Man shall not live by bread alone…

In another thread the Kabbalah was mentioned and as I went through some old notes I came across some earlier research that I figured deserved a thread of its own. Here you go:

After being tempted by the devil to turn rocks into bread during a fasting spree in the wilderness, Jesus turned and replied to the devil:

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Now, there is a tree, that grows certain fruits. It's a rather special tree, and it goes by the Hebrew name of עץ החיים "Etz haChayim" -- "The Tree of Life", and you find it at the heart of Kabbalah. To construct this 'tree of life' is a simple, but can be quite a meditative process, and give food for thought, for every aspect or element serves profound insight into the mysteries at the heart of Judaism.

First you draw a straight vertical line. Then draw four circles from bottom up with distance r or where the former circle cross the line. Four circles and a line representing the five classical elements, Ignis, Aer, Terra, Aqua and Aether. These circles intersect further, revealing the fruits of the Tree, the 10 Sephirot (or 11 if you count the uber-mystical "Daath" sephira) and with the straightedge you connect them with 22 lines or branches if you like. Se pic below:



There is about forty million things (and one) to say about this tree. How the ten sephirot represent the ten numbers between 1 and 10 (or 0 and 9 if you dig). Or that they represent the ten dimensions or anything that comes in tens. How the 22 branches represent the 22 Hebrew letters, and how put together these elements reveals the 32 paths to wisdom.

First things first: Each sephira has a name, and is numbered from 1-10 according to the illustration below. I have also included the 11th sephira which sums up all the others, Daath:



Looking at the Hebrew word "sephirot" or ספירות, it is plural and as far as I can see feminine noun and it means "utterances" or "tellings". This made me think, for where do we find ten divine utterances? Well, obviously there are the ten commandments, but isn't there something else, perhaps something even more profound to be found in the Bible where God gives ten (or eleven) utterances, that may serve as hidden manna, or the "divine food" Jesus spoke of to the devil?

Well, yes, indeed there is: In the first chapter of the Bible the word ויאמר or "Va-yomer" which means "said" is a form of the root verb אמר "Amar" -- to "utter" or "say", the va- prefix (first letter ו from right to left) turns יאמר "yomer" (which is future tense of אמר) into to past tense (+3.pers. sing. masc. verb) ויאמר. This word is used a total of 11 times in Genesis 1. And ten [1]-[10] of them are in the above construct, past tense 3 pers. sing. masc. verb. In addition there is the infinitive construct of the same root לאמר or "Lamor" in verse 22 filling the gap left by [11] Belief. I think I may have found something here. The ten (or eleven) utterances of God seem to correspond conceptually and thematically to the names of the ten (or eleven) sephirot:

Genesis verses:
[1] 1:3 "Crown" -- “Let there be light”
[2] 1:6 "Wisdom" -- “Let there be an expanse”
[3] 1:9 "Understanding" -- “Let the dry land appear”
[4] 1:11 "Kindness" -- “Let the earth sprout vegetation”
[5] 1:14 "Authority" -- “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens”
[6] 1:20 "Worship" -- “Let the waters [and the sky] swarm with [life]”
[11] 1:22 "Belief" -- “Be fruitful and multiply”
[7] 1:24 "Victory" -- “Let the earth bring forth living creatures”
[8] 1:26 "Majesty" -- “Let us make man in our image”
[9] 1:28 "Foundation" -- “Be fruitful and multiply”
[10] 1:29 "Kingdom" -- “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed”

In a way this serves to show the same concept displayed in the Tree of Life, with ten regular verses corresponding to the ten regular sephirot and one special verse corresponding to the eleventh sephira Daath. Question remains then, should verse 1:22 replace 1:24, and what with the following ones? would they automatically move one place up or down? The alternate arrangement of these verses is then:

[1] 1:3 "Crown" -- “Let there be light”
[2] 1:6 "Wisdom" -- “Let there be an expanse”
[3] 1:9 "Understanding" -- “Let the dry land appear”
[4] 1:11 "Kindness" -- “Let the earth sprout vegetation”
[5] 1:14 "Authority" -- “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens”
[6] 1:20 "Worship" -- “Let the waters [and the sky] swarm with [life]”
[7] 1:22 "Victory" -- “Be fruitful and multiply”
[8] 1:24 "Majesty" -- “Let the earth bring forth living creatures”
[9] 1:26 "Foundation" -- “Let us make man in our image”
[10] 1:28 "Kingdom" -- “Be fruitful and multiply”
[11] 1:29 "Belief" -- “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed”

Now does anyone have anything to add to this? I am not too familiar with Kabbalah, and have just about scratched the surface of the immense library on the subject. I have a few of the smaller books, like the Bahir and Sefer Yetzira and a book called 'The Essential Kabbalah' by Daniel C. Matt (ISBN 978-0-06-51163-8) that I've found to be rather spot on and quite useful. But to say I am into Kabbalah, well, that's a long shot. I do find it intriguing and interesting though, and have an open mind towards it, but the field is so vast and endless that I hardly know where to start. So I thought I'd try and start off here, with the Tree of Life, numbers and letters. Enjoy!

I found these vids (by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD.) informing in the study of *the entirety* of this topic (the language of branches). It is such an interesting topics with varied interpretations it would take a lifetime (and then some) to learn about the theories, not to mention achieving actually being able to 'see the light'.

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Why the need for complicating things? It need only be simple.

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Why the need for complicating things? It need only be simple.

Well, understanding the philosophical and esoteric process involved with Kabbalah, and experience the illumination of learning a new profound language and dig into the mysteries of the mathematics involved could be less complicated I suppose, but given the subject at hand, which is Kabbalah and Hebrew language and mystery, well, it can hardly be complicated enough it seems. I could naturally simply have shown you the Tree and leave it with that, but that wouldn't be fair and would hardly serve any sensible purpose at all, would it?

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Ahhh I see



Because you are having fun!

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Ahhh I see

Because you are having fun!

Aye! lol



Great fun actually

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Jews do not have understanding of Jesus, so they would not understand that verse.

What the verse means is that the soul lives by sight [of words]. Words are the fruits or bodies of awareness just as my words here are the body of my awareness which I am giving to you - the words are sensation. Without something to sense or (the will/spirit) to (manifest/breathe) them, the (soul/awareness) (sleeps/is dead).

As for humans, to make fruit is to (produce/will) (images/bodies) worthy of God. Malachi 2:15, Colossians 1:10

What's happening is God is reproducing his awareness byway of Jesus so we can produce good fruits with him and for him. It is something like teaching us to use his will, well.

originally posted by: Bleeeeep
a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Jews do not have understanding of Jesus, so they would not understand that verse.

There are quite a few Jews who are also Christians in the world. Biases such as that one, will only lead you astray to miss what this whole Jesus thing is all really about.

What the verse means is that the soul lives by sight [of words].

Like much of what Jesus spoke about this verse is a reference to the Torah, specifically:
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. [ESV] Deuteronomy 8:3

This is a further reference to Exodus 16 and the sweet and crispy "bread crumbs from heaven" that the Israelites ate in the wilderness or "Manna" as in Strong's H4478 מן (lit. 'Man'). -- Of which the BDB Hebrew lexicon says, that Manna was...

...known to Bedouin in Sinai Peninsula; a juice exuding in heavy drops from twigs (some say also the leaves) of ˆarfa (ˆªrfa) tree (tamarix gallica mannifera) in West Sinai Peninsula, end of May and in June, sweet, sticky, honey-like

Source: biblehub.com...


In Exodus 16 manna is likened with coriander seeds. Something like sweet chili nuts perhaps.

Anyway, Manna is also used to mean "hidden knowledge".

Words are the fruits or bodies of awareness just as my words here are the body of my awareness which I am giving to you - the words are sensation. Without something to sense or (the will/spirit) to (manifest/breathe) them, the (soul/awareness) (sleeps/is dead).

As for humans, to make fruit is to (produce/will) (images/bodies) worthy of God. Malachi 2:15, Colossians 1:10

What's happening is God is reproducing his awareness byway of Jesus so we can produce good fruits with him and for him. It is something like teaching us to use his will, well.

Not sure I follow you?

originally posted by: Utnapisjtim
There are quite a few Jews who are also Christians in the world.

I was speaking of Jews by faith, not by race. Unless you mean to tell me that there are people who practice both faiths, faithfully? If you know Jesus you pretty much have to accept that he is Christ, and to be a Christian you have to follow Christ?

Not sure I follow you?

Indeed. You're overlooking something very simple. Try to see that all bodies are the body of an awareness. See that a tree looks as a tree does based on its awareness of the will/spirit that it invokes/produces. See that similar looking animals share the same awareness of spirits/will and that is why they look similar, etc. Then read the bible again and take notice each time you see Word, light, body, fruit, etc.

originally posted by: Bleeeeep

originally posted by: Utnapisjtim
There are quite a few Jews who are also Christians in the world.

I was speaking of Jews by faith, not by race. Unless you mean to tell me that there are people who practice both faiths, faithfully? If you know Jesus you pretty much have to accept that he is Christ, and to be a Christian you have to follow Christ?

en.wikipedia.org...

Jewish Christians, also Judeo-Christians, were the original members of the Jewish movement that later became Christianity.[1] In the earliest stage the community was made up of all those Jews who accepted Jesus as a venerable person or even the messiah, and was thus equivalent to all Christians.[1] As Christianity grew and evolved, Jewish Christians became only one strand of the early Christian community, characterised by combining the confession of Jesus as Christ with continued adherence to Jewish practices such as Sabbath observance and observance of the Jewish calendar, observance of Jewish laws and customs, circumcision, and synagogue attendance, and a direct genetic relationship to the earliest Jewish Christianity.[1]

As you see, all the original disciples of Jesus and the first followers of Jesus making up the first congregations were Judeo-Christians. In fact, Jesus instructs his disciples not to approach the gentiles, but seek up the lost sheep of Israel instead:

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ [ESV] Matthew 10:5-7

Not sure I follow you?

Indeed. You're overlooking something very simple. Try to see that all bodies are the body of an awareness. See that a tree looks as a tree does based on its awareness of the will/spirit that it invokes/produces.

Aye to all that, but...

See that similar looking animals share the same awareness of spirits/will and that is why they look similar, etc. Then read the bible again and take notice each time you see Word, light, body, fruit, etc.

...you've lost me again. I try to see ALL the words as I read this stuff, and mostly even checking up with the Hebrew and Greek texts and analyse morphology and syntax, looking up words and establishing lexical definitions of roots and their given etymology.... Am I missing something here? What makes certain words stand out and be more important than others? -- And why on Earth would "similar looking animals share the same awareness of spirits/will" [sic.] ?

In reference to: Utnapisjtim

For a description of the species mentioned in BDB (Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon) with ref. to "tamarix gallica mannifera", see page 170 in Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838, Volume 1 (Google Books) by Edward Robinson
Crocker and Brewster, 1841:

In accordance with a former promise the old man likewise put into our hands a small quantity of the manna of the peninsula famous at least as being the successor of the Israelitish manna though not to be regarded as the same substance According to his account it is not produced every year sometimes only after five or six years and the quantity in general has greatly diminished It is found in the form of shining drops on the twigs and branches not upon the leaves of the Turfa Tamarix Gallica mannifera of Ehrenberg from which it exudes in consequence of the puncture of an insect of the coccus kind Coccus manniparus of the same naturalist 1 What falls upon the sand is said not to be gathered It has the appearance of gum is of a sweetish taste and melts when exposed to the sun or to a fire

After reading about this manna and this Turfa- or 'Tamarix Gallica Mannifera' plant, it looks like God was feeding Israel marshmallows for forty years

a reply to: dianashay

I found these vids (by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD.) informing in the study of *the entirety* of this topic (the language of branches). It is such an interesting topics with varied interpretations it would take a lifetime (and then some) to learn about the theories, not to mention achieving actually being able to 'see the light'. Text

Thank you dianashay
That was very enlightening and so interesting. The Rav Laitman is so clear and such a great teacher. I will probably watch this again and again. Will do a search and try to find his other teachings. Thanks again for a good post.

Utnapisjtim

But to say I am into Kabbalah, well, that's a long shot. I do find it intriguing and interesting though, and have an open mind towards it, but the field is so vast and endless that I hardly know where to start. So I thought I'd try and start off here, with the Tree of Life, numbers and letters. Enjoy!

Fantastic Utnapisjtim,
As always I find your mind fantastic. I have the five volumes of Cabbalah but do not have the mind set to understand. That would be more into your mind and wish you the best. I tried some years back when I was a young toad to understand and had a rabbi teacher who also was not familiar with Cabbalah. It takes a great mind to understand and teach doesn't it?

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

I really enjoyed/appreciated your post. I particularly liked the tie-in of what Jesus said about God's spoken words, with the "utterances" of God in the first chapter of Genesis.

Also, the tree diagram reminded me of a chakra-related image I've seen but cannot seem to locate just now.

But back to Genesis. Quite by accident (b/c it was not your intent) I began to see that list of utterances in Genesis Ch. 1, as something entirely different than I ever have before. I began to see the metamorphosis of a mind, from the Spark of Life at fertilization ("Let there be light") ...to rapidly growing cells of the Zygote/Blastocyte ("Let there be an expanse.") ...to implantation into the uterine wall ("Let dry land appear") ...to differentiation of cells into organs/limbs/brain, etc ("Let the earth sprout vegetation") **the womb being the Earth.

Then, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens” = Firing of neurons in the brain, thoughts, feelings, etc.

“Let the waters [and the sky] swarm with [life]” = Movement of the fetus in the amniotic fluid, and "sky" referring to mind.

I could go on, but it is somewhat of a diversion from your premise? (Unless it isn't, lol.)

In any case I have had a fun mind trip on this. Thanks!

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

I like the eye candy just like any other bloke but besides that what damn good does a cheer squad do anyway??????? where is the evidence they make any damn difference at all??

Perhaps the role of the cheer squad has long gone and now its only role is to just be eye candy for us blokes while the women pretend they are cheering for the team.

The women/girls do not exist for the team but for the blokes who go to the game. which means the game is not capable of drawing blokes to whatch the game on its own merits and so they use the women as props to prop up the game.

a reply to: Seede

Well, my mind could be better I suppose, and I am a student without a teacher, but I like doing my own research. I've been thinking about contacting the priest in my parish and ask him to mentor me. He is high up in the Orders and has studied Kabbalah for quite some time. I also read through Sefer Yetzirah again last night (it's a small book), and thought about sifting through the Bahir tonight, and see if I get any smarter. I thought I'd sort out the 22 letters and plot them on the Tree in the meantime.

What's your thoughts of Ein Sof?

originally posted by: new_here
a reply to: Utnapisjtim

I really enjoyed/appreciated your post. I particularly liked the tie-in of what Jesus said about God's spoken words, with the "utterances" of God in the first chapter of Genesis.

Also, the tree diagram reminded me of a chakra-related image I've seen but cannot seem to locate just now.

Thanks, I found researching it quite illuminating. If you do a search for sephiroth+chakra I am sure you'd find plenty of pages dealing with connections between the chakras and the sephiroth. I don't agree though, chakras for the soul, sephiroth for the mind.

But back to Genesis. Quite by accident (b/c it was not your intent) I began to see that list of utterances in Genesis Ch. 1, as something entirely different than I ever have before. I began to see the metamorphosis of a mind, from the Spark of Life at fertilization ("Let there be light") ...to rapidly growing cells of the Zygote/Blastocyte ("Let there be an expanse.") ...to implantation into the uterine wall ("Let dry land appear") ...to differentiation of cells into organs/limbs/brain, etc ("Let the earth sprout vegetation") **the womb being the Earth.

Then, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens” = Firing of neurons in the brain, thoughts, feelings, etc.

“Let the waters [and the sky] swarm with [life]” = Movement of the fetus in the amniotic fluid, and "sky" referring to mind.

The Koran is a book I have never read (if my Hebrew is bad, my Arabic is disasterous), but a person I know explained for me how the Koran describes in detail the stages of foetus development in the womb from the egg being released to fertilisation and onwards until it's fully baked and is shot out into the world all blue and screaming. It wouldn't amaze me if the authors of Genesis 1 structured these utterances so they could be seen as life developing. It'd make sense.

I could go on, but it is somewhat of a diversion from your premise? (Unless it isn't, lol.)

In any case I have had a fun mind trip on this. Thanks!

Nothing wrong, these are great ideas and remarks. And thanks a lot for your kind words.

a reply to: dianashay

I'll look into those lectures, looks promising.

Thanks for posting

originally posted by: learnatic

what damn good does a cheer squad do anyway??????? where is the evidence they make any damn difference at all??

Yeah, what's with all the fancy foods and drink in weddings, it's completely irrelevant!!!!!!!

originally posted by: new_here
Also, the tree diagram reminded me of a chakra-related image I've seen but cannot seem to locate just now.

Something like this? Found a few pics on the web and made one based on them. I lined up the seven chakras to show the corresponding (or not corresponding) sephiroth.