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

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

, 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 celestial worlds in the Tree of Life of the Kabbalah, ...

and preceding

Assiah Assiah (also 'Asiya'MEIJERS, 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 (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ( The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm ...

Chesed ( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a 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 frequently used in Psalms i ...

Gevurah Gevurah or Geburah ( he, גְּבוּרָה, Gəvūrā}, 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 ...

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

Netzach Netzach ( he, נֶצַח ''Neṣaḥ'', in pausa: נֵצַח ''Nēṣaḥ'', lit. 'eminence, everlastingness, perpetuity') is the seventh of the ten Sefirot in the Jewish mystical system of Kabbalah. It is located beneath Chesed ('loving-kindn ...

, 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 (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 Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

. * The

, Hod and

and hence the

partzuf Partzufim/Partsufim ( he, פרצופים, singular partzuf, he, פרצוף), meaning "Divine Personas", are particular reconfigured arrangements of the ten sefirot, divine attributes/emanations of Kabbalah. Each partzuf is thus a configuration o ...

of Zeir Anpin. * The element of Water * The soul-level of ruach. * The soul-garment of speech. * The emotions. * The arms, torso, legs, and circumcision ( Patach Eliyahu). * 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 in the

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''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 o ...

prayer service. * Within the Western mystery tradition, the suit of swords in the occult tarot.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

Correspondences

References

Further reading