Bahir or Sefer Ha-Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר (Hebrew, "Book of the Brightness") is an anonymous mystical work, attributed pseudepigraphically to a first century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben ha-Kanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai) because it begins with the words, "R. Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah said". It is also known as Midrash of Rabbi Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah מִדְרָשׁ רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא בֶּן הַקָּנָה. Zugot (Hebrew: ) ((tÉ™qÅ«phāth) hazZÅ«ghôth) refers to the hundred year period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE), in which the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot (pairs) of religious teachers. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar to say or tell over), were renowned Jewish scholars who said or told over the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Israel. ... A savora (Aramaic: סבורא, plural savoraim, saboraim, סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the Amoraim (around 500 CE) to the beginning of the Geonim (around 700 CE). ... Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning pride in Biblical Hebrew and genius in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular... Rishonim (ראשונים Hebrew - sing. ... Acharonim (Hebrew - sing. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Pseudepigrapha (Greek pseudos = false, epi = after, later and grapha = writing (or writings), latterly or falsely attributed, or down right forged works, describes texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded in actuality. ... Rabbi, in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’, or more literally, ‘great one’. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ or ‘distinguished (in knowledge)’. Sephardic and Yemenite Jews pronounce this word ribbÄ«; the modern Israeli pronunciation rabbÄ« is derived from a... Nehunya ben ha-Kanah (Hebrew: נחוניה בן הקנה) was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries. ... See Rabbi Yochanan (disambiguation) for other rabbis from the Talmud named Yochanan. ...

It was first published in the 12th century, southern France. Historians suspect Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor, also known as Isaac the Blind, wrote it at that time. An important problem in this ascription is that "eyn sof" ("that which is without end") as a term naming God does not occur in the Bahir though it does in the works of Isaac the Blind. Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר, also known as Isaac the Blind, (c. ...

It is an early work of esoteric Jewish mysticism which eventually became known as Kabbalah. This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ...

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This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... Category:Sephiroth      Sefirah redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Qliphoth, kliffoth or klippot, Heb. ... Raziel (Hebrew RZIAL: secret[s] [of the] Lord), is an archangel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah of Judaism) who is the Keeper of Secrets and the Angel of Mysteries. In some teachings he is said to be a Cherub, as well as the chief of the... In the Jewish Kabbalah tradition, Ayn Sof (Ain Sof, Hebrew boundlessness or without end), also known referred to as Divine Being, is the name for God as he is unknown, or the mysterious and ultimate source of all existence. ... In Jewish Mysticism, Tzimtzum (צמצום Hebrew: contraction or constriction) refers to the notion in the Kabbalistic theory of creation that God contracted his infinite essence in order to allow for a conceptual space in which a finite, independent world could exist. ... Category:Sephiroth      Main article: Sephirot (Kabbalah) Tree of life is a mystical concept within the Kabbalah of Judaism which is used to understand the nature of God and the manner in which He created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing). ... Seder Hishtalshelus (Hebrew סדר חשתלשלות) means the order of development or order of evolution, where the word Hishtalshelus (or Hishtalshelut) is derived from the reduplicated quadriliteral root Å LÅ L to chain, and so literally means the chain-like process. This is the Kabbalistic term for the progression God continually uses to go... Jewish meditation, which in Hebrew is called hisbonenus or hitbonenut, is explained most explicitely in the Kabbalistic and Chassidic texts. ... Zodiac in a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel. ... In Hebrew, astrology was called hokmat ha-nissayon, the wisdom of prognostication, in distinction to hokmat ha-hizzayon (wisdom of star-seeing, or astronomy). ... Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, (Simon son of Yohai), was a Palestinian rabbi during the Roman period, after the destruction of the Second Temple. ... Moses ben Jacob Cordovero or Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570), known by the acronym the Ramak, was a Medieval rabbi and one of the greatest scholars of Judaisms Kabbalah. ... Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר, also known as Isaac the Blind, (c. ... Not to be confused with Bahya ibn Paquda. ... Azriel was one of the most important Jewish mystics in the Spanish town of Gerona (north of Barcelona) during the thirteenth century when it was an important center of the Kabbalah. ... Yosef Caro (1488 - March 24, 1575) was one of the most significant leaders in Rabbinic Judaism and the author of the Shulchan Arukh, an authoritative work on Halakhah (Jewish law). ... Israel Sarug Ashkenazi (also Saruk) (16th century) was a pupil of Isaac Luria, and devoted himself at the death of his master to the propagation of the latters kabalistic system, for which he gained many adherents in various parts of Italy. ... Jacob Emden was a Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and opponent of the Shabbethaians. ... The Zohar (Hebrew: זהר Splendor, radiance) is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. ... Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew, Book of Creation[1], ספר יצירה) is the title of the earliest book on Jewish esotericism. ... This article is a stub. ...

Title

Nahmanides, in his commentary on the Torah, (Genesis 1) is one of the first to quote the work under the title Midrash R. Nehunya ben ha-Kanah. ("R. Nehunya b. ha-Kanah said," the opening sentence) Nahmanides (1194 - c. ... “Tora” redirects here. ...

Among medieval Kabbalists it became known as Sefer ha-Bahir, taken from its opening comment, "One verse says: 'And now men see not the light which is bright (bahir) in the skies'" (Job 37:21). The Book of Job (איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. ...

Authorship

Kabbalists ascribed authorship of the Bahir to R. Nehunya, a rabbi of the Mishnaic era, who lived around 100 CE. Medieval Kabbalists write that the Bahir did not come down to them as a unified book, but rather in pieces found in scattered scrolls and booklets. The scattered and broken nature of the Bahir's text, which sometimes ends discussion in mid-sentence, and which often randomly jumps from topic to topic, supports this claim.

The historical critical study of this book points to a later date of composition. For some time scholars believed that it was written in the thirteenth century by Isaac the Blind, or by those in his school. The first sentence, "And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies" (Job 37:21), being isolated, and having no connection with what follows, was taken to be an allusion to the blindness of its author. However, modern scholars of Kabbalah now hold that at least part of the Bahir was an adaptation of an older work, the Sefer Raza Rabba. This older book is mentioned in some of the works of the Geonim; however no complete copies of Sefer Raza Rabba are still in existence. However, quotes from this book can still be found in some older works. Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning pride in Biblical Hebrew and genius in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular...

Many scholars of Kabbalah hold that the Bahir adds gnostic elements to the older work. The question of how much gnosticism has influenced Kabbalah is one of the major themes of modern-day research on Kabbalah, see the works of Gershom Scholem and Moshe Idel for more information. Gershom Scholem (born December 5, 1897 in Berlin, died February 21, 1982 in Jerusalem), also known as Gerhard Scholem, was a German-born Jewish philosopher and historian. ...

There is a striking affinity between the symbolism of Sefer ha-Bahir, on the one hand, and the speculations of the Gnostics, and the theory of the "aeons," on the other. The fundamental problem in the study of the book is: is this affinity based on an as yet unknown historical link between the gnosticism of the mishnaic and talmudic era and the sources from which the material in Sefer ha-Bahir is derived? Or should it possibly be seen as a purely psychological phenomenon, i.e., as a spontaneous upsurge from the depths of the soul's imagination, without any historical continuity?

"Bahir", Encyclopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing

History

• Kabbalists believe that oral tradition of The Bahir goes to 1st century AD. It is possible that some secret manuscripts existed before publication in the 12th century.
• c. 1174 - The Bahir was published by the Provence school of Kabbalists and was circulated to a limited audience in manuscipt form.
• 1331 - Earliest commentary on The Bahir is written by Rabbi Meir ben Shalom Abi-Sahula, a disciple of Rabbi Shlomo ben Avraham Aderet (Rashba), and it is published anonymously under the title Or HaGanuz.
• End of 15th century - The Bahir is translated into Latin by Flavius Mitridates but this translation is wordy and not useful.
• 1651 - The Bahir is published in Amsterdam together with Mayin HaChakhmah in printed form.
• 1706 - The Bahir is published in Berlin together with Mayin HaChakhmah.
• 1784 - The Bahir is published in Sklav and Koretz.
• 1800 - The Bahir is published in Lvov.
• 1830 - The Bahir is published in Lvov.
• 1849 - The Bahir is publishe in unknown place as part of Chamishah Chumshey Kabbalah.
• 1865 - The Bahir is published in Lvov.
• 1883 - The Bahir is published in Vilna.
• 1913 - The Bahir is published in Vilna.
• 1923 - German translation is published by Gershom Scholem.
• 1951 - The Bahir is published in Jerusalem.
• 1979 - English translation is published.
• 1980 - Latin Translation (Guillaume Postel's) is published by Francois Secret.
• 1994 - Hebrew Text is published from the manuscripts by Daniel Abrams.
• 2005 - Latin Translation (Flavius Mithridates') is published, together with a critical edition of the Hebrew text, by Saverio Campanini.

The tree of life Kabbalah (קבלה Reception, Standard Hebrew Qabbala, Tiberian Hebrew Qabbālāh; also written variously as Cabala, Cabalah, Cabbala, Cabbalah, Kabala, Kabalah, Kabbala, Qabala, Qabalah) is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature. ... (Redirected from 1st century AD) (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Events Vietnam is given the official name of Annam by China. ... Coat of arms of Provence Provence (Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) was a Roman province and now is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Italy. ... The tree of life Kabbalah (קבלה Reception, Standard Hebrew Qabbala, Tiberian Hebrew Qabbālāh; also written variously as Cabala, Cabalah, Cabbala, Cabbalah, Kabala, Kabalah, Kabbala, Qabala, Qabalah) is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature. ... Events September 8 - Stefan Dusan declares himself king of Serbia Start of the reign of Emperor Kogon of Japan, first of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Births Coluccio Salutati, Florentine political leader (died 1406) Deaths January 14 - Odoric, Italian explorer October 27 - Abulfeda, Arab historian and geographer (born 1273) Categories: 1331... Shlomo ben Aderet (or Solomon son of Aderet) (1235-1310), universally known to scholars of Judaism as the Rashba (the acronym for his Hebrew name), was a Medieval rabbi, Halakhist, and famous Talmudist. ... Or HaGanuz (Hebrew: ) is a Jewish village in the eastern upper Galilee, about six kilometres northwest of the town of Safed. ... 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Events March 27 - Concluding that Emperor Iyasus I of Ethiopia had abdicated by retiring to a monastery, a council of high officials appoint Tekle Haymanot I Emperor of Ethiopia May 23 - Battle of Ramillies September 7 - The Battle of Turin in the War of Spanish Succession - forces of Austria and... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... General view of Korets Korets (Ukrainian: ; Polish: ) is a city in the Rivne Oblast in Ukraine. ... // ON MAY 5 1853 MR.FADER HAD SEX WITH A MAN NAME MR WIEN THEN THEY HAD SON NAMEDMRS COTURE AND MR MANOOGIAN WENT INTO MRS HASKELLS OFFICE NAKED AND DANCED AROUND AND MASTERBATED ON HER CHEST AND SHE LICKED IT OFF THEN THEY HAD ORAL SEEX WITH NAPLOEAN OF... Lviv ( Львів in Ukrainian; Львов, Lvov in Russian; Lwów in Polish; Leopolis in Latin; Lemberg in German—see also cities alternative names) is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants (an additional 200,000 commute daily from... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Lviv ( Львів in Ukrainian; Львов, Lvov in Russian; Lwów in Polish; Leopolis in Latin; Lemberg in German—see also cities alternative names) is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants (an additional 200,000 commute daily from... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Lviv ( Львів in Ukrainian; Львов, Lvov in Russian; Lwów in Polish; Leopolis in Latin; Lemberg in German—see also cities alternative names) is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants (an additional 200,000 commute daily from... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes Vilna; Polish Wilno, Belarusian Вільня, Russian Вильнюс, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital city of Lithuania. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Vilnius Old Town Vilnius (sometimes Vilna; Polish Wilno, Belarusian Вільня, Russian Вильнюс, see also Cities alternative names) is the capital city of Lithuania. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gershom Scholem (born December 5, 1897 in Berlin, died February 21, 1982 in Jerusalem), also known as Gerhard Scholem, was a German-born Jewish philosopher and historian. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with S. Daniel Abraham. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Contents

The Bahir assumes the form of an exegetic midrash on the first chapters of Genesis. It is divided into sixty short paragraphs, and is in the form of a dialogue between master and disciples. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Genesis (Hebrew: , Greek: Γένεσις, meaning birth, creation, cause, beginning, source or origin) is the first book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. ...

The main characters are "R. Amora" (or "Amorai"), and "R. Rahamai" (or "Rehumai"). Some statements in the book are attributed to R. Berechiah, R. Johanan, R. Bun, rabbis mentioned in the later midrash literature.

The Bahir contains commentaries explaining the mystical significance of Biblical verses; the mystical significance of the shapes of the Hebrew letters; the mystical significance of the cantillation signs and vowel points on the letters; the mystical significance of statements in the Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation"); and the use of sacred names in magic. Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew, Book of Creation[1], ספר יצירה) is the title of the earliest book on Jewish esotericism. ...

There are two hundred aphorism-like paragraphs. Each paragraph uses references from the Torah to expand upon their presentations. As with all Kabbalistic texts the meanings are highly symbolic and subject to numerous opportunities for interpretation. A common analogy is used throughout. A king, his servants, his daughter and his gardens are all used to explain a meaning first of Torah and then in general of the main topic of the text. The paragraphs refer to each other in segments and are broken into five sections in the Aryeh Kaplan translation. These sections are loosely grouped together but they do more or less stay within the underlying themes given by their title. For the comic-book writer, see Arie Kaplan. ...

Sections

Section 1 (v. 1-16) consists of commentary on the first verses of Genesis or of the Creation Story.

Section 2 (v. 17-44) talks about the Aleph-Beth or the Hebrew alphabet and gets its inspiration from the Sepher Yetzirah which links these letters of creation to the overall mysticism presented in the Torah. Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew, Book of Creation, ספר יצירה) is the title of two books on esoteric Jewish mysticism. ... “Tora” redirects here. ...

Section 3 (v. 45-122) concerns the Seven Voices and the Sephiroth. The tree of life. ...

Section 4 (v. 124-193) is grouped under the section title of Ten Sephioth.

Section 5 (v. 193-200) completes the discourse and is called Mysteries of the soul.

Sefirot

The Hebrew word "sefirot" was first described in Sefer Yezirah as corresponding to the ten basic numbers, and did not possess the meaning that later Kabbalists gave to it. It is in the Bahir that we find the first discussion of the Kabbalistic concept of Sefirot as divine attributes and powers emanating from God. Sephirah, also Sefirah (Hebrew language סְפִירָה Enumeration); plural Sephiroth or Sefiroth סְפִירוֹת. In the Kabbalah, the Sephiroth (or Enumerations) are the ten emanations of God (or infinite light: Ain Soph Aur) into the universe. ... Sephirah, also Sefirah (Hebrew language סְפִירָה Enumeration); plural Sephiroth or Sefiroth סְפִירוֹת. In the Kabbalah, the Sephiroth (or Enumerations) are the ten emanations of God (or infinite light: Ain Soph Aur) into the universe. ...

Creation of the universe

The world, according to the "Bahir," is not the product of an act of creation. Like God, this book existed from all eternity, not only in potentiality, but in actuality; and the Creation consisted merely in the appearance of that which was latent in the first "Sefirah," "Or ha-Ganuz," or, as it is called, "Keter 'Elyon," which emanated from God. This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

This Sefirah gave birth to "Hokmah" (Wisdom), from which emanated "Binah" (Intelligence). From these three, which are the superior "Sefirot", and from the primary principles of the universe, emanated, one after another, the seven inferior Sefirot from which all material beings are formed. All the ten Sefirot are linked one to the other, and every one of them has an active and a passive quality—emanating and receiving. The efflux of one Sefirah from another is symbolized in the form of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Thus the gimel (ג), shaped like a tube open at each end, represents a Sefirah, which receives strength at one end and discharges it at the other. The ten Sefirot are the energy of God, the forms in which His being manifests itself.

Reincarnation

The "Bahir" adopts the concept of reincarnation to solve the question of why the just may suffer in this world, while the wicked may be prosperous: "The just may have been wicked in their former lives, and the wicked righteous." Reincarnation, literally to be made flesh again, is a doctrine or mystical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. ...

Editions and commentaries

One of the most accurate manuscripts of the final form of Sefer Bahir was written in 1331 by Meir ben Solomon Abi-Sahula; his commentary on the Bahir was anonymously published as Or ha-Ganuz, "The Hidden Light".

It has been translated into German by Gershom Scholem (1923) and into English by Aryeh Kaplan.

Recently it has been critically edited by Saverio Campanini. See The Book of Bahir. Flavius Mithridates' Latin Translation, the Hebrew Text, and an English Version, edited by Saverio Campanini with a Foreword by Giulio Busi, Torino, Nino Aragno Editore 2005.

Kabbalah Portal

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...

See also

• Kabbalah
• Zohar

This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. ... The Zohar (Hebrew: זהר Splendor, radiance) is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. ...

External links and references

• (The Kabbalistic Library of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola)
• English translation by R' Aryeh Kaplan (PDF)
• English translation by R' Aryeh Kaplan (HTML)
• Fulltext translation
• Bahir Interpretation

General links on Kabbalah

• Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism A Talmudist perspective of Kabbalah
• Indisputable List of Authentic Torah / Qabbola (Qabala) An Orthodox Jewish critic's perspective on Kabbalah.
• Who Should Learn the Hidden Torah? A portion of Maimonidies [Rambam]'s instruction on who should be taught the deeper aspects of Torah, and how - taken from his book Moreh haNevukhim / Guide for the Perplexed.