Yetzirah (also known as ''Olam Yetsirah'', עוֹלָם יְצִירָה in Hebrew) is the third of

four worlds The Four Worlds ( ''ʿOlāmot'', singular: ''ʿOlām'' ), sometimes counted with a primordial world, Adam Kadmon, and called the Five Worlds, are the comprehensive categories of spiritual realms in Kabbalah in a descending chain of existence ...

in the Kabbalistic

Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

, following

Atziluth Atziluth or Atzilut (also ''Olam Atsiluth'', עוֹלָם אֲצִילוּת, literally "the World of Emanation") is the highest of four worlds in which exists the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It is also known as "near to God."MEIJERS, L. D., and J. ...

and

Beri'ah Beri'ah (Hebrew: בְּרִיאָה), Briyah, or B'ri'ah (also known as ''Olam Beriah'', עוֹלָם בְּרִיאָה in Hebrew, literally "the World of Creation"), is the second of the Four Worlds, four celestial worlds in the Tree of Life (Ka ...

and preceding

Assiah Assiah (; also 'AsiyaMEIJERS, L. D., and J. TENNEKES. "SPIRIT AND MATTER IN THE COSMOLOGY OF CHASSIDIC JUDAISM." Symbolic Anthropology in the Netherlands, edited by P.E. DE JOSSELIN DE JONG and ERIK SCHWIMMER, vol. 95, Brill, 1982, pp. 200–21. ...

. It is known as the "World of Formation". "Yetzirah" as in "formation" is as opposed to "Beriah" as in "creation": actually taking whatever matter that was created in "Beriah" and shaping it into the basic elements.

Correspondences

On the

diagram Yetzirah is associated with the

sefirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...

Chesed (, also Romanization of Hebrew, Romanized: ) is a Hebrew language, Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love or mercy of God towards humanity. It is fr ...

Gevurah Gevurah or Geburah (, Tiberian: ''Găḇūrā,'' lit. 'strength'), is the fifth '' sephirah'' in the kabbalistic Tree of Life, and it is the second of the emotive attributes of the ''sephirot''. It sits below Binah, across from Chesed and abo ...

Tiferet Tiferet ( ''Tip̄ʾereṯ,'' in pausa: תִּפְאָרֶת ''Tip̄ʾāreṯ'', lit. 'beauty, glory, adornment') alternatively Tifaret, Tiphareth, Tifereth or Tiphereth, is the sixth sefira in the kabbalistic Tree of Life. It has the common as ...

Netzach Netzach () is the seventh of the ten sefirot in the Jewish mystical system of Kabbalah. It is located beneath Chesed ('loving-kindness'), at the base of the "Pillar of Mercy" which also consists of Chokmah ('wisdom'). Netzach generally transla ...

, Hod and

Yesod Yesod (Hebrew: יְסוֹד ''Yəsōḏ'', Tiberian: ''Yăsōḏ'', "foundation") is a sephirah or node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life, a system of Jewish philosophy. Yesod, located near the base of the Tree, is the sephirah below Hod and ...

. Together, these six sefirot are known as the

Microprosopus Ze`ir Anpin (Aramaic: זְעֵיר אַנפִּין meaning "Lesser Countenance/Small Face", is a revealed aspect of God in Kabbalah, comprising the emotional sephirot attributes: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod and Yesod. The Zohar's ...

(Zeir Anpin) also known as the 'Lesser Countenance' or the 'Small Face.' In this sense, it stands in contrast with the Macroprosopus (Arich Anpin). The moment of formation, when the fetus' form becomes apparent, is called "the formation of the child" and corresponds to the world of Yetzirah. The external state of consciousness in the World of Formation is called ״half good and half evil.״ The "half evil" refers to the self-consciousness of the beings of this world. The "half good" refers to the emotional sensitivity of one to the other as expressed in the genuine desire to make the other happy. This external dimension of Yetzirah is the seat of heated emotion, of “hotheadedness.” A more internal dimension of Yetzirah—based on the awareness that the true battleground between good and evil is within us—is the emotional imperative to pit the good inclination against the evil inclination. But in order for our good inclination to be victorious over our evil inclination, it must first be empowered by an input of Divine light and energy. God gives us this input in the merit of our first devoting ourselves to do good for our fellows. The consciousness of the world of Yetzirah is that of communing with God, speaking to Him directly in prayer or indirectly through the study of His Torah and taking counsel with a true Torah sage. The perspective of the world of Yetzirah as a state of consciousness is based on general notions. At this level, particular definitions are not apparent. The sense of selfhood that is apparent at this level of consciousness can only be grasped in impersonal language. Non-permanent angels dwell in the world of Yetzirah, unlike archangels which reside in Briah. In addition, Yetzirah corresponds to: * The letter vav (ו) in the

Tetragrammaton The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliteration, transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from ...

* The

, Hod and

and hence the

partzuf ''Partzufim'' or ''Partsufim'' (, singular ''partzuf'', , from Greek: πρόσωπον ''prósopon'' "face" or "mask"), are "countenances" or "personas" of God described in the ''Zohar''. The '' Idra Rabba'' describes a divine being composed of t ...

of Zeir Anpin * The

element Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of o ...

of Water * The soul-level of ruach * The soul-garment of speech * The emotions * The arms, torso, legs, and circumcision (

Patach Eliyahu ''Patach Eliyahu'' (, "Elijah opened"), also called ''Petihat Eliyahu HaNavi'' (, "The Introduction of Elijah the Prophet"), is an Aramaic, Kabbalistic discourse from the introduction to Tikunei Zohar 17a. It is named after its initial words, w ...

) * In the allegory of the teacher and the student, the penultimate stage where the teacher gives a lesson, a compressed outline of the full concept to the student. Through this, the student gains an initial, external understanding of the concept. * The

Pesukei Dezimra ''Pesukei dezimra'' (; Rabbinic Hebrew: ''pasuqẽ hazzǝmiroṯ'' "Verses of songs"), or ''zemirot'' as they are called by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are a group of prayers that may be recited during Shacharit (the morning set of prayers ...

in the

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

prayer service * Within the

Western mystery tradition Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

; the classical element of air and the

suit of swords The suit of swords is one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana in a 78-card cartomantic tarot deck. It is derived from the suit used in Latin-suited playing cards, such as Spanish, Italian and Latin-suited tarot decks. Like the other tarot sui ...

in divinitory Tarot.

References

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Correspondences

References

Further reading