christian@topaz.UUCP (12/18/86)
I am getting a tremendous amount of feedback from the Christian sector.
I am trying to address as much of it as possible. Since my responses
are fundemental Jewish concepts, I thought I would post them to the
Jewish news groups also. This might seem like pretty strange stuff at
first, but it can all be found in our holy books.
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I was surprised, to say the least, to see you say that the three "faces"
correspond to the father, son, and holy spirit. Is this terminology
used within Judaism very much? I assume you realize the connection with
Christian Trinitarian terminology. I had assumed that there were no
connection between that and Jewish thought, since the Trinity looks like
it comes primarily from applying neo-Platonic philosphical categories
to theological questions that appear to be essentially Christian. If
there is Jewish tradition here, it would be very interesting indeed. (I
realize that the NT is quite thoroughly based on Jewish ideas, but it
is generally claimed that the Trinity is a horse of a quite different
color.)
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According to the kabbalah, there are five Pa-R-TZ-OO-PH-Y-M - faces.
They are:
1) A-R-Y-KH A-N-P-Y-N - the big face, the grandfather, connected to the
first sphere Ke-Te-R, the crown;
2) A-B-A - the father, connected to the second sphere CHa-K-Ma-H,
wisdom;
3) I-M-A - the mother, connected to the third sphere B-Y-Na-H,
understanding;
4) Z-AH-Y-R A-N-P-Y-N - the small face, the son, connected to the
fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eight and ninth spheres Che-Ce-D,
lovingkindness; G-B-OO-Ra-H, severity (not serenity!); THi-PH-E-Re-TH,
beauty; Ne-TZ-aCH, victory; H-OO-D, glory; Y-C-OO-D, foundation;
5) N-OO-Q-Ba-H D-Z-AH-Y-R A-N-P-Y-N, the wife of the small face, the
daughter, daughter-in-law, connected to the tenth and last sphere
Ma-L-K-OO-TH, kingdom.
These five faces are "boxes". Every person, word, and concept of the
Torah belongs in one of these faces - "boxes". The concept of the holy
spirit belongs to face 5. This is hinted at in the Book of Esther where
it says (Esther 5:1) "then Esther put on (clothes of kingdom)." The Rabbis
(see Rashi there) say that this refers to the holy spirit. Esther was
clothed by the holy spirit. Since we know that face 5 is connected to
kingdom, it follows that face #5 = the holy spirit. So that the father,
the son, and the holy spirit are faces 2, 4 and 5 respectively. The
idea is that the 5 faces come together in different permutations. One
permutation is 2, 4, 5. In connection to an AAC (Aquarian Age
Chassidus) article, it's really the first face, the grandfather, who is
"the big face." Still, this face is so hidden that somethimes the
father is used instead. These five faces are explained at length in the
writings of the holy Ari of Safed (Rabbi Isaac Luria, died 1572). Their
source is the Zohar - the Book of Splendor. Faces 1, 4 and 5 are
discussed in "The Great Assembly" (Vol. II, pg 127b-145b). Faces 2 and
3 are discussed in "The Lesser Assembly (ibid., pg 287b-296b). An
English translation of "The Great Assembly" is to be found in "The
Wisdom of the Kabbalah", by Dagobert D. Runes, Citadel Press. I assume
both "Assemblies" are to be found in "The Kabbalah Unveiled" translated
by S.L. MacGregor-Mathers. See also the very intelligent essay of M.
Simon found in the appendix to Vol. V of the Soncino translation of the
Zohar.
Shimon