The realm known as Akudim/Olam Ha'Akudim (World of "Binding/Ringed") is one of the many
spiritual worlds described by
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The de ...
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 earlie ...
, as a stage in the process of
Tohu and Tikun.
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'' "Supreme Man"), sometimes abbreviated as A"K (, ''ʾA.Q. ...
("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 (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ...
's breeding of
Laban's flocks in
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
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.
See also
*
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 earlie ...
*
Tohu and Tikun
*
Anthropomorphism in Kabbalah
References
External links
The Worlds: Stages of the Creative Process from God's Infinite Light to Our Physical Worldfrom inner.org
Kabbalah
Isaac Luria
Kabbalistic words and phrases
{{Kabbalah-stub