“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” –Book of the Law of the Lord 1:4/3 Nephi 5:56 RAV, 12:9 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: Mercy
- Body part: Right hand
- Color: Blue
- Element: Water: baptism
- Associated with: YHVH/Jesus Christ (the Son of God on the right hand of the Father)
- Herald: John the Baptist/Zadkiel “Righteousness of God” or “Grace of God;” Zadkiel is also known as Sachiel, Zedekiel, Zadakiel, Tzadkiel, and Zedekul; the archangel of freedom, benevolence and mercy, and the Patron Angel of all who forgive.
- Day of Creation: The first day; on this day this light was divided from the darkness, creating light and knowledge: love and kindness; all creation is embraced in love as one, all things are in harmony, balance.
Chesed is the first Sefirot in the attribute of action in the Kabbalistic Tree of life. The Bahir states,
“The fourth is the charity of God, His merit and his Kindness (Chesed) to all the world. This is the Right Hand of the Blessed Holy One.” -Bahir IV:144
As Christians, we know God’s Mercy, and the right hand of God as Jesus Christ. Chesed then is the Sefirot that manifests God’s absolute, unlimited benevolence and kindness. Chesed is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending of the Law. Chesed teaches extend mercy to others as God has extended mercy to us. We go the extra mile, are faithful to our covenants with God and are forgiven of past deeds (Mosiah 2 RAV, 4 OPV). Chesed enables us to pick up our cross and follow Christ, as he makes our burdens light.
