Sefer Yetzirah — Gra Version

Sefer Yetzirah — Gra Version (Vilna Gaon)
ספר יצירה נוסח הגר"א
Source of the Hebrew text: Sefer Yetzirah, Warsaw 1884 / Sefaria Public Domain
Legal status: this file and the English translation may be copied, distributed, modified, and used without restrictions. The text is provided without any warranties.


Key terms in this edition:
- בלי מה / בלימה — “without graspable content”: not “empty,” but not possessing a graspable object-like content.
- ספר / ספר / ספור — three modes of SPR: writing, speech/narration, and calculation/counting.
- רוח — depending on context: spirit, breath, wind, air; in generative passages rendered as “spirit-breath.”
- עולם / שנה / נפש — world-structure / time-year cycle / living organism.
- חקק / חצב / צרף / שקל / המיר — engraved / hewed / combined / weighed / exchanged.


CHAPTER 1

1. By thirty-two paths of hidden wisdom Hashem, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, Living God and King of the world, El Shaddai, Merciful and Gracious, high and exalted, dwelling forever, holy is His Name, high and holy is He; He engraved and created His world through three book-manifestations: writing, speech, and calculation.

2. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content and twenty-two letters of foundation: three mothers, seven doubles, and twelve simples.

3. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content — corresponding to the number of ten fingers: five opposite five; and one covenant, directed in the middle: the covenant of the tongue and the covenant of circumcision.

4. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content: ten and not nine; ten and not eleven. Understand through wisdom and become wise in understanding; test them and investigate through them; set the matter upon its clear foundation and return the Creator to His proper place.

5. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content: their measures are ten, and they have no end: depth of beginning and depth of end, depth of good and depth of evil, depth of height and depth of below, depth of east and depth of west, depth of north and depth of south. The one Master, God, faithful King, rules over them all from His holy dwelling forever and ever.

6. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content: their vision is like the flash of lightning; their limit has no end. His word in them moves running and returning; at His utterance they rush like a storm; and before His throne they bow.

7. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content: their end is embedded in their beginning, and their beginning in their end, like a flame bound to a glowing coal. For the Master is one, and He has no second; before the One, what can you count?

8. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content: restrain your mouth from speech and your heart from interpretation. If your mouth runs to speak and your heart to interpret, return to the place. For concerning this it is said: “And the living creatures ran and returned” (Ezekiel 1). And on this matter the covenant was cut.

9. Ten number-sefirot without graspable content.
The first: spirit-breath of the Living God. Blessed and continually blessed is the Name of the Life of the worlds. Voice, spirit-breath, and word — this is the spirit of holiness.

10. The second: spirit-breath from spirit-breath. With it He engraved and hewed twenty-two letters of foundation: three mothers, seven doubles, and twelve simples; and one spirit-breath is among them.

11. The third: water from spirit-breath. With it He engraved and hewed twenty-two letters from tohu and vohu, from mire and clay. He engraved them like a garden-bed; He hewed them like a wall; He turned them like a ceiling; He poured snow upon them — and earth came to be, as it is said: “For to the snow He says: be earth.”

12. The fourth: fire from water. With it He engraved and hewed the Throne of Glory, seraphim, ofanim, holy living beings, and ministering angels. From these three He founded His dwelling, as it is said: “He makes His angels winds, His ministers a flaming fire.”

13. He selected three letters from the simples, in the mystery of the three mothers Alef-Mem-Shin; He fixed them in His great Name and sealed the six extremities with them.

The fifth: He sealed height, turned upward, and sealed it with Yud-Heh-Vav.

The sixth: He sealed below, turned downward, and sealed it with Heh-Yud-Vav.

The seventh: He sealed east, turned before Himself, and sealed it with Vav-Yud-Heh.

The eighth: He sealed west, turned behind Himself, and sealed it with Vav-Heh-Yud.

The ninth: He sealed south, turned to His right, and sealed it with Yud-Vav-Heh.

The tenth: He sealed north, turned to His left, and sealed it with Heh-Vav-Yud.

These are the ten number-sefirot without graspable content: spirit-breath of the Living God; spirit-breath from spirit-breath; water from spirit-breath; fire from water; height and below; east and west; north and south.


CHAPTER 2

1. Twenty-two letters of foundation: three mothers, seven doubles, and twelve simples. The three mothers are Alef-Mem-Shin. Their foundation is the pan of merit and the pan of guilt, and the tongue of law inclines the balance between them. The three mothers are Alef-Mem-Shin: Mem is silent, Shin hisses, Alef is airy spirit, determining the balance between them.

2. Twenty-two letters of foundation: He engraved them, hewed them, combined them, weighed them, and exchanged them; with them He formed all that is created and all that is yet to be formed.

3. Twenty-two letters of foundation: He engraved them with voice, hewed them with spirit-breath, and fixed them in the mouth in five places:
Alef, Heh, Het, Ayin — in the throat;
Gimel, Yud, Kaf, Kuf — on the palate;
Dalet, Tet, Lamed, Nun, Tav — on the tongue;
Zayin, Samekh, Tsadi, Resh, Shin — on the teeth;
Bet, Vav, Mem, Peh — on the lips.

4. Twenty-two letters of foundation: He fixed them in a wheel like a wall, in two hundred and thirty-one gates. And the wheel turns forward and backward. And the sign of this is: in good there is nothing higher than delight, and in evil nothing lower than affliction.

5. How did He combine them, weigh them, and exchange them? Alef with all and all with Alef; Bet with all and all with Bet; and they return in a circle. Thus they are found in two hundred and thirty-one gates, and all that is created and all speech comes forth from one Name.

6. He formed the actual from tohu and made the nonexistent into the existent; He hewed great pillars from air that cannot be grasped. And this is the sign: Alef with all and all with Alef. He observes and exchanges, and by one Name He makes all that is created and all speech. And the sign of this is: twenty-two objects in one body.


CHAPTER 3

1. The three mothers are Alef-Mem-Shin. Their foundation is the pan of merit and the pan of guilt, and the tongue of law inclines the balance between them. [This mishnah is repeated above, at the beginning of Chapter 2, incidentally; here is its proper place.]

2. The three mothers are Alef-Mem-Shin: a great mystery, wondrous, hidden, and sealed with six rings. From them came forth air, water, and fire; from them fathers were born, and from the fathers, offspring.

3. The three mothers are Alef-Mem-Shin: He engraved them, hewed them, combined them, weighed them, and exchanged them; and with them He formed three mothers, Alef-Mem-Shin, in the world-structure, three mothers, Alef-Mem-Shin, in the time-year cycle, and three mothers, Alef-Mem-Shin, in the living organism, male and female.

4. The three mothers, Alef-Mem-Shin, in the world-structure: air, water, and fire. [Perhaps one should add: heaven, earth, and air.] Heaven was created from fire, earth was created from water, [perhaps one should add: and spirit from air], and air from spirit determines the balance between them.

5. The three mothers, Alef-Mem-Shin, in the time-year cycle: heat, cold, and saturation. Heat was created from fire, cold was created from water, and saturation from spirit determines the balance between them.

6. The three mothers, Alef-Mem-Shin, in the living organism, male and female: head, belly, and torso. The head was created from fire, the belly was created from water, and the torso from spirit determines the balance between them.

7. He made the letter Alef reign over spirit-breath, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed air in the world-structure, saturation in the time-year cycle, and the torso in the living organism: male with Alef-Mem-Shin, female with Alef-Shin-Mem.

8. He made the letter Mem reign over water, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed earth in the world-structure, cold in the time-year cycle, and the belly in the living organism: male with Mem-Alef-Shin, female with Mem-Shin-Alef.

9. He made the letter Shin reign over fire, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed heaven in the world-structure, heat in the time-year cycle, and the head in the living organism: male with Shin-Alef-Mem, female with Shin-Mem-Alef.


CHAPTER 4

1. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav — operate with two pronunciations: Bet-Vet, Gimel-Gimel, Dalet-Dalet, Kaf-Khaf, Peh-Feh, Resh-Resh, Tav-Tav. Their pattern is soft and hard, strong and weak.

2. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav. Their foundation is wisdom, wealth, seed, life, rule, peace, and grace.

3. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav — in speech and in exchange: the exchange of wisdom is folly; the exchange of wealth is poverty; the exchange of seed is desolation; the exchange of life is death; the exchange of rule is slavery; the exchange of peace is war; the exchange of grace is ugliness.

4. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav: height and below, east and west, north and south, and the Holy Temple set in the middle; and it bears them all.

5. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav: seven and not six; seven and not eight. Test them, investigate them, set the matter upon its clear foundation, and return the Creator to His proper place.

6. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav — foundation. He engraved them, hewed them, combined them, weighed them, and exchanged them; and with them He formed seven luminaries-planets in the world-structure, seven days in the time-year cycle, and seven gates in the living organism, male and female.

7. Seven luminaries-planets in the world-structure: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon. Seven days in the time-year cycle: the seven days of the week. Seven gates in the living organism, male and female: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth.

8. He made the letter Bet reign over wisdom, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed the Moon in the world-structure, the first day in the time-year cycle, and the right eye in the living organism, male and female.

9. He made the letter Gimel reign over wealth, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Mars in the world-structure, the second day in the time-year cycle, and the right ear in the living organism, male and female.

10. He made the letter Dalet reign over seed, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed the Sun in the world-structure, the third day in the time-year cycle, and the right nostril in the living organism, male and female.

11. He made the letter Kaf reign over life, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Venus in the world-structure, the fourth day in the time-year cycle, and the left eye in the living organism, male and female.

12. He made the letter Peh reign over rule, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Mercury in the world-structure, the fifth day in the time-year cycle, and the left ear in the living organism, male and female.

13. He made the letter Resh reign over peace, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Saturn in the world-structure, the sixth day in the time-year cycle, and the left nostril in the living organism, male and female.

14. He made the letter Tav reign over grace, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Jupiter in the world-structure, the Sabbath day in the time-year cycle, and the mouth in the living organism, male and female.

15. Seven doubles — Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav. By them are engraved seven worlds, seven firmaments, seven lands, seven seas, seven rivers, seven deserts, seven days, seven weeks, seven years, seven sabbatical years, seven jubilee years, and the Holy Temple. Therefore He loved the sevenths under all the heavens.

16. Two stones build two houses; three stones build six houses; four stones build twenty-four houses; five stones build one hundred and twenty houses; six stones build seven hundred and twenty houses; seven stones build five thousand and forty houses. From here onward, go out and calculate what the mouth cannot utter and the ear cannot hear.


CHAPTER 5

1. Twelve simples — Heh, Vav, Zayin, Het, Tet, Yud, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tsadi, Kuf. Their foundation is conversation, thought, movement, sight, hearing, action, intercourse, smell, sleep, anger, eating, and laughter.

2. Twelve simples — Heh, Vav, Zayin, Het, Tet, Yud, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tsadi, Kuf. Their foundation is twelve diagonal boundaries:
the upper eastern boundary,
the northeastern boundary,
the lower eastern boundary,
the upper southern boundary,
the southeastern boundary,
the lower southern boundary,
the upper western boundary,
the southwestern boundary,
the lower western boundary,
the upper northern boundary,
the northwestern boundary,
the lower northern boundary.
They expand and go on forever and ever; and these are the boundaries of the world-structure.

3. Twelve simples — Heh, Vav, Zayin, Het, Tet, Yud, Lamed, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Tsadi, Kuf — foundation. He engraved them, hewed them, combined them, weighed them, and exchanged them; and with them He formed twelve signs of the zodiac in the world-structure, twelve months in the year, and twelve leaders in the living organism, male and female.

4. Twelve signs of the zodiac in the world-structure: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.

5. Twelve months in the year: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Heshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar.

6. Twelve leaders in the living organism, male and female: two hands, two feet, two kidneys, the gallbladder, the intestines, the liver, the gizzard, the stomach, and the spleen.

7. He made the letter Heh reign over conversation, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Aries in the world-structure, Nisan in the time-year cycle, and the right foot in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Vav reign over thought, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Taurus in the world-structure, Iyar in the time-year cycle, and the right kidney in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Zayin reign over movement, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Gemini in the world-structure, Sivan in the time-year cycle, and the left foot in the living organism, male and female.

8. He made the letter Het reign over sight, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Cancer in the world-structure, Tammuz in the time-year cycle, and the right hand in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Tet reign over hearing, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Leo in the world-structure, Av in the time-year cycle, and the left kidney in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Yud reign over action, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Virgo in the world-structure, Elul in the time-year cycle, and the left hand in the living organism, male and female.

9. He made the letter Lamed reign over intercourse, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Libra in the world-structure, Tishrei in the time-year cycle, and the gallbladder in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Nun reign over smell, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Scorpio in the world-structure, Heshvan in the time-year cycle, and the intestines in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Samekh reign over sleep, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Sagittarius in the world-structure, Kislev in the time-year cycle, and the stomach in the living organism, male and female.

10. He made the letter Ayin reign over anger, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Capricorn in the world-structure, Tevet in the time-year cycle, and the liver in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Tsadi reign over eating, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Aquarius in the world-structure, Shevat in the time-year cycle, and the gizzard in the living organism, male and female.

He made the letter Kuf reign over laughter, bound a crown to it, combined them with one another, and with them formed Pisces in the world-structure, Adar in the time-year cycle, and the spleen in the living organism, male and female.

He made them like a trough, arranged them like a wall, and set them out like an army in battle.


CHAPTER 6

1. These are the three mothers — Alef-Mem-Shin. From them came forth three fathers: air, water, and fire; and from the fathers, offspring. Three fathers and their offspring; seven luminaries-planets and their hosts; twelve diagonal boundaries. The proof of this is faithful witnesses: world-structure, time-year cycle, and living organism. The twelve, the seven, and the three He placed under the governance of Teli, the Wheel, and the Heart.

2. The three mothers are Alef-Mem-Shin: air, water, and fire. Fire is above, water is below, and airy spirit is the law that determines the balance between them. And the sign of this is: fire bears water. Mem is silent, Shin hisses, Alef is airy spirit, determining the balance between them.

3. Teli in the world-structure is like a king upon his throne. The Wheel in the time-year cycle is like a king in the city. The Heart in the living organism is like a king at war.

4. God also made this opposite that: good opposite evil and evil opposite good; good from good and evil from evil. Good distinguishes evil, and evil distinguishes good. Good is kept for the good, and evil is kept for the evil.

5. Three — each stands by itself: one acquits, one condemns, and one determines the balance between them. Seven — three opposite three, and one law determines the balance between them. Twelve stand in war: three loving, three hating, three life-giving, and three death-dealing.

The three loving are the heart and the ears.
The three hating are the liver, the gallbladder, and the tongue.
The three life-giving are the two nostrils and the spleen.
The three death-dealing are the two openings and the mouth.

And God, faithful King, rules over them all from His holy dwelling forever and ever. One above three, three above seven, seven above twelve; and all of them are bound to one another.

6. These are the twenty-two letters by which He engraved: Ehyeh, Hashem, YHWH, Elohim, Elohim-YHWH, YHWH-Tzevaot, Elohim-Tzevaot, El Shaddai, YHWH-Adonai. And He made from them three book-manifestations; and from them He created His whole world; and with them He formed all that is created and all that is yet to be formed.

7. When Abraham our father, peace be upon him, came, he looked, saw, understood, investigated, engraved, and hewed — and creation became attainable to him, as it is said: “and the souls that they made in Haran.” Immediately the Master of all, blessed be His Name forever, revealed Himself to him; He seated him in His bosom, kissed him on the head, and called him: “Abraham, My beloved.” And He cut a covenant with him and with his seed forever, as it is said: “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him as righteousness.”

And He cut with him a covenant between the ten fingers of his hands — this is the covenant of the tongue; and between the ten toes of his feet — this is the covenant of circumcision. And He bound the twenty-two letters of the Torah upon his tongue, and revealed His mystery to him: He drew them through water, kindled them with fire, shook them with spirit-wind, set them aflame with the seven, and led them through the twelve signs of the zodiac.