Sefer ha-Bahir: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding the Bahir and Its Influence on Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism (Jewish Spirituality)

Uncover the many secrets of the mysterious and complex Sefer ha-Bahir!Sefer ha-Bahir has been the subject of scrutiny and debate for hundreds of years. Ambiguity about its dating and authorship have consumed Jewish scholarship's greatest minds over countless ages.Born in the Ancient Near East's cultural cauldron, Sefer ha-Bahir was not written in ancient times, although many ideas found in its pages hail from them. According to scholars, this fragmented document – scattered to the winds and then reassembled – would appear to us today to be one of Kabbalah's foundational documents.It's in Bahir that we first read of the sefirot. But the sefirot of Bahir are not the sefirot of later Kabbalah, not even of Sefer Yetzirah. These sefirot are seen through a completely different lens, a lens which ascribes to them seven voices and three sayings and a pivotal role in the Creation narrative of Genesis.In this book, you'll learn the fascinating story of Bahir, including:How Sefer ha-Bahir was first published and how it was written over the course of many agesThe structure of the modern form of the Bahir and who's responsible for itWhat the ten utterances areThe concept of God's concealment, as explained in the text, and what "hester panim" meansHow the Hebrew language is an active agent of CreationWho the Masoretes are and how vowels and cantillations added new meaning to this adqab (all consonant) languageWho Adam Kadmon is and why he and Adam, Bad Boy of Creation, are and are not the same "guy"What the seven voices concern the sefirot and the theophany at Mt. HorebHow the ten commandments figure into the Kabbalistic model of CreationWhat the 613 mitzvot mean in Judaism and their functional purpose in tikkunHow the Tetragrammaton came to be the highest name of God and how it's not really a name at allThe connection between glory and wisdomWho Gershom Scholem and Aryeh Kaplan were and how their contributions to understanding Sefer ha-Bahir catapulted it into the public consciousness of this Modern eraWhat Neo-Platonism concerns Sefer ha-BahirWhat Shekhinah is and what it has to do with the "Victory of Victories" – the healing of CreationGet this book for an exciting and in-depth discussion of Sefer ha-Bahir, its place in the canon of Kabbalah, and the unique way it tells the story of how Creation was accomplished and humanity's role as God's partner in healing it. Click the “add to cart” button to get your copy of this book!