One

Although our bodies are made up of many parts - represented by the Sefirot - all of our parts interact with each other in a dynamic way, and together comprise one person.  Kabbalists see the entire Universe in this same way.  In fact, the word Universe means 'one verse'.  In this Tree of Life Diagram, the network of lines that connect the circles represent how the Sefirot are ‘One Together’ - they process Life by working together as One.  That's why some Tree of Life Diagrams I make have 11 Sefirot or 13 instead of the usual 10.  It is more important to understand that they are One… more

The Letter Aleph א (which is hidden in this picture) - the figure 8 - the symbol for Infinity - and the 4 Letters of the Holy Name YHVH are all related to each other.  Traditionally, א Aleph is said to be comprised of 3 smaller Hebrew Letters - 2 Yods and a Vav.  The large yellow section that divides this picture diagonally is the Vav (Gematria 6).  Emerging from the middle of this Vav are the 2 Yods - 1 in red and 1 in blue (Gematria 10 each). 2 x10 plus 6 equals 26, the Gematria of YHVH (10 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 26).  And by adding the 2 and the 6 of 26 together gives you 8.

Waves… more

This picture, in which the Hebrew letter א is hidden, can either be a sunrise or sunset, but we know that it is not the sun rising or setting, it is the earth spinning relative to the sun. 

Modern Science has united the Heavens and the Earth for us by seeing that both obey the same Newtonian laws of motion.  

Later, Albert Einstein united Energy and Matter into one for us with his famous equation E=mc², which means that Energy is Matter and Matter is Energy.

 I use hot colors and Fire to represent Energy; and cold colors and Water to represent Matter. … more

The first Hebrew letter - א Aleph - represents the unification of opposites.  

Its shape is comprised of an upper red part (actually a Hebrew letter י Yod); a lower blue part (an upside-down י Yod); balanced by a yellow diagonal part (a ו Vav which is a prefix that means ‘and’).  It can also be seen as the numeral 1.  The two are united into One by the Vav.  The Gematria of the sum of the 3 letters that comprise this Aleph equals 26 (2 Yods are 20 plus the Vav which is 6). 

In a sense, Aleph is a One-Letter Name of God, because the sum of the 4 letters of… more

I made this Tree of Life Diagram diagonal to hint at the shape of the first Letter א Aleph.  The 11th Sefirah, Daat, has a black dot to make it stand out, because it is the interface between the 3 higher Sefirot associated with the mind, and the 7 lower ones associated with the body.

The Sefirot are spoken of as emanations of God's Light.  א Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew word for 'light'.  Modern Science tells us that physical light is non-dual - it paradoxically acts as both waves (which spread out in all directions from any Light source at the mind-boggling speed of 300… more

The idea non-duality is found in many spiritual traditions.  In this picture I fused the Hebrew letter א Aleph with the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol.  Both symbols represent non-duality or the unification of opposites:  Heaven and Earth, Hot and Cold, Masculine and Feminine, Outside and Inside, etc.

The small circles inside both halves represent how there is Feminine is the Masculine; and Masculine in the Feminine.

Some people see two fish here (one upside-down) the symbol for Pisces.   In Kabbalistic astrology, Pisces is the month of Adar אדר - a word that begins with Aleph. … more

This drawing shows a woman sitting in meditation, visualizing her body as the Tree of Life Diagram - the 10 Sefirot - and the 4 Letters YHVH, the Holy Name of God.  Often called the One Name, it points to the Eternal Existence.  YHVH means Was, Is, and Will Be.  This Eternal Name was revealed to Moses by the burning bush in Exodus 3:15.  In Exodus 20:21 God said, "Any place in which my Name is called (or meditated upon), I will come to you and and bless you."  I made a woman here because Malchut is Feminine, and is associated with שכינה (Shechinah) a word that means dwelling within.  In… more

"10 Sefirot of Nothingness:
Their end is embedded in their beginning
and their beginning is embedded in their end
like a flame tied to a burning coal
For the Master is Singular, He has no second
and before One what do you count?" (Sefer Yetzirah)

 
A common meditative technique in the Kabbalah is to contemplate the flame of a burning lamp.  Our soul is likened to the energy of the flame whereas our body is like the material candle or the oil being consumed by the flame.  In this picture a blue lamp contains fuel that is being drawn up its wick. … more