Glossary

Ain Soph

Ein Sof · אין סוף

A Kabbalistic term meaning “without end,” used to describe the boundless and ultimately unknowable aspect of the divine.

Altar

A consecrated place of offering, covenant, remembrance, purification, and sacred service.

Cherubim

Keruvim · כרובים

Composite heavenly beings associated with sacred guardianship, the ark, the temple, and the divine throne.

Chokhmah

Hokhmah · חכמה

Wisdom; one of the sefirot in Kabbalistic tradition.

Devekut

Devequt · דבקות

Cleaving or attachment to God; a major devotional concept in Jewish mystical and Hasidic traditions.

Eagle

One face of Ezekiel's living creatures, commonly associated with vision, swiftness, and elevated perspective.

Firmament

Raqia · רקיע

The radiant expanse above Ezekiel's living creatures and beneath the divine throne.

Gevurah

גבורה

Strength, severity, discipline, or judgment; one of the sefirot.

Glory

Kavod · כבוד

The radiant, weighty, and overwhelming manifestation of divine presence.

Hekhalot

היכלות

“Palaces”; a scholarly label for late antique Jewish mystical texts centered on heavenly ascent, angelic guardians, and the throne of glory.

Human Face

One face of Ezekiel's living creatures, often interpreted through themes of consciousness, vocation, and moral agency.

Kabbalah

Qabbalah · קבלה

A broad family of Jewish mystical traditions concerned with divine emanation, scripture, the sefirot, and sacred interpretation.

Kavod

כבוד

Glory, honor, or weight; in biblical and mystical contexts, the overwhelming reality of divine presence.

Lampstand

Menorah · מנורה

The seven-branched golden lampstand of the sanctuary, associated with sacred light and temple service.

Lion

One face of Ezekiel's living creatures, associated with kingship, courage, and strength.

Ma'aseh Merkabah

מעשה מרכבה

“Work of the Chariot”; a rabbinic and mystical designation for teachings concerning Ezekiel's throne vision.

Merkava

Merkabah / Merkavah · מרכבה

“Chariot”; the divine throne-chariot of Ezekiel and the mystical traditions inspired by it.

Metatron

A prominent angelic figure in later Hekhalot and Jewish mystical traditions, absent by name from the Hebrew Bible.

Ophanim

Ofanim · אופנים

“Wheels”; the many-eyed wheels within wheels that move with Ezekiel's living creatures.

Ox

One face of Ezekiel's living creatures, associated with strength, labor, service, and endurance.

Pardes

פרדס

“Orchard”; a term associated with layered interpretation and, in rabbinic tradition, a dangerous mystical ascent narrative.

Raqia

רקיע

An expanse or firmament; in Ezekiel, the crystal-like boundary beneath the throne.

Ruach

רוח

Wind, breath, or spirit; a multivalent biblical term central to prophetic and mystical language.

Sacred Fire

A biblical symbol of holiness, revelation, purification, judgment, and divine presence.

Sefirot

Sephirot · ספירות

The ten interrelated modes through which Kabbalistic tradition symbolically describes divine activity and manifestation.

Shekhinah

Shechinah · שכינה

A post-biblical term for the indwelling or manifest presence of God.

Shofar

שופר

A ram's horn sounded in worship, proclamation, remembrance, repentance, and sacred assembly.

Throne of Glory

Kisse ha-Kavod

A major biblical and mystical image of divine sovereignty, judgment, and heavenly presence.

Tree of Life

Etz Chaim · עץ חיים

A biblical symbol later developed in Kabbalah as a diagram of the sefirot and divine emanation.

Tzimtzum

צמצום

A Lurianic Kabbalistic concept often translated as contraction or withdrawal, describing the emergence of space for creation.