The realm known as Akudim/Olam Ha'Akudim (World of "Binding/Ringed") is one of the many spiritual worlds described by

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

as being part of the order of development that God utilized to create the physical world. Its significance emerges in

Lurianic Kabbalah Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of Kabbalah named after Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the Jewish rabbi who developed it. Lurianic Kabbalah gave a seminal new account of Kabbalistic thought that its followers synthesised with, and read into, the earli ...

, as a stage in the process of

Tohu and Tikun The World of Chaos () and The World of Rectification () are two general stages in Jewish Kabbalah in the order of descending spiritual worlds known as "the Four Worlds". In subsequent creations, they also represent two archetypal spiritual sta ...

. Akudim (עֲקוּדִים in Hebrew) is the first world to result from

Adam Kadmon In Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon (, ''ʾāḏām qaḏmōn'', "Primordial Man") also called Adam Elyon (, ''ʾāḏām ʿelyōn'', "Most High Man"), or Adam Ila'ah (, ''ʾāḏām ʿīllāʾā'' "Most High Adam" in Aramaic), sometimes abbreviated as A ...

("Primordial Man"). Sfirot (Heavenly Attributes, depicted as lights) emanating from the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and forehead of Adam Kadmon interact with each other to create three sequential "worlds" containing combinations of fundamental heavenly attributes: ''Akudim'', '' Nekudim'' and '' Berudim''. Luria read these three terms from the esoteric meaning of

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

's breeding of Laban's flocks in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

30:27-43. The world of Akudim corresponds to ''Hiyuli'' (הִיּוּלִי, meaning "Potential" Creation). These three stages then interact to produce more "worlds" of increasing developmental complexity. The concepts of primordial man and his body are figurative rather than literal.

The source of the world of Akudim

The world of Akudim is formed of the vapor that emanates from the "mouth" of Adam Kadmon.

"Lights" and "Vessels" in the world of Akudim

In this world, all the ten Sefirot lights are bound within one vessel, hence then name "Akudim" (meaning "binding"). The lights, unable to "settle" well into the one vessel, enter into a "dynamic" referred to as מטי ולא מטי ''mati v'lo mati'', literally "reaching and not reaching." The lights descend from the "mouth" of Adam Kadmon to enter the vessel of Akudim and then "about-face" to (partially) ascend back to their source in the "mouth" of Adam Kadmon, and so, back and forth forever.

Expressions of Akudim in human beings

In a human being this is represented by a situation in which all of one's attributes, be they emotional or intellectual, have only one way to express themselves. One can compare this to an infant who possesses the sole medium of "crying" (or a single word) that he can utilize to express his myriad attributes.

References

External links

The Worlds: Stages of the Creative Process from God's Infinite Light to Our Physical World
from inner.org Kabbalah Isaac Luria Kabbalistic words and phrases {{Kabbalah-stub

The source of the world of Akudim

"Lights" and "Vessels" in the world of Akudim

Expressions of Akudim in human beings

See also

References

External links