Sefer Yetzirah - the Book of Formation
The formation and structure of the Universe
A "Theory of Everything"
About the Book of Formation - Sefer Yetzirah
The Mission
The Translator and Commentator
The Translator and Commentator
... is to honor and glorify Almighty G-d, the one G-d, Creator of Heaven and Earth, by presenting a free translation and an elucidation of the Book of Formation.
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Photo: "The Blue Marble" | The Earth seen from Apollo 17 in 1972
Copyright © Johnson Space Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA
... is to honor and glorify Almighty G-d, the one G-d, Creator of Heaven and Earth, by presenting a free translation and an elucidation of the Book of Formation.
________
Photo: "The Blue Marble" | The Earth seen from Apollo 17 in 1972
Copyright © Johnson Space Center of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
May have been digitally altered from its source version.
The Translator and Commentator
The Translator and Commentator
The Translator and Commentator
Nathaniel (Nesanel) Segal is an observant Jew in the manner of the Lubavitch/Chabad tradition. He began the study of the Mishnah, Hasidism, Jewish law, and the Talmud in 1972.
He began studying the Book of Formation in the mid 1990s.
Nathaniel is from Chicago but has been living west of the Mississippi River since 2008. He lives with about
Nathaniel (Nesanel) Segal is an observant Jew in the manner of the Lubavitch/Chabad tradition. He began the study of the Mishnah, Hasidism, Jewish law, and the Talmud in 1972.
He began studying the Book of Formation in the mid 1990s.
Nathaniel is from Chicago but has been living west of the Mississippi River since 2008. He lives with about 2,000 books, many secular, so he is never alone — not that anyone is ever alone considering the omnipresence of the One Above.
The History
The History
The History
Rabbi Yosef (Joseph) Karo (1488-1575), author of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), compiled the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot to be recited overnight on the Shavuot holiday (May/June). In it appears the first lines of the Book of Formation followed by the last lines. In Likkutei Sichos (Vol. 28, p. 315) from His Holiness, Grand Rabbi Menache
Rabbi Yosef (Joseph) Karo (1488-1575), author of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), compiled the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot to be recited overnight on the Shavuot holiday (May/June). In it appears the first lines of the Book of Formation followed by the last lines. In Likkutei Sichos (Vol. 28, p. 315) from His Holiness, Grand Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he calls attention to a misprint. The last lines of the Book of Formation are garbled. He corrects the text of the Tikkun from accurate sources.
This correction caught my eye and led me to meditate on these lines.
Around the same time, I acquired the late Aryeh Kaplan's presentation (The Book of Creation: In Theory and Practice) and went through it. His presentation is entirely mystical, with a great emphasis on the Kabbalistic sefirot. I didn't see any practical use in my life for Kaplan's explanations.
Around 2000, I presented my distinctly non-mystical meditations to the congregation that I pray with in memory of my mother, Ella Feiga.
Since I did find the last lines of the Book of Formation eminently practical, I thought that the first lines of the book could be brought down to Earth, too.
By 2009, I was ready to hunch over my keyboard and compose web pages with the results of my meditations.
This web site will show you what has been on my mind concerning the Book of Formation.
My Beliefs
The History
The History
The Torah was given to the Jewish people about 3,300 years ago at Mount Sinai. This includes both the the Five Books of Moses as well as the accompanying Oral Law.
The Book of Formation was composed with the Spirit of Holiness. It is a holy book.