Abraham Abulafia : Hayyei ha-Olam ha-Ba |
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139 An interesting articulation of this idea is found in Abulafia, Hayyei ha-Olam
ha-Ba, pp. 86-87: "The numerical sum of the three names [YHWH, Elohim, and
Adonai = 26 + 86 + 65] equals 177, and their secret is gan eden [3 + 50 + 70 + 4 +
50 = 177], mentioned above in the secret of the three gradations, which allude to the
three worlds, for the providence in them, in general and in particular, is to establish
what is worthy of being established in perpetuity, and the secret is the name el olam
[1 + 30 + 70 + 6 + 30 + 40 = 177], and his name is delight for the righteous and the
prophets. And the secret of the two names alone [Elohim and Adonai = 86 + 65 = 151]
is ha-olam [5 + 70 + 6 + 30 + 40 = 151], and the secret of ha-olam is qanna [100 +
50 + 1 = 151] and also qomah [100 + 6 + 40 + 5 = 151].... However, the secret of the
two names [whose numerical value is] twenty-six [YHWH] and sixty-five [Adonai]
is mal'akh [40 + 30 + 1 + 20 = 91] ha-elohim [5 + 1 + 30 + 5 + 10 + 40 = 91], and
his name is el qanna [1 + 30 + 100 + 50 + 1 = 182], and his secret is ya'aqov [10 +
70 + 100 + 2 = 182]." I cannot here enter into all the details of this rich passage, but
let me simply note that the expression el olam is to be decoded in the construct state
as the God of the world, that is, it signifies the divine providence in the cosmos. The
expression "the world" {ha-olam) is linked numerically to the two terms qanna and
qomah. I suggest that qanna is an abbreviated reference to el qanna, the "impassioned ...
Full text of "Textual Flesh, Incarnation, and the Imaginal Body: Abraham Abulafia's Polemic with Christianity" |
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Hayyei ha-Olam ha-Ba | Braginsky Collection |
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Abraham Abulafia: Adam Ve Hheva: Adam and Eve with Gematria Guf-Ha-Satan: The Body of Satan: Alephabetic Kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia |
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"At the beginning of the [act of] formation, the person has to be acquainted with the quality of the weight,
the combination and the variation. And he has to be acquainted with the construction and all the alphabets,
the two hundred and thirty one gates of the alphabets, which are engraved in the ninth sphere, [or wheel]
divided into sixty parts. And [he] has to be acquainted with the combination of all the letters, and all
the alphabets, each one per se, until all the gates will be completed. And he shall take pure dust and flour,
turn the wheel in the middle, and begin to combine until the two hundreds and thirty one gates [are computed],
and [then] he will receive the influx of wisdom. When he receives the influx, let him [then] recite speedily
the circle of velocity, which is the divine spirit. Afterwards let him take a cup full of pure water and a
small spoon, and fill it with dust. He should be acquainted with the weight of all the dust before he
begins to stir it, and also with the size of the spoon which [serves him] to measure. And after he will
fill it, he shall pour it in the water, and he will gently blow during his pouring onto the surface
of the water. And when he begins to blow on the first spoonful, he should recite loudly a letter of
the divine name with one breath, until his spirit will go out [i.e., it will be exhausted] by [his]
breathing, his face being [turned] to the earth. And he shall begin with the head of the head, until
he will end the first eight houses [i.e., lines], [in order to] preserve the head. And he shall recite
the second eight houses, to preserve the body, according to the order. And he shall recite the eight houses
of the third [order] [in order to preserve] the end and the spirit. And [then] an image will emerge . . .
it is forbidden to do like the deed of the Creator, and you shall not learn it in order to perform it,
but you shall learn it in order to understand and to teach and to cleave to the great name of God, praised be He."
Abraham Abulafia, quoted in The Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid by Moshe Idel |