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Study track · Foundations of Kabbalah

The ten Sefirot

Kabbalah describes how the infinite Hashem relates to a finite world through ten “sefirot” — channels or attributes. The Tanya teaches that your own soul is built the same way.

If Hashem is beyond all description, how can we speak of His attributes at all?
RIGHT · GIVINGLEFT · LIMITSKeterCROWNChochmahWISDOMBinahUNDERSTANDINGDa’atKNOWLEDGEChesedKINDNESSGevurahSTRENGTHTiferetBEAUTYNetzachVICTORYHodSPLENDORYesodFOUNDATIONMalchutKINGSHIP

Right column: giving · Left column: restraint · Center: balance. Da’at (dashed) is counted when Keter is not.

The ten, top to bottom
KeterCrownWill and delight — above the conscious mind
ChochmahWisdomThe first flash of insight
BinahUnderstandingDeveloping the insight in depth
Da’atKnowledgeBinding the mind to what it knows (counted when Keter is not)
ChesedKindnessGiving, love, expansion — Avraham
GevurahStrengthDiscipline, limits, awe — Yitzchak
TiferetBeautyHarmony and compassion — Yaakov
NetzachVictoryPerseverance, initiative — Moshe
HodSplendorAcknowledgment, humility — Aharon
YesodFoundationConnection and bonding — Yosef
MalchutKingshipExpression in the world — David
Where it comes from

The sources, clearly labeled.

Sefer Yetzirah 1:2Direct Source

“Ten sefirot of nothingness” (belimah) — the earliest text to speak of ten sefirot.

I Divrei HaYamim 29:11Direct Source + Later Tradition

“Yours, Hashem, are the greatness, the strength, the beauty, the victory and the splendor; for all in heaven and on earth; Yours is the kingdom.” Kabbalah reads these words as the seven lower sefirot.

Arizal (Lurianic Kabbalah)Later Tradition

The pairing of the seven lower sefirot with Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and David — the Ushpizin of Sukkot — is a Lurianic tradition.

Tanya, chapter 3Direct Source

The Divine soul has ten powers corresponding to the ten sefirot: three of the intellect (Chochmah, Binah, Da’at — “ChaBaD”) and seven emotions.

Why it matters · Our Synthesis

You are a map of the Sefirot

Tanya chapter 3 teaches that the Divine soul has the same ten powers. Learning the Sefirot is learning yourself: when you give (Chesed), set a boundary (Gevurah), or find the balance between them (Tiferet), you are living the structure of creation.

Carry this with you

Which of the seven emotions leads you — and which one needs strengthening?

Start Tanya chapters 1–2Back to the Beit Midrash
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