The Sefer Yetzirah Study – Introduction

This essay is written in order to summarise a five year project on the Sefer Yetzirah, and to serve as an account of some of the main experiences resulting from working with the text and commentary on some of the problems. The Sefer Yetzirah is an ancient Hebrew text which contains astrological ideas, sacred geometry, angel work, letter mysticism and a description of the moral order of the Universe. The exact date of its origination is clouded by mystery but it seems to draw influences from Greek, Persian and Egyptian thought. The purpose of the text is equally mysterious, some say it is a exegesis on Kabalistic theory, others practical instructions on the making of a “golem” which is purported to be a kind of android or artificial intelligence. Our group both studied and worked with the text, that is followed the practical instructions which are contained therein..

This essay is divided into several chapters but these chapters are nt meant to refer directly to the chapters of the Gra Version of the Sefer Yetzirah. Chapter 1 discusses the beginning of the project which involved transliteration of the letters forming the names of the Archangels, and the summoning of them (which is based on ideas found at the end of the Chapter 1 in the Sefer Yetzirah – Gra Version) and Chapter 2 is related to theoretical ideas arising from working with the Sefirot (ideas which are explored at the beginning of Chapter 11 in the Sefer Yetzirah – Gra Version). Chapter 3-5 of the essay follows Chapter 2-5 and is an account of the letter mysticism of the Sefer Yetzirah and focuses mainly on my own experiences of working with the letters and the angels and, in some cases, the experiences of other students. I also offer advice on some of the potential problems arising from working with the text, certain dangers and the sense behind the general advice that surrounds the text through the voices of the various commentators (such as the necessity of working in a group). I have chosen to focus on the actual experience of working with the text rather than the theories one can derive from it because there are more than enough books and commentaries detailing information on the theory.