In the cosmology of the Kabbalah, the sephiroth, or "spheres," are interrelated divine emanations of God, each with unique properties. According to Kabbalistic doctrine, Divine Energy is described as traveling through ten sephiroth, from the ineffable divine to the manifestation of the material plane, and each represents a different spiritual reality. These emanations become progressively denser, slowing in vibration and losing purity, until manifest as the physical plane.

These emanations together form the figure of the Tree of Life, also known as "Adam Kadmon," the image of the body of God and the idealised Adam (mankind).

The sephiroth make their first appearance in the mystical work Bahir in the twelfth century.

Their names and typical order of appearance are derived from the first Book of Chronicles: "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine ; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all."

The sephiroth on the Tree of Life, according to Moses Cordovero

The sephiroth as Adam Kadmon

Pronunciation: Seff-eer-oth

Alternate Spellings: Sefirot, Sephirot, Sefiroth

Related Resources:

• Kabbalah and Esoteric kabbalah

Elsewhere on the Web:

• The inner dimension-
  Traditional Hasidic Kabbalah, from the teachings of Rabbi Ginsburg.