The Book of Raziel the Angel

Two Yods The Hebrew letter Yod (י) are a Shva A Hebrew vowel mark indicating a very short "e" or no vowel at all; it is a Hataf-Patah A composite vowel mark. A line with a point below is a Kamatz The "ah" vowel mark; with a Yod above it is a Holam The "oh" vowel mark; and in the middle of the line it is a Melafum Also known as Shuruk, the "oo" vowel mark. If it is under the line, it is a Hirik The "ee" vowel mark without a line. A Shva or a Tzere The "ay" vowel mark with a line of three is a Segol The "eh" vowel mark. And the Letter Aleph (א) by itself is composed of a Yod and a Vav The letters י and ו, according to the law of the Name Havayah The Tetragrammaton, Y-H-V-H, to make known that the Lord is one and created everything: the upper, middle, and lower worlds and their fullness. There is no movement or connection without Him, blessed be He, for He is unique above the seven heavens and He rules over all.

He led the world as no other could, as the Sages said: "Two oversaw the beginning of the world" This likely refers to the debate about whether the heavens or earth were created first, or the partnership of God and His Word. In the worlds where you see majesty and splendor, He said in His heart: "There are no human beings to recognize the glory of My kingship; I shall create a world that passes and perishes, so that they might understand and take to heart the awe of Me, and serve Me in truth and with a perfect heart for their own good all the days."

When the Master of All spoke, He brought forth spirit from His holy spirit, and it is the head of all creatures. Just as a person speaks and brings spirit out of their mouth, so too the spirits are not restrained, as it says in the Tractate Taanit and in the Book of Formation Sefer Yetzirah; the foundational text of Jewish mysticism, likely composed between the 2nd and 6th centuries. From His word comes the spirit of fire and water. When a person speaks, they press their lips with strength to bring out a voice, and sparks emerge in the spirit. Therefore it is said: "Is not My word like fire... like a hammer that shatters a rock" Jeremiah 23:29, and sparks of stone and fire emerge from the power of the sparks coming from the mouth. Therefore it is written: "Behold, My words are like fire." They were like fire from the power of the human voice—spirit, water, and the heat of fire. How much more so the word of the "Consuming Fire" A title for God. Therefore, do not say there is no prophet of fire, water, and spirit, for "it is the glory of God to conceal a matter." Therefore we bless over water, saying "that all things exist through His word."

The Ten Sefirot of Nothingness Eser Sefirot Belimah; the ten divine emanations through which God interacts with the universe: One is the Spirit of the Living God. This is the spirit of life, the upper spirit to all spirits, and she is the Great Mother from whom all offspring emerged. She is the most praised of all roots and is attributed to the letter He (ה). She has the power of strength for all "fathers" Roots or archetypes, and her offspring and descendants are more praised than all other derived things.

The spirit of voice and speech is the spirit of life called the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). It is written: "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the spirit (ruach) of the day" Genesis 3:8. For are not all voices from the spirit? Like the hinge of a door, the axle of a wagon, or the axle of a wheel that is turned, or the sound of a Shofar. Yet, those voices are not like the voice of speech, as it is said: "And God called to the man." Thus: spirit, voice, and speech.

The voice came in the spirit of the day gently, so he could listen without fear, for He does not speak to a person except according to their strength to hear. He spoke to His prophets in every place gently, as a man speaks to his fellow, as it is written: "And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face." They hear the voice but do not see it. Therefore they call it in the Talmud a Bat Kol literally "Daughter of a Voice"; a divine echo or heavenly resonance. It is like a person walking between mountains in a valley, and the mountains above are full of hollows. When the person speaks, the speech enters with the spirit into the hollows—meaning those points in the mountain—and when he is silent, the word rises back to him and they come. If he speaks in a loud voice, it answers in a loud voice; if low, it answers low. There is nothing there but spirit, and in this way, they hear a Bat Kol.

When He revealed Himself to Elijah, He was revealed in the spirit in a low voice, as it is written: "Behold, the Lord passed by... a great wind... and after the wind, a still small voice" 1 Kings 19:11-12. Daniel said: "And I heard a man's voice" Daniel 8:16. In the Torah, it was with a great voice, divided into ten voices, as it is written: "The voice of the Lord is with power" and "like the sound of many waters." It is written: "the voice of the Almighty (Shaddai) as they went," and "the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude." These are all mighty deeds. It is written: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." Thus, there is speech and spirit. It is written: "By the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up," and "You blew with Your wind," and "It shall rush like a driving stream." From this, one recognizes the Creator, as it is said: "You have made him a little lower than the angels" Psalm 8:5.

The soul is called a "lamp," as it is written: "The soul of man is the lamp of the Lord" Proverbs 20:27, and "He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." For cattle, it is not written "He breathed," but rather "Let the earth bring forth the living soul." Thus, man is superior to every beast and animal. For beasts and animals, the "living soul" is superior to plants and grasses, for which "living soul" is not said. The soul of man is superior to all life on earth; it is the soul of life, a pure spirit, the breath of life from the Lord; it is the lamp of the Lord. It knows knowledge, counsel, and imagination; it hears, sees, tastes, smells, and feels throughout the whole body. It seeks the matters of the body, for "the soul of all flesh is its blood."

The soul of all flesh is its blood, and it is the spirit. If a limb dries up—the hand or the foot—or if one becomes deaf or mute, it is because of that spirit. If one cuts off a limb, the person does not die, but the limb loses its portion of the soul. But if one is strangled, he dies immediately, and his blood remains in him. If he is killed, he does not die from the loss of blood, but because the spirit is drawn away from its connection. What is written "its blood is in its soul" means it is connected, meaning the spirit is drawn into its connection.

When one eats and drinks, the soul is illuminated. The veins open their mouths, the windpipe warms up, and from the great heat, the food is digested. The salt in the food enters the veins, and from them, the soul is sustained by the warmth of the blood; this is "blood in its soul."

The soul is divided into two parts: internal and external. The Internal is the heart, which receives all its desires. If it sees a beautiful object and craves it, if its master can fulfill its will, the heart will rejoice with full joy and the mouth will be filled with laughter. The heart changes based on the object and the fulfillment of its will. If its master cannot fulfill its will, the heart moans and becomes angry with wrathful heat, thinking of nothing but that object. The heart is the seat of love and hate, and all wisdom, knowledge, purpose, thought, and reflection come from it. Through this, you will understand that it sits in its "inn" within the brain The text suggests the soul resides in the brain/mind while the heart acts as the requester. The heart is quiet and asks it for knowledge and understanding and other deep matters, and its desire is filled by it. When a person is weary and tired, immediately a deep sleep falls upon him, and in a dream, it increases, and he does not know if he is awake or asleep.

The External is the tongue, and the external senses, and the voice and speech; these sleep and grow weary. But the Internal does not sleep; only the soul departs from the "sheath" The body is often referred to as the Naran (an acronym for the levels of the soul) or a sheath/garment for the soul.

However, when a person sleeps and is woken in a fright, and the body is startled and his heart flutters like a small bird—that is the soul returning. But if she returns of her own will, waking without fright, such as close to morning, then the soul is in its "inn." Because all the realization of wisdom and understanding is in the brains, the heart is called the "Internal." The "External" is the tongue, which tells the secrets of the internal heart, whether good or evil, prayer or petition. For were it not for the tongue telling one person to another through speech, one would not know good from evil. The heart thinks, as it is said: "My heart overflows with a goodly matter," and the tongue tells it. And they are the established internal parts.