The Sefer Ha-Bahir

Essay Question 2 

Mysticism as defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is: “a religious practice based on the belief that knowledge of spiritual truth can be gained by praying or thinking deeply.” Among the People of the Book, mysticism is a prevalent theme; albeit in various arrangements in the past. Rabbi Nehunia ben haKana that is attributed authorship of the Sefer ha-Bahir, otherwise known as The Book of Illumination, and Julian of Norwich’s (c. 1342-c. 1413) Revelations of Divine Love are two texts that each falls in line with this definition of mysticism. 

Mysticism as defined in class is: “a direct, personal experience of the divine." The Sefer ha-Bahir is admittedly a hard text to comprehend. The “Bahir” literally means “brilliant” or “Illumination” and is adopted from the very first verse quoted in the Sefer ha-Bahir, which is a quote from the book of Job (37:21). The Sefer ha-Bahir is an early example of Jewish mysticism which after time developed into an esoteric version (if that isn’t redundant) known as Kabbalah, the work finalized at the end of the twelfth century. The book consists of short homiletical passages that begin with the name of a speaker or speakers whom each interprets a biblical verse or

excerpt with the aid of other dispersed verses. According to the book, God is made available to human beings through the instrumentation of the construct of the all-embracing wisdom. “The word ‘beginning’ (Reshit) is nothing other than Wisdom. It is thus written (Psalm 111:10), ‘The beginning is wisdom, the fear of God.’ Wisdom is a blessing"(Section I; I; Verse 3). Wisdom is something acquired internally, and in its acquisition casts out the external; in doing so, creating a personal experience of the divine. 
Julian of Norwich, an English mystic, authored in the fourteenth century a book that is easier to discern then the Sefer ha-Bahir known as the Revelations of Divine Love. It contains her sixteen mystical visions and contemplations on life. It doesn't take long for Julian of Norwich to show that the class's definition for mysticism: “a direct, personal experience of the divine” is an apt description of her relationship with God. “THIS is a Revelation of Love that Jesus Christ, our endless bliss, made in Sixteen Shewings, or Revelations particular,” (Ch. 1, pg. 1). The book is an example of how to lead a contemplative life. 
As we learned in class, Kabbalah is an esoteric tradition which comes from Hebrew meaning “to receive." In this Jewish mystical tradition, its adherents believe one may experience direct revelation of God.

Cabalists refer to God as the Ayn Sof, which means in Hebrew “Without End” or "Infinite." Being the unknowable creator who is beyond human comprehension, what can be known of God Cabalists call these aspects Sefirot, which Oxtoby in our World Religions textbook explains means literally “numbers,” but is usually translated as “emanations” or “channels” of God’s creative energy and power in which there are ten of. In the Sefer ha-Bahir the author conceives God in terms of a hypostasis union, which are divided into a binary male-female

opposition. 
Looking from the outside-in Kabbalah can potentially be problematic for the People of the Book, even many Jews who deem Cabalists as heretics. For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is monotheistic, the belief in one God. While many in those religions would consider the conception of God as depicted in the Sefer ha-Bahir to be polytheistic, the belief in multiple Gods. The Sefirot is Keter (crown), Hokhmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding), Hesed (Lovingkindness), Gervurah (might), Tiferet (beauty), Hod (splendor), Netzakh (victory), Yesod (foundation), and Malkhut (sovereignty). Each one is interlinked with the other and emanates from the divine which projects into the material realm. While many compare Kabbalah’s notion of God to the likes of Hinduism where there is the Brahman, the Godhead. Cabalists would say that Sefirot is more akin to the Trinity in Christianity, three making up one. 
An extraordinary characteristic of the late medieval mysticism was to the extent what it afforded women. While they were not allowed to participate fully in clerical activities, and were relegated to supporting roles regardless if it were female religious orders or not, “there was no limit to the experiential depth and profundity they could attain in devotion" (Oxtoby 183). Julian of Norwich was an English mystic who when she was 30 experienced a number of visions during a serious illness. After nearly twenty years of reflection, she recounted her visions in Revelations of Divine Love, it had the prestigious distinction off being the first published book in the English language to be written by a woman. In the book, Julian of Norwich describes her desire for fulfillment, spiritual fulfillment that is. She refers to it as “For our natural Will is to have God, and the Good Will of God is to have us; and we may never cease from willing, nor from longing until we have Him in fullness of joy: and then may we no more desire,” (Ch. VI, pg. 14). As the visions are revealed Julian of Norwich depicts striking meanings with the ever-present theme of God’s compassionate love for all God’s creatures, exhibited by the Passion of Jesus Christ. 
What can be problematic in Julian Norwich’s Revelation of Divine Love is when she recalls God’s three "gifts." “THESE Revelations were shewed to a simple creature unlettered, the year of our Lord 1373, the Thirteenth day of May. Which creature [had] afore desired three gifts of God. The First was mind of His Passion; the Second was bodily sickness in youth, at thirty years of age; the Third was to have of God's gift three wounds,” (Ch. II, pg. 3-4). According to this, in order to receive God’s grace, and become under divine influence one has to suffer just like Jesus did, as well as Mary Magdalene, who suffered with him. Julian of Norwich explicitly says: “I desired to suffer with Him,” (Ch. III, pg. 5). This rendering seems to deem a union with God, and the true perception of Him can only come from suffering, or on one’s deathbed. That can be a dangerous prescription to say the least similar to longing for martyrdom. 
There are significances of both the similarities and the differences between the Sefer ha-Bahir and Revelations Of Divine Love. One of the most striking similarities is how much they are seemingly influenced by Gnosticism. Gnosis, meaning knowledge, was a worldview that “Based on radical dualism, which gave priority to reason and spirit over the physical, Gnosticism took Neoplatonic metaphysics at its point of departure for interpreting the relationship between God the Father and Jesus the Son" (Oxtoby 166). Another similarity is the most obvious one, both works are considered to be written by mystics. This belief posits that a union with or absorption into God may be acquired through contemplation and self-surrender. One of the significant differences between the two works is that the Sefer ha-Bahir conceives of God as ten representations that comprise one. Julian of Norwich in Revelations of the Divine wholeheartedly believes in the Trinity: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One wouldn't have to make too much of an argument to conclude that the respective authors may differ on their separate and distinct conception of the divine. Another difference is an obvious and apparent one, the Kabbalic work which is the Sefer ha-Bahir was born of Judaism, where as Julian of Norwich’s Revelation of Divine Love was born of Christianity. 
The comparison of these two texts bolsters the notion that mysticism can be experienced regardless of religious tradition. Confining it to the People of the Book, Judaism has Kabbalah, which is the most well known of Jewish mysticism, Christianity, which has mystic traditions from Eastern Christianity to Protestantism, and Islam has the Sufi’s. Heretical or not, mysticism is here to stay.