The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis: Commentary on the First Three Chapters

Description

A bold line-by-line reexamination of the first 3 chapters of Genesis that reveals the essential nature of mind and creativity * Deconstructs each line of Genesis chapters 1-3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah * Reveals the sefirot, the Tree of Life, as the Divine blueprint of the creative process * Explains how Genesis reveals the Divinity of mind and consciousness Hidden within the first three chapters of Genesis rests one of the greatest jewels of Western mystical literature. For millennia religious literalism has dominated our understanding of the Bible, imprisoning its subtle inner wisdom within the most coarse and superficial aspects of the narrative. Generations have been led to believe that Genesis 1-3 is only a primitive proto-cosmic history, a mythological explanation of the human moral disposition, a religious fairy tale. But by accepting the text as pure kabbalistic metaphor, the mystical content of Genesis springs forth, revealing the Divine nature of creativity as well as a new understanding of the human mind. Deconstructing each line of Genesis 1-3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah, David Chaim Smith reveals how the ten sefirot, collectively known as the Tree of Life, are not simply a linear hierarchy. They are a unified interdependent whole with ten interactive functions, forming the template through which creative diversity manifests. Through acts of creation and creativity, the mind expresses its Divine nature. Through our Divine creative power, we are able to touch upon Ain Sof (the infinite), the lifeblood of all creative expression. Smith's line-by-line examination of Genesis 1-3 reveals a complete model not only of Divine creativity but also of the predicament of the human mind, of the Divine nature of consciousness as well as our inability to recognize the mind's Divinity. With this new interpretation, which removes the concept of a Creator God, we are able to transcend the contrasting notions of "being" and "non-being" at the heart of conventional habits of perception and awaken a new mystical understanding of Unity and the fathomless depth of Divinity.

David Chaim Smith was born in 1964 in Queens, New York. His early career was as a visual artist throughout the 1980s. In 1990 he began an immersion into the root sources of Alchemy and the Hermetic and Hebrew traditions of the Kabbalah. In 1996 he abandoned visual art for a total dedication to spiritual practice, from which came a unique blend of practical mysticism and creative innovation. This blend coalesced while working with an obscure thirteenth-century text called The Fountain of Wisdom, which he mapped out diagrammatically in notebooks during his ten-year hiatus from visual art. The resulting symbol vocabulary served as the basis for his 2006 return to art, generating the content for several books. He currently lives in the suburbs of New York City with his wife, Rachel.

"An amazing book--boy does it have chutzpah!" * Hymenaeus Beta, Frater Superior, Ordo Templi Orientis * "A gifted artist who has a deep contemporary understanding of Jewish mystical wisdom, David Chaim Smith takes us into the domain where zero is one, where the all is nothing, and where the creative moment is constantly renewing itself. The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis is not a book simply to read but to contemplate and live with." * Rodger Kamenetz, author of Burnt Books and The Jew in the Lotus * "A unique mystical voice out of a Blakean tradition, The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis is a mind-expanding spiritual text that will both clarify and transform you. Smith has rethought biblical basics from the ground up ('with-beginningness') providing insights into the profound depths of mind, perception, reality, life, creativity, luminosity, and transcendence. . . . This is kabbalistic commentary from a living practitioner that will help us immeasurably to help heal the world." * John Zorn, musician *