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Category:Sephiroth | |
Chesed ("Kindness"; חסד) is the fourth Sephirah on the tree of life in the Kabbalah of Judaism. It is given the association of kindness and love, and is the first of the emotive attributes of the Sephirot.
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Position
It sits below Chokhmah, across from Gevurah and above Netzach. It is usually given four paths. To Chokhmah, Gevurah, Tiphereth, and Netzach (some Kabbalists place a path from Chesed to Binah as well.)
Attributes
The first three of the Ten Sephirot, are the attributes of the "intellect", while Chesed is the first sephira of the attribute of "action".
Chesed, translated as "kindness", is often thought of as being synonymous with niceness; but the connotation of Chesed is much deeper. Chesed can be properly described as an act that has no "cause".
Chesed is proactive – it is the initiator of interaction, and must therefore be the first in the sephirot of action. Chesed deals with the level of the visible and, in the chain of social dynamics, is the primary spark that initiates subsequent action.
Chesed is also known as Gedulah (גדולה).
Translations
"Loving-kindness" is sometimes used as an English translation of chesed (or, hesed), originating with the Coverdale Bible of 1535.
See also
- Loving-kindness
- Agape Greek word, given the association of "loving-kindness" or "love"
- Mettā Sanskrit word, given the association of "loving-kindness" and "friendliness"
References
Jewish
- Bahir, translated by Aryeh Kaplan (1995). Aronson. (ISBN 1-56821-383-2)
- Lessons in Tanya
- Kabbalah 101: Chesed
Non-Jewish
- 777 and other Qabalistic writings, Aleister Crowley (1955). Red Wheel/Weiser. (ISBN 0-87728-670-1)
- The Mystical Kabbalah, Dion Fortune (1935). Weiser Books. (ISBN 1-57863-150-5
- The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah, Samael Aun Weor (1978]. Glorian Publishing. (ISBN 978-1-934206-05-8)
External links
- Basics in Kabbalah, The Ten Sefirot: Chessed (inner.org)
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