Samael- Further Insights
Monday, July 22, 2013
As I mentioned in my previous post, Esau is referred symbolically to the sefirah- Hod on the Tree of Life diagram. His "chieftain" is the angel Samael who is referred to the sefirah Gevurah. (I thought I should clarify this point.)
The sefirah Gevurah represents the 'higher mind.’ Hod, on the other hand, represents the 'lower mind' (or 'rational mind').
The angel Samael therefore represents the underlying philosophical seed-idea (i.e. a basic 'world view') that holds Esau (i.e. Hod, the rational mind) in its grasp. The angel Samael represents a 'central concept' which is at the core of a 'belief system'. It effects a human-being's basic perception and understanding of the world around him/her.
The angel Samael represents a particularly negative 'idea' that can poison (or delude) the mind of a human-being if we allow it too. If we succumb to the idea that Samael represents, then all of our day-to-day thoughts (that occur in Hod) become colored by Samael's central underlying negative (or illusory) idea.
The Western 'scientific' world-view is one example of such a concept, and there are numerous other examples in the world today.
Thus, we are all influenced in our thinking at a very fundamental level within the sefirah Gevurah. We expect the world to basically conform to Gevurah's central, very deeply rooted, core idea.
The angel Samael could not shake Jacob's spiritual beliefs (and faith/awareness of the Divine) with his materialism-based philosophy.
The battle between Jacob and Samael took place in Hod (i.e. within Esau's domain of the 'rational mind'). The "straining" of Jacob's "thigh" (Hod) by Samael is symbolic of the clash of ideas that occurs (at certain times) within the 'lower mind' of every human-being.
"Jacob, however, had strong support on all sides, on the side of Isaac [Gevurah] and on the side of Abraham [Chesed], both of whom constituted the strength of Jacob." (See Zohar extract in previous post.) In other words, Jacob had filled his consciousness with the Light of divine Knowledge (in Gevurah), and had developed an intuitive ability to recognize Truth from falsity (in Chesed). He was thus unshakably united with the Divine as represented by Da'at's connection to the supernal sefirot. And so Jacob was confirmed in the name/grade of 'Israel'.
The sefirah Gevurah represents the 'higher mind.’ Hod, on the other hand, represents the 'lower mind' (or 'rational mind').
The angel Samael therefore represents the underlying philosophical seed-idea (i.e. a basic 'world view') that holds Esau (i.e. Hod, the rational mind) in its grasp. The angel Samael represents a 'central concept' which is at the core of a 'belief system'. It effects a human-being's basic perception and understanding of the world around him/her.
The angel Samael represents a particularly negative 'idea' that can poison (or delude) the mind of a human-being if we allow it too. If we succumb to the idea that Samael represents, then all of our day-to-day thoughts (that occur in Hod) become colored by Samael's central underlying negative (or illusory) idea.
The Western 'scientific' world-view is one example of such a concept, and there are numerous other examples in the world today.
Thus, we are all influenced in our thinking at a very fundamental level within the sefirah Gevurah. We expect the world to basically conform to Gevurah's central, very deeply rooted, core idea.
The angel Samael could not shake Jacob's spiritual beliefs (and faith/awareness of the Divine) with his materialism-based philosophy.
The battle between Jacob and Samael took place in Hod (i.e. within Esau's domain of the 'rational mind'). The "straining" of Jacob's "thigh" (Hod) by Samael is symbolic of the clash of ideas that occurs (at certain times) within the 'lower mind' of every human-being.
"Jacob, however, had strong support on all sides, on the side of Isaac [Gevurah] and on the side of Abraham [Chesed], both of whom constituted the strength of Jacob." (See Zohar extract in previous post.) In other words, Jacob had filled his consciousness with the Light of divine Knowledge (in Gevurah), and had developed an intuitive ability to recognize Truth from falsity (in Chesed). He was thus unshakably united with the Divine as represented by Da'at's connection to the supernal sefirot. And so Jacob was confirmed in the name/grade of 'Israel'.
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