Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, The Book That Started Kabbalah, Revealed

Sepher Yetzirais a second or third century Hebrew book that is considered to be the seminal work of Kabbalah because it is a mystical interpretation ofthe Old Testament’s creation story, and Kabbalists delve beneath the surface ofthe Bibleto understand the unspoken mysteries of how the world came to be. Ancient Secrets of Creationis a new translation and reinterpretation ofSepher Yetzirathat provides the answers to questions about how God created the world, especially how the expression, And God said” is used. Because ofSepher Yetzira’s succinctness and the passage of time, its implicit meanings have been lost. However, this work provides a fresh understanding ofSepher Yetziraby rediscovering and clearly explaining those mathematical, scientific, philosophical, and theological foundations on which it rests. These include pertinent pre-Socratic Greek philosophies; the ideas of Plato, Plotinus, Iamblichus, Neopythagoreanism, and Neoplatonism; as well asthe works of Philo of Alexandria,the Old Testament, and rabbinic understandings at the time thatSepher Yetzirawas written. This translation and explication unlock the secrets hidden within the Hebrew-language text ofSepher Yetzira, the book that started Kabbalah.Reiss, Fred is the author of 'Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, The Book That Started Kabbalah, Revealed', published 2007 under ISBN 9780595449552 and ISBN 0595449557.