20. 22. 23 |. In the Setardi rite, THE EARLY KABBALAH Genesis Rabbah 3:4. Cf, Paiqa’de-Rav Qakana’ 45h, In Hebrew numerology vev cquals six. On the six extremities correspond ing to six of the seven lower wfray, see Sifer Veirab 1:5. Shama’ Visra'ed YHVH elena YHVH chad See BU Yoma’ 726, . ‘Alluded to in 41 nthe Throne and the Sbekhinab in the west, sce BT Bava’ Batra’ 25a, The iylacteries for the head have a large square knot, which is placed at che base of the skull behiod the craniuia, and this know is now likened to the letter daier. \ smaller knot on the phylacteris forthe arm, placed over the large muscle of the arm, is now likened to the ya. Sal, . Heikbaior mysticisia reports this statement of a celestial beast called Isrel Rabbi Jacob combines this older motif with the Kabbalistic usage of the syrubol Israel as the sith sfirab, eerer. traditional custom is to overenunciate the dale of ebeE) whenever re citing the shema, . + Hebrew garney. ‘This word can also mean “rays of,” ond showld be read with, both meanings throughout this exe Hebrew ganiey anelet baubsbar. This phrase Figuratively means “the rays of the morning sti.” Accarding 10 IST Yomal 2%, the difrction of the ‘lawn light is kee eo the spring enters of ae WS.RL EY QB 9. According to Rabbinic tradiion Ezekiel mentions nine separate visions in Ezekiel 433, See Leica abba (4 oe ‘Or upon 1, the letter whose shape is comprised of P and Z joined, FT Berakhot 172, is idea fist appears in BT Bava’ Mest’ 8S and was subsequently in- corporate inco the Treat of be Ptar. See A Jllne eel hor Midasd {erusalem, 1928), vol.2, p46 Ibid “This legend is also expressed in the Midrarb ta the Drslague. See fellinch, Be balidrah, ol. 2, 6 Hee Sek See the Treat of be Patace,Jllinck, Bet ba-Midra vo. 2. p46 this is recited at the begianing ofthe service that con- stiutes the public reading ofthe Tura. “The text here corrupt. “The voative “by the throne of God" of Exodus 17:16 is forthe sae of this interpeeation spelled incompletely. As, “throne,” is mortally Hig, Yad, “Goll,” usually FHIVH, From these defective spelling s derived the no- tion thatthe Throne of Gad is incomplete until the nation of Amalck is thoroughly blotted out ‘The “reverse alphabet (af bei’ de-TaSHRa"O) is common way of ex- pressing the Hebrew alphabetin reverse order. Scholem states thatthe text ac this poinc i “apparendy corrupt” 164 Treatise on the Left Emanation RABBI ISAAC BEN JACOB HA-KOHEN 1 grhave noted your tremendous desire to ascend to the ladder of wisdom and perceive enigmas and geasp the conning ways of rhe ancient Sages, the mastets of inscriptions," those who expounded upon the secrets of the souls. And having noted that the Lord God, may Ele be blessed, bestowed upon you an attentive and understand ing heart, [ have decided with much fondness to answer your ques- tion and fulfilt your request. [Twill do this for you] even though you are quite aware that this path was not trod upon except for “two or three berries in the top of the uppermast bough” (Isaiah 17:6)—these are the ancient elders, the scholars of Spain who delved in the palace of Samael. It is a long and deep path and it eludes all masters of wisdom who are not willing to descend into the depths of che wisdom of the hidden emanation, the “depth of good and depth of evil.” [It is known] only to those few solitary individuals, “the remnant who the Lord shall call” Joel 3:5). Moreover, to the best-of my ability I will not stray my steps from the path’ in order to grant your wish and quench a bit of your thirst. May His most beloved assist me in His mercy and Lovingkindness, 2. You have already dealt with the roots of the emanation of the degrees, from the top of Supreme Crown (Acter ‘tlyan) to the secret of the Blessing (snd ba-berakbab) of life everlasting.* Now itis time to be awakened to the secret of the emanation radiating forth from 165THE FARLY KABBALAH them, an emanation of degrecs like the image of bodies to souls, spece ed with names received from the ancient Sages and from the book of Rabbi Hamai. Thave not seen this book in all Provence, save for {copies| belonging to three pietists. One wasin Narbonne, belonging to a wondrous, shilled scholar. It was transmitted orally from an elder rabbi. This holy and venerable rabbi xestified chat Flijah, may his memory be blessed, would appear to him on the Day of Atone- ment. The other two copies were in Ares, the large city he first emanation—like the image of a spiritual entity—cor- responds to the primal emanation, Its name is Sabi'el, and we call him the prince of the Exalted Heights. ‘The sceond of the [emanations] is the emanation of Wisdom. Its name is Peli'’el. Hfeis the prince of the wonders (pelt) of Wisdom. We have received [2 tradition] about him that the name by which his emanation is revealed is Zequni'el. His name is also Sagsagel, equal to the oumericat value vf “you shall honor the face of an olf man" (Leviticus 19:32). He isthe planting of Wisdom, “the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified” (saiah 61:3). Elis sign is “Ta the day of your planting make ic grow (esagsegi)” (Isaiah. 61:3), The samekb and sn ae faerchangeable, deriving from the same sound) ‘The third is the prince radiated forth ftom the emanation of Re- pentane, the hidden treasure trove to all those who know Under- standing and have great fear {yér'at), Hlis name is Yerui'el. Scripture alludes to all three of chem in one verse: “You shall tise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man and fear your God” (Isaiah 19:32). These three are considered like bodies to souls, each one imeriinked with the other like flame to an ember, inwardness to inwardness The remaining seven degrees also have seven degrees which ra- diate forth like bodies to souls, and they too are spiritual. The name of the first is Memeriron, He is the prince of Lovingkindness and is associated with water. The second is Geviriron, He is the prince of awesome and invincible Strength (gevurab), ‘The name of the third is Yedideron. He is the prince of Mercy, the beloved (yedid) of God. ‘The name of the fourth is Satriron. Heis the prince of the Foun- ‘dation of the world which is concealed and secreted (oitur) in the middle pillar and is calfed the secret place of the most high fieter “elyon). ‘Thus “He that dwellsin the secret place of che evost high shall 166 ‘VHE KOHEN BROTHERS abide under the shadow of tie Almighty” (Psalms 91:1), This should be sufficient to the enlightened. ‘The name of the fifth is Nashiriron. He is the prince of triumph and the victory (nejab) of Israel. “The name of the sixth is Hodiriron. He is the prince radiating forth from the emanation of Majesty (bod) ‘The name of the seventh is Seforiron. Heis the prince radiating forth from the list (og) emanation of all the degrees. “These, then, are the names of the ancient mighty ones. We have further received that the first three end their nares with “el” and. the latter end with “-ron” because the first three are powers from the. forces emanating from within the power of the great and mighty Will, towering above all else: the Cause of all causes and the Reason of all reasons; while the seven are like ignited candles, each one light- ing his own candle (nero) from the seven inner [eandles). They cor- respond to the image of inner souls and spiritual bodies, 3. Regarding this we have also received the following: The at- tribute Kingdom possesses three further currents. These are like three pillars faced toward her, doing her work and guarding her watch round and about the Throne in fear and trembling and silence, from emanation to emanation up to the beloved of God who em. braces her and kisses her by means of the Foundation of the world. At this point the princes of Lovingkindness and Strength receive her in great and glorious fear and trembling and in awesome silence: ‘Then Lovingkindness and Strength—which are the inner emana- tions—receive her and revolve like powerful torrents of water and “coals of fire which burn intensely” (Canticles 8:6). She remains hid- den and concealed in the midst of all the emanations until the ap- proach of the prince of Understanding accompanied by his troops. They receive her with incomprehensible fear and dread and silence until they approach dhe throne next to the Throne of Glory associ- ated with Repentance. From there the multitude of his warriors ap- pear. Oversecing them all is the prince of Wisdom. Then they set down the Throne with trembling terror and great quaking into the bosom of ancient Wisdom, who accepts her with the proclamation. “Come my beloved.”* Ele plays with her like a father doting on his only daughter among many sons. The Exalted Heights pours forth his blessing on her by means of the Father [i.e., Wisdom], for it is impossible for any emanation to apprehend or perceive spiritualTHE EARLY KABBALAIT sion or supernal perception except through the mediation of Wisdom, ancl Understanding, Alter the acceptance of the Blessing and after the delights bow and prostrate themselves before the awesome and sublime Throne of Glory, the Throne of Kingdom, by means of these unique princes, whirls and revolves back from emanation to cmanation to its ‘origin, resting between the two cherubs which are her arms ‘This great outpouring—a joy to the inner souls and a delight to the spiritual bodies—was in effect when the land of Israel was in. habited and the holy nation dwelled in her. [Earthly] Temple is mir rored by [celestial] Temple and attendant High Priest is mirrored by a High Priest of holiness and patity, ef fear and trembling, knowing how to direct perfect meditations to each of the outer and inner em- amations, knowing how to draw forth the seeret of the holy seraphim, awakening the Holy Spirit with the beauty of poetry and music. The singers [of the Temple}, each according to theit position and their perception, concentrate with their fingers upon the string of the bharp and the tones which awaken the song and the chant. They di- rect their hearts to the Omnipresent. Then Blessing is stirred and the divine Presence dwells upon them, each according to his worshi and perception. Then Jerusalem and the earthly Temple fal [every] desite and are a delight to all the nations, and the fear and trepidation for her inhabitants rule over anyone who sees or heats of her. As it is written: “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord and they shall be afraid of you" (Deuteronomy 28:10), Happy isthe eye that bcholds all this. 4. Now let-us return to the point of our departure, namely the three princes who are the three pillars o the Throne which in curn is exalted by the four encampments of the divine Presence, The first ‘one is named Malki’el, derived from the attribute of Kingdom (mal- du). The name of the second is “Aturi‘cl, derived from the great Diadem (‘atarad), like the image of gold which is likened to the at- tribute of Severity. The name of the third is Nashri'el, derived from the name of that emanation which is angry and chastises its children. when they fail to conduct themselves along the straight path before their heavenly Father. But when they tip the scales toward merit by ‘way of repentance, then they have peace and divine benevolence, and she bas mere upon her cildten “Ike an eagle (nse that stirs up its mest, that flutters over its young” (Deuteronomy 32:11). And 168 ‘THE KOHEN BROTHERS then ‘the mother of the children is joyous, reclining on her be- loved.” ‘These three are in fact three pillars emanated from the power of the attribute of Kingdom: Each one is an emanation in its own right, Therefore, the emanation is derived from the thirteen branches which draw upon one root, for all unity depends on it. ‘Therefore, the verse "God is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4) equals it Another indication is [the mnemonic] Na‘ambaron for “the beauty of the Diadem of Kingdom” (dem ‘aseret maltius}. “Ron [of ‘Na‘ambaron) is the image of our patriarch Jacob, peace be upon him, a simple man, a lower form inscribed parallel with a celestial one. Heis linked to the heavens and Jacob. The indication of chs is “Sing (ran), © heavens” (Istiah 44:23) and “Sing (raza) with gladness for Jacob” Jeremiah 31:7), Thus the tnion is complete.” ‘The thirteen are completely spiritual emanations and they are active, and the thirteen divine attributes mentioned in “And the Lord passed before [Moses], and he proclaimed: ‘VHVH, the Lord, merciful and gracious God..." (Exodus 34:6) are activated [by them]. The active ones are causes, the activated ones are effects They are without limitation and there is no perception of their true otigin nor is there anyone who can know with a certainty their end Only the unique Lord of all who is hidden and concealed from His creatures [can do so), Even the thought which can never be apprehended" is incapable of perceiving His very reality. ‘These are three [emanations] encompassed in the Crown of Kingdom, appointed and prepared to forgive and pardon the transgressions and their perpetrators, who are nothing more than rebels and sinners. These three are included in one name by virtue of their various activities. “And this is the name by which he will be called” (letemiah 23:6): Na‘ambaron—pardoning transgression, re- belliousness, and sin (Nas ‘avam Mered Hata'ah) so that the wrath (baron af) of God turns away from Israel and He pardons and has mercy upon those who turn away from their sins. . 5. Now we shall turn to the system of accusing hosts which re- side in heaven, those which were created and then suddenly ani hilated. When I was in che great city of Arles, a master of this tradition showed me an extremely old booklet. Its handwriting was crude and is different from one own Te was transmitted in the name of agreat Rabbi and gaon. They referred to him as the Rabbi Mas- 169THE FARLY KABBALAH liah, Now the venerable Gaon, our Rabbi Pelatiah, was from the holy city of Jerusalem. And this booklet was brought by a great scholar and pietist known as Rabbi Gershom of Damascus. He hailed from Damascus and lived in Arles for approximately two. years, and people there told stories about his great wisdom and wealth. He showed this booklet co the elder sages of that generation, [copied from it some things, things which che sages of that gener- ation had understood. For they were not familiar with its handwrit- ing as were the earlier sages who had learned it directly from that scholar and pietist.** Then [ returned to Beziers, a city of Sages, where my pious brother of blessed memory had become ill. I have neither added nar subtracted from all chat ny brother explained, not even in the slight- est detail except for stylistic concerns. Occasionally there is a small variation, but the intent is always identical, ‘With this I will begin to set down the system $f the princes and their forees, from the first to the last. They were all created from a single emanation flowing forth from the pawer af Repentance. This emanation acts asa screen, separating the emanation of all the holy degrees in which there are no. alien ¢manations. Each is a spiritual degree, pure and refined and lutescent, engraved out of the power of the Will of the hidden Lord. This dividing screen, emanated from the power of the emanated Repentance, was initially brought forth ton the condition that various diverse ‘emanations, some good and some evil, some of endless existence and others of horrible and utter disgrace, would stem forth from it. There is no one in creation, nei- ther lofty not low, who can perceive the secret of these worlds. Only the spiritual degrees and princes emanating therefrom [ean be per- ceived]. There was a tradition already in the possession of the ancient Sages and studied by my brother of blessed memory, written in the composition of that perfect pious man, to the effect that the name of ‘he ruler of this emanation is Masukhi'el, since he isa dividing screen (masakb). The first emanation which flowed forth from him comprised the pure and splendorous souts. And from these souls the party of angels was emanated, all but the four encampments of the divine Presence. ‘These souls, which are angelic emanations, existed potentially within the tecesses of the Emanator, hidden from all. But before they could iccome actuated, another world was emanated from alten 170 THE KOHEN BROTHE forms and destructive images. The name of the ruler of this ema- nation, the prince of all its warriors, was Qamtiel. ‘These are the ervel ones who began to rebuke and confound the emanations, Im- mediately a proclamation (keruz) went forth from Kervai'el, the prince and voice of Repentance. Ele said: "Masukhel! Masukhi’el! Destroy what you have created and gather back your emanations. for it is not the wish of the King of kings, the Eloly One, blessed be He, that these emanations remain in the worlds.” (The emanations] then returned to their original state and were obliterated: Just as they were brought forth, so were they annihi- lated. The Sages of tradition likened the matter to a wiek sazurated oil. When one desires to extinguish [the fire] one immerses the wick into the very oil which kept it lit. ‘Thus i returns [to its original state] and it is extinguished: so it is annihilaced Afterward, another world was emanated, comprised of strange forms and alien images. ‘The name of the culer of this emanation andl the prince of its warriors was Bele. ‘These were even more evil in their plotting and their disruption of the various emanations, Then a dectee came forth and the word of the King of kings went forth. ‘They were annihilated in a flash, just like the First. “Thereupon a third world was created, comprised of even stranget forms than those of the first and second worlds. The name of che ruler and prince of its warriors was ‘Itl. These are the worst of all. [tis their desire and ambition to rule the Divine and destroy Hien, chopping off the divine tree along with all its branches. Then there went forth a dectee from the divine Will chat their annihilation be similar to the first two. A decree was then proclaimed that no similat emanation would ever again conve forth into the ether of the world, nor would it ever be mentioned again. And these are the worlds about which our Sages of blessed memory said: “He con- structed worlds and then destroyed them After the destruction of these worldsit was the desire of the Will to bring forth the souls emanated from potentiality co actuality Among them were the myriads of angels and their encampments, seven groups in all. The leader of each of these groups is known to those who are aware of this tradition. From their power the firma- ments and planets~-called the seven moving stars according to the scienrists-—were emanated. God willing, I will write about them. ‘There are many other names that should ot be written out for Samunot completely certain what the order isand untill scethe order rorTHE EARLY KABBALAH of theie spelling and their emergence and theie rank, L will not write it, for I might make a mistake, either in thought or on paper. There is, however, a tradition to che effect that in a single moment and by a single expression seven other princes were emanated along with their retinues, and they are all known, Once in respoasetoa question from a student from Avile I was compelled to seurch for their names and 1 put them in order, inspired by a certain idea. But before [ mention their names I would like to point out to the readerpof this book that the seven groups of princes belonging to the above-mentioned angels were all arrayed with bows drawn for a pitched battle, This war of enmity and jealousy between them and the seven princes will never cease {ra‘abor) in the heavens, for their objective is the Lord of all who created them from the root of ema- nation according to His Will and Desire, from the power of the eme anation of Repentance. We will explain this great jealousy and will interpret its reason. [tis of a divine source which created beings can- not grasp. The reasons derive from the manifestations of emanation, ‘The “secret of intercalation’ (sad ba-‘ibbwr) is a spiritual tay tery that none can comprehend or understand. The secret is hidden from the angels—“How much more so those that dwell in houses of elay, whose foundation is in the dust” ob 4:19). Even the allusions are too awesome for man, and the secret is one aspect of the statement “Silence! Such is the decree." 6. I will now set down the names of the princes of jealousy and ty. Ver since their essence and their service is true and pure, their mouths are free from mendacity and neither lies nor falsehoods pass between them, The first prince and accuser, the commander of jealousy, is evil Samael, accompanied by his retinue, He is called “evil” not because of his nature but because he desires to unite and intimately mingle with an emanation not of his nature, as we shall explain. The second prince is called his deputy, and his name is Za‘afiel, accompanied by his encourage. The third prince is called third-in-command, end his name is Za‘amiel, accompanied by his staff. ‘The fourth prince is Qusfi’el, accompanied by his retinue. The fifth prince is Ragziel, accompanied by his staff, “The sixth prince is ‘Abri’el, accompanied hy his staff. The seventh is Meshulhiel, accompanied by his staff. These latter comprise the delegation of evil angels. 172 THE KOHEN BROTHERS Now shall allude to you the reason for all the jealousy between these latter princes and the former princes of the seven groups of oly angels which are called “the guardians of the walls.” form destined for Sarnac! stirs up enmity and jealousy between the heav= enly delegation and the forces of the supernal army. This form is Lilith, and she is in the image of a feminine form, Samael takes on the form of Adam and Lilith the form of Eve. They were both born. in a spiritual birth as one, as a parallel to the forms of Adam and Eve, above and below: two cwinlike forms, Both Samael and [Lilith, called] Eve the Matron—also known as the Northern One—are em- anated from beneath the Throne of Glory. It was the Sin which brought about this calamity, in order to bring her shame and disgrace to destroy her celestial offspring. The calamity was caused by the Northern One, who was ereated beneath the Throne of Glory and it resulted in a partial collapse and weakening of the legs of the “Theone. ‘Then, by means of Gamali'el and the primeval snake Na- hashi'el, the scents of each intermingled: the scent of man reached the female, and the scent of wornan reached the male. Ever since then the snakes have increased and have taken on the form of biting snakes. Thus it is written, “The Lord sent fiery snakes among the people” (Numbers 21:6). This requires a full explanation in a sepa- fate treatise for itis very deep--no one can find it out."* 7. Now I shall make allusions according to the tradition passed from ancient Sages to possessots of this wisdom. We know for a cer= tainty that Rabbi Sherira and Rabbi Hai were learned and steeped in this wisdom which came to them rabbi from rabbi, sage from sage, ton from gaun. They all utilized the secret knowledge of the Leser Heithalot, which is the secret knowledge of demons, so that they could ascend, the ladder of prophecy. It is well established that all the philosophers agree that there are no corporeal entities above the spheres. However, we have seen and heard that the learned of Israel vary on this point, some agreeing and some disagreeing with the philosophers, But according to what wwe have received from Rabbi Sherira Gaon, and his son Rabbi Hai, and the venerable traditionist Rabbi Joseph Ibn Abicur the great Gaon, and Rabbi Issac Ibn Ghayyat of blessed memories""—they decided the issue according to what they had received from their ancestors, elder from elder, gaon and gaon, all the way back to.a trae ition of Tannaim and Amoraim. They thus decided the issue in ac- cordance with what they received from the ancient elders: that 173THE FARLY KABBALAH neither in all the primordial emanations nor inthe next set of ema- nations is there anything corporeal. There is only spivitual emana. ‘ion. So too the ereated angels—they and their princes—and the princes of jealousy and their forces are like the form of man created in the image of the great fire, Even the forms of the fire-steeds sre all spiritual forms, and their armor and their chariots are as a rag fire, though not of the essence of elemental fire a 9. The four encampments ofthe divine Presence are nothing but pe emanations, in the image neither of bodies nor of. bodily forth. But not all the angels are this way; only those of the tenth de. {gree are similar to the sons of Adam beheld by each prophet accord. ing to his stature. Everyone agrees that they have an appearance too awesome to apprehend. “The prophet and visionary sees all the various powers change from form to form until they take on the power of the form visible to him. Then it transforms like the form of an. angel and this form changes before him and becomes able to reccive the prophetic force, Then the engravings of spirituat channels are inscribed in his heart, ‘When he completes and fulfills his mission, the prophet then is divested of the power of the revealed form and is invested with the power of his first form. He sheds a form and dons new form, Then everything is arrayed together, uniting and growing ever stronger. ‘Then all his corporeal powers return to their first state, Then he speaks and functions like all other people. This, then, is the tradition of those pious men," may they ail be remembered for good. 10, Another tradition: It has been transmicved by the masters of the divine Names that at various known times they used the demonic ethers to attain a few of the prophetic qualities. ‘This is the utilization of the ether of the Holy One, blessed be He. _ There are also those who can transport themselves magically by attaining the ether which includes the secret knowledge of demons. There is a great and wise traditionist whom we met in Narbonne who testified along with many others that Rabbi Eleazar of Worms of Blessed memory could ocisionally ride upon the form of « magic loud to faraway places and then return, especially when a good deed needed to be performed far off. Sometimes, though, he sede ‘upon an animal for many days like all other men. Once he had to perform a circumcision in a far-off place and he flew aff hy means of his usual incantation, But he forgot something that is required by People who have mastered this wisdom and he fell from his low 14 THE KOHEN BROTHERS flying cloud. He became lame in his hip and no worldly remedy cured him until the day of his death. 11, The tradition we received has it that there are three ethers above. ‘The first ether ig ruled by the great and holy prince whose ame is Qedashiel. He is the prince of the hosts, and from his power and might spring forth battalions of princely armies and all the heav- enly soldiers, thee angels ofthe heavenly armies and thase of the heav- cens above the heavens. All these are emanated from them, and the emanation of their emanations has neither image nor substance nor corporeality. ‘The second ether is the secret knowledge of prophecy. Ie is the ether donned by the prophets and the high priest and the other priests and the Levites and all who have a supreme soul and intelligence. This is the second ether. The third ether is the ether of the secret knowledge of demons. This is the text of the Seforbu-Mal- bush. 12. We shall now discuss the third ether. The scholars of tra- dition said that itis a received aradition froma their fathers that this cther is divided into three parts: an upper part, a middle part, and a lower pact. The upper part was given over to Asmodeus, the great king of che demons. Hee does not have permission to accuse or cause confusion except on Mondays. We will expand! an this in the treatise as best we can. Even though Asmodeus is called the great king, he is subser- mnt to Samael. He is called the great prince with reference to the emanations above him and the king of kings with reference to the emanations underneath him, Asmodeus is governed by him and is subservient to him. ‘Samact, the great prince and great king over all the demons, co- habits with the great Matron Lilith, Asmodeus, the king of the de- mons, cohabits with the Lesser [Younger] Lilith. ‘The scholars ofthis tradition admit to many horrendous details concerning the forms of, Samael and Asmodeus and the images of Lilith the bride of Samael and Lilith the bride of Asmodeus. Happy is he who merits chis knowledge. ‘The mididle part was given over to the king who rules spirits, Qaigafoni is his name and his young mate is Sar‘ita’, with whom he ‘cohabit for half the year, For the otber half of the year he fornicates with another mate whuse name is Sagrirta’ “Their offepring take on different forms. They have bodies and seem to be two-headed, while the sons of Sarita’ take on the image of lepers. Some scholars of tra- 15FHE EARLY KABBALAH dition say that all lepers are the result of this despicable offspring ‘The sons of Sagrirta have faces which acc ulverared and they wage 4 pitched battle among themselves. Evil spicits abound in the ether and all sorts of storms and horrors go forth from the power of these incerminglings. Nevertheless, the rule nd terror of Asmodeus is im posed on ther... ‘The third part of the ether is o¢cupied by fiends ereated and clad in many varying forms. Some are in the form of dogs, created by human sins. And the dog formed from this evil issuance happens upon man and bites him, and ¢o cure him is most difficult. Some- simes it changes form from a dog toa slightly different form. It barks and howld and bites again and again and finds no worldly cure until it dies and returns transfigured, mixed in this ether with the power of the form, This is its punishment and annihilation, Because of this secret there is the prayer “Deliver my soul from the sword, my pre- cious life from the clutches of a dog” (Psalms 22:71) Some take the form of he- and she-goats. From these are ‘Aza’ and ‘Aza'el. Each separately has the form of the image of real men, When they fell from heaven—a part of the above-mentioned ether — they donned the power of this ether just above us and they ook on the bodies of men. Then the upper power weakened and they re- ceived the lower power. But the progeny which issued from them was more towering and powerful than all mankind. Some take other forms, like the form of man from birth. Some take the form of men and some the form of women. The only dif- ference is the lies and falsehoods. They are jealous of men and they seck to cheat and foil theat. They would have destroyed everything they saw were it not that the attribute of Kingdom summoned her ‘own emanation, Yuf'el, the great prince of the countenance, wha is, beloved and near to the divine Presence. He rules over the king of that pernicious group. Were it not that the power of his emanation and his terror fills them, they would never leave creatures alone, nor would lowly creatures be able 10 sand wp against them, The name of the king ruling over them is Qafsefoni and the name of his mate is Mehetabel, daughter of Metrad."* Their progeny jumps in onc ‘bound from one end of the ether to the other. Sometimes they are given permission to rectify the injuries that befall mankind and to inform mankind of its future when they appear as men. They have no rule over lies or falsehoods. He who asks of them will find his answer according 10 1Qafgefonis} will, depending on whether the 196 TUE KOHEN BROTHERS questioner merits an answer. If he docs not merit an answer, they will appear to the questioner only by means of an incantation, but they will answer him that they do not have permission to answer his question, 44. This culing prince and all bis warriors are subservient (0 As- modeus the great king. Their rule and the force of their actions are commensurate to the power of emanation which reaches cach of them, All that is below and above is subject to the rule of Samacl, king of kings. His emanation and the emanation of his chariots will spread forth upon all the troops. All the pringes will scurry about at his command until the coming of the word of the divine Will, which veil reveal the time and day of revenge which is hidden in His heart and sealed in His treasury. Hee will then bring down the rule of this red one (edom), as ic is written: “I will destroy his fruit from above and his roots from beneath”(Amos 2:9). Aenen. Hurriedly and in our days! "15, Now we will finish the matter that we started, Occasionally the prinve whose name is Qafsefoni can, commensurate £0 che per- mission granted him, unite and cohabit with one creature whose name is Lilita. She is in the image of Hagar the Egyptian acoording to some Of the men of this wisdom, though there is some disagree- iment over this point. .. . 17. Back to what I started regarding the array of heavenly evil armies and their layout from first warrior to last: they were all cre- ated from one emanation which came forth from the power of the emanation of Repentance. This is the opening words of the treatise. Bur before 1 finish discussing this issue 4 will speak to vou of something else you need to know. The first ereations of the Hidden from-all, the Cause of causes and the Reason of reasons, were powers which were crowns before Him. They are called “the special world” or “the secluded world.” and itis a world which is entirely good. He chooses only good so that the good ones would merit a world which is entirely good. Then His incomprehensible Wisdom chose to cre- ate a world that was entirely evil in order to chastise the erring: Maybe they will retura in a perfect repentance to achieve merit—if not, this would be their final: obliteration. Regarding these two worlds itis said: “He makes peace and creates evil” (Isaiah 45:7). . ‘The world of peace comes first in the verse because itis before the entirely evil world. And even though it has no part in the entirely 00d world, His First emanation is not from the evil emanation. This 77THE EARLY KABBALAL is what we meant when we said that He chooses only the good, And hough he formed evil from this good, we cannot understand the pro- fundity of this hidden mystery for it is sealed Go and learn of this from the first man who was not the chile tof any woman but was creaced from a pure and pristine likeness fof God], lacking any evil inclination co sin, God commanded hin and warned him to keep one commandment for bis own benefit so that he could enjoy everlasting life. But he transgressed this first come mandment. ‘We believe that the Creator did not want hin to sin, nor did He decree that he should, He simply commanded the good. This is the case with other people and pious individuals. The patriarchs serve as an example—from them came Esau and Ishmael and Hezekiah and Manasseh and many other {sinners}. From the good came forth vil, and God neither commanded nor demanded it. All this falls un. der the category of silence: do not dwell on it—it is so awesome that ‘you ought not inquire, so hidden that you ought not pursue it, i have explained all this first in order to remove all doubts, and the enlightened will understand. Out of abundant love I have tried to hide part of the whole of which [revealed to you, At frst I hinted aml concealed when F laid out the order of the princes and their forces, saying that they were all created from a single emanation, T did not say thar they were created from the power of a single ema- ation. Then I said that they were created from the power of the emanation of Repentance, but 1 did not write thae they were frotn the emanation of Repentaace. By this method it was my intention “to reveal a little and conceal much.” “Happy is the man who fears the Lord, who is greatly devoted to his commandments” (Psalms U2). 18. This is the order of all the armies, a circle within the circles of the firt. They are above everything, surrounding and influenc- ing in a general way all chats spiritual by means of their emanations. From the emanation of Repentance coine six powers and from the sixth emanation—called Keruzi'el-the emanation of the seventh prince called Masukhiel is brought forth. All of them are holy and God is in them, From the seventh and onward, ten groups of op- posing powers arc emanated, parallel ro the ten holy sf. The up- per three had no existence and were obliterated. The seven remaining princes along with their forces constantly instigate wat with the seven princes of the pure and perfeet crowns and occasion 178 THE KOHEN BROTHERS ally with the seven princes mentioned above in the hook we have already written.®" “Happy is the man who fears the Lord, who is greatly devoted to His commandments” (Psalms 12:1), God is in them: Migvatiel, Hafsiel, Me’odi'el, the practical commandments are built in golden basis and they were emanated from these three princes who in tura were emanated from the middle pillar called Tav.® This is the meaning of “You shall not covet the wife of your ncighbor” (Exodus 20:14)—itis e description of “the beauty of days,” which corresponds to the middie pillar.” “The wife of a neighbor" these are evil Samael and his mate Lilith. Hemdatel, Isheiel, Retuvel: From these three priaces the prohibitions were emanated, ‘They radiate forth from the emanation “Beauty of Water.” O Hem. davelt Holy of Israel! Grantus the meri to perceive and grasp a per. fect knowledge of the seerets of His Torah, as wonderful and dear as pure gold. Grant us life in che world to come. Amen. 19. In answer to your question concerning Lilith, f shall explain to you the essence of the matter, Concerning this point there is a received tradition from the ancient Sages who made use of the Secret Knowledge of the Leser Palaces, which is the manipulation of demons and a ladder by which one ascends to the prophetic levels. In this tradition it is made clear that Samael and Lilith were born as one, similar to the form of Adam and Eve who were also born as one, reflecting what is above, This is the account of Lilith which was re- ceived by the Sages in the Secret Kuoroledge of the Palaces. The Matron Lilith is'the mate of Samael. Both of them were born at the same hour in the image of Adam and Eve, intertwined in each other. As- modeus the great king of the demons has as a mate the Lesser Grounger) Lilith, daughter of the king whase name is Qafgefoni. The ame of his mate is Mchetabel daughter of Matred, and their daugh- ter is Lilith, 8 written in The Chapters of the Lestr Palaces as we have received it, word for word and letter for let. ter. And the scholars of this wisdom possess a very profound tradi. tion from the ancients. They found it stated in those Chapters that Samacl, the great prince of them all, grew exceedingly jealous of As- modeus the king of the demons because of this Lilith who is called Lilith the Maiden (the young}. She is in the form of a beautiful woman from her head to her waist. But from the waist down she is burning fire—tike mother Tike daughter. She is called Mehetabel daughter of Matred, and the meaning is something immersed (mabu 179THE EARLY KABBALAH taba). The meaning here is that her intentions are never for the good She only seeks to incite wars and various demons of war and the war between Daughter Lilith and Matron Lilith. “They say that from Asmodeus and his mate Lilith a great prince ‘was born in heaven. He is che ruler of eighty thousand desteuetive demons and is called “the sword of king Asmodeus.” Hlis name is Alefpene'ash and his face burns like a raging fire (sb). He is also called Gurigur, for he antagonizes and struggles with the prince of Juslah, who is called Gur Aryeh Yehudah (Lion-cub of Jodeh), From the same form that gave birth to this war-demon another prince, a prince whose root isin Kingdom, was born in heaven. He is called “the swofd of the Messiah.” He too has two ames: Meshihi'el and Kokhyi'el. When the time comes and when God wishes, this sword will leave its sheath and verses of prophecy will come true: "For My sword shall be drunk in the heavens: Lo, it shall come down upon Edona” (Isaiah 34:5). “A star rises from Jacob” (Numbers 24:17), Amen, Soon in our days may we merit to see the face of the Messiah ur righteous one; we and all our people. . . 22, [shall now reach you a wonderful innovation. You already know chat evil Samael and wicked Lilith are like a sexual pair who, bby means of an intermediary, receive an evil and wicked emanation from one and emanate to the other. E shall explain this relying on the esoteric meaning in the verse “Tn that day the Lord will punish with His great, cruel, mighty sword Leviathan the twisted serpent and Leviathan the tortuous serpent”—this is Lilith—“and He will slay the dragon of the sea” (Isaiah 27:1). As there is a pure Leviathan in the sea and it is called a serpent, so there is a great defiled serpent in the sea in the literat sense. The same holds true above in a hidden way. The heavenly serpent is a blind prince, the image of an inter- mediary between Satnael and Lilith, Its name is Tanintiver.™* The masters of tradition said that just as this serpent slithers without eyes, so the supernal serpent has the image of a spiritual form with- out color—these are “the eyes.” "The craditionists call it an eyeless creature, therefore its name is Tanin‘iver. He is the bond, the ac~ companiment, and the union between Samael and Lilith. Ifhe were created whole in the fullness of his emanation he would have de- stroyed the world in an instant, . . ‘When the divine Will arrives and the emanation of Samael and ch weallens the emanation achieved by the blind prince, they wi be completely annihilated by Gabriel prince of Strength, who ins 130 THE KOHEN BROTHERS gates war against them with the aid of the prince of Lovingkindness. ‘Then the verse which we have expounded according to its secret ‘meaning will come truc. . 24. [found written in the name of an ancient traditionist and ia the name of the perfect ELasid of blessed memory** that Lilith is also ‘Taninsam.** They said thar this name is based on the serpent who. is in the image of an intermediary between Lilith and her mate. He will eat deadly poison at che hands of the prince of Strength; itis an clixir of life for all whose inclination overcomes them, Then he pare ticipates with Michael, the prince of Lovingkindness, in defeating the rule of evil in heaven and on earth, Then the verse will come true: “For His Lovingkindness has overcome us; the truth of God endures forever. Hallelujah” (Psalms 17:2). ‘The secret of the covenant of salt (melaby” is the kingdom of the accompaniment of beauty.” Therefore they hinted with secrets re- garding the salted fish (Leviathan) to feed the righteous in future times. Happy is he who understands these things as they are. Not 1. A teem fr the Kabbalss 2 Sefer Vad 5. According to Palms 44:19, 4. Then Kingdom 5. SuGuSG equals 187 and “old man’ (2aQeN) has the same vale é Parole Saathgrectng no Ral Vanna rca Sh Recah Slad grening ed mT Shab Se Pains 1159 and Canis 85, “Soe ean {ict gba Bey, oes ih Ki expression relting toh uppermost Foca du fi ny Day Sal 1 expcot Elin Early Kabbalah AYSteee3 (98, p32 12, Gis Rab 9:2 Beniee 5080p 18, See BY Menahoe 2, The ene of intereltion fers othe leap anh oF ie Jin anaai clara mag oles peat eae, 14, Ascrngro Eeleaucs 24, See Dania ppe a 15 Thee sae clvscneary Suis Abr mas acon. cemporsy of Hat Gon 16, Sc begining of ehapter 5. On sis and he allowing chaps, see Dan, "Stina" pp 2332 1, Sect i 18, Mbstot chapter 11m Aric ands he tex of ne vesan the fr ‘a-Malbu, the tile of several magical texts from Gennic eas ne th, and the Con- 18]2. 23 1. Bs. %6 vy. cs THE EARLY KABBALAH See Genesis 3639, Based on BY Nedari 26, Schakm bees that chupcr 18 wa alteration eo the Preiser by Rabbi saa. The ate pines vs ttn thar nehaper 9 che "he book we hive slrendy wrutetcods with acomatahng eoneae in light ofthe admonition atthe cod of caper (>. ween ea bel ee Chapter 18 ian ite prt fhe onal Trae, The benny a dye Iinguom, which any of dav oa teem cepcsating Kingdom, hich song with Beauty is cated aloog the mide pillar, " Ler: tnd serpene" abd Ju te Hea {Utcraly, potons expen” bu aio “lind” (une) Sec Number 1818 Mab Leis Hen 182 Glossary aggadah—homiletic expositions of the Rabbis. amora—name for the Rabbis responsible for the gemara, the last tite rary layer of the Talmuds, between roughly 200 and 550C.E. Binah—“Understanding,” the third sefirab, A primal female symbol, located at the top of the left column of the Kabbalistic tree. devequt—"communion,” usually with the divine cealen Eyn Sof literally, “No End," a Kabbalistic term for the hidden God ‘who emanates forth the sefiratic tree, ‘gematria—numerology. Every Hebrew letter has a numerological value, and by adding the sum of letters in words the esotericist can weave and interrelate concepts and terms that at first glance have no relation Gevurah—“Strength,” the fifth sefirab. Also called Din (Severity). Most often linked with the forces of evil, its called “the raging inferno of the Lord.” golem—a homunculus. ha'agalab—‘The Hebrew term for “emanation.” hhalakhab—titerally, “the Way,” the legal parameters of Judaism, hasid (pl. paidim)—titesally “pious.” Many Jewish groups have called themselves by this term. In this Volume, basié applies to the German pietists of the twelith and chirtoenth centuries. 183