Sefer Yetzirah

Résumé du livre

"In thirty-two mysterious paths of wisdom did the Lord write, the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, the Living Elohim, and King of the Universe, the Almighty, Merciful, and Gracious God; He is great and exalted and eternally dwelling in the Height, His name is holy. He is exalted and holy. He created His Universe by the three forms of expression: Numbers, Letters, and Words."

So, famously, begins the Sepher Yetzirah. The “Book of Formation” embodies the fundamental part of the secret learning, or Kabala, of the Jews. This tradition (Kabala means “to hand down”) was probably never put into writing until Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph produced the “Book of Formation,” or “Book of Numbers and Letters,” in the second century after Christ. In order to render his work unintelligible for the profane he used a veiled language, and expressed himself in riddles and conundrums.