Compiled by Robert Zucker (c) All rights reserved.
 The history and origins of the manuscript "Sefer Yetzirah" is unknown prior to the beginning of the 1st Century AD.
The original "Sefer Yetzirah"
is believed to have come from the "Oral Law" which the Lord gave to
Moses on Mt. Sinai. Moses was said to have received the Oral Law along
with the Written Law, according to Jewish tradition.
In several manuscripts it is called "Otiyyot de-Avraham
Avinu." the "Sefer Yetzirah" possiblitility The attribution to R. Akiba
appears in the 13th century onward, derived from the late Midrash
"Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva." (Scholem, "Kabbalah," p. 28)
Qabalah,
the "Oral Law," was passed from mouth to ear generation after
generation until it was finally written down by Abraham, the patriarch.
He is considered the original author of the "Sefer Yetzirah" who wrote
the book upon his conversion from idol worshipper to the religion of the
True Gd.
The Letters of Abraham the Patriarch
 According
to a statement in "Rokeah (Hasidut Zakuyyut 'Arum)," at age 48, Abraham
was moved by the deeds of the generation of the Tower of Babel to
reflect on Gd and the universe. He first studied for three years by
himself. Afterwards, by the command of Gd, he was taught by Shem, until
he became so wise he composed the "Sefer Yetzirah".
Then Gd appeared to him, took him unto Himself, kissed him,
called him His friend, and made a covenant with him and his descendants
forever. ("Legend of Jews", Ginsburg, 210 "Sefer Yetzirah" 6.)
The "tradition" (Qabala) was then passed down orally to his sons, then to:
- Jeremiah, who passed it on to
- Joseph b. Uziel, who passed it to his son,
- Ben Sira who passed it to his son, Uziel.
- It was transmitted until the sages of
Jerusalem put it to writing at a time when the Jews were at a period of
destruction, sometime in the first or second century AD.
1st Talmudic Passage
 The
first mention of the creation of a golem, or an artifical being, is
found in the Babylonian Talmud passages of Sanhedrin 65b, Sanhedrin 66b,
tratsie Erubin, p. 63.
"But, alas, your iniquities have separated between you and your Gd."
Sandhedrin 65b, in reference to Isaiah 59:2,
LIX.2. This section is preceded by a discussion on ba'al ob and
conjuring the dead to foretell the future.
"Raba said: If the righteousness desired it, they could [by
living a life of asbolute purity], be creators, for it is written, 'But
your iniquities have distinguished between, etc.' (ed. ibid to above
quote. Raba understands mabadilim in the sense of "draw a distinction."
2nd Talmudic Passage
"For Rava once created a man (ed. by means
of "Sefer Yetzirah"*) and sent him to Rav (Z'era) Zira (Zeira) (Sira??)
Rabbi Z'era spoke to him, but received no answer. The man, being unable
to reply when spoken to, the Rabbi said to him,
'Thou art a creature of the company
(initiated in the mysteries of necromancy) (ed. in Sanhadrin
"magicians") ("You are [coming] from the Pietists] return to thy dust.' "
Follow the timeline year by year of the development of Sefer Yetzirah:
© 2007-2011 Bob Zucker. EMOL.org All rights reserved. . No part may be copied, reproduced, republished or
digitally stored without permission from author.
|
|
|
Links to books on Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), Kabbalah, Kabbalah Bracelets and more.
|
Most popular and reliable books about "Sefer Yetzirah"
These are the most popular books on
Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation (Book of Formation). All of them
can be purchased through these links at Amazon.com. Check for free
shipping eligibility on some books.
This is the most authoritative
text on the study of the "Sefer Yetzirah" or Book of Formation (Book of
Creation). Kaplan's explanations are easy to understand and make common
sense. A must have manual for anyone ready to decipher this ancient
manuscript. Paperback: 398 pages. Publisher: Weiser Books; Rev Sub
edition (May 1997). Language: English.
|
by R. A. Gilbert (Foreword),
Arthur Edward Waite (Editor, Introduction), Knut Stenring (Translator)
Stenring has made a word-for-word
translation from several texts, choosing only those parts which he
believed to be authentic. He reveals the text’s secrets in his diagrams,
tables, and extensive notes. His "Master Key to the Theoretical and
Practical Kabala" is a diagram of the correspondences between the
English and Hebrew alphabets and is not found in other translations of
the Sepher Yetzirah. The introduction by Waite surveys the historical
background of the Sepher Yetzirah translations and the import of this
foundational Kabbalistic text. Knut Stenring was a Swedish Hebrew
scholar. He published this work in 1923.
|
by W. Wynn Westcott (Author)
A selection from INTRODUCTION: The
"Sepher Yetzirah," or "Book of Formation," is perhaps the oldest
Rabbinical treatise of Kabalistic philosophy which is still extant. The
great interest which has been evinced of 1ate years in the Hebrew
Kabalah, and the modes of thought and doctrine allied to it, has induced
me to translate this tractate from the original Hebrew texts, and to
collate with them the Latin versions of mediaeval authorities; and I
have also published An Introduction to the Kabalah which may be found
useful to students. Three important books of the "Zohar," or "Book of
Splendour," which is a great storehouse of Kabalistic teaching, have
been translated into English by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, and the "Sepher
Yetzirah" in an English translation is almost a necessary companion to
these abstruse disquisitions: the two books indeed mutually explain each
other.
Sepher Yetzirah (Paperback: 48 pages). Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (December 30, 2005). Language: English
Sepher Yetzirah (Kindle)
(Format: Kindle Edition). File Size: 226 KB. Print Length: 112 pages.
Publisher: Oak Grove (March 20, 2008). Sold by: Amazon Digital
Services
|
by Charles F. Horne (Editor)
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (December 30, 2005). Language: English
|
|
|
|
