Description

Overview

Sepher Yezirah, a foundation text of the Qabalistic tradition, is an outstanding, ancient metaphysical essay concerning all creation. Many consider it a meditation manual. According to tradition, this book teaches that a first cause– eternal, all-wise, almighty, and holy– is the origin and center of the universe from which all beings have gradually emanated.

With roots in ancient Jewish mysticism in the Middle East and Alexandria, Sepher Yezirahwas in existence long before it became publicly known in the 10th Century C.E. Possibly composed as early as the Second Century B.C.E., this work has exerted a profound influence on speculative and mystical thought.

Many current systems of thought– ethical, religious, and metaphysical– have been permeated with ideas directly traceable to Sepher Yezirah and the Qabalah.

Sepher Yezirah, an early example of Jewish metaphysical writing, is also an outstanding Hebrew philosophical work. Translated by Isidor Kalisch in 1877, this edition contains both English and Hebraic texts placed side by side, as well as a glossary of ancient Hebrew words and terms that will be useful for all students of the Qabalah.

About the Translator

Isidor Kalisch (1816-1886), rabbi and author, was born in Prussia and educated at the universities of Berlin, Breslau, and Prague. In 1849 he came to the United States, seeking a more open political and religious environment. He served as rabbi in several large Midwestern and East Coast cities, eventually settling in Newark, New Jersey, where he devoted himself entirely to literary work. He was an author, poet, translator, and a leader in Reform Judaism.