"And a river went out of Eden" - Part 6

We are informed that through the Names of the four "Edenic Rivers" we can witness the wonders of El Chai, the Powerful Overlord of Life. As noted previously, the very Name of the Eternal One is in (Pishon), the name of the first of the four "Rivers." In this regard we are told that there is no disease in the world which cannot be cured by the letters of this single Name, including the alleviation of conditions like infertility; the elimination of all plagues and epidemics, whether pertaining to man or beast; etc.

Moses Zacutto advised us that there is nothing to compare with the power of the Name in question, which he said can also be employed to control the injurious impact of crawling insects on our world and ourselves. As delineated in the second part of these articles, the "secret" of is in the first four letters of this name expressing the Ineffable Name. Just as the Name Pishon includes fhe Name , so is the Name (Ehyeh) hidden in the first four letters of the Name . In like manner the "secret" of the Name is the Divine Name (Adonai), and that of the fourth "Edenic River," (Frat), is said to be its connection to the (Merkavah), the divine "Chariot Throne," which pertains to the Name (Yabok) being hidden in the Name Frat.

Be that as it may, considering the remarkable powers of the Names of the four "Edenic Rivers," we are informed that these pertain to a most potent segulah, the latter being delineated in "The Book of Sacred Names" as "a unique action or an object, often comprised of Divine Names, special signs, words or phrases, which is considered to be a most precious ‘spiritual treasure’ to be employed in a unique manner, in order to affect a physical outcome in harmony with the intention of the one who employs the segulah." In the current instance the segulah comprises the previously delineated Names of the "four Rivers," including their combinations and permutations, written in soluble ink on parchment (clean white paper will do nicely). For the sake of easy reference, here is the entire set again:

Following the writing of these combinations, the letters comprising the names are dissolved by soaking the parchment in havdalah wine, which is afterwards quaffed by the one requiring the segulah. In this regard, some stress that all the wine must be consumed to the very last drop, whilst others claim that a single drop of this wine is enough to work the full power of this segulah within ones body. Still others maintain that the Names of the four "Edenic Rivers," as well as their mentioned combinations and permutations, should be engraved on the inside of the silver cup, effectively turning the chalice into a kamea or "power object." In this manner the wine, when poured into the cup, would be potently infused with the "forces" inherent in the Names. This is considered to be equally as powerful as writing the Names on parchment and then dissolving them in the wine. There are however some disagreement about this, which include variant instructions regarding the exact amount of the "magically infused wine" one has to imbibe.

Personally I could not care less about such disparities, and have no interest in any of the affiliated bickering, my only concern being the effectiveness of the "method" employed to work the "magic," i.e. whether it achieves the sought-after objective. Notwithstanding this, I believe it would be a damn-sight easier to write the combinations of Names and their permutations on parchment, than it would be to find an individual willing to work the arduous task of engraving that mass of peculiar writing faultlessly on the inside of a silver chalice!

"And a river went out of Eden" - Part 3

Amongst the most important uses of the names of the four “Edenic Rivers” is in amulets to promote a long life. In this regard the standard arrangement of the names are permuted, written forwards and backwards, and the component letters of the names intermingled in special ways. Whilst there are variations on these arrangements in Jewish magical tomes, I have consulted as many primary texts as I could find, including paying very close attention to their appearances on a variety of Hebrew amulets, and after careful consideration have settled on the following list:

A friend of mine, a Rabbi from Moroccan descent, insisted emphatically that this amulet is not only for “a long life,” but for a “long SUCCESSFUL life.” I have perused a number of amulets comprising these sets of names, and noted that it is usually customary to engrave section A on the front side of a metal disc [usually silver], with a header in certain instances comprising the earlier addressed (YHVH Ehyeh Adonai YB”K) combination of Divine Names. However, this header is not standard throughout, since I have noted different headers accompanying the same, e.g. the fully spelled letters of the three associated Divine Names, the first two being written as a header, and the third as a footer as shown below:

In this instance the YB”K combination is omitted on the front of the amulet, but it does appear on the rear. As it is, more often than not the back of these specific amulets comprises the set of names derived from the intertwined component glyphs of the “River Names” as shown in section B above. This portion of the amulet is sometimes also accompanied by a header, e.g. the three associated Divine Names and the full spelling of the component letters of the first two Names, whilst the full spelling of the letters of the third Divine Name as well as the YB”K combination is added as a footer. In the same instance, the entire construct is completed with a repeat of the affiliated Divine Names. The rear of the amulet then appears like this:

Whilst the headers and footers of this specific amulet might appear quite complex, simpler versions in which the combination only heads the entire construct. I have also perused an amulet in which the front of same construct is headed by the Divine Name (Shadai) only, whilst the rear is concluded with a footer comprising the name of the owner. Of course, the simplest format is to plainly engrave the names of the four “Edenic Rivers” without any of the complexities of permutations and conjoining of component letters. For example, I perused an amulet of this nature comprised of nothing more than the name of the bearer as a header, followed by the Divine Name (Taftafyah) and the names of the four rivers written in the standard manner, with the addition of a single permutation of each name. Here is the complete construct:

In this instance the front and rear of the amulet are exact copies.

(More to follow)

"And a river went out of Eden" - Part 2

Suspecting that there was a lot more to the four “Edenic Rivers” than meets the eye, Kabbalists closely scrutinised the names of the four streams. By means of somewhat complex application of Temurot, in this instance exchanges of Hebrew letters by means of six special ciphers, i.e. Achas Beta, Atbach, Atbash, Albam, Avgad, Ayak Bachar, they concluded that, with the exclusion of the final letters Nun of the names PishoN and GichoN, the first three names of the “Rivers of Eden” are hidden references to the three Divine Names which are vital for our continued well-being on this planet. It is also understood that the three letters derived from, or, as it were, “hidden” within the name of the last “river,” is indicating a very unique Hebrew abbreviation. The Divine Names and mentioned abbreviation are shown below [read from right to left]:

Of course, the three Divine Names are immediately recognised, and, considering the Kabbalistic doctrine on the flow of the “river of Shefa” (Divine Abundance) into manifestation by means of tzinorot [spiritual channels] which are “controlled,” so to speak, by these important Divine Names aligned with the sefirot of Keter [Crown - Ehyeh], Tiferet [Beauty - YHVH] and Malchut [Kingdom - Adonai], it is only natural that they should be included in amulets comprising the names of the four divisions of the Edenic “River of Life.”

What remains to be considered is the unique transposition of the three letters of the “river” Frat, i.e. . Since the three letters in question could be read Yabok, i.e.the river where the Patriarch Jacob wrestled “a man” (Genesis 32:23–31 [24–32]), and, as mentioned in my “The Book of Sacred Names,” it was ascertained from this saga that Jacob wrestled with the angel Pani’el, and that his attacker was actually the Almighty virtually in person, so to speak, some curious deliberations could be derived from the Frat/Yabok affiliation. After all there are also very special “numerical” connections between the YBK letter combination and two Divine Names, i.e. the gematria of Yabok is 112 and so is the combined value of the Names YHVH and Elohim . However, in the current instance the YB”K letter combination is generally conceded to be an abbreviation. On the one hand it refers to the concluding portion of Psalms 20:10 reading (ya’aneinu b’yom kar’einu — “answer us in the day that we call”), the verse being uttered three times during morning prayers [see for example the Kabbalistic Siddur Kol Yaakov by Yakov Koppel Lifshitz], on the other hand it indicates (yichud b’rachah k’dushah — “Unification Blessedness Holiness”) [see Toldot Yitzchak by Yakov Yitzchak ben Asher, Ha-Kami’a ha-Ivri by E. Davis & D.A. Frenkel; Mikra’i Refu’i Kelali im Tatzlumim v’Iyurim Rabim Ner Mitzvah b’Torah Or by Shniori, etc.].

As it is, the three letters in question and the words comprising each of these Hebrew phrases, are themselves understood to be direct references to the three mentioned vital Divine Names. In fact, the “Divine Unification,” “Blessedness” and “Holiness” of YB”K are said to indicate the union of Keter [Ehyeh], Tiferet [YHVH] and Malchut [Adonai], or the “unification” of the Neshamah, Ru’ach and Nefesh, the “Higher Self,” “Middle Self” and “Lower Self” aspects of the human soul [see the very interesting observations by Chananya Yom Tov Lippa Daitch in Mishnayot Masechet Mikva’ot (Vol. 4), and those of Meir Paprish [Poppers] in Or Tsadikim v’Derech Se’udah].

(More to follow)