Sefer Yetzirah (
The Book of Creation), the earliest extant Hebrew text speculating systematically on the creation and existence of the world, had become an inspirational source for the medieval Jewish thought. Various Jewish philosophers, scientists, and mystics were attracted to its cryptic wording and innovative concepts, especially the
sefirot system and the ontological powers of Hebrew letters, although it never mentioned any names of rabbis nor midrashic interpretations on the Bible. Moses Nahmanides (1194-1270), one of the greatest spiritual leaders in the medieval Catalan Jewish society, actually interpreted several passages of
Sefer Yetzirah in his works.
In
A Wedding Sermon, Nahmanides replaced the term “
sefirot” for “
ma'amarot”, and explained the symbolic roles of Hebrew alphabets. Likewise, in
Torah Commentary, he interpreted symbolically the arrangement of twelve tribes at the tabernacle, and revealed a connection between their flags and the upper world. The fact that such readings of
Sefer Yetzirah were also found in
Sefer ha-Bahir and the commentary of Abraham ben David of Posquières would confirm direct influence from the Kabbalah in Provence for Nahmanides's interpretation of
Sefer Yetzirah.
In his works, the theory of
sefirot system has different roles. In his kabbalistic short commentary on
Sefer Yetzirah, Nahmanides explained its passages on the three upper
sefirot to describe inner process in the Godhead before the creation of the world. This primordial event is not written in the Book of Genesis, and then he also assumes a primordial state of the Written Torah. In
Torah Commentary, however, Nahmanides referred to
Sefer Yetzirah in order to explain
creatio ex nihilo by using the terms of Aristotelian metaphysics. It means that he considered
Sefer Yetzirah as a kind of reliable source for biblical interpretation, although such purpose could not be found in its original author(s). Moreover, in
Torah Commentary, he did not focus on the
sefirot system itself, but its manifestation in this world, namely in the two stone tablets and human body, in order to find a hidden reason of the commandment of ritual hand washing, which creates a power in human religious behavior to connect with the divine world. Through both kabbalistic and philosophical ways of reading, Nahmanides described the
sefirot system not only as divine primordial process but as divine manifestation in this world. In his perspective,
Sefer Yetzirah should be accepted in the framework of the religious concepts and values in rabbinic Judaism.
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