Sepher Yetzirah

«Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth.» — la apertura doctrinal.

«Three mothers, seven doubles and twelve simples.» — la repartición de las 22 letras; las Tres Madres son Aleph↔aire, Mem↔agua, Shin↔fuego (macrocosmos, año y microcosmo).

«These Seven Double Letters point out seven localities; Above, Below, East, West, North, South, and the Palace of Holiness.»

Las siete dobles nombradas (Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Peh, Resh, Tau) y las doce simples (Héh, Vau, Zain, Cheth, Teth, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samech, Oin, Tzaddi, Qoph).

Las 231 Puertas: al combinar cada letra con todas las demás se generan 231 puertas, que originan todo discurso y creación.

El Gran Nombre I H V sella las seis direcciones: «I H V ↔ Altura», «I V H ↔ Profundidad».

«It was Abraham our Father—blessed be he—who wrote this book to condemn the doctrine of the sages of his time» — el verbatim de Moses Botarel.

«The First Path is called the Admirable or the Hidden Intelligence (the Highest Crown).» — la primera de las 32 sendas.

La ecuación 32 = Lamed + Beth: últimas y primeras letras del Pentateuco, simbolizando el corazón del hombre.

Su doctrina central asocia letras hebreas y números: los treinta y dos signos vinculan sonido, número y letra.

«Section 1. In thirty-two (1) mysterious Paths of Wisdom did Jah, (2) the Jehovah of hosts, (3) the God of Israel, (4) the Living Elohim, (5) the King of ages, the merciful and gracious God, (6) the Exalted One, the Dweller in eternity, most high and holy--engrave his name by the three Sepharim (7) -- Numbers, Letters, and Sounds.» — con esto abre el tratado: los treinta y dos caminos misteriosos por los que la divinidad graba su nombre mediante los tres Sepharim, que el texto identifica como números, letras y sonidos.

«2. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth. (9) Twenty-two are the Letters, the Foundation of all things; there are Three Mothers, Seven Double and Twelve (10) Simple letters.» — el enunciado que fija de golpe las dos series del libro: diez Sephiroth inefables y veintidós letras repartidas en tres madres, siete dobles y doce simples.

«The ineffable Sephiroth are Ten, as are the Numbers; and as there are in man five fingers over against five, so over them is established a covenant of strength, by word of mouth, and by the circumcision of the flesh.» — el texto justifica el diez por los cinco dedos frente a cinco y ata a esa cuenta un doble pacto, el de la palabra y el de la circuncisión de la carne.

«Ten is the number of the ineffable Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand this wisdom, and be wise by the perception. Search out concerning it, restore the Word to its creator, and replace Him who formed it upon his throne.» — la insistencia numérica del tratado, dicha como orden y no como argumento: diez y no nueve, diez y no once.

«The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have ten vast regions bound unto them; boundless in origin and having no ending; an abyss (13) of good and of ill; measureless height and depth; boundless to the East and the West; boundless to the North and South; (14) and the Lord the only God, (15) the Faithful King rules all these from his holy seat, (16) for ever and ever.» — a cada Sephirah el texto le ata una región sin origen ni fin, y las despliega en un abismo de bien y de mal, altura y profundidad y los cuatro puntos cardinales.

«The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have the appearance of the Lightning flash, (17) their origin is unseen and no end is perceived. The Word is in them as they rush forth and as they return, they speak as from the whirl-wind, and returning fall prostrate in adoration before the Throne.» — la imagen con que el texto describe el movimiento de los Sephiroth: relámpago cuyo origen no se ve y cuyo fin no se percibe, que corre y regresa a postrarse ante el Trono.

«The Ten ineffable Sephiroth, whose ending is even as their origin, are like as a flame arising from a burning coal. For God (18) is superlative in his Unity, there is none equal unto Him: what number canst thou place before One.» — la segunda imagen, la llama que sale del carbón encendido, sirve al texto para negar que haya número antes del Uno.

«Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth; seal up thy lips lest thou speak of them, and guard thy heart as thou considerest them; and if thy mind escape from thee bring it back to thy control; even as it was said, "running and returning" (the living creatures ran and returned) (19) and hence was the Covenant made.» — el texto ordena silencio sobre los Sephiroth y control de la mente que se escape, y de ese correr y volver hace derivar el Pacto.

«The ineffable Sephiroth give forth the Ten numbers. First; the Spirit of the God of the living; (20) Blessed and more than blessed be the Living God (21) of ages. The Voice, the Spirit, and the Word, (22) these are the Holy Spirit.» — el primer número no es una cosa sino el Espíritu del Dios de los vivientes, y el texto identifica la Voz, el Espíritu y la Palabra con el Espíritu Santo.

«Second; from the Spirit He produced Air, and formed in it twenty-two sounds--the letters; three are mothers, seven are double, and twelve are simple; but the Spirit is first and above these. Third; from the Air He formed the Waters, and from the formless and void (23) made mire and clay, and designed surfaces upon them, and hewed recesses in them, and formed the strong material foundation. Fourth; from the Water He formed Fire (24) and made for Himself a Throne of Glory with Auphanim, Seraphim and Kerubim, (25) as his ministering angels; and with these three (26) he completed his dwelling, as it is written, "Who maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire."» — la cadena de emanación que el tratado enuncia: del Espíritu el Aire con los veintidós sonidos, del Aire las Aguas, del Agua el Fuego y con él un Trono de Gloria con Auphanim, Serafines y Kerubim.

«He selected three letters from among the simple ones and sealed them and formed them into a Great Name, I H V, (28) and with this He sealed the universe in six directions. Fifth; He looked above, and sealed the Height with I H V. Sixth; He looked below, and sealed the Depth with I V H. Seventh; He looked forward, and sealed the East with H I V.» — el Gran Nombre I H V se forma con tres letras simples y con él sella el texto las seis direcciones, empezando por Altura, Profundidad y Este.

«Eighth; He looked backward, and sealed the West with H V I. Ninth; He looked to the right, and sealed the South with V I H. Tenth; He looked to the left, and sealed the North with V H I.» — las tres direcciones restantes cierran la serie con las permutaciones H V I, V I H y V H I.

«12. Behold! From the Ten ineffable Sephiroth do, proceed--the One Spirit of the Gods of the living, Air, Water, Fire; and also Height, Depth, East, West, South and North.» — el recuento con que cierra el capítulo primero: de los diez Sephiroth proceden el Espíritu, Aire, Agua y Fuego más las seis direcciones.

«Section 1. The twenty-two sounds and letters are the Foundation of all things. Three mothers, seven doubles and twelve simples. The Three Mothers are Aleph, Mem and Shin, they are Air, Water and Fire Water is silent, Fire is sibilant, and Air derived from the Spirit is as the tongue of a balance standing between these contraries which are in equilibrium, reconciling and mediating between them.» — las Tres Madres del tratado son Aleph, Mem y Shin, es decir Aire, Agua y Fuego, con el Aire como lengua de balanza entre los contrarios; ésta es la lectura original, distinta de la alquímica que la Golden Dawn le sobrepone.

«2. He hath formed, weighed, and composed with these twenty-two letters every created thing, and the form of everything which shall hereafter be.» — con las veintidós letras el texto hace formar, pesar y componer no solo lo creado sino la forma de todo lo que haya de ser.

«3. These twenty-two sounds or letters are formed by the voice, impressed on the air, and audibly modified in five places; in the throat, in the mouth, by the tongue, through the teeth, and by the lips.» — el tratado ancla las letras en el cuerpo: se forman por la voz y se modifican audiblemente en cinco lugares, garganta, boca, lengua, dientes y labios.

«4. These twenty-two letters, which are the foundation of all things, He arranged as upon a sphere with two hundred and thirty-one gates, and the sphere may be rotated forward or backward, whether for good or for evil; from the good comes true pleasure, from evil nought but torment.» — las veintidós letras van dispuestas sobre una esfera de doscientas treinta y una puertas que gira hacia adelante o hacia atrás, para bien o para mal.

«5. For He shewed the combination of these letters, each with the other; Aleph with all, and all with Aleph; Beth with all, and all with Beth. Thus in combining all together in pairs are produced the two hundred and thirty-one gates of knowledge.» — el procedimiento que produce esas puertas: combinar cada letra con todas las demás, Aleph con todas y todas con Aleph.

«6. And from the non-existent (33) He made Something; and all forms of speech and everything that has been produced; from the empty void He made the material world, and from the inert earth He brought forth everything that hath life. He hewed, as it were, vast columns out of the intangible air, and by the power of His Name made every creature and everything that is; and the production of all things from the twenty-two letters is the proof that they are all but parts of one living body.» — de lo no existente hace algo, y del vacío el mundo material; el texto saca de ahí que todas las cosas son partes de un solo cuerpo vivo.

«Section 1. The Foundation of all the other sounds and letters is provided by the Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin; they resemble a Balance, on the one hand the guilty, on the other hand the purified, and Aleph the Air is like the Tongue of a Balance standing between them.» — las Tres Madres se presentan como balanza entre el culpable y el purificado, con Aleph, el Aire, como lengua del fiel.

«2. The Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin, are a great Mystery, very admirable and most recondite, and sealed as with six rings; and from them proceed Air, Fire, and Water, which divide into active and passive forces. The Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin, are the Foundation, from them spring three Fathers, and from these have proceeded all things that are in the world.» — el texto llama a las Tres Madres misterio sellado con seis anillos y de ellas hace proceder Aire, Fuego y Agua, que se dividen en fuerzas activas y pasivas.

«3. The Three Mothers in the world are Aleph, Mem and Shin: the heavens (36) were produced (37) from Fire; the earth from the Water; and the Air from the Spirit is as a reconciler between the Fire and the Water.» — el reparto elemental en el mundo: los cielos del Fuego, la tierra del Agua y el Aire como reconciliador entre ambos.

«4. The Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin, Fire, Water and Air, are shown in the Year: from the fire came heat, from the waters came cold, and from the air was produced the temperate state, again a mediator between them. The Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin, Fire, Water and Air, are found in Man: from the fire was formed the head; from the water the belly; and from the air was formed the chest, again placed as a mediator between the others.» — el mismo esquema aplicado al Año —calor, frío y estado templado— y al Hombre —cabeza, vientre y pecho—, siempre con un tercero mediador.

«5. These Three Mothers did He produce and design, and combined them; and He sealed them as the three mothers in the Universe, in the Year and in Man--both male and female. He caused the letter Aleph to reign in Air and crowned it, and combining it with the others He sealed it, as Air in the World, as the temperate (climate) of the Year, and as the breath in the chest (the lungs for breathing air) in Man: the male with Aleph, Mem, Shin, the female with Shin, Mem, Aleph. He caused the letter Mem to reign in Water, crowned it, and combining it with the others formed the earth in the world, cold in the year, and the belly in man, male and female, the former with Mem, Aleph, Shin, the latter with Mem, Shin, Aleph. He caused Shin to reign in Fire, and crowned it, and combining it with the others sealed with it the heavens in the universe, heat in the year and the head in man, male and female.» — el texto sella cada Madre en las tres escalas a la vez y hace variar el orden de las tres letras según sea varón o hembra.

«Section 1. The Seven double letters, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Peh, Resh, and Tau have each two sounds associated with them. They are referred to Life, Peace, Wisdom, Riches, Grace, Fertility and Power. The two sounds of each letter are the hard and the soft--the aspirated and the softened. They are called Double, because each letter presents a contrast or permutation; thus Life and Death; Peace and War; Wisdom and Folly; Riches and Poverty; Grace and Indignation; Fertility and Solitude; Power and Servitude.» — las siete dobles se llaman así porque cada una lleva dos sonidos, duro y suave, y con ellos el texto arma siete pares contrarios: vida y muerte, paz y guerra, sabiduría y locura, riqueza y pobreza, gracia e indignación, fertilidad y soledad, poder y servidumbre.

«3. These Seven Double Letters He designed, produced, and combined, and formed with them the Planets of this World, the Days of the Week, and the Gates of the soul (the orifices of perception) in Man. From these Seven He bath produced the Seven Heavens, the Seven Earths, the Seven Sabbaths: for this cause He has loved and blessed the number Seven more than all things under Heaven (His Throne).» — con las siete dobles el texto hace formar los planetas, los días de la semana y las puertas del alma, es decir los orificios de la percepción en el hombre.

«4. Two Letters produce two houses; three form six; four form twenty-four; five form one hundred and twenty; six form seven hundred and twenty; (39) seven form five thousand and forty; and beyond this their numbers increase so that the mouth can hardly utter them, nor the ear hear the number of them. So now, behold the Stars of our World, the Planets which are Seven; the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. The Seven are also the Seven Days of Creation; and the Seven Gateways of the Soul of Man--the two eyes, the two ears, the mouth and the two nostrils. So with the Seven are formed the seven heavens, (41) the seven earths, and the seven periods of time; and so has He preferred the number Seven above all things under His Heaven.» — el texto exhibe el crecimiento factorial de las combinaciones —de dos casas a cinco mil cuarenta— y lo declara ya indecible por la boca.

«1. The Twelve Simple Letters are Héh, Vau, Zain, Cheth, Teth, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samech, Oin, Tzaddi and Qoph; (43) they are the foundations of these twelve properties: Sight, Hearing, Smell, Speech, Taste, Sexual Love, Work, Movement, Anger, Mirth, Imagination, (44) and Sleep. These Twelve are also allotted to the directions in space: North-east, South-east, the East above, the East below, the North above, the North below, the South-west, the Northwest, the West above, the West below, the South above, and the South below; these diverge to infinity, and are as the arms of the Universe.» — las doce simples fundan doce propiedades —vista, oído, olfato, habla, gusto, amor sexual, trabajo, movimiento, cólera, alegría, imaginación y sueño— y se reparten en doce direcciones oblicuas del espacio que el texto llama brazos del universo.

«2. These Twelve Simple Letters He designed, and combined, and formed with them the Twelve celestial constellations of the Zodiac, whose signs are Teth, Shin, Tau, Samech, Aleph, Beth, Mem, Oin, Qoph, Gimel, Daleth, and Daleth. (45) The Twelve are also the Months of the Year: Nisan, (46) Yiar, Sivan, Tamuz, Ab, Elul, Tishri, Hesvan, Kislev, Tebet, Sabat and Adar.» — las doce simples forman también las doce constelaciones del zodiaco y los doce meses del año; los signos van nombrados por letras hebreas, con Daleth repetida al final.

«the two feet, the two kidneys, the spleen, the liver, the gall, private parts, stomach and intestines.» — la tercera serie de doce es corporal: manos, pies, riñones, bazo, hígado, hiel, partes privadas, estómago e intestinos.

«Sepher Yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient» — qabalistic texts — el juicio prudente («perhaps») del traductor.

«The Sepher Yetzirah consists of six chapters, having 33 paragraphs distributed among them.» — la estructura formal.

La datación en guerra: Graetz lo sitúa en tiempos gnósticos (ss. III–IV); Zunz lo considera geónico (700–800); Rubinsohn rechaza a Zunz en la Bibliotheca Sacra; Saadya Gaon aporta testimonios de gran antigüedad; y el propio Westcott usa la comparación con el Book of Enoch para desactivar la atribución patriarcal.

Crítica textual interna del propio aparato: el último párrafo del tratado se considera menos antiguo que el resto y atribuido a otro autor.

Westcott admite que las correspondencias letra↔planeta↔día↔parte del cuerpo no se encuentran en las copias antiguas del Sepher Yetzirah.

La transmisión impresa: tres versiones latinas del British Museum (Postellus, París 1552, con el título «Abrahami Patriarchae Liber Jezirah»; Pistorius; Rittangelius, Ámsterdam 1642).

Las «Fifty Gates of Intelligence» y «The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom» (traducidas del hebreo de Rittangelius, 1642) fueron AÑADIDAS a la edición inglesa por Peter Davidson en 1896 — no son parte del tratado.

El anclaje talmúdico: el Sanhedrin menciona el «Book of Formation» y el comentario de Rashi al Erubin lo considera fiable.

La conferencia de Westcott sobre el Yetzirah la organizó la Hermetic Society of London (1886), presidida por Anna Kingsford — la misma que editó La Virgen del Mundo (`kore-kosmou`).

La Golden Dawn usó la traducción de Westcott como fuente primaria de sus rituales y conferencias.

La Golden Dawn lo recomienda en traducción inglesa y aplica sus Tres Madres — leídas como azufre, mercurio y sal — en los capiteles de los pilares del templo.

«It was first put into writing around 200 C.E. Westcott's Translation of the Sepher Yetzirah was a primary source for the rituals and Knowledge Lectures of the Golden Dawn.» — la nota de encabezado no es de Westcott sino del reimpreso moderno: fecha la puesta por escrito hacia el año 200 y declara que la Golden Dawn tomó esta traducción como fuente de sus rituales y conferencias de conocimiento.

«This is the Third Edition of Westcott’s translation, first published in 1887.» — la misma nota del reimpreso sitúa el ejemplar: tercera edición de una traducción publicada por primera vez en 1887.

«The "Sepher Yetzirah," or "Book of Formation," is perhaps the oldest Rabbinical treatise of Kabalistic philosophy which is still extant.» — Westcott abre midiendo la antigüedad con su límite dentro (*perhaps*): el tratado rabínico más viejo de los que siguen existiendo, no el más viejo sin más.

«The great interest which has been evinced of late years in the Hebrew Kabalah, and the modes of thought and doctrine allied to it, has induced me to translate this tractate from the original Hebrew texts, and to collate with them the Latin versions of mediaeval authorities; and I have also published An Introduction to the Kabalah which may be found useful to students.» — Westcott declara el método de su edición: traduce de los textos hebreos originales y los coteja con las versiones latinas de las autoridades medievales.

«Three important books of the "Zohar," or "Book of Splendour," which is a great storehouse of Kabalistic teaching, have been translated into English by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, and the "Sepher Yetzirah" in an English translation is almost a necessary companion to these abstruse disquisitions: the two books indeed mutually explain each other.» — Westcott empareja su tratado con los tres libros del Zohar que tradujo Mathers y sostiene que los dos se explican mutuamente.

«The "Sepher Yetzirah," although this name means "The Book of Formation," is not in any sense a narrative of Creation, or a substitute Genesis, but is an ancient and instructive philosophical treatise upon one aspect of the origin of the universe and mankind; an aspect at once archaic and essentially Hebrew. The grouping of the processes of origin into an arrangement, at once alphabetic and numeral, is one only to be found in Semitic authors.» — Westcott niega que el libro sea una narración de la creación o un Génesis sustituto, y atribuye solo a autores semitas el agrupar los procesos del origen en un orden a la vez alfabético y numérico.

«Attention must be called to the essential peculiarity of the Hebrew language, the inextricable and necessary association of numbers and letters; every letter suggesting a number, and every group of letters having a numerical signification, as vital as its literal meaning.» — Westcott apoya la doctrina en un rasgo de la lengua hebrea: cada letra sugiere un número y cada grupo de letras tiene significación numérica tan viva como la literal.

«The "Sepher Yetzirah," on the other hand, is mainly concerned with our universe and with the Microcosm.» — Westcott reparte los dos libros: el Zohar se ocupa de las dignidades de la divinidad y de sus emanaciones; el Yetzirah, de nuestro universo y del microcosmos.

«At least, this was the opinion of Rabbi Saadiah--blessed be he--as written in the first chapter of his book The Philosopher's Stone. These are his words: The sages of Babylon attacked Abraham on account of his faith; for they were all against him although themselves separable into three sects.» — Moses Botarel no habla por sí mismo: remite la atribución abrahámica a Saadiah y de ahí saca el marco polémico de las tres sectas de Babilonia.

«The First thought that the Universe was subject to the control of two opposing forces, the one existing but to destroy the other, this is dualism; they held that there was nothing in common between the author of evil and the author of good.» — la primera de esas sectas según el relato de Botarel: el dualismo, que no admite nada en común entre el autor del mal y el del bien.

«The Second sect admitted Three great Powers; two of them as in the first case, and a third Power whose function was to decide between the two others, a supreme arbitrator. The Third sect recognised no god beside the Sun, in which it recognised the sole principle of existence."» — las otras dos sectas: la que añade a las dos fuerzas un árbitro supremo y la que no reconoce más dios que el Sol.

«Rabbi Judah Ha Lévi (who flourished about 1120), in his critical description of this treatise, wrote: "The Sepher Yetzirah teaches us the existence of a Single Divine Power by shewing us that in the bosom of variety and multiplicity there is a Unity and Harmony, and that such universal concord could only arise from the rule of a Supreme Unity."» — Westcott cita a Judah Ha Lévi, hacia 1120: el tratado prueba un Poder Divino único mostrando que en el seno de la variedad y la multiplicidad hay unidad y armonía.

«According to Isaac Myer, in his Quabbalah (p. 159), the "Sepher Yetzirah" was referred to in the writings of Ibn Gebirol of Cordova, commonly called Avicebron, who died in A.D. 1070.» — Westcott apoya la antigüedad en un testimonio indirecto que toma de Isaac Myer: la obra ya se cita en Ibn Gebirol, muerto en 1070.

«The Zohar is a Genesis of illumination, the Sepher Jezirah is a ladder formed of truths. Therein are explained the thirty-two absolute signs of sounds, numbers and letters: each letter reproduces a number, an idea and a form; so that mathematics are capable of application to ideas and to forms not less rigorously than to numbers, by exact proportion and perfect correspondence.» — Eliphas Levi, en su *Histoire de la Magie*, lee el tratado como escalera hecha de verdades y le atribuye los treinta y dos signos absolutos de sonidos, números y letras.

«The Sepher Jezirah and the Apocalypse are the masterpieces of Occultism; they contain more wisdom than words; their expression is as figurative as poetry, and at the same time it is as exact as mathematics.» — el mismo Levi lo empareja con el Apocalipsis y le atribuye a la vez expresión figurada como la poesía y exactitud de matemáticas.

«The Book of Formation contains, I will not say system of physics, but of cosmology such as could be conceived at an age and in a country where the habit of explaining all phenomena by the immediate action of the First Cause, tended to check the spirit of observation, and where in consequence certain general and superficial relations perceived in the natural world passed for the science of Nature.» — Adolphe Franck, en *La Kabbale*, lo describe como cosmología de una época en que explicar todo por la acción inmediata de la Causa Primera frenaba el espíritu de observación.

«Its form is simple and grave; there is nothing like a demonstration nor an argument; but it consists rather of a series of aphorisms, regularly grouped, and which have all the conciseness of the most ancient oracles."» — Franck describe la forma del libro: ni demostración ni argumento, sino una serie de aforismos con la concisión de los oráculos más antiguos.

«The Book of Formation, even if it be not very voluminous, and if it do not altogether raise us to very elevated regions of thought, yet offers us at least a composition which is very homogeneous and of a rare originality.» — Franck acota su elogio en la misma frase en que lo hace: el libro no eleva a regiones muy altas del pensamiento, pero su composición es homogénea y de rara originalidad.

«imagination of commentators have gathered around it, will be dissipated, if we look for, in it, not mysteries of ineffable wisdom, but an attempt at a reasonable doctrine, made when reason arose, an effort to grasp the plan of the universe, and to secure the link which binds to one common principle, all the elements which are around us."» — Franck propone leerlo como intento de doctrina razonable y no como misterios de sabiduría inefable, y con eso disipa lo que la imaginación de los comentaristas acumuló encima.

«The last word of this system is the substitution of the absolute divine Unity for every idea of Dualism, for that pagan philosophy which saw in matter an eternal substance whose laws were not in accord with Divine Will; and for the Biblical doctrine, which by its idea of Creation, postulates two things, the Universe and God, as two substances absolutely distinct one from the other.» — Franck resume la apuesta del tratado: sustituir toda idea de dualismo por la Unidad divina absoluta, contra la filosofía pagana y contra la doctrina bíblica que postula dos sustancias distintas.

«In fact, in the 'Sepher Yetzirah,' God considered as the Infinite and consequently the indefinable Being, extended throughout all things by his power and existence, is while above, yet not outside of numbers, sounds and letters--the principles and general laws which we recognise."» — Franck fija el lugar de Dios respecto de números, sonidos y letras: por encima de ellos y aun así no fuera de ellos.

«Yet He is not only that form; for nothing can or does exist outside of Himself; His substance is the foundation of all, and all things bear His imprint and are symbols of His intelligence."» — Franck cierra su lectura: nada existe fuera de Dios, su sustancia es el fundamento de todo y las cosas llevan su impronta como símbolos de su inteligencia.

«Hebrew tradition assigns the doctrines of the oldest portions of the "Zohar" to a date antecedent to the building of the Second Temple, but Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai, who lived in the reign of the Emperor Titus, A.D. 70-80, is considered to have been the first to commit these to writing, and Rabbi Moses de Leon, of Guadalaxara, in Spain, who died in 1305, certainly reproduced and published the "Zohar."» — Westcott data el Zohar aparte del Yetzirah: doctrinas anteriores a la construcción del Segundo Templo, puestas por escrito por Simeón ben Jochai y publicadas por Moisés de León, muerto en 1305.

«Ginsburg, speaking of the Zoharic doctrines of the Ain Suph, says that they were unknown until the thirteenth century, but he does not deny the great antiquity of the "Sepher Yetzirah," in which it will be noticed the "Ain Suph Aur" and "Ain Suph" are not mentioned.» — Westcott registra que Ginsburg fecha el Ain Suph zohárico en el siglo XIII sin negar por ello la antigüedad del Yetzirah, donde esos dos términos no aparecen.

«I suggest, however, that this omission is no proof that the doctrines of "Ain Suph Aur" and "Ain Suph" did not then exist, because it is a reasonable supposition that the "Sepher Yetzirah" was the volume assigned to the Yetziratic World, the third of the four Kabalistic Worlds of Emanation, while the "Asch Metzareph" is concerned with the Assiatic, fourth, or lowest World of Shells, and is on the face of it an alchemical treatise; and again the "Siphra Dtzenioutha" may be fittingly considered to be an Aziluthic work, treating of the Emanations of Deity alone; and there was doubtless a fourth work assigned to the World of Briah- -the second type, but I have not been able to identify this treatise.» — la hipótesis propia de Westcott, marcada como suya: reparte cuatro tratados entre los cuatro mundos cabalísticos —el Yetzirah al de Yetzirah, el *Asch Metzareph* al de Asiah, el *Siphra Dtzenioutha* al de Atziluth— y admite no haber identificado el de Briah.

«Both the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmuds refer to the "Sepher Yetzirah." Their treatise, named "Sanhedrin," certainly mentions the "Book of Formation," and another similar work; and Rashi in his commentary on the treatise "Erubin," considers this a reliable historical notice.» — Westcott ancla la obra en el Talmud: el tratado Sanhedrin menciona el *Book of Formation* y Rashi, comentando el Erubin, lo tiene por noticia histórica fiable.

«Other historical notices are those of Saadya Gaon, who died A.D. 940, and Judah Ha Levi, A.D. 1150; both these Hebrew classics speak of it as a very ancient work.» — Westcott suma dos testimonios más que lo tienen por obra muy antigua: Saadya Gaon, muerto en 940, y Judah Ha Levi, hacia 1150.

«Some modern critics have attributed the authorship to the Rabbi Akiba, who lived in the time of the Emperor Hadrian, A.D. 120, and lost his life in supporting the claims of Barchocheba, a false messiah: others suggest it was first written about A.D. 200.» — la atribución moderna que el frontmatter de esta ficha consigna como probable: el rabí Akiba, muerto bajo Adriano por sostener a Barchocheba; otros críticos llevan la redacción hacia el año 200.

«Graetz however assigns it to early Gnostic times, third or fourth century, and Zunz speaks of it as post Talmudical, and belonging to the Geonim period 700-800 A.D.; Rubinsohn, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, speaks of this latter idea as having no real basis.» — las tres dataciones enfrentadas, consignadas sin armonizar: Graetz en tiempos gnósticos de los siglos III o IV, Zunz en el periodo geónico de 700 a 800 y Rubinsohn negando fundamento a esta última.