“And YHVH Elohim said: Behold, mankind has become like one of us, to know good and evil; and now, Father, I pray unto thee for them… that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.” –Genesis 3:22/3 Nephi 9:23 RAV, 19:23 OPV
The 10 Sefirot (Hebrew for “emanations”) are the 10 attributes of God in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (the Everlasting name of God) reveals Himself/Themselves to humankind. There are a few different ways of using the Sefirot. Some Kabbalists study and grow from attribute to attribute, while others see them as an urim and thummim. As an urim and thummim, the right and left sides create a series of “lenses” for the natural eyes, while the center creates a series of “lenses” for the third or spiritual eye. Through this urim and thummim, God helps us see both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms.
In Mormon Kabbalah, we do both; using the Sefirot for growth and as seer stones. We grow from Sefirot to Sefirot in Christ’s grace, and seeing the world through spiritual eyes by the power of the Holy Ghost. Here we will give a quick over view of each Sefirot and how one may grow their perspective with each as we grow closer to God.
- English: Understanding
- Body part: Soul
- Color: Light grey
- Element: Spirit
- Associated with: Elohim “Gods/gods”
- Herald: Enoch/Zaphkiel “God’s knowledge;” also known as Tsophiel “watchman of God” or as Zuriel/Tsuriel “my rock is God;” an archangel over wisdom, understanding, and judgment, chief of the order of thrones and one of the 9 angels that rule Heaven, helping make messages more clear. This is Enoch’s name when acting as a herald for Binah.
- Day of Creation: The path. Just as Keter is the power of creation, this is the consciousness of reason of creation. Keter is the crown, the heavens; Binah is the earth. It is through Binah we may gain access to Keter and see the eternities, Binah is the balance, the iron rod, the invisible narrow path.
Resting between but below Da’at and Chokhma, and between but above Chesed and Gevurah is Binah, the hidden Sefirot, the understanding that comes from Da’at (knowledge) and Chokhma (wisdom). It can only be reached after one is cleansed by Chesed (God’s mercy) and Gevurah (God’s Holy Fire/Judgement). Binah is the Holy Spirit giving us intuitive understanding, contemplation by Christ’s Grace. It is the womb, a temple inside us housing the Spirit of God. It is the birth of the soul.
In a mundane way, Binah may also be seen as deductive reasoning. It is God helping us understanding one idea pondering or gazing at another one. Binah can be a rational process that within a person which guides us to develop an idea to its fruition. Thus scientific breakthroughs and revelation giving us guidance can both be Binah; understanding from divine knowledge and wisdom given us by God.
