CHAP. I

THE ORIGIN OF LETTERS AND NUMERALS ACCORDING TO THE BOOK OF FORMATION original: "SEFER YETZIRAH"

BY PHINEAS MORDELL

There is hardly another book in Jewish literature, the Bible and the Talmud The central text of Rabbinic Judaism, comprised of legal and ethical discussions; the name literally means "study" or "learning." excepted, that has been so much commented upon as the Book of Formation original: "Sefer Yetzirah"; this is an ancient and foundational text of Jewish mysticism which describes the creation of the world through the power of Hebrew letters and numbers.. It has been the subject of deep study, not only to the mystic In this context, a person who seeks to understand the hidden or spiritual nature of reality through traditional secret knowledge., who regarded it as the source of esoteric lore Specialized, secret knowledge intended for a small group of initiated students., but also to the philosopher and the Talmudist A scholar specializing in the laws and traditions found in the Talmud.. And yet, despite all the efforts of a large number of scholars of repute for more than a thousand years, the Book of Formation remains a sealed book The term "sealed book" indicates that the text is considered undecipherable or its true meaning remains hidden despite many attempts to explain it.. The various commentaries upon it are more apt to bewilder the student than to enlighten him. Indeed, it would seem that every commentator endeavored to read his own views and theories into this little book, with hardly any concern whether they agreed with the text or not.

There is no book in Jewish literature that is so difficult to understand as the Book of Formation. For it was originally written in an obscure half-mystical style. To make matters worse, the commentators of the eighth or of the ninth century blended the original "Book of Formation" with an early commentary, which may be referred to as "Book of Formation II" original: "Sefer Yetzirah II". It thus happened that all the commentaries written on the "Book of Formation" since the beginning of the tenth century