---

The Sepher Zohar or “Book of Splendor” is an inspired teaching that enhances understandings taught in the Bible. The ancient Kaballistic text reveals something of the sacred science and practice of the
Prophets.

A primary symbol used in the Zohar as well as the Bible is the Tree. A tree has its roots in the elemental substance of creation and grows toward the light that nurtures it from the heavens above.

Souls, symbolized as living trees of life, are part of the membrane of connection between the building blocks of nature and the divine thought forms of super-nature. God’s creative power plants seed programs for experimental soul development in numerous earth gardens.

References to the “Divine Emanations of God” in the tree of life are found in the Zohar as well as throughout the Bible. These emanations or “fruit” are often called wisdom, understanding, loving kindness, judgment, mercy, and so on. In fact their use is widespread in many inspired texts, collectively called “Torah Or;” the cosmic Law, or “instruction of Light.”

What’s in this Garden of Paradise (from the Hebrew word “Pardes”) found in the Zohar passage above?

“Trees yielding fruit.” (Gen 1:12).

The fruit on these trees (consciousness templates) represent a spectrum of Divine Light Essences of life-sustaining qualities. Each level of soul growth up the tree adds awareness of the creative fabric
underlying our existence.

The first chapter of the Book of Genesis gives the model of creation that develops from these ten fruit or Light Superscripts. The widely used tree of life diagram begins to reveal itself when we take the
number of times God reveals an action in the first chapter of the Holy Bible. YHWH and His Creator “Elders around the Throne” (Elohim) “said” Divine Language and caused the Word to go forth.

The phrase “Elohim said” appears ten times in the first chapter of Genesis, so we start with ten spheres, emanations, or “fruit” as shown in the illustration below.

Next we note the phrase “Elohim saw” appears seven times in the same first chapter. The Hebrew letter possessing a value of seven, “zayin” means scepter and correlates to the spine or “staff” with its seven
main chakras. The Hebrew letter that means “eye” is “ayin,” and it’s number value is seventy. “Seeing” is primary to perceiving different frequencies of light density such as in the colors of a rainbow or the
chakra system. This scale of color vibration indicates vertical levels of light density to be perceived, so the vertical pathways on the tree of life are seven.

The three horizontal pathways are found according to the expression “Elohim made.” Form is brought into being or “made” by establishing polarity. Polarity is balanced by a “third pole” or center creating
equilibrium. This demonstrates that a perfected creation is a trinitized product. In the Zohar story above, Rabbi Akiva can enter and leave the various levels of creation due to perfect equilibrium or knowledge of balance between polar opposites.

Lastly, there are twelve additional appearances of “Elohim.” These are the diagonal pathways bringing about “blessings” “creations” and “namings.” These interrelationships between different spheres of
consciousness activity bring about new creations with their individual “name” or frequency, each with their own blessing.

In all, the ten spheres and the twenty-two pathways total thirty-two expressions of Elohim in the first chapter of Genesis.

Hidden Point: Tree of Knowledge

Working our way up the tree as illustrated in another way below, we come to Sophia (meaning wisdom in Greek), or the bride (evolving soul) who has learned creative law and thus achieved knowledge of the “right use of power.”

When union with the Bridegroom of Loving Kindness or Mercy takes place, the knowledge of polarity is complete and the soul expresses through the fullness of the Divine Template, the “Adam Kadmon” or Heavenly Man. Jesus exemplified this perfection.

In our model of the Tree we can’t forget the “serpent” or primal energy and formative power called in eastern traditions “kundalini” meaning “coiled.” Beginning in the physical world, at the bottom of the tree, we experience energy ascend the chakras along the staff, or in a physical sense, the spinal column. If the serpent energy gets stuck in desire or fear, it stops to “eat the fruit.”

When Moses “raises up a serpent in the wilderness” he demonstrates the principle of overcoming and raising the inherent power within to a balanced expression of life-giving law or principle and the “fruit” can yield a continuing genesis of its creative seed.

The top three spheres can be viewed as Eternal-Father, Light Image-Son, and Holy Spirit-Mother. Another way to view Trinity is to understand Father as “Divine Will,” Mother as “Creative Power,” and Son as “Realized” expression of the union of the two.

Returning to our discussion of the general structure of the tree, it’s important to note the three vertical columns, three spheres on the left and right hand sides and four plus the hidden point in the center
column. Spinal vertebrae also have three vertical openings or paths.All these twenty-two pathways and ten spheres described above total thirty-two. This leads us to the sacred mystery of the number
thirty-three. In the Zohar teaching, the thirty-third day of the festival of weeks is a sacred day known as Lag Ba’omer referencing the “Pillar of Light.” Jesus lived thirty-three years showing that He is
the synthesis of the thirty-two building blocks to become the thirty-third as a completed Tree of Life, the potential that Man can become, the Son of Man who is the Son of God.

The right column on the tree is often called the “pillar of mercy,” and the left, the “pillar of judgment.” The right is on one level comparable to male or electric functions with its corresponding female pillar on the left and its more magnetic relationship.

The center pillar is the balance and as such is comparable to the Buddhist precept of the “middle way.” Here in the balance of all creative emanations is the unity of the two outer poles. The middle pillar is the revealing of the “Son,” Messiah,” or Realized Consciousness that has become the fully awakened Son or Daughter of God through the greater template of soul evolution of YHWH: The Divine Image.

Oh, Aleph Etz Adonai, let our tree be grafted into the many Trees of Life of the Infinite Way. Amen.