From The Zohar
He told me, Master, the Holy One, blessed be He, had a great secret, which
He revealed to the celestial Academy (Yeshiva on high). The secret is that when
the most hidden and concealed One (the secret of all secrets) desired to reveal
Himself, He first made one single Point, which is Malkuth, and this point
ascended and became a Thought, which is Binah. This means that Malkuth rose up
and was included within Binah. He shaped in her all the images and engraved all
the designs.
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Binah is the first feminine Sephirah. It is the female that we encounter the
concept of nurturing. Binah is impregnated by the "thought" of Chokmah. This
thought is nurtured to produce something that is greater than the sum of its
parts (Chokmah + Binah).
The number associated with Binah is 3. Here the point of Kether, manifested
in the line of Chokmah, becomes fixed in the triangle of Binah.
This Sephirah holds within itself the primal concept of form. Without Binah
the physical forms manifest in the created universe would not exist. Binah gives
the basis of forms that are actualised by the force of Chokmah.
Binah means "understanding". In the human mind understanding is exhibited
when wisdom (Chokmah) and knowledge are applied. It is Binah that sets the
structured framework for this application to take place.
Often Binah is seen in a negative light. It is considered to be restrictive.
It is true that Binah does restrict the expansiveness of Chokmah, but without
this constriction nothing in the material world would exist.
Binah is archetypal action compared to Chokmah's archetypal intent. As such
Binah is the Sephirah of repentance. The Hebrew for repentance is
teshuvah, which literally means "return". When we repent we ascend to the
level of Binah and undo our misguided actions.
Sinning effects a change in our consciousness and in the energy of reality.
Repentance undoes these changes. It heals ones consciousness and restores
reality. In effect repentance remakes the past and makes us healthier and
stronger.
Essentially teshuvah is a return to wholeness. It realigns us to G-d's
Will. It operates on all levels - both personal and societal.
The power of Chokmah flows in to Binah and is there modulated by the 72
triplets
The triplets allow the magician to take the infinite number of possibilities
presented by Chokmah and categorise them into 72 manageable possibilities. It is
a mechanism whereby our finite psyche and intellect can handle the Infinite.
The God Name and Archangel of Binah control access to the temple and decide
what can and cannot be achieved there. Rituals/meditation must build this in.
This is also a useful way of closing down temple and restricting Binah contact
outside of the formal operation.
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