207. Now truly in that place wherein beginning is found, is He thus called, although He is concealed.

208. And therefrom is the beginning, and it is called АTHН, Atha, Thou; and He is the Father of the Fathers.

209. And that Father proceedeth from the Most Holy Ancient One, like as it is written, Job. xxviii. 12: “And CнKMH, Chokmah, Wisdom, is found from AIN, Ain, the Negatively Existent One;" and therefore is He not known.

210. Come and see! It is written, ibid. 22: "The Elohim have known the path;" His path, properly speaking. 211. But again, further on : VHVA, Va-Hoa, and He Himself knoweth His place;" His place properly speaking; much more His path; and much more this WISDOM which is concealed in the Most Holy Ancient One.

212. This Wisdom is the beginning of all things. Thencefrom are expanded the thirty-two paths: SHBILIN, Shebilin, Paths, I say; and not ARCHIN, Archin, Byways.

213. And in them is the Law comprehended, in the twenty-two letters and in the ten utterances.t

214. This Chokmah is the Father of Fathers, and in this Chokmah is beginning and end discovered; and therefore is there one Chokmah supernal, and another Chokmah inferior.

215. When Chokmah is extended, then is He called the Father of Fathers, for in none else are all things comprehended save in Him. (Otherwise, when they are expanded all things are called Chokmoth, and the Father of Fathers; all things are comprehended in no place, save herein.)

* Let the student carefully note that this is the second Sephira, the I of IHVH, the Father proceeding from Macroprosopus, Kether, as He proceedeth from Ain Soph.

+ The Sephiroth, or numbers.

Chokmoth is plural of Chokmah, Wisdom.

216. As it is written, Ps. civ. 25: "All things in Chokmah hast Thou formed."

217. Rabbi Schimeon lifted up his hands, and rejoiced, and said: Assuredly it is Eden or Paradise, and all things have their operation in this hour.

CHAPTER VIII.

CONCERNING THE FATHER AND THE MOTHER IN SPECIAL.

218. COME and behold. When the Most Holy Ancient One, the Concealed with all Concealments, desired to be formed forth, He conformed all things under the form of Male and Female; and in such place wherein Male and Female are comprehended.

219. For they could not permanently exist save in another aspect of the Male and the Female (their

countenances being joined together).

220. And this Wisdom embracing all things, when it goeth forth and shineth forth from the Most Holy Ancient One, shineth not save under the form of Male and Female.

221. Therefore is this Wisdom extended, and it is found that it equally becometh Male and Female.

222. CHKMH AB BINH AM, Chokmah Ab Binah Am: Chokmah* is the Father, and Binah is the Mother, and therein are Chokmah, Wisdom, and Binah, Understanding, counterbalanced together in most perfect equality of Male and Female.

223. And therefore are all things established in the

* Chokmah is the second and Binah is the third of the Sephiroth. This section is a sufficient condemnation of all those who wish to make. out that woman is inferior to man.

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equality of Male and Female; for were it not so, how could they subsist!

224. This beginning is the Father of all things; the Father of all Fathers; and both are mutually bound together, and the one path shineth into the otherChokmah, Wisdom, as the Father; Binah, Understanding, as the Mother.

225. It is written, Prov. ii. 3: "If thou callest Binah the Mother."

226. When They are associated together They generate, and are expanded in truth.

227. In the teaching of the school of Rav Yeyeva the Elder it is thus taught: "What is Binah the Mother of Understanding?" Truly when They are mutually associated together.

228. Assuredly Yod, I, impregnateth the letter He, ·H, and produceth a Son, and She herself bringeth Him forth.*

229. And therefore is it called BINH, as if (it were a transposition of) BN IH, Ben Yah, Son of IH (or I, Yod, H, He, and BN, the Son).

230. But They both are found to be the perfection of all things when They are associated together, and when the Son is in Them the Syntagma of all things findeth place.

231. For in Their conformations are They found to be the perfection of all things-Father and Mother, Son, and Daughter.

232. These things have not been revealed save unto the Holy Superiors who have entered therein and departed therefrom, and have known the paths of the Most Holy God (may He be blessed !), so that they have not erred in them either on the right hand or on the left.

* For Chokmah and Binah in the Sephiroth answer unto I and H in the name IHVH, as has been already shown in the Introduction; and these bring forth Microprosopus the Son, the letter Vau, V, answering in numerical value to the number 6, and to the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth Sephiroth.

233. For thus it is written, Hos. xiv. 9: "The paths of Tetragrammaton are true, and the just shall walk in them," &c.

235. For these things are concealed, and the Holy Highest Ones shine in them, like as light proceedeth from the shining of a lantern.

236. These things are not revealed save unto those who have entered therein and departed therefrom; for as for him who hath not entered therein and departed therefrom, better were it for him that he had never been born.

237. For it hath been manifested before the Most Holy Ancient One, the Concealed with all Concealments, because these things have shone into mine heart in the perfection of the love and fear of the Most Holy God, may He be blessed!

238. And these, my sons, who are here present, know these things; for into these matters have they entered and therefrom have they departed; but neither yet into all (the secrets of them).*

239. But now are these things illustrated in (their) perfection, even as it was necessary. Blessed be my portion

with them in this world!

240. Rabbi Schimeon said: All which I have said concerning the Most Holy Ancient One, and all which I have said concerning Microprosopus, all are one, all are HVA, Hoa, Himself, all are Unity, neither herein hath separation place.

241. Blessed be HVA, Hoa, He, and blessed be His Name unto the Ages of the Ages.

242. Come, behold! This beginning which is called Father, is comprehended in I, Yod, which dependeth from the Holy Influence.

* This clause refers to the "Unwritten Qabalah."

+ Chokmah, the second Sephira, which, however, is as it were the repetition of Kether.

That is, the letter I, Yod, in IHVH, which is said in the "Book of Concealed Mystery" to symbolize Macroprosopus only in its highest point.

243. And therefore is I, Yod, the Most Concealed of all the other letters.*

244. For I, Yod, is the beginning and the end of all things.

245. And that river which floweth on and goeth forth is is called the World, which is ever to come and ceaseth never. 246. And this is the delight of the just, that they may be made worthy of that world which is to come, which ever watereth the garden of Eden, nor faileth.

247. Concerning this it is written, Isa. lviii. 11: “And like a fountain of water, whose waters fail not."

248. And that world to come is created through I, Yod. 249. As it is written, Gen. ii. 9: "And a river went forth out of Eden to water the garden."

250. For I, Yod, includeth two letters.

251. In the teaching of the school of Rav Yeyeva' the Elder thus is the tradition. Wherefore are VD, Vau Daleth, comprehended in IVD, Yod? Assuredly the planting of the garden is properly called V, Vau; and there is another garden which is D, Daleth, and by that Vau is Daleth watered, which is the symbol of the quaternary.‡

252. And an Arcanum is extended from this passage, where it is written: "And a river went forth out of Eden."

253. What is Eden? It is the supernal CHKMH, Chokmah, Wisdom, and that is I, Yod (in I, V, D).

See "Book of Concealed Mystery," ch. ii. § 37; ch. iv. § II.

+ See "Book of Concealed Mystery," ch. ii. § 37.

The amount of occult symbolism in this section is enormous, and the key of it is the name of the letter I, which is IVD, Yod. This is a trinity of letters, and their numerical value is I 10, V = = 6, D = 4, total 20, equivalent to double I; but for reasons given in the "Book of Concealed Mystery," the second I is reproduced by a Hexad and a Tetrad-namely, V and D. I = 10, the decimal scale of Sephirotic notation, the key of processional creation; V = 6: Tiphereth, and Microprosopus the Son united to D = 4, the Cross. Here is the mystery of the crucifixion of the Son on the tree of life; and again the Qabalah agrees with Christian symbolism.