The Kabbalah of Water

The Separation of Water and Water, and the Secret of Mikve

Water is used as an important metaphor in ancient descriptions of the fragmenting of the original unity. Water sets apart our green planet from all others in our solar system with the ability to support life. Water has been used for ritual purification since time immemorial.

G-d Said, "Let there be a firmament between the waters and let it separate between water and water". (Genesis 1:6)

The 10 "utterances" of Creation are described in the beginning of the Torah. They parallel the 10 sfirot (also known as sephiroth or sefirot) of the Tree of Life (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 14:12). "Breishit", "In the Beginning", is the first of the 10 utterances of Creation (Megilla 21b and Avot 5:1). The 10 sfirot are the modeling system for the filtering or diminishing of the "Power" of the Creator, the Infinite Light, the Or Ein Sof. The "Tree of Life" is one of the common images used in beginning to understand the relationships of the 10 sfirot and their interactions. Below is one such representation:

The third utterance is "Let there be a firmament between the waters and let it separate between water and water". It maps to the third sfira, which is Bina, Understanding. Bina is the type of understanding where ideas exist separately, can be scrutinized and comprehended. Bina is the level where division first exists. The very first division was the firmament, the rakia.

Our Rabbis teach in the name of Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Pinchas and R' Yaakov the son of Avin in the name of R' Yishmael the son of Nachman - At the time the Holy One Blessed Be He said "Let there be a firmament between the waters" the middle drop congealed/froze and there was made the lower heavens and the upper heavens. (Breishit Rabba 4:7)

The Division Between Upper and Lower Waters

The separation between water and water became the separation of the upper heavens and the lower heavens. Certainly Scripture is telling us something of our physical reality, but even more about our spiritual reality. Heavens in Hebrew is shamayim, which it is taught means "there is water", "fire and water", "loaded with water", etc. (Breishit Rabbah 4:7). Water, that which makes our planet unique in the ability to support life.

At a physical level, water is made of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms bound with strong ionic bonds. The atomic number of oxygen is 8, that of hydrogen is 1. The sum of the atomic numbers in one molecule of water is 10.

Thus the very essence of water is bound in the completeness of the number 10, the number of sfirot in the Tree of Life. Through these 10 sfirot the spiritual power of Infinity is filtered down to this plane of existence. The Zohar is considered by many to be the most important work describing the interactions of these sfirot. Of the mystics who taught and interpreted the Zohar, the Holy Ari, also known as the Arizal, was one of the most innovative in his understanding of the Tree of Life. Many today consider his teachings to be almost revelation like in their innovative interpretation of the Zohar.

AriH2o.com sells water from the Ari mikve located in the mystical city of Tsfat, where the Ari himself is said to have immersed himself for ritual purification during his lifetime. Drawn on the eve of the new month from the cool spring outlet which feeds the Ari mikve, the water is delivered to you in an attractive blue bottle. You can purchase Ari mikve water securely online here at Arih2o.com. It is our hopes that owning your own special keepsake blue bottle of Arih2o will aid you in keeping the higher waters in mind always.

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Ari Mikve Water - the Secrets of the Upper Waters