Tag Archives: Star of David

King Solomon’s Kabbalah

In this class, we explore the esoteric knowledge of King Solomon encoded in his three books: Kohelet, Mishlei, and Shir haShirim. Along the way, we answer big questions like: What is the Seal of Solomon? Why did King Solomon take on hundreds of wives and what did he conclude about marriage? What scientific knowledge did Solomon uncover? What are the 50 Gates of Understanding? Plus: the great secret behind El Shaddai, the mystical reason for the exile of the Jewish people, and incredible revelations from the ancient mystical text Sefer haTemunah.

For more on the Seal of Solomon and the Star of David, see here.
See also ‘Things You Didn’t Know About King Solomon’.
For more on Sheddu and Cherubs, see ‘The Guardian Angels and Hybrid Beasts Known as Cherubs’ in the second volume of ‘Garments of Light’. 

The Mystical Meaning of Snow

This week we begin reading Shemot, the Book of Exodus, and are reminded of some of the smaller details which are sometimes forgotten. One of these is when Moses asked God to provide him with signs that he could use to prove to the Israelites that he is really the redeemer (Exodus 4). God gives Moses three signs: the first is Moses’ staff transforming into a serpent, the second is Moses’ hand becoming “leprous like snow”, and the third is turning water into blood.

The first sign we later see expanded in the famous episode where Moses and Aaron go head-to-head with Pharaoh’s magicians and a serpentine battle ensues. The third sign would, of course, become the First Plague. But what of the middle sign? What is the meaning behind Moses’ hand becoming snowy? Even more intriguingly, the word “snow”, sheleg (שלג), actually appears for the very first time in the Torah right here. As a general rule, when a word appears for the first time in the Torah, it is there that we find its true significance. What is the spiritual significance of snow? Continue reading →

The Meaning of Tiferet

In the parasha of Ki Tavo, we read:

And God has affirmed today that you are His treasured people, as He promised, who shall observe His commandments, and He shall place you above the nations that He has made, for fame, renown, and glory, and you shall be a holy nation unto Hashem, your God, as He promised.

The unique word for “glory” here, tiferet (תפארת), appears just three times in the whole Torah, and another 26 times or so in the rest of the Tanakh (not including the related tiferah). That it appears specifically three times in the Torah is no coincidence, for Tiferet is the third of the lower Sefirot, and is always associated with the number 3. It sits at the centre of the mystical Tree of Life, and is the only Sefirah interlinked with all the others. In Kabbalistic texts, Tiferet holds tremendous significance, and is discussed perhaps more than any other Sefirah. It is the Sefirah of the Torah, and of Israel, and the one associated with the very Name of God, the Tetragrammaton (יהוה). What is so special about Tiferet and why is it so important? Continue reading →