-goal/

"Introduction to the #Zohar: The Wisdom of Truth by #Rabbi #YehudaLeibHaLeviAshlag addresses with extraordinary precision the questions serious learners carry but rarely find answered: what #Torah and #mitzvot are actually for, why we suffer, how the soul relates to G-d, what the Zohar is and why it matters now. The #BaalHaSulam wrote this from inside the catastrophe. In his final section he writes that all the glory of #Israel in #Poland and #Lithuania has been reduced to a handful of refugees in the #HolyLand, and that it falls to those who remain – #sharithapletah – the surviving remnant, to repair what has been broken. That weight runs through every word.

He opens with six questions, none of them rhetorical..."

https://jewishpress.com/the-ladder-is-not-the-goal/

The #Zohar instructs us:
"...A person’s real work in this world
is the work of the Blessed Holy One"...
There is #work (as #job) & there is real work (what we are on the #Earth to accomplish: our #vocation therefore). We are here to do the #divine work on Earth in this time & place. https://bit.ly/3SZVL8J

The #Zohar instructs us:
"...A person’s real work in this world
is the work of the Blessed Holy One"...
There is #work (as #job) & there is real work (what we are on the #Earth to accomplish: our #vocation therefore). We are here to do the #divine work on Earth in this time & place. https://bit.ly/3SZVL8J

Miki #Zohar, Kulturminister von #Israel:

»"Judäa und Samaria [das #Westjordanland] gehören uns" […]

"Auch #Gaza gehört uns. Wir lassen sie nur dort bleiben als Gäste, bis zu einem bestimmten Punkt, aber Gaza gehört uns"«

Das ist die Regierung, die die @Bundesregierung weiterhin mit Waffenlieferungen unterstützt, und die sie nicht mit Sanktionen belegen will.

Die #Bundesregierung ist aktive Beihelferin zu #Kriegsverbrechen, #Vertreibung und #Genozid.

Verbrechen, die nicht von fanatisierten Menschen auf israelischen Straßen "nur" gefordert werden, sondern von den Ministern der israelischen Regierung offen mit glasklaren Worten angekündigt, systematisch geplant, und konsequent umgesetzt.

Ohne dass #FriedrichMerz und seine Regierung etwas Anderes tun als besorgte, folgenlose Platitüden abzusondern, und weiterhin Beihilfe zu den Verbrechen zu leisten, denen sie tatenlos zuschauen.

Englisch:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/culture-minister-says-gaza-belongs-to-israel-palestinians-merely-there-as-guests/

Miki #Zohar, Kulturminister von #Israel:

»"Judäa und Samaria [das #Westjordanland] gehören uns" […]

"Auch #Gaza gehört uns. Wir lassen sie nur dort bleiben als Gäste, bis zu einem bestimmten Punkt, aber Gaza gehört uns"«

Das ist die Regierung, die die @Bundesregierung weiterhin mit Waffenlieferungen unterstützt, und die sie nicht mit Sanktionen belegen will.

Die #Bundesregierung ist aktive Beihelferin zu #Kriegsverbrechen, #Vertreibung und #Genozid.

Verbrechen, die nicht von fanatisierten Menschen auf israelischen Straßen "nur" gefordert werden, sondern von den Ministern der israelischen Regierung offen mit glasklaren Worten angekündigt, systematisch geplant, und konsequent umgesetzt.

Ohne dass #FriedrichMerz und seine Regierung etwas Anderes tun als besorgte, folgenlose Platitüden abzusondern, und weiterhin Beihilfe zu den Verbrechen zu leisten, denen sie tatenlos zuschauen.

Englisch:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/culture-minister-says-gaza-belongs-to-israel-palestinians-merely-there-as-guests/

“It is known that the letters of the Torah have the aspect of inner lights which are revealed according to the order of the emanation of the worlds. And the boundary of the white that encompasses the letters possesses the aspect of the encompassing lights, which are not revealed but are found in a hidden-ness, in the aspect of the encompassing light. From this we may understand that the white boundaries also possess the aspect of letters, but they are hidden letters, higher than the revealed letters.”

Read more: https://kabbalahexperience.com/white-fire/

#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Torah #Talmud #Midrash #Zohar

@obscurestar

Union support means Zahor wins.

Cuomo is harming himself, and attacking the Democratic Party, and Democratic Party members, leaders, must denounce him.

Any democratic leader not supporting the Democratic Canadate needs both a remonstrance from Dem leadership, and then their own Primary.

#dems #DemocraticParty #mamdani #ny #cuomo #zohar #bernie

@obscurestar

Union support means Zahor wins.

Cuomo is harming himself, and attacking the Democratic Party, and Democratic Party members, leaders, must denounce him.

Any democratic leader not supporting the Democratic Canadate needs both a remonstrance from Dem leadership, and then their own Primary.

#dems #DemocraticParty #mamdani #ny #cuomo #zohar #bernie

Ein Lyd ohne Nakba

Ein neuer #Film, der Dokumentar- und #ScienceFiction-Elemente miteinander verbindet, erzählt von der ethnischen Säuberung der palästinensischen Stadt [Lyd] im Jahr 1948 und stellt sich vor, wie es aussehen würde, wenn der #Krieg nie stattgefunden hätte. Deshalb hat die israelische #Regierung die Vorführung des Films verboten.

Zwei Stunden bevor ich Anfang des Monats an der Premiere von Rami #Younis und Sarah Ema #Friedlands Film „Lyd“ in #Israel teilnehmen sollte, erhielt ich eine Nachricht von den Organisatoren, in der mir mitgeteilt wurde, dass die Veranstaltung abgesagt wurde. Auf Anweisung von Kulturminister Miki #Zohar hatte die Polizei das von Palästinensern geführte Al-Saraya-Theater in #Jaffa gezwungen, die Veranstaltung abzusagen. Als Vorwand diente eine hundert Jahre alte Verordnung aus der britischen Mandatszeit, nach der Theater für jeden gezeigten Film eine vorherige Genehmigung einholen müssen. Für Zohar schien jedoch ein anderer Faktor im Spiel zu sein.

„Der Film zeichnet ein wahnhaftes, verlogenes Bild, in dem israelische #Soldaten angeblich ein brutales #Massaker begangen haben“, sagte der Minister vor der Absage. Seine Aussage folgte dem Druck der rechtsgerichteten Gruppe B'tsalmo, die bereits geplant hatte, gegen die Vorführung im Al-Saraya zu protestieren, Younis als ‚Aufwiegler‘ verleumdete und davor warnte, dass der Film ‚Terroranschläge von israelischen Arabern auslösen könnte‘.

(...)

https://www.trueten.de/archives/13443-Ein-Lyd-ohne-Nakba.html #Gaza #Palästina #Filmtipp #Lydda #Nakba #Lyd #Lod #לוד #اللد @palestine

Ein Lyd ohne Nakba

Ein neuer #Film, der Dokumentar- und #ScienceFiction-Elemente miteinander verbindet, erzählt von der ethnischen Säuberung der palästinensischen Stadt [Lyd] im Jahr 1948 und stellt sich vor, wie es aussehen würde, wenn der #Krieg nie stattgefunden hätte. Deshalb hat die israelische #Regierung die Vorführung des Films verboten.

Zwei Stunden bevor ich Anfang des Monats an der Premiere von Rami #Younis und Sarah Ema #Friedlands Film „Lyd“ in #Israel teilnehmen sollte, erhielt ich eine Nachricht von den Organisatoren, in der mir mitgeteilt wurde, dass die Veranstaltung abgesagt wurde. Auf Anweisung von Kulturminister Miki #Zohar hatte die Polizei das von Palästinensern geführte Al-Saraya-Theater in #Jaffa gezwungen, die Veranstaltung abzusagen. Als Vorwand diente eine hundert Jahre alte Verordnung aus der britischen Mandatszeit, nach der Theater für jeden gezeigten Film eine vorherige Genehmigung einholen müssen. Für Zohar schien jedoch ein anderer Faktor im Spiel zu sein.

„Der Film zeichnet ein wahnhaftes, verlogenes Bild, in dem israelische #Soldaten angeblich ein brutales #Massaker begangen haben“, sagte der Minister vor der Absage. Seine Aussage folgte dem Druck der rechtsgerichteten Gruppe B'tsalmo, die bereits geplant hatte, gegen die Vorführung im Al-Saraya zu protestieren, Younis als ‚Aufwiegler‘ verleumdete und davor warnte, dass der Film ‚Terroranschläge von israelischen Arabern auslösen könnte‘.

(...)

https://www.trueten.de/archives/13443-Ein-Lyd-ohne-Nakba.html #Gaza #Palästina #Filmtipp #Lydda #Nakba #Lyd #Lod #לוד #اللد @palestine

A little paint job #qabalah #treeoflife #sephiroth #zohar

@baruch I periodically dive in with my rudimentary Aramaic skills and enjoy what I find there. But since I'm not consistent in my attentions she usually runs away. And that's alright. I hope she doesn't think I'm harassing her. I mean well.

#zohar #jewish #mysticism

@baruch I periodically dive in with my rudimentary Aramaic skills and enjoy what I find there. But since I'm not consistent in my attentions she usually runs away. And that's alright. I hope she doesn't think I'm harassing her. I mean well.

#zohar #jewish #mysticism

Nobody makes me want to learn #Zohar more than this teacher, whom I love, Melila Hellner Eshed.

She even has a new book out but oy is it expensive at $66 on Amazon. But you can listen to this YouTube video for free!

https://youtu.be/JwPgmHu4Joo?si=TqShu3FjCIYVycff

#jewish #learning #mysticism

Nobody makes me want to learn #Zohar more than this teacher, whom I love, Melila Hellner Eshed.

She even has a new book out but oy is it expensive at $66 on Amazon. But you can listen to this YouTube video for free!

https://youtu.be/JwPgmHu4Joo?si=TqShu3FjCIYVycff

#jewish #learning #mysticism

I love this teacher - Melila Hellner-Eshed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwPgmHu4Joo

#jewish #zohar #mysticism #academic #love

My pinned hashtags 2/

#science #Cats
#Astronomy #CatsofMastodon
#JWST #caturday
#animals
#COVID #Judaism (Disclaimer: I'm not Jewish) #Kabbalah
#Covid19 #Zohar #Zodiac
#Vaccinessavelives
#MaskUp

Greetings to all noobs on Mastodon!

"Mondmission Artemis I: Die ersten „Mond-Astronautinnen“ kehren zurück nach Köln"

"Strahlenbelastung ist eine der zentralen ungelösten medizinischen Herausforderungen der astronautischen Raumfahrt. .. Pressemitteilung des ..DLR."

https://www.raumfahrer.net/mondmission-artemis-i-die-ersten-mond-astronautinnen-kehren-zurueck-nach-koeln/

#Artemis1 #DLR #Helga #ISA #Köln #LockheedMartin #LunarTwins #MARE #MATROSHKA #Mondflug #NASA #SternRad #Strahlenbelastung #Strahlenschutz #Strahlung #Zohar

9.3.2023

"Mondmission Artemis I: Die ersten „Mond-Astronautinnen“ kehren zurück nach Köln"

"Strahlenbelastung ist eine der zentralen ungelösten medizinischen Herausforderungen der astronautischen Raumfahrt. .. Pressemitteilung des ..DLR."

https://www.raumfahrer.net/mondmission-artemis-i-die-ersten-mond-astronautinnen-kehren-zurueck-nach-koeln/

#Artemis1 #DLR #Helga #ISA #Köln #LockheedMartin #LunarTwins #MARE #MATROSHKA #Mondflug #NASA #SternRad #Strahlenbelastung #Strahlenschutz #Strahlung #Zohar

9.3.2023

"Mondmission Artemis I: Die ersten „Mond-Astronautinnen“ kehren zurück nach Köln"

"Strahlenbelastung ist eine der zentralen ungelösten medizinischen Herausforderungen der astronautischen Raumfahrt. .. Pressemitteilung des ..DLR."

https://www.raumfahrer.net/mondmission-artemis-i-die-ersten-mond-astronautinnen-kehren-zurueck-nach-koeln/

#Artemis1 #DLR #Helga #ISA #Köln #LockheedMartin #LunarTwins #MARE #MATROSHKA #Mondflug #NASA #SternRad #Strahlenbelastung #Strahlenschutz #Strahlung #Zohar

9.3.2023

"Mondmission Artemis I: Die ersten „Mond-Astronautinnen“ kehren zurück nach Köln"

"Strahlenbelastung ist eine der zentralen ungelösten medizinischen Herausforderungen der astronautischen Raumfahrt. .. Pressemitteilung des ..DLR."

https://www.raumfahrer.net/mondmission-artemis-i-die-ersten-mond-astronautinnen-kehren-zurueck-nach-koeln/

#Artemis1 #DLR #Helga #ISA #Köln #LockheedMartin #LunarTwins #MARE #MATROSHKA #Mondflug #NASA #SternRad #Strahlenbelastung #Strahlenschutz #Strahlung #Zohar

9.3.2023

"Mondmission Artemis I: Die ersten „Mond-Astronautinnen“ kehren zurück nach Köln"

"Strahlenbelastung ist eine der zentralen ungelösten medizinischen Herausforderungen der astronautischen Raumfahrt. .. Pressemitteilung des ..DLR."

https://www.raumfahrer.net/mondmission-artemis-i-die-ersten-mond-astronautinnen-kehren-zurueck-nach-koeln/

#Artemis1 #DLR #Helga #ISA #Köln #LockheedMartin #LunarTwins #MARE #MATROSHKA #Mondflug #NASA #SternRad #Strahlenbelastung #Strahlenschutz #Strahlung #Zohar

9.3.2023

Livestream study of the Zohar with Dr Justin Sledge and Zevi Slavin. English language - no Hebrew or Aramaic needed.
https://www.youtube.com/live/nXzvGFEaReo
#Zohar #Kabbalah #mysticism #occultism #esoterica

Livestream study of the Zohar with Dr Justin Sledge and Zevi Slavin. English language - no Hebrew or Aramaic needed.
https://www.youtube.com/live/nXzvGFEaReo
#Zohar #Kabbalah #mysticism #occultism #esoterica

Chassidus by Reb Yosef Rosenfeld -

The Laughter of Isaac is:
#Zohar: reserved for the future

R' Tzadok: absurdity

Baal Shem Tov: sweetening harshness

R. Nachman: beyond understanding

Sfas Emes: redemptive

Gra: disclosure of secrets

R. YI Chaver: the same as R. Akiva

Rashbi: laughing at death

Izhbitz: Impossible

@mazeldon
#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Chassidus #Hasidut

Mystical idea: According to Lurianic Kabbalah, in the very beginning, all that there was, was God. There was no room for a universe with matter and beings. So God engaged in Tzimtzum צִמצוּם, a divine constriction of God’s self. What does this mean?

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2022/07/07/what-is-tzimtzum/

@judaism
@mazeldon
#Jewdiverse #Mazeldon #Jewniverse
#Jewish #Judaism #Jews #Kabbalah #Zohar #mysticism #tzimtzum #JewishMysticism

I've been listening to an audiobook about the #Zohar by Mari Silva:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Zohar-Audiobook/B0934ZMGCT

I can't seem to find any information online about this author, besides the fact that they've written a lot of other books on "spiritual" topics. I'm not sure why, but there's something strange about it. Usually authors put something about themselves in the book.

The Zohar is the central work of Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) But it wasn't written all at once, or by just one person. It developed over time. Let's take a look at the layers, and see how they were added :-)

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2020/05/10/layers-in-the-zohar/

@mazeldon
#Jewdiverse #Mazeldon #Jewniverse
#Jewish #Judaism #Jews #Zohar #Kabbalah #mysticism

#MARE / #Helga und #Zohar: "#DLR schickt weibliche Messpuppen zur #NASA-Mission #ARTEMIS1": https://www.raumfahrer.net/dlr-schickt-weibliche-messpuppen-zur-nasa-mission-artemis-1/ (Bild: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0))