Eternal
Infinite Eight / Aleph #3
Numbers are an important part of the Kabbalah. Seven is used to represent time and space. This can be seen in my pictures ‘The Seven Days of Creation’ and ‘The Holy Palace’. Eight represents beyond time and space - the realm of the Infinite and the Eternal - the realm of miracles and the supernatural. (See the explanation of my picture The Infinite Eight and the Infinite Aleph).
2008
Acrylic on paper
60 x 50 cm
Uncertainty and Freewill
This Teaching is primarily from the writings of the great early 18th Century kabbalist - the Ramchal - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. First there are a few short passages from Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) that introduce the topic of freewill. The paragraphs in italilcs are mine:
The Wheel of Life
The fractal trees in this poster represent the Ten Sefirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life. Each tree has three branches that then branch and into three smaller branches - a total of nine, and with the trunk of the tree, ten. Fractals are forms that are self-similar on different scales. How many trees are here? There are eighteen complete trees in the three larger wheels. Eighteen is the gematria (number value) of the Hebrew word for Life Chai חי.
The Seven Days of Creation
In this picture, one large brown circle contains six smaller circles that represent the Six Days of Creation according to Genesis. The brown circle in its center represents the Seventh Day of Creation - Shabbat. Notice that this picture is fractal or holographic. If you zoom out you can see that this large brown circle itself is the center of an even larger cycle in which only a small part of its upper yellow circle and a small part of its lower purple circle can be seen. And if you zoom in you can see smaller cycles of seven as well. Zoom out and appreci
Meditating on the Holy Name
This picture shows a woman sitting in meditation. She is practicing an ancient Jewish meditative technique where one visualizes the four letters of the Holy Name of God (YHWH) in the mind’s eye. This Name is the most important and powerful Name in the Kabbalah as its four letters represent all Ten Sefirot.
Infinite Eight
Numbers are an important part of the Kabbalah. Seven is used to represent time and space. This can be seen in my pictures ‘The Seven Days of Creation’ and ‘The Holy Palace’. Eight represents beyond time and space - the realm of the Infinite and the Eternal - the realm of miracles and the supernatural.
A Tapestry of Holy Names
The 18th Century kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (known as the Ramchal) explains in the following passage, that Adam Kadmon is associated with the four letters of the Name of God YHWH:
A Tree Of Life For Those Who Hold It
The above words from Proverbs 3:18 are written in the grey Hebrew letters around the circle. The Kabbalah is associated with the Tree of Life. It teaches us how to connect to our souls and thus live forever.
The two fiery figures in this picture represent the 2nd Century kabbalist Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai; and the 16th Century kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria.