Abraham von Worms' Six Commandments
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I have been reading the Dehn/Guth translation of The Book of Abramelin & have come across something that I must have missed during my reading of the Mathers translation.
In chapter 11 of Book One Abraham declaresThrough the first tablet, God showed us the holy secret and the Kabbalah; with the other tablet, he gave us the holy wisdom and the magic that is in these writings.
Abraham is here referencing the ten commandments in Exodus. He is implying that the first half of them impart Qabalistic secrets & the second is for the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel - but I am wondering if Abraham only considers there to be six commandments & not ten.
As recorded in Exodus, the firt commandment isYou shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. - Ex. 20:4
but in chapter 12 of Book One Abraham says:
Remind yourself that on the first tablet of the law of the holy Kabbalah, the very first commandment is not to use the name of Adonai for unnecessary things...
"You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name" is the third commandment - not the first. Abramelin has, for some reason, excluded the first 2 commandments. He also excludes the 9th & 10th.
...every woman and man[...]can achieve the results[...]if they have no doings against the second tablet of the law with murder, burglary, and adultery.
He has only mentioned the 6th, 7th & 8th commandments.
Does anyone have any thoughts on Abraham's apparent disregard for- You shall have no other gods before me
- You shall not make for yourself an idol
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
- You shall not covet your neighbor's house
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@KRVB MMShCh said
"Does anyone have any thoughts on Abraham's apparent disregard for
- You shall have no other gods before me
- You shall not make for yourself an idol
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
- You shall not covet your neighbor's house"
93 KRVB!
The first 2 commandments, as they pertain to Kabbalah, may have something to do with the view that each Sephirah is a sort of God in Itself...gods can certainly be catagorized under Them. In this light a Sephirah might even be called the God of Gods.(though I don't know how far I would be willing to go with that supposition)
If Adonai resides with the Sephirah of Tiphareth, & Tiphareth is only one of 6 above Paroketh, then it would be improper not to have other gods before him. It would be almost dilusional.
Concerning the commandment to make no idols; this may simply have something to do with the fact that ritual tools & statues are permitted for Jewish Kabbalists, i.e. Nehushtan & Ashera, but not for those who are simply Jews.
Regarding the exclusion of the 9th & 10th commandments; I have no idea!
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What pops into my mind, is the following:
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- You shall have no other gods before me
"
I have always thought of the Hebrew God as the number "4" on the Tree of Life. So, there would be gods "before Him."
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- You shall not make for yourself an idol
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Your body could be considered an idol of God. Being it is the conduit through which your personal divinity is manifested.
Thoughts on the last two, are a bit more of a stretch...
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- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
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Thinking of the idea that all reality is an 'illusion' in a way, all witness is false :X
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- You shall not covet your neighbor's house
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This, to me has always kind of fit with the 'do not steal/murder' ones.
At the same time, there just may be something you can work out with the numbers that reveal a different message.
- You shall have no other gods before me