Ten, not nine, not eleven
Sefer Yetzirah counts ten sefirot. Da’at, “knowledge,” the Torah names it together with Chochmah and Binah (Exodus 31:3), but it is not counted among the ten, which is why the diagram can be shown with or without it.
Kabbalah קַבָּלָה
The word comes from the Hebrew root “to receive”: wisdom received and handed down from teacher to student.
A step-by-step journey into the mystical tradition of Judaism, with sources: we begin with the diagram that represents it best, the Tree of Life.
Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה) is the mystical tradition of Judaism: the study of how the Infinite is revealed in the world through the ten sefirot. If this is your first time, start with the guide what is Kabbalah and continue with Kabbalah for beginners.
The Tree of Life
Ten sefirot: the ten ways in which, according to Kabbalah, the Creator reveals Himself and governs the world. Tap a sefirah to meet it, let the light descend from Keter to Malchut, or switch the view to see the three columns and the partzufim.
Choose a sefirah. Tap or click a sefirah to see its meaning.
A teaching diagram: traditions differ on the paths and on the attributions.
The ten sefirot at a glance
In the classic order of enumeration. The divine names follow the Ramak’s Pardes Rimonim (Gate 20, ch. 1), from the Hebrew original; for the Rashbi, Netzach and Hod share the name “Tzevaot.”
- 1כֶּתֶר
Keter · Crown
Faith, delight and will
- 2חָכְמָה
Chochmah · Wisdom
Selflessness (bittul)
- 3בִּינָה
Binah · Understanding
Joy (simchah)
- 4חֶסֶד
Chesed · Kindness
Love (ahavah)
- 5גְּבוּרָה
Gevurah · Severity
Reverential fear (yirah)
- 6תִּפְאֶרֶת
Tiferet · Beauty
Compassion (rachamim)
- 7נֶצַח
Netzach · Victory, eternity
Confidence (bitachon)
- 8הוֹד
Hod · Splendor, gratitude
Sincerity (temimut)
- 9יְסוֹד
Yesod · Foundation
Truth (emet)
- 10מַלְכוּת
Malchut · Kingdom
The Divine Presence (Shechinah)
From the original text: Sefer Yetzirah, chapter 1
The word “sefirot” and the number ten come from this ancient book. These lines are quoted from the Hebrew text; the translation is ours and leaves “belimah” untranslated, since its meaning is debated. The chapter speaks of “thirty-two wondrous paths of wisdom” (1:1) and then lists ten sefirot and twenty-two foundation letters (1:2).
עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִימָה, עֶשֶׂר וְלֹא תֵשַׁע, עֶשֶׂר וְלֹא אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵהעֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת בְּלִימָה, צְפִיָּיתָן כְּמַרְאֵה הַבָּזָק וְתַכְלִיתָן אֵין לָהֶם קֵץנָעוּץ סוֹפָן בִּתְחִלָּתָן וּתְחִלָּתָן בְּסוֹפָן כְּשַׁלְהֶבֶת קְשׁוּרָה בַּגַּחֶלֶתEditions number the lines differently; the numbering given is that of the edition cited.
Ein Sof: the Infinite before the sefirot
Ein Sof (אין סוף) means “without end.” It is the name by which the kabbalists speak of God in Himself, before any revelation. The sefirot are not Ein Sof: they are what is revealed of Him and through which He governs the world.
The Ramak makes this clear when commenting on the Sefer Yetzirah line “ten and not nine.” He warns against thinking that Keter is Ein Sof, and rejects the view that Ein Sof is counted among the sefirot: there are ten, distinct from the One who emanates them.
אלא בודאי הם י׳ בזולת המאצילThe sefirot in the Torah
The kabbalists find the sefirot already in Scripture. A verse in Chronicles, from David’s farewell, names the seven lower ones, from Chesed to Malchut: the “greatness” (gedulah) is read as Chesed, and “all” (kol) as Yesod.
לך ה׳ הגדלה והגבורה והתפארת והנצח וההוד כי כל בשמים ובארץ לך ה׳ הממלכהThe four worlds
The Tree of Life repeats at four levels of reality, the four worlds: Atzilut (emanation), Beriah (creation), Yetzirah (formation) and Asiyah (action). The Arizal develops them in the Etz Chaim, and the tradition reads them in the four terms of a verse in Isaiah.
כל הנקרא בשמי ולכבודי בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיוThree ideas to begin
Three columns
Right (Chochmah, Chesed, Netzach), left (Binah, Gevurah, Hod) and middle (Keter, Tiferet, Yesod, Malchut): mercy, severity and the balance between them.
From sefirot to partzufim
The sefirot can also be seen as “faces” or configurations (partzufim): Arich Anpin, Abba, Imma, Zeir Anpin and Nukva, a scheme developed mainly from the Zohar and the Arizal.
Topics
We will publish little by little, unhurried and with the sources in view.
What is Kabbalah
Origins, core ideas and how it is studied: the complete guide.
Read →Kabbalah for beginners
What to read first, in what order, and what to avoid.
Read →The sefirot: a general guide
The ten sefirot, their columns and their sources.
Read →Ein Sof
The Infinite, before any emanation.
Coming soonThe ten sefirot, one by one
Each sefirah with its meaning, its divine name and its sources.
Coming soonThe partzufim
How the sefirot are arranged into faces and configurations.
Coming soonSefer Yetzirah
The “Book of Formation” and the ten sefirot.
Read →The Zohar
The great book of Kabbalah: structure, authorship and study.
Read →The Ramak and Pardes Rimonim
The great synthesis before the Arizal.
Read →The Arizal and Etz Chaim
Lurianic Kabbalah: tzimtzum, shevirah and tikkun.
Read →Shaarei Orah
The “Gates of Light” and the ten divine names.
Read →
Each topic will be published with its sources cited, preferably original texts in Hebrew and Aramaic.
Keep reading
A short history
- AntiquityTradition attributes to Abraham Sefer Yetzirah, the book that lists the ten sefirot.
- 2nd centuryRabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the Rashbi, to whom tradition attributes the Zohar.
- 1558–1560First printing of the Zohar, in Cremona and Mantua.
- 1522–1570The Ramak, in Safed, organizes Kabbalah in the Pardes Rimonim.
- c. 1534–1572The Arizal teaches in Safed; his disciple Rabbi Chaim Vital (1542–1620) writes down his teachings.
- c. 1700–1760The Baal Shem Tov founds Chasidut, which brings the ideas of Kabbalah into everyday life.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kabbalah?
Kabbalah is the mystical tradition of Judaism. Its name comes from the Hebrew root “to receive,” because it presents itself as wisdom received and handed down from teacher to student. Its great texts are Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar and, later, the works of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (the Ramak) and the Arizal.
What is the Kabbalah Tree of Life?
It is the diagram that arranges the ten sefirot in three columns joined by paths. It starts from Sefer Yetzirah, which lists the ten sefirot, and was developed by the Ramak in the Pardes Rimonim and by the Arizal in the Etz Chaim.
What are the sefirot?
They are the ten ways in which, according to Kabbalah, the Creator reveals Himself and governs the world: Keter, Chochmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut. Sefer Yetzirah insists that there are ten, “and not nine, and not eleven.”
What is Da’at?
Da’at means “knowledge.” The Torah names it together with Chochmah and Binah (Exodus 31:3; Proverbs 3:19-20), and Rashi explains it as the holy spirit (ruach hakodesh). In the diagrams it is drawn beneath Chochmah and Binah, but it is not counted among the ten sefirot: Sefer Yetzirah says “ten and not eleven” (1:4).
What is Ein Sof?
Ein Sof means “without end”: the name by which Kabbalah speaks of God in Himself, before any revelation. The sefirot are not Ein Sof; according to the Ramak (Pardes Rimonim, Gate 1), there are ten, distinct from the One who emanates them.
What are the four worlds?
They are four levels of reality: Atzilut (emanation), Beriah (creation), Yetzirah (formation) and Asiyah (action). The tradition reads them in Isaiah 43:7, and the Arizal develops them in the Etz Chaim.
Who wrote Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar?
According to tradition, Sefer Yetzirah goes back to Abraham and the Zohar to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, in the 2nd century. The Zohar was first printed in 1558–1560.
What are the partzufim?
They are the “faces” or configurations into which the sefirot are arranged, mainly in the Zohar and the Arizal: Arich Anpin (Keter), Abba (Chochmah), Imma (Binah), Zeir Anpin (the six emotional sefirot) and Nukva (Malchut).