Kabbalistic terms denoting the ten emanations through which the Godhead manifests itself (see Mysticism). The term sefirot is derived from the cosmogonical speculations of the Sefer Yetsirah (3rd-4th cent.), where it denotes the first ten numbers (one to ten) and dimensions of the universe. The early kabbalists adopted this term to refer to their concept of the Divine world as comprised of ten Divine powers, originating from the Godhead (En-Sof) in a process of emanation, and together representing a Jewish version of the gnostic concept of the pleroma. The system of the ten Divine powers is presented in the late 12th-century Sefer Bahir and in the commentary on Sefer Yetsirah by R. Isaac the Blind in Provence (late 12th-beginning of 13th cent). It then became the central system of symbols used by kabbalists. There is no direct connection between this term and the Greek "spheres," which denoted the wheels in which the stars are fixed. In terms of content, there may have been some influence of the philosophical system of ethical means by which God governs the world on the evolvement of the sefirot in the Kabbalah.
Each of the sefirot has a name. The most common names and characteristics (which vary in every kabbalistic work) are Keter (Crown), the supreme Divine power that may be identified with the Godhead and includes the Divine Will and supreme Thought; Ḥokhmah (Wisdom), which denotes the Divine plan for all existence; Binah (Intelligence), which is the source or fountain of all existence. These three, in the anthropomorphic symbolism of many kabbalists, comprise the head of the Divine figure. Ḥesed (Charity) is the right arm and the source of Divine goodness; Din (Law) or Gevurah (Power), the left arm, is the source of strict justice and punishment; Tiferet (Beauty) unites the two and represents the Divine body or heart and Divine mercy. Netsaḥ (Eternity) represents the right leg and Hod (Glory) the left, both being lower manifestations of Ḥesed and Din. The ninth sefirah, Yesod (Foundation), represents the male organ and the flowing of Divine force in the universe. The tenth, the Shekhinah (Presence) or Malkhut (Kingdom), is a separate, feminine figure, which includes elements of all the nine sefirot, reflects them, and governs the created world. Many kabbalists from the second half of the 13th century described the existence of another, parallel system of sefirot of the left side, the forces of evil. (See Adam Kadmon.)
