- Note: The Hebrew
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
word "chesed" חסד is also the root word upon which the name HasidismHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
is based.
Chesed ("Kindness"; חסד) is the fourth Sephirah on the
tree of lifeThe Tree of Life, or Etz haChayim in Dookhanemsheck, is a mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah of esoteric Judaism to describe the path to HaShem and the manner in which He created the world ex nihilo...
in the
KabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
of
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
. It is given the association of
kindnessKindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behaviour, marked by mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others...
and
loveLove is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction...
, and is the first of the emotive attributes of the Sephirot.
It sits below
ChokhmahChokhmah in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the uppermost of the Sephirot of the right line . It is derived from the Hebrew word chokhmah which means "wisdom". It is to the bottom right of Keter, and with Binah across it. Under it are the sephirot of Chesed and Netzach...
, across from
GevurahGevurah , Gebrah or Geburah and Din in the Kabbalah of Judaism is the fifth of the Sephirot of the tree of life, and it is the second of the emotive attributes of the Sephirot. It sits below Binah, across from Chesed, and above Hod...
and above
NetzachNetzach is the seventh Sephirot in the Kabbalah, located beneath Chesed, at the base of the "Pillar of Mercy". Netzach is "Perpetualty", "Victory".-Jewish Kabbalah:...
. It is usually given four paths.
- Note: The Hebrew
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
word "chesed" חסד is also the root word upon which the name HasidismHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
is based.
Chesed ("Kindness"; חסד) is the fourth Sephirah on the
tree of lifeThe Tree of Life, or Etz haChayim in Dookhanemsheck, is a mystical symbol used in the Kabbalah of esoteric Judaism to describe the path to HaShem and the manner in which He created the world ex nihilo...
in the
KabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
of
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
. It is given the association of
kindnessKindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behaviour, marked by mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others...
and
loveLove is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction...
, and is the first of the emotive attributes of the Sephirot.
Position
It sits below
ChokhmahChokhmah in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the uppermost of the Sephirot of the right line . It is derived from the Hebrew word chokhmah which means "wisdom". It is to the bottom right of Keter, and with Binah across it. Under it are the sephirot of Chesed and Netzach...
, across from
GevurahGevurah , Gebrah or Geburah and Din in the Kabbalah of Judaism is the fifth of the Sephirot of the tree of life, and it is the second of the emotive attributes of the Sephirot. It sits below Binah, across from Chesed, and above Hod...
and above
NetzachNetzach is the seventh Sephirot in the Kabbalah, located beneath Chesed, at the base of the "Pillar of Mercy". Netzach is "Perpetualty", "Victory".-Jewish Kabbalah:...
. It is usually given four paths. To Chokhmah, Gevurah,
TipherethTiferet or Tifaret, Tifereth, Tyfereth, Tiphereth - also known as Rakhamim or Shalom - is the sixth sefira in the Tree of Life in Kabbalah, which is the spirituality of Rabbinic Judaism...
, and
NetzachNetzach is the seventh Sephirot in the Kabbalah, located beneath Chesed, at the base of the "Pillar of Mercy". Netzach is "Perpetualty", "Victory".-Jewish Kabbalah:...
(some Kabbalists place a path from Chesed to
BinahBinah, , in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the second intellectual Sephirah on the tree of life. It sits on the level below Keter , across from Chokmah and directly above Gevurah...
as well.)
Attributes
The first three of the Ten Sephirot, are the attributes of the "intellect," while Chesed is the first sephira of the attribute of "action."
Chesed translated as "kindness" is often thought of as being synonymous with niceness, but the connotation of Chesed is much deeper. Chesed can be properly described as an act that has no "cause."
Chesed is proactive – it is the initiator of interaction, and must therefore be the first in the sephirot of action. Chesed deals with the level of the visible, and in the chain of social dynamics is the primary spark that initiates subsequent action.
Chesed is also known as Gedulah (גדולה).
Translations
"
Loving-kindnessLoving-kindness is a term coined by Myles Coverdale for his Coverdale Bible of 1535, as an English translation of the Hebrew word hesed ; in that text it is spelled "louinge kyndnesse". It is also used in this sense in the American Standard Version and various other versions of the Bible...
" is sometimes used as an English translation of chesed (or, hesed), originating with the
Coverdale BibleThe Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale and published in 1535, was the first complete Modern English translation of the Bible , and the first complete printed translation into English . The later editions published in 1539 were the first complete Bibles printed in England...
of 1535.
See also
- Loving-kindness
Loving-kindness is a term coined by Myles Coverdale for his Coverdale Bible of 1535, as an English translation of the Hebrew word hesed ; in that text it is spelled "louinge kyndnesse". It is also used in this sense in the American Standard Version and various other versions of the Bible...
- Agape
Agape is one of several Greek words translated into English as love. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love...
Greek word, given the association of "loving-kindness" or "love"
- Mettā
Mettā or maitrī has been translated as "loving-kindness," "friendliness," "benevolence," "amity," "friendship," "good will," "kindness," "love," "sympathy," and "active interest in others." It is one of the ten pāramitās of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four Brahmavihāras...
Sanskrit word, given the association of "loving-kindness" and "friendliness"
Jewish
- Bahir, translated by Aryeh Kaplan
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan was a noted American Orthodox rabbi and author with a background in both physics and Judaism. He was lauded as an original thinker and prolific writer, from studies of the Torah, Talmud and Kabbalah to introductory pamphlets on Jewish beliefs and philosophy aimed at...
(1995). Aronson. (ISBN 1-56821-383-2)
- Lessons in Tanya
- Kabbalah 101: Chesed
Non-Jewish
- 777 and other Qabalistic writings
777 and other Qabalistic writings of Aleister Crowley is a collection of papers written by Aleister Crowley. It was edited and introduced by Dr...
, Aleister CrowleyAleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, was an English occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, yogi, and possibly a spy...
(1955). Red Wheel/Weiser. (ISBN 0-87728-670-1)
- The Mystical Kabbalah, Dion Fortune
Violet Mary Firth Evans, born Violet Mary Firth and better known as Dion Fortune, was a British occultist and author...
(1935). Weiser Books. (ISBN 1-57863-150-5
- The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah, Samael Aun Weor
Samael Aun Weor , born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, was a spiritual leader, author and lecturer whose roots may be considered somewhat close to occultism and esotericism. In 1956, he established himself in Mexico where he founded the 'Universal Christian Gnostic Movement'...
(1978]. Glorian Publishing. (ISBN 978-1-934206-05-8)
External links