The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

by Smith, David Chaim

• ISBN13: 9781620554630
• ISBN10: 1620554631
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-10-10
• Publisher: Inner Traditions

Summary

A bold line-by-line reexamination of the first 3 chapters of Genesis that reveals the essential nature of mind and creativity

• Deconstructs each line of Genesis chapters 1-3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah

• Reveals the sefirot, the Tree of Life, as the Divine blueprint of the creative process

• Explains how Genesis reveals the Divinity of mind and consciousness

Hidden within the first three chapters of Genesis rests one of the greatest jewels of Western mystical literature. For millennia religious literalism has dominated our understanding of the Bible, imprisoning its subtle inner wisdom within the most coarse and superficial aspects of the narrative. Generations have been led to believe that Genesis 1-3 is only a primitive proto-cosmic history, a mythological explanation of the human moral disposition, a religious fairy tale. But by accepting the text as pure kabbalistic metaphor, the mystical content of Genesis springs forth, revealing the Divine nature of creativity as well as a new understanding of the human mind.

Deconstructing each line of Genesis 1-3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah, David Chaim Smith reveals how the ten sefirot, collectively known as the Tree of Life, are not simply a linear hierarchy. They are a unified interdependent whole with ten interactive functions, forming the template through which creative diversity manifests. Through acts of creation and creativity, the mind expresses its Divine nature. Through our Divine creative power, we are able to touch upon Ain Sof (the infinite), the lifeblood of all creative expression. Smith’s line-by-line examination of Genesis 1-3 reveals a complete model not only of Divine creativity but also of the predicament of the human mind, of the Divine nature of consciousness as well as our inability to recognize the mind’s Divinity.

With this new interpretation, which removes the concept of a Creator God, we are able to transcend the contrasting notions of “being” and “non-being” at the heart of conventional habits of perception and awaken a new mystical understanding of Unity and the fathomless depth of Divinity.

Author Biography

David Chaim Smith is an artist and writer with a BFA in drawing from Rhode Island School of Design and a master’s degree from Columbia University. He has held exhibitions in New York City at the Cavin Morris Gallery and at the Andre Zarre Gallery, and his work has been lauded by the New York Times. He has studied Chassidic mysticism and traditional Hebrew Kabbalah for nearly 20 years, focusing since 1999 on The Fountain of Wisdom, a 13th-century text that has deeply inspired his ecstatic visionary art. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I
Window of Manifestation

1    The Essential Nature of Creativity
The First Word of Genesis

2    Blueprint of the Creative Process
Commentary on the First Chapter of Genesis

Part II
PriMordial Gnosis and Its Obscuration

3    The EdeNic State
Commentary on the Second Chapter of Genesis

4    The CoNsequence of Habit
Commentary on the Third Chapter of Genesis

Appendix I
Kabbalistic SyNopsis of the Three Chapters

Appendix II
Kabbalistic Array of names

Index

About the Author