Sefirot (Kabbalah)

The sefirot represent ten ways through which the Creator reveals Himself in the creation, with each sefira representing a different degree of revelation. The term sefira itself has the same root as the word sapir, which means sapphire or radiance, indicating that the divine light is contained within the sefirot and illuminates the creation through them. Generally, there are ten sefirot: Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, Yesod, and Malkhut. But in essence there are five primary sefirot: Keter, Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. Additionally, each of these five sefirot are themselves composed of the other sefirot, since everything in reality is formed out of sefirot. Thus, for example, the sefira of Keter contains the levels of Ḥokhma, Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut. As for the five remaining sefirot, Ḥesed, Gevura, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, they are encompassed within the sefira of Tiferet. Like the other sefirot, the sefira of Tiferet contains all five sefirot, but in this case they are called by different names: In this context, they are called Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ and Hod. The reason the sefirot are given different names is that a different kind of light from that of the other sefirot, called the “light of giving,” is revealed through Tiferet. Although they are named differently, they are still, in a sense, the same five sefirot mentioned above. Thus, Ḥesed is referred to as the Keter of Tiferet, Gevura as the Ḥokhma of Tiferet, Tiferet as the Bina of Tiferet, Netzaḥ as the Tiferet of Tiferet, and Hod as the Malkhut of Tiferet. In addition to these five, there is another sefira that incorporates all the levels of Tiferet called Yesod.