ABSTRACT

The Book of Bahir is the most important work from the early period of the Kabbalah. The term Kabbalah ('tradition') was used in Talmudic times to denote the prophetic and poetic writings of the Bible and is therefore strictly related to the second and third parts of the Hebrew canon. The Kabbalists attributed the Book of Bahir to Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakana in the first century. The Book of Bahir is also quoted under the name of Yerushalmi to draw attention to its place of origin, namely Palestine. The Book of Bahir is filled with female symbolism, not only in its theology but also in its theosophical themes. The greatest attention in the mystical speculation is devoted to the point of contact between the divine and the human sphere. Priority is given to the basic existential questions of how a human being can participate in the divine.