Reexamining the Idea of the Biblical Associations to the Sefirahs

From Zohar al Shir ha-shirim: Vol. XI of The Zohar Pritzker Edition, Stanford University Press, Translation and Commentary by Joel Hecker, 2016

He opened, saying, ‘Song of Songs of Solomon (Song of Songs 1:1).  Happy is the generation that has sublime wisdom dwelling within, a time when the blessed Holy One wished to reveal on earth matters that were not revealed to celestial angels.  What were they? Mysteries of wisdom of the sublime, engraved Name.  For holy names were not transmitted to them, but were handed over to wise ones on earth.  And they responded in praise: Yod-He-Vav-He, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth, you who have set your splendor above the heavens! (Psalms 8:2)[1]

Note 2: “The name” refers to the tetragrammaton, while “holy names” refers to the other names of God, all understood as derivative of Yod-He-Vav-He.[2]

“Behold! Here are mysteries of the upper chariot, of four engraved names.  Behold!  Mystery of mysteries, celestial chariot of names: ADNY (Adonai), TZVAOTH (Tseva’ot), YodHeVavHe [Yehoh], AHYH (Ehyeh).  Mystery of four names, engraving of four radiances.  Each ZOHRA, radiance, embraced within the other; each yearning to penetrate the other, and to be contained, one within the other.” Note 3: “Concealed within the first four words of Song of Songs are mysteries of the four names, four sefirot, and four lights.  Here the “upper chariot” is comprised of four sefirot—Shekhinah [Malkuth], Yesod, Tif’eret, Binah—with the highest sefirot, and possibly Ein Sof as well, riding upon them. [Why not Keter riding upon them?][3]
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Elsewhere the upper chariot most often consists of Hesed, Gevurah, Tif’eret, and Shekhinah [Malkuth], with Binah as the rider. Cf. Zohar 2:144a: “Here is the Holy Chariot, for the patriarchs constitute the Chariot: King David joins them and they are four, mystery of the holy supernal Chariot.  Thus, four words in this first verse—mystery of the complete Chariot.”[4]

The Holy Chariot is therefore usually King David the Zohar author’s bias can’t imagine a female with true agency, otherwise, I believe this would have been assigned to the Shekhinah since it is associated with Malkuth. Tif’eret is associated with Jacob.  Gevurah is associated with Isaac, and Chesed is associated with Abraham.  Q: Why only FOUR?  A: So that it is associated with THE FOUR letters: Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh.  Therefore, if it were bottom-up: Malkuth = Yod, Tif’eret = Heh, Gevurah = Vav, and Chesed = Heh.

Yod and Vav the Yin letters?
Heh and Heh Yang letters?

The traditional Biblical names are based on an underlying philosophical system that envisions the world through the lens of oppositional duality and Patriarchal sexism.  If that is the only way to view the Sefirot then we will be forever stuck in a world of disharmony and conflict.  The reason for the continued failure of fixing the cosmos for this many millennia I believe it is due in large part that we are picturing ourselves in a world that is out of balance and at war with itself.  We can never heal ourselves so long as we retain the old worldview. 

We need to have a new vision of what the Sefirot would look like once it is brought into Harmony from the acts of Tikkun Olam.  Replacing oppositional duality which brings with it conflict to the Daoist principles of complementarity and cooperation.  This would be our end goal.  Therefore, here again, is some of the Biblical women who could be associated with the sefirahs.  My suggestions are in normal font, the bold suggestions are from Kabbalistic sources.

Malkuth= Shekinah
Yesod = Eve and Adam
Hod = Deborah she is both a  Judge and a prophet, and retain Aaron.
Netzach = Miriam, sister of Moses and prophet, and retain Moses.
Tiferet = Rachel & Leah & Rebecca and Sarah, the Matriarchs
Gevurah = Mordechai
Chesed = Esther
Binah = Yin
Hokhman = Yang

“These four radiances are distinguished by four known names.  One, called Radiance Dark-and-Not-Dark.  When gazed upon, is darkness lifts at once.  Gazing upon it further, it sparks, then flares in luminosity and transcendent beauty.  Its light, constricted within—until another radiance strikes it, boring into this light, perforating it.  Then it is filled up by that radiance, sparkling in all directions.” (ZH 61d/ p347)

After the shattering of Da’at and the completion of emanation and creation, the Sefirot was in disharmony.  It was in need of Tikkun.  At this time Malkuth was filled with all of the Divine potency and potential but it was dormant.  Thus it was filled with radiance but it was not yet light, it was dark but not dark for it was filled with the fuel that was only needed to be ignited.  When gazed upon—as Eve did in Gan Eden as it is written: (Bereshith 3:6) “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise...”—then did the first spark ignite the fuel and Malkuth shone with radiance.  Whenever humanity studies the hidden secrets we follow both Lilith and Eve.  The Biblical text does not mention what Lilith did in Gan Eden, but the Aggaghic material does.  She left there with power.  We can therefore conclude that she gained that power from the study of the Tree of Life and Knowledge at the center of Gan Eden—she studied and joined with the Sefirot and mastered its knowledge.  Eve according to the text looked upon the Tree as well, thus she learned from it some if not all of its mysteries.  So we must learn from Lilith and Eve and ignite the divine fuel that dwells within all things through our connection to Yesod and in doing this ignite the Cosmos we call Queendom.  This is one way how Tikkun can be done.  By uncovering truths that were hidden so that it might shine with radiance.

Under the traditional system that was rooted in oppositional duality, Patriarchy, and sexism the right-hand side where Hesed is located was considered the masculine side and thus ‘good’, whereas the left-hand side where Din is located was considered the feminine side and thus was the source of ‘evil’.  The cosmos was forever trapped between the fight between the male mercy of Abraham and the strict cruel judgmentalness of the female Din.  All acts of Tikkun were struggling to balance and keep these two from spiraling the cosmos to war, plague, disruption, and cruelty.  The most that could be hoped for was that the forces of Judgment would punish only the wicked people and not harm everyone.

As you will notice by removing those patriarchal associations and replacing them with my new Biblical characters the right pillar and the left pillar can no longer be thought of in oppositional binary terms of exclusively masculine side and exclusively feminine side.  The two pillars are no longer exclusively filled with one or the other—no longer exclusively Yang versus Yin.  Literally, the Right side starts with Yang, then there is Esther, then Moses, and Miriam.  The Left side has Yin, then Mordechai, then Aaron, and Deborah.  Neither Sefirot pillar is dominated by exclusively masculine and feminine symbols.  What we now have is the left pillar of Creative Justice and the right pillar of Inspirational Loving-Kindness.  The oppositional duality is gone.  There is no exclusivity of the sexual metaphors.  The symbols now have the connotation of harmony, cooperation, and justice, where they used to have conflict, opposition, and strict letter of the law judgmentalness.

In the world to come, so to speak, a world fully healed, the Biblical associations that I offer here would be manifest.  In our not-so-perfect cosmos, we are left with hopeful vision of these symbols rather than the old symbols that only contribute to our disharmony.  We can work toward that day by envisioning the Sefirot with these new associations, but in this interim period, the old Biblical characters and the damage they have done to our collective psyches will have to be healed and balanced by bringing in these new symbols.


[1] (Matt, The Zohar: Pritzker Edition 2004, 345)

[2] (Matt, The Zohar: Pritzker Edition 2004, 346)

[3] (Matt, The Zohar: Pritzker Edition 2004, 346)

[4] (Matt, The Zohar: Pritzker Edition 2004, 346)