Keter
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Keter or Kether (Hebrew: , Keṯer, lit. "crown") is the first of the ten sefirot in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, symbolizing the divine will and the initial impulse towards creation from the Ein Sof, or infinite source. It represents pure consciousness and transcends human understanding, often referred to as "Nothing" or the "Hidden Light". Keter is associated with the divine name "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh" (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה), meaning "I Am that I Am", which was revealed to Moses from the burning bush,[1] and it embodies the qualities of absolute compassion and humility. Its meaning is "crown", and it is interpreted as both the "topmost" of the Sefirot and the "regal crown" thereof.
Keter is positioned at the top of the Tree of Life, sitting above and between Chokmah on the right and Binah on the left, and above Tiferet. It is often depicted with three primary paths: one leading to Chokmah, another to Binah, and the third to Tiferet. This positioning highlights its role as the source from which wisdom (Chokmah) and understanding (Binah) emanate, and it emphasizes its connection to beauty and harmony (Tiferet), thereby facilitating the flow of divine energy through the sefirot.
Keter is called in the Zohar "the most hidden of all hidden things".[2] Moses ben Jacob Cordovero describes Keter as the source of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, derived from a verse in the Book of Micah. These attributes emphasize compassion, forgiveness, and humility. Cordovero also outlines ethical behavior associated with Keter in his work The Palm Tree of Devorah, encouraging purity of thought and actions, such as always turning one's ears to hear good and avoiding anger.[3]
In Western esotericism, Keter is linked to the initial point of divine emanation, representing pure formless consciousness. It is associated with various divine and mystical figures, such as the archangel Metatron and the Tetramorph of the Holy Living Creatures.
Etymology and names[edit]
The Hebrew word "Keter" (כֶּתֶר) translates to "crown," symbolizing the highest level of the sefirot and the divine will in Kabbalah. Keter is also known as "Nothing" (אַיִן, Ayin) or "The Hidden Light" (אוֹר הַגָּנוּז, Or HaGanuz), reflecting its abstract and ineffable nature. Keter is referenced in key Kabbalistic texts such as the Bahir[4] and the Zohar,[5] where it is described as "the most hidden of all hidden things".[2]
Description[edit]
According to the Bahir:
What are the ten utterances? The first is supreme crown, blessed be His name and His people.[6]
The first Sephirah is called the Crown, since a crown is worn above the head. The Crown therefore refers to things that are above the mind's abilities of comprehension. All of the other Sephirot are likened to the body which starts with the head and winds its way down into action. But the crown of a king lies above the head and connects the concept of "monarchy", which is abstract and intangible, with the tangible and concrete head of the king.[citation needed]
This first Sefirah represents the primal stirrings of intent in the Ein Soph (infinity), or the arousal of desire to come forth into the varied life of being.[7] But in this sense, although it contains all the potential for content, it contains no content itself, and is therefore called 'Nothing', 'The Hidden Light', 'The air that cannot be grasped'. Being desire to bring the world into being, Keter is absolute compassion.[3]
The name of God associated with Keter is "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh" (Hebrew: אהיה אשר אהיה), the name through which he revealed himself to Moses from the burning bush.[1]
Keter, although being the highest Sephirah of its world, receives from the Sephirah of Malkuth of the domain above it (see Sephirot). The uppermost Keter sits below no other Sephirah, although it is below Ohr Ein Sof ("Infinite Light"), which is the source of all Sefirot.[citation needed]
Qualities[edit]
Ethical behaviour[edit]
Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, in The Palm Tree of Devorah, discusses ethical behaviour that man should follow, related to the qualities of the Sephirot, in order that man might emulate his Creator. Humility is the first, because although Keter is the highest, it is ashamed to look at its cause, and instead gazes at those below it.[3] One's thoughts should be pure, one's forehead should display no harshness, one's ears should always turn to hear good, one's eyes should distance themselves from noticing evil, always looking at the good, one's nose should be free from the breath of anger, one's face should always shine, and his mouth should express nothing except good.
Thirteen Attributes of Mercy[edit]
Through discussion of a line in the Book of Micah, 13 attributes are associated with the Sephirah Kether:
Who is God like you, who pardons iniquity and forgives the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage? He does not maintain His anger forever, for He delights in kindness. He will again show us compassion, He will vanquish our iniquities, and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Show faithfulness to Ya'akov, kindness to Avraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old. (Michah, 7:18-20)
Accordingly, the 13 attributes are derived from this and are described in great detail.
Additionally, the "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" were described by Rabbi Chizkiyah in an allegorical depiction of a lily among thorns. The metaphor in whole is known and taught as "The lily amongst the thorns," a phrase found in Shir Hashirim 2:2. A summary:
The secret of spiritual protection is revealed through a richly metaphorical discourse given by Rabbi Chizkiyah. The Rabbi explains that the spiritual forces that protect and watch over us are called the 13 Attributes of Mercy. They are transmitted into our physical world through the first 13 words of the Torah. When judgments are decreed against us, these 13 forces can safeguard us from their influence. We begin drawing this Light of protection to ourselves at the very moment we begin to browse and behold the mystical shapes and sequences of the Aramaic text, and to learn the spiritual insights presented there.[8]
In Western esotericism[edit]
In Western esotericism, Keter is considered the purest form of consciousness, transcending time and categories, originating from the Ein Sof Aur ("Limitless Light"), and initiating the process of divine emanation that culminates in Malkuth.[9] Associated with the divine name "Eheieh", the archangel that presides over it is Metatron, the order of angels that resides in it are the Holy Living Creatures (Chaioth ha Qadesh, חיות הקדש), and its physical manifestation is said to be the First Swirlings of the cosmos (Primum Mobile, Rashith ha Gilgalin).[10]
In The Mystical Qabalah, Dion Fortune describes Keter as a timeless point of pure consciousness, marking the beginning of emanation.[9] In the Golden Dawn tradition, Keter is identified with the planet Neptune, reflecting its connection to the mystical and the unknown.[11] In Theosophy and Thelema, Keter is analogous to Ātma and Khabs am Pekht, respectively.[11]
A. E. Waite wrote that Rabbi Azariel ben Menachem, a student of Isaac the Blind, in his Commentary on the Sephiroth granted a particular colour to each Sephira, yet these do not agree with the colours given in the Zohar, where Kether is called colourless, Tiphareth purple, and Malkuth sapphire-blue.[12] In Aleister Crowley's Liber 777, Keter is associated with White Brilliance, the Four Aces of the Tarot, Poseidon, Brahma, Wodan, Zeus, the Trinity, Almond in flower, Diamond, Elixir Vitae, the Dao, and Death.[13] He also connects Keter to the qlippothic order of Thaumiel,[14] ruled by Satan and Moloch.[15]
In popular culture[edit]
In the SCP Foundation mythos and related media, "Keter" is one of the primary classifications for anomalous objects or entities. Specifically, the "Keter" classification denotes objects or entities that are exceedingly difficult to reliably contain.[16]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ a b Kaplan (1995).
- ^ a b Shokek (2001), p. 30.
- ^ a b c Cordovero (1993).
- ^ Bahir (1995).
- ^ Zohar (1983).
- ^ Green (2004), p. 30.
- ^ Green (2004).
- ^ "Section 1. The Lily". The Zohar. Vol. 1. Prologue. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2012-05-05 – via Kabbalah.org.
- ^ a b Fortune (2000).
- ^ Godwin (1994).
- ^ a b Rankine (2005).
- ^ Waite (2007), p. [page needed].
- ^ Crowley (1986).
- ^ Crowley (1986), p. 2, Table VIII.
- ^ Crowley (1986), p. 23, Table IV.
- ^ "Object Classes". SCP Foundation. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
Works cited[edit]
- The Bahir. Translated by Aryeh Kaplan. Aronson. 1995. ISBN 1-56821-383-2.
- Cordovero, Moshe (1993). The Palm Tree of Devorah. Translated by Moshe Miller. Targum Press. ISBN 1-56871-027-5.
- Crowley, Aleister (1986). 777 and other Qabalistic writings of Aleister Crowley. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-670-1.
- Fortune, Dion (2000) [1935]. The Mystical Kabbalah. Samuel Weiser. ISBN 1-57863-150-5.
- Godwin, David (1994). Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to Cabalistic Magick. LLewelyn Worldwide. ISBN 978-1-56718-324-5.
- Green, Arthur (2004). A Guide to the Zohar. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4908-4.
- Kaplan, Aryeh (1995). Meditation and Kabbalah. Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-1-56821-381-1.
- Rankine, David (2005). Climbing the Tree of Life: A Manual of Practical Magickal Qabalah. Avalonia. ISBN 978-1-905297-06-1.
- Shokek, S. (2001). Kabbalah and the Art of Being: The Smithsonian Lectures. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-24044-4.
- Waite, Arthur Edward (2007). The Holy Kabbalah. Cosimo Classics. ISBN 978-1-60206-324-2.
- Zohar, the Book of Enlightenment. Translated by Daniel Chanan Matt. Paulist Press. 1983. ISBN 978-0-8091-2387-2.
Further reading[edit]
- Berg, Michael, ed. (1999). The Zohar: Prologue, Beresheet A. Israel: Yeshivat "Kol Yehuda".
- Dan, Joseph, ed. (1986). The Early Kabbalah. Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-2769-6.
- Green, Arthur (2014). Keter: The Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6460-7.
- Franck, Adolphe (1926). "Relation of the Kabbalah to Christianity". The Kabbalah: Or, The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews. Translated by I. Sossnitz. New York: Kabbalah Publishing Company.
- Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (2010). "The Beginning of Occultist Kabbalah: Adolphe Franck and Eliphas Levi". Kabbalah and Modernity: Interpretations, Transformations, Adaptations. Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-9004182875.
- Mathers, S. L. MacGregor (1887). The Kabbalah Unveiled. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.
- Regardie, Israel (1972). The Tree of Life. Samuel Weiser. ISBN 978-0877281498.
- Regardie, Israel (1999) [1932]. A Garden of Pomegranates. Llewellyn. ISBN 1-56718-141-4.
- Samuel, Gabriella (2007). Kabbalah Handbook: A Concise Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts in Jewish Mysticism. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-101-21846-4. OCLC 488308797.
- Scholem, Gershom (1974). Kabbalah. Quadrangle/New York Times Book Company. ISBN 978-0-8129-0352-2.
- Tishby, Isaiah (ed.). The Wisdom of The Zohar: An Anthology of Texts. Translated by David Goldstein. The Littman Library. Three volume set.
External links[edit]
- Basics in Kabbalah, The Ten Sefirot: Keter (inner.org)
- An Introduction to the Kabala (about.com)
- Kabbalah 101: Keter (aish.com)
- Lessons in Tanya (chabad.org)
- Tree of Life: Keter (psyche.com)