Kabbalah Tree of Life
The origin of the Kabbalistic tree of life is in the Zohar, the tree of life symbolizes a man whose feet stand on the ground and whose head rises to the sky.
In Kabbalah, the Tree of Life reflects the universe creation and mankind. it consists of three pillars on which ten spheres stand.
The following is a brief description of its structure and the secret meaning attributed to its different parts.
The three pillars
The right pillar represents the male who is characterized by erudition, opinions, questions, controversies and trials.
The left pillar represents the female, which is characterized by emotions, intuition and spirituality (according to Kabbalah, the woman is on a much higher spiritual level than the man).
The central pillar that connects the right pillar with the left pillar, allows the flow between them and represents pairing, love, fertility and creativity.
As a general rule, it can be said that the Kabbalistic tree of life serves as a kind of map that describes the act of creation as a whole to the point of going down to the smallest details in a human mind.
The Ten Spheres
The first three spheres (upper) are interconnected by a triangle placed at the top of the Tree of Life. They differ from the other lower spheres in that they are the center from which divine abundance is drawn to the lower spheres. In the wisdom of Kabbalah, the three upper spheres are considered “intellectual” and the lower seven spheres are considered “sensory”.
The top three spheres in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life
Crown - God
The upper sphere represents God and divine providence. This sphere connects God and the higher (infinite) worlds with the lower spheres. The crown represents the time before the creation of the universe, it is intangible and cannot be understood by man.
From a scientific point of view, the crown represents the time before the Big Bang.
Wisdom - Creation
The second sphere is the sphere of wisdom that receives the light and energy from the crown. It is the initial expression of the energy that comes out of the crown and gives order and definition to the formation of initial ideas and some vision.
Wisdom represents the process of creation of the universe by God.
From a scientific point of view, wisdom represents the time after the Big Bang and the process of the formation of the universe.
Understanding - Intelligence
The third sphere in the Tree of Life is Understanding, it is fed by wisdom and its function is to give substance to wisdom and distinguish between the main thing and the bland.
Understanding represents the formation of intelligence in living beings in general and in humans in particular.
From a scientific point of view, Understanding represents the beginning of intelligent life on Earth.
The Seven Lower Spheres in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life
Mercy - Love
Mercy represents the immense power of love. Love by Mercy is not materiality love but spiritual love. The abolition of materiality by mercy is a basic principle since it does not deal with the matter and physical experiences.
The Mercy sphere in the tree of life represents the power of love that creates a desire for infinite giving.
Severity (Heroism) - Logic
It is placed in parallel with Mercy and its function is to serve as a brake on the power of love and the desire for giving that comes out of Mercy.
Severity represents the physical world and the logical vision of a man in terms of profit and loss. The spheres of Mercy and Severity are at odds with one representing one’s spiritual world and the other the physical world.
Beauty - Conscience
Beauty is below the crown sphere on the middle pillar. Links the opposing forces in the spheres of mercy and severity and its role is to create a delicate harmony between them. The sphere of beauty represents the conscience of man.
Victory (Eternity) - Desire
Victory location is on the right pillar below the sphere of Mercy, and serves as a conduit for transmitting knowledge to the world in which we live, the physical world. The victory sphere represents the creativity in man and his desire for self-realization, as well as his instincts and lusts.
Splendor - Practice
Its position on the left pillar on the other side of the Victory sphere, the sphere of splendor represents the practical part of man and contrasts with eternity in that its function is to serve as a brake to all the desires and lusts that are in the human soul and to bring all these to a calculation of cost versus benefit.
Foundation - Life
Its position is in the middle pillar above the sphere of the kingdom. In the foundation, all the human qualities that dangle from the upper spheres are stored. It accumulates all the components of the human being (traits, emotions, instincts) and its function is to balance them. Foundation purpose is to instill in us the desire to live and absorb the pleasures of life.
Kingdom - Heaven
The kingdom is the tenth sphere in the Kabbalistic tree of life, it is at the base of the tree and it represents the divine spark that exists in every Human. The sphere of the kingdom is paradoxical, it represents man after fulfilling his destiny in the physical world, but on the other hand, it represents the end of life and the soul’s return to the Creator (heaven).
It can be said that the sphere of the kingdom is in the sphere of the crown (the upper sphere that represents God) and the crown sphere is in the kingdom sphere, which Means: All things come from God, through God, and return to God.
