In
another major Blavatskyan piece on the Kabbalah, "Tetragrammaton", (Theosophist,
November, 1887), she again references Sefer Yetzirah 1,9 via MacGregor
Mathers (20-21) - then a member of the TS - of whom she writes: 'there are few
more learned Kabbalists in England, though I do not certainly agree with all
his views. But on this question we are in almost full agreement." The
article makes extensive use of his just published The Kabbalah Unveiled,
(something of an esoteric classic, still in print today, via Penguin Books). I
think it's still a pretty good intro to the Kabbalah. Another prominent
kabbalist and Theosophist W.W. Westcott hadactually released a translation of
the Sefer Yetzirah in 1887 - and the translation seems similar, but not exactly
the same as in the Secret Doctrine: http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/yetzirah.htm
She
also makes some interesting personal asides: " I have studied the Kabbala
under two learned Rabbis, one of whom was an initiate, and there was no
difference between the two teachings (the esoteric Eastern and the Western) in
this instance."
In
this instance the reference is used to support the notion of the feminine
aspect of the Holy Spirit:
"The
monotheists have taken (and are still taking) advantage of the profound
esotericism of the Kabala to apply the name by which the One Supreme Essence is
known to its manifestation, the Sephiroth-Elohim, and call it Jehovah. But this
is quite arbitrary and against all reason and logic, as the term Elohim is a
plural noun, identical with the plural word Chiim, often compounded with
the Elohim.*
*
The sentence in the Sepher Jezirah and elsewhere: “Achath-Ruach-Elohim-Chiim”
denotes the Elohim as androgynous at best, the feminine element almost
predominating, as it would read: “One is She the Spirit of the Elohim of Life.”
As said above, Echath (or Achath) is feminine, and Echod (or Achod) masculine,
both meaning One.’’(SD I, 130)
“The
“Sacred Animals” are found in the Bible as well as in the Kabala, and they have
their meaning (a very profound one, too) on the page of the origins of Life. In
the Sepher Jezirah it is stated that “God engraved in the Holy Four the throne
of his glory, the Ophanim (Wheels or the World-Spheres), the Seraphim,* the
Sacred Animals, and the ministering angels, and from these three (the Air,
Water, and Fire or Ether) he formed his habitation.” Thus was the world made
“through three Seraphim — Sepher, Saphar, and Sipur,” or “through Number,
Numbers, and Numbered.” With the astronomical key these “Sacred Animals” become
the signs of the Zodiac.
*
This is the literal translation from the IXth and Xth Sections: “Ten numbers
without what? One: the spirit of the living God . . . . who liveth in
eternities! Voice and Spirit and Word, and this is the Holy Spirit. Two: Spirit
out of Spirit. He designed and hewed therewith twenty-two letters of
foundation, three Mothers and seven double and Twelve single, and one spirit
out of them. Three: Water out of spirit; he designed and hewed with them the
barren and the void, mud and earth. He designed them as a flowerbed, hewed them
as a wall, covered them as a paving. Four: Fire out of water. He designed and
hewed therewith the throne of glory and the wheels, and the seraphim and the
holy animals and the ministering angels, and of the three He founded his
dwelling, as it is said, He makes his angels spirits and his servants fiery
flames!” Which words “founded his dwelling” show clearly that in the Kabala, as
in India, the Deity was considered as the Universe, and was not, in his origin,
the extra-cosmic God he is now.’’
1:9 Ten Sefirot of Nothingness: One
is the Breath of the Living God, blessed and benedicted be the Name of the Life
of worlds. The Voice of Breath and Speech. And this is the Holy Breath (Ruach
HaKodesh).
1:10 Two: Breath from Breath. With
it engrave and carved twenty-two foundation letters - three, Mothers, seven
Doubles, and twelve Elementals - and one Breath is from them.
1:11 Three: Water and Breath. With
it he engraved and carved (22 letters from) chaos and void, mire and clay. He
engraved them like a garden plot. He carved them like a wall. He covered them
like a ceiling. (And he poured snow over them and it became dust as it is
written ''For to snow He said, 'Become Earth' (Job 37.6)''
1:12 Four: Fire from water. With it
He engraved and carved the Throne of Glory, Seraphim, Ophanim, holy Chayot, and
Ministering Angels. From the three He established His dwelling, as it is
written, "He makes His angels of breaths, His ministers from flaming
fire" (Psalms 104:4).
Moreover, Kaplan, commenting on this passage, notes that: "According to the philosophers, Water represents the primeval matter, while Fire represents the primitive aether." (p. 78) again corroborating Blavatsky’s statement that the oriental theosophical notion is compatible with the kabbalistic interpretation. Morever, hopefully this article shows that despite the obscurities of the references, Blavatsky demonstrates a more than passing knowledge of the Sefer Yetzirah and that despite various difficulties and obstacles, her writings hold up quite well when compared with more recent reference sources.
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