Earlier this evening I was confronted by an individual who thought the time of celebrating the birthday of the Christian Saviour to be the most ideal to practice his missionary zeal to the fullest. He "most urgently" exhorted me to attend the service to be held this Christmas Eve by his "spirit-filled" pastor, the one who could save my soul from the damnation which is, as it were, around the corner. Nothing I could say in a polite manner would sway him to "drop" the matter. As it is, I would not have referred to the incident here if it wasn't for the fact that I told him that I am a Jew and that I am particularly enamoured with the teachings of Jewish Mysticism, specifically
Kabbalah. His face sort of lit up as he victoriously informed me that Kabbalah teaches the "doctrine of the Trinity," the Christian one, in its doctrine of the "
Tzachtzachot." Eventually, after some fruitless bantering backwards and forwards, I informed the individual in question that I am simply not interested in going to his church, that neither my wife nor I would be attending the special service of his "spirit-filled" pastor, and he departed in great disappointment with a final rejoinder that he would "pray for my lost soul." Ah well.....this is a fairly regular occurence, albeit
senza the "
Tzachtzachot" bit!
The doctrine of the "
Tzachtzachot" ("splendours") is the one Kabbalistic doctrine which Christian students of Kabbalah later claimed to be extolling the Christian concept of the "Trinity," quite despite the fact that in none of the extensive discussions of this topic in primary Kabbalistic literature are there any references made to the Christian "triune divine personages," i.e. "father, son and holy spirit." However, we will get to the Christian claim shortly. Let us first have a look at what the teaching of the "
Tzachtzachot" is all about, and where the idea started.
Currently available evidence would have it that the source of the concept is the mystical speculations of the "
Chasidei Azkenaz," the 13th century German Pietists (David ben Yehudah he-Chasid; etc.), regarding the emanation of the ten
Sefirot out of
Ayn Sof (Eternal No-Thing). These mystics of early Kabbalah were particularly perplexed by the fact that whilst there are ten
Sefirot, there were traditionally the so-called "thirteen attributes" of God, and they were wondering whether any connection existed between the
Sefirot, and these "attributes." In a "
responsa" attributed to the famous rabbi Hai Gaon, there are references to "three forces" which are understood to be the foundation of the "ten," hence they thought the "thirteen attributes" should be divided into "ten" and "three," which respectively pertain to the ten
Sefirot and three "primordial forces."
However, there were at the time quite diverse opinions regarding this matter, especially as some thought the "thirteen attributes" were considered to be contained in
Keter, the first
Sefirah. This idea was certainly not generally accepted, since others attributed the "thirteen attributes" to the sixth
Sefirah (
Tiferet). Others still, maintained that these "three forces" were emanations which were "split of" from
Malchut, the tenth
Sefirah. Some considered them to be effects "in the manner of
Chesed,
Din and
Rachamim." It is important to keep in mind that right from the start the terms "
Sefirot" and "
Middot" (attributes) were used interchangeably as synonyms. We also need to consider that this topic was very complex, and that in the mystical thinking of the time it was conceived that there were, as it were, two sets of
Sefirot, with the higher
Sefirot of
'Illat ha-'Illot ("Cause of Causes") belonging to the "first cause." These "higher
Sefirot" were considered entirely distinct from the standard, manifested
Sefirot, so to speak. The
Sefirot of
'Illat ha-'Illot were termed
tzichtzuchim.
To really understand the very foundation of the doctrine of the "hidden splendours," one has to focus on the teachings regarding the relationship between
Ayn Sof and
Keter. Some of the early Kabbalists taught that
Ayn Sof and
Keter are the same, whilst others felt that they are not identical at all, and some even taught that
Keter was not the first emanation. There was great uncertainty regarding this issue amongst the early Kabbalists. Moses de Leon for example alluded in one of his writings to the expression "Cause of Causes" (
'illat ha-'illot or
sibbat ha-sibbot), saying it is a reference to
Keter, whilst in another he tells us "the Cause of all Causes is the cause of Nothingness (
Ayn)," and he appears to be quite uncertain as to whether there should be a distinction between
Ayn Sof and
Keter.
As far as Kabbalists are concerned,
Ayn Sof is hidden and have therefore no active participation in the emanation process. In fact, they maintain that there are intermediary stages between the unmanifest and the manifest, and some consider such a stage to exist between the "Eternal No-Thing" (
Ayn Sof) and the ten
Sefirot. As said earlier, in the 13th century some of the early Kabbalists, e.g. David ben Yehudah he-Chasid and the German Pietists, maintained this stage to comprise ten "higher
Sefirot" considered to be the "roots" of the ten regular
Sefirot. Others, specifically those from the
Iyyun circle, perceived this intermediary stage to be "three roots concealed in the depths of
Ayn Sof" which they termed "
tzachtzachot," and which were understood to be three unattainably hidden lights. They were respectively called:
1. Or Penimi Kadmon ("internal primordial light");
2. Or Tzach ("ultra-transparant light"); and
3. Or Metzuchtzach ("clear light").
In a way, these concepts influenced many generations of Kabbalists, even though by the fourteenth century (when the thinking of many Kabbalists were more directly focused on the ten
Sefirot and their significance in the world and in our lives), the earlier "ten and thirteen" ideas almost disappeared into obscurity. It took a couple of hundred years before the debate on the "ten and thirteen" resurfaced very strongly in the writings of Moses Cordovero, who offered explanations in accordance with the views held by the mystics living in sixteenth century Safed, the "home" of Lurianic Kabbalah. We are told that he "contended the thirteen truly are God's moral attributes embodied in the first
Sefirah, and it is man's responsibility to emulate them." It is worth comparing the 13th century ideas regarding the three primordial lights (
Or Penimi Kadmon,
Or Tzach,
Or Metzuchtzach) with the
Adam Kadmon (primordial man) doctrine of Lurianic Kabbalah.
However, getting back to Moses Cordovero, it should be mentioned that he expounded the doctrine of emanation in many wonderful ways. The process of emanation is generally understood to be one of "unfoldment from within." Everything comprises everything, so to speak, i.e.
Keter (Crown) comprises all the other
Sefirot, and the succeeding
Sefirah,
Chochmah (Wisdom), actually derives from
Chochmah in
Keter. In turn, each of the ten
Sefirot also comprise the entire array, an entire universe as it were, and each succeeding
Sefirah derives from its equivalent in the preceding
Sefirah, e.g.
Binah is emanated from "
Binah in
Chochmah";
Chesed from "
Chesed in
Binah"; etc.
Cordovero tells us that each
Sefirah is made up of an infinite number of
bechinot (inner "characteristics" or "aspects"). Whilst most of these aspects are unknowable, there are some which can be perceived and six in particular were considered most important in the process of unfolding each
Sefirah from its predecessor. Through these inner aspects all the
Sefirot are causally related to one another, and each
Sefirah can relate or "communicate" with any of the other, by resonating inwardly with the aspects of the other
Sefirot to be found deep within itself. For example, an individual working in
Malchut (Kingdom) can "awaken"
Keter (Crown) by resonating his consciousness with the "
Keter-aspect" hidden inside
Malchut, etc.
Now, it would appear as if there was a "gulf" between the manifest and the absolute, or between the restricted finite and the limitless infinite, yet Kabbalists maintained that just as every
Sefirah comprises the entire sefirotic ladder, so
Ayn Sof contains the very primordial essences of the
Sefirot. Whilst in early Kabbalah we were told that there are three
tzachtzachot, hidden primordial lights, between the Eternal No-Thing (
Ayn Sof) and the first Sefirah (
Keter) on the ladder of emanation, Moses Cordovero informed us that these "concealed splendours" are in fact the loftiest
bechinot (aspects) of
Keter hidden within
Ayn Sof.
Since the days of the great Moses Cordovero there have been a lot of speculation regarding the three hidden "splendours" (
Tzachtzachot) in Kabbalistic literature, and as mentioned earlier, Christian students of Kabbalah claimed the doctrine of the three
Tzachtzachot to be expressing the verity of the Christian trinity. Considering everything Kabbalists wrote about these "hidden splendours," it is rather difficult to reconcile Christian doctrine with this Kabbalistic teaching. Besides, the Christian claim has as much verity as would say a Hindu claiming this teaching to be about the Hindu trinity of
Brahma,
Vishnu and
Shiva, or perhaps some clever physicist somewhere could say it pertains to the three basic components of the atom (proton, neutron and electron), etc. In fact, we may extrapolate from all the writings regarding the three
Tzachtzachot, that they were understood to represent, amongst many other concepts, three
Sefirot—
Chochmah,
Binah,
Da'at; the three "Pillars" on the sefirotic Tree; the three levels of the "Soul" (
Nefesh,
Ruach,
Neshamah); etc.
There are lots of primary and secondary sources which you can consult for detailed deliberation on this topic. Some of the more readily available are:
1. "Sod ha-Shabbat: The Mystery of the Sabbath" by Meir ibn Gabbai, translated by Elliot K. Ginsburg;
2. "Isaiah Horowitz: The Generations of Adam" by Isaiah Horowitz;
3. "Lessons in Tanya: The Tanya of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi" by Yosef Wineberg;
4. "Kabbalah" by Gershom Scholem;
5. "Origins of Kabbalah" by Gershom Scholem;
6. "The Sabbath in the Classical Kabbalah" by Elliot K. Ginsburg;
7. "An Introduction to the Kabbalah" by Moshe Hallamish; etc.
Wishing one and all well over the Festive Season!
and the “Shem Vayisa Vayet,” we have to consider the kabbalistic “Four Worlds” concept, each “World” being, as it were, a single letter of the Ultimate Word represented by the four letters of the Ineffable Name. In this regard, it is worth noting again the four expanded versions, i.e. full spellings of the individual letters, of the Tetragrammaton [addressed in chapter 1 of "The Book of Sacred Names"]. These four expansions are said to pertain to the “Four Worlds” in the following manner:
(AV) does not only correspond to Olam ha-Atzilut, but it is understood the “World of Emanation” actually emanated out of this Name. The same applies to the other three expansions of the Ineffable Name.However, there are further aspects regarding the “Four Worlds” which need to be considered. We are taught that from the powerful rays of light streaming from the forehead of Adam Kadmon, the primordial human prototype, marvelous forms were emanated into manifestation. These are said to comprise Te’amim (cantillation notes), Nekudot (vowel points), Tagim (crowns), and the Otiot (Hebrew glyphs). Regarding this Gershom Scholem wrote “Thus, two essentially different symbolisms—that of light, and that of language and writing—are here joined. Every constellation of light has its particular linguistic expression, though the latter is not directed toward the lower worlds but rather inward toward its own hidden being. These lights combine to form ‘names’ whose concealed potencies become active and are made manifest through concealed ‘configurations’ (millu’im) where each letter is fully written out by its name in the alphabet. This primordial world described by linguistic symbols was precipitated from the lights of Adam Kadmon’s forehead.....”Again it should be noted that the listed forms, collectively known by the acrostic TaNTA (Te’amim, Nekudot, Tagim, Otiot), are understood to pre-exist within the inner being of primordial man prior to their radiation into manifestation. Furthermore, they are considered to correlate exactly with the ASMaB, the four expansions of the Ineffable Name, as indicated in the following table:
is represented as a Chet 
. Be that as it may, such illustrations are particularly popular amongst Hermetic Kabbalists, especially with those who marvel at the “mysteries” of the “Shemhamforash” referred to in works like the “The Key of Solomon” in which the author, purportedly King Solomon, tells us that he had “done great things by the virtue of the Schema Hamphorasch, and by the Thirty-two Paths of Yetzirah. Number, weight, and measure determine the form of things; the substance is one, and God createth it eternally.Happy is he who comprehendeth the Letters and the Numbers. The Letters are from the Numbers, and the Numbers from the Ideas, and the Ideas from the Forces, and the Forces from the Elohim. The Synthesis of the Elohim is the Schema. The Schema is one, its columns are two, its power is three, its form is four, its reflection giveth eight, which multiplied by three giveth unto thee the twenty-four Thrones of Wisdom.Upon each Throne reposeth a Crown with three Rays, each Ray beareth a Name, each Name is an Absolute Idea. There are Seventy-two Names upon the Twenty-four Crowns of the Schema. Thou shalt write these Names upon Thirty-six Talismans, two upon each Talisman, one on each side. Thou shalt divide these Talismans into four series of nine each, according to the number of the Letters of the Schema.Upon the first Series thou shalt engrave the Letter Yod, symbolised by the Flowering Rod of Aaron. Upon the second the Letter HE, symbolised by the Cup of Joseph. Upon the third the Letter Vau, symbolised by the Sword of David my father. And upon the fourth the HE final, symbolised by the Shekel of Gold. These thirty-six Talismans will be a Book which will contain all the Secrets of Nature. And by their diverse combinations thou shalt make the Genii and Angels speak.” These and similar notions found in other writings, have been expanded upon by “adepts” of “Hermetic Magical Orders.”
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