Number of Sefirot

The Sefirot are Ten, Not Nine or Eleven

The number of sefirot and the explanation of how they act are principles of Mosheh’s Torah which he received on Mount Sinai as part of the sod that is in the Torah.

The Ramak writes (Pardes Rimmonim 1:1):

It is well-known that regarding the count of sefirot, all who deal with this hidden field of study have agreed completely that they are ten, and there is no dispute about this at all. And this is one of the things that is guaranteed in the wisdom of sefirot. Now, we have the Sefer Yetzirah which is attributed to Avraham Avinu … and these are its words: “There are ten sefirot of no substance – ten, and not nine; ten, and not eleven. Understand in wisdom (chochmah), and be wise in understanding (binah). Examine them and explore from them, and know and think from them, and stand the matter on its legs, and return the creator to His station.”

And in Pardes Rimmonim 2:3:

Some hold that da’at is also a sefirah, but it is not so. It is definite from the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that da’at is the existence of tiferet which is hidden between abba and imma, and this is what is called ב”ן י”ה, because through it chochmah is united with binah as we will discuss at length in that gate.

The number of the ten sefirot is mentioned in thousands of places in the Oral Torah, of which a few are brought here:

In Sefer Yetzirah which is attributed to Avraham Avinu (1:3): “There are ten sefirot of no substance – ten, and not nine; ten, and not eleven.”

In Sefer HaPeliah which is attributed to Mosheh Rabbenu (s.v. שאל משה למט”ט):

Mosheh asked Metatron: The world was created in ten sayings. If so, after you say the first or one and want to complete to ten, then the first or the one has the place of the counting!
He said to Mosheh: All of the ten sayings are recipients of bounty, but the Cause of Causes is not a recipient of bountiful flow and is not included in the ten. In addition, because of His highness and hiddenness, there is no letter that hints to Him, neither small nor big, even the tip of a yud. And all of the ten are emanated; if so, there must be an emanator; and all of them are recipients of bountiful flow, if so, there must be a giver; and all of the recipients cling to Him like a flame to a coal. Beware of three things: One is multiplicity, that you shouldn’t say that where there is one there are many.
He said to him: And how will you even explain to me the Cause, which has neither end nor beginning?
He said to him: Something that is conceptualized in thought is limited to six faces: four corners, above and below. If so, everything that is limited has an end, and anything that has an end isn’t even. Therefore, the Cause of Causes has no end; therefore, He is not limited; and since He is not limited, there is nothing outside of Him; and since He isn’t limited, He doesn’t change; and since He doesn’t change, He has no end; and since He has no end, He has no examinability; and since He has no examinability, He has no beginning; and since He has no beginning, He has no end. He is God, may He be blessed. These are the systems of divinity, meaning the order of knowing that the Divine is hidden, that He has nothing outside of Him, and that He is the base of the hidden and the revealed, meaning revealed by way of His actions and hidden by way of His awesomeness.
…
He said to him: Since there are ten sefirot, it is all one holiness.
…
There are ten sefirot and one hundred, each one comprised of ten.

And so it is according to Rabbi Nechunya ben HaKanah in Sefer HaKanah:

And the Kohen is grabbed by chesed, and therefore he is the one who blesses, lifts his hands up, attaches his soul above, and unifies the name in his heart and mouth. And when he lifts his hands, which are ten fingers, then he unifies and connects and admits that everything above and below was created through ten sefirot.

And similarly in the beginning of Sefer HaYichud:

The names of the exalted Chariot which is called shechinah are these letters: המוש”א [another text: תמוש”א]. And 42 letters are sealed in the beginning of the air: אבגית”ץ. The aleph is a hint to His unity, on His being called “one, single and unique.” The bet is a hint to the existence of His deeds, on His being called “single and unique, one.” The gimel is a hint to His powers themselves, which are like a garment to His honor, and this is what is written, “HaShem my God, you are very great, you wear glory and majesty.” The yud is a hint to the ten sefirot of no substance, each one being a root in its own right, and chochmah is rooted in them and is stronger and higher than all the rest. The tav is a hint to the level called teshuvah, which is a mean and joins itself and sits in front, and absorbs all of their strength, and all of them absorb its strength.

And similarly in the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar (6a):

And these are the ten sefirot of no substance which are opposite the two names יהוה and אדני, and eight letters which are “each spoon weighing ten in the holy shekel.”

And similarly in Tikkunei Zohar (tikkun 26, 71b):

יו”ד ה”א וא”ו ה”א in gematria equals 45, and these are the ten sefirot of no substance, and this testifies to the holy unity.

And similarly in Zohar Shemot (2:42b):

Thus the Cause of Causes made ten sefirot and called keter the source, and in it there is no end to the flowing of His light, and therefore He called Himself ein sof. And He has no form or figure, and there is no vessel to grasp any knowledge about Him.

And similarly in Zohar, Raya Mehemna, Ki Tissa (2:187b):

It is a commandment to give a half shekel in the holy shekel. What is a half shekel? Such as a half of the hin (hahin), and this is the middle vav between two letters he (hehin). A stone to take with – this is yud; “the shekel is twenty gerah” – this is yud; “the rich may not increase” – this is the middle column “he may not increase” from ten; and this is what is said in Sefer Yetzirah: “There are ten sefirot of no substance – ten, and not eleven.” “And the poor may not decrease” – this is tzaddik; “he may not decrease” from ten – as you say: “ten and not nine” – from the half shekel which is ten.

And similarly in Zohar, Raya Mehemna, Ki Tetze (3:278b):

There is no commandment in which the ten sefirot are not included. In the ark, “You shall make it with second and third lower levels,” to include kohanim, leviyim, and yisraelim. The shechinah was with them in the ark. The Torah of HaShem is a fourth of the hin. The he is fourth and tripled in yud he vav to complete יהוה and the ten levels that are included in it, which are yud he vav he, to fulfill in Israel: “And you who cling to HaShem your God” etc. (Deuteronomy 4), “You are sons to HaShem your God” (Deuteronomy 14).

And similarly in Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction (3b):

Righteous is one who dresses the king and queen in the ten sefirot of beriah which are included in the name יאקדונק”י, as His name so His garment; and one who establishes horses for Him about which it is said, “I compare you to a horse in the chariots of Pharaoh, my beloved,” which is His merkavah. For on Shabbat and holidays He wears royal clothes, which are the ten sefirot of beriah; and on weekdays He wears ten groups of angels who serve the ten sefirot of beriah. For the king is in the ten sefirot of atzilut; He and His self are one in them; He and His life are one in them; which is not the case in the ten sefirot of beriah because they are their life are not one; they and their self are not one. And He rises above all, shines in the ten sefirot of atzilut and in the ten sefirot of beriah; and He shines in the ten groups of angels and the ten wheels of the firmament, and doesn’t change in any place.

And similarly in Zohar Chadash, Tikkunim (2:61b):

The ten sefirot about which the author of Sefer Yetzirah said “ten, and not nine or eleven” correspond to the ten letters of the ineffable name to which may not be added more than ten, nor be subtracted from. And the numerical value of these ten letters are 45. Its strength is the 28 letters which are derivatives of these ten. And they are yud vav dalet, he alef, vav alef vav, he alef. Ten letters corresponding to ten fingers.

And similarly in BaMidbar Rabbah, Naso (chapter 14):

Adam and Noah both received commandments and were righteous men. This is “fine flour mixed with oil.” “One spoon of ten gold” corresponds to the ten sayings with which the world was created, and corresponds to the ten sefirot of no substance, and corresponds to the ten generations from Adam to Noah, and corresponds to the ten generations from Noah to Abraham, and corresponds to the Ten Commandments, and corresponds to the ten ruling organs within a person, and corresponds to the ten toledot in the Torah, and corresponds to the ten miracles that were done to our fathers in Egypt and the ten in the Sea, and corresponds to the ten times that berit is mentioned in the section of the Torah dealing with berit milah.

And similarly in Mishnat Rabbi Eliezer (chapter 14, page 268):

The Torah starts with a bet, בראשית, and ends with a lamed, לעיני כל ישראל, which together have a numerical value of 32, corresponding to the 32 paths of wonderful wisdom that the world behaves in, because the world would be impossible without them. And they are the twenty-two letters and ten sefirot.

And similarly in Otzar Midrashim, Masechet Atzilut (Eisenstein edition, page 68):

We are taught in Sefer Yetzirah by Avraham Avinu: “There are ten sefirot of belimah (no substance). What is belimah? As you say: “He hangs the earth on belimah (nothing)” (Job 26), meaning that there is no similitude or form; this is the meaning of belimah. But they are the handiwork of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and they are the tool of the craft of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

And similarly in Yalkut Shimoni on Melachim (185):

“Ten ammah from its boundary” – these are the ten sefirot of no substance upon which the world stands.

And similarly in Shaar HaNikud VeSod HaChashmal by Rabbi Yosef Gikatilia:

The wheel of the degrees returns to be caught in the keter, as they say, “The ten sefirot of no substance have their beginning connected to their end and their end pinned in their beginning,” and this is the secret of the true, complete unity, blessed be His name and blessed be His mention.

And similarly in Ibn Ezra on Parashat Shemot:

In another way, they are the ten sefirot of no substance, because you can’t begin one if there are not ten. Now, ten is similar to one, and it is a general term for the digits which are from one to ten.

He notes the same in his commentary to Daniel chapter 1:

This teaches that Nevuchadnetzar knew the fields of wisdom, and he would find that each of these four knows ten times as much as every magician and sorcerer. And it may be that “ten” is used to mean “many,” as in “more than ten rulers,” because ten is the pinnacle of counting. And the author of Sefer Yetzirah said, “There are ten sefirot of no substance.”

And similarly in Ramban on the beginning of Parashat BeReshit:

Their intent is that the word bereshit hints that the world was created with ten sefirot (see Sefer Yetzirah 1:14), and this hints to the sefirah which is called chochmah which contains the foundation of everything, as it is said, “HaShem created the earth with chochmah (wisdom)” (Mishlei 3:19).

He notes the same in Parashat BeShallach (17:12):

In a mystical approach, he lifted ten fingers to the height of heaven to hint at the ten sefirot so as to cling to the faith which was fighting for Israel, and this explains the matter of raising the hands in birkat kohanim and its mystical meaning.

And similarly in Rikanti on Parashat BeReshit (4):

This is the story of the heavens, etc. “HaShem Elokim” means that the attribute of mercy was joined with the attribute of judgment. The great name was not mentioned throughout the story of creation until the work was finished, as the rabbis said, “He mentioned a complete name about a complete world,” because the name hints at the completion of the work: the yud to the ten sefirot, the two he opposite each other, and the vav between them hints at the six geometric faces. Furthermore, when spelled out fully as יו”ד ה”א וי”ו ה”א, the name has ten letters, corresponding to the ten sefirot.

He notes the same in Parashat Naso:

Now I will comment on birkat kohanim. We have already explained that man contains heavenly material, and the ten fingers on a person’s hand hint at the ten sefirot of no substance, and therefore they are five opposite five, as is stated in Sefer Yetzirah (1:2), “There are ten sefirot of no substance, five opposite five.” Therefore, when a kohen is an angel of HaShem, he attaches his soul above and unifies the name in his heart and mouth, and he lifts his palms up to heaven to show that his intention is noble. And he joins and unifies the ten sefirot while lifting his ten fingers up to heaven, and so demonstrates that the heavens and earth were created with ten sefirot and that he is composed of them. And he blesses Israel, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu approves of the blessings for them. This is what the rabbis say (Yerushalmi Megillah 4:8) that it is forbidden to look while the kohen spreads his hands out, because the shechinah dwells between his hands.

And similarly in Rabbenu Bachya, Parashat BeReshit (1:4):

A kabbalistic interpretation: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This verse contains the secret of the ten sefirot. The heavens and earth are the upper heavens and earth which are not included in the planetary orbits, and they are called “the ancient heavens” and “the land of life.” And the word “in the beginning” hints at chochmah, as is written “the beginning of chochmah” (Tehillim 111:10). Similarly, the letter bet hints at chochmah, which is the second of the sefirot. Thus the word bereshit, both its first letter and the word, are a testimony to chochmah, and since everything is drawn and emanated from chochmah, the bet of bereshit is big, although it is the second of the sefirot.

Further on:

Know and understand that the Cause of Causes is above the keter, and this is what Sefer Yetzirah says: “There are ten sefirot of no substance – ten, and not nine; ten, and not eleven.” The meaning of “ten and not nine” is that keter should be counted among them, because all the other sefirot are drawn from it, because it is the flowing source that all of them depend on.

And similarly in Abarbanel, Parashat Naso (chapter 7, s.v. ובמדבר סיני):

“One spoon of ten gold” corresponds to the ten sayings with which the world was created, and corresponds to the ten sefirot of no substance, and corresponds to the ten generations from Adam to Noach, and corresponds to the ten generations from Noach to Avraham.

And similarly in Keli Yakar, Parashat Yitro (20:1):

There are ten commandments to teach that the world, which was created with ten sefirot of no substance, stands on them, to reveal the essence of the ten sefirot of no substance. And furthermore, to punish the wicked … because we can say to an evil, wicked person, “You should have taken to heart that the world was not created with ten sayings for no reason, but because its existence depends on the Ten Commandments which encompass the entire Torah, as Rashi comments at the end of Parashat Mishpatim (24:12). If so, when you transgress them, you are destroying an entire world.” And for this reason they should be punished.

And similarly in Sefer HaItur, Introduction:

“The Torah of HaShem is perfect, refreshing the soul. The testimony of HaShem is trustworthy, making a fool wise. The instructions of HaShem are straight, making the heart rejoice. The commandment of HaShem is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of HaShem is pure, standing forever. The laws of HaShem are true, all of them righteous.” In three books (sefarim), sefer, sippur and sefar, paths of wondrous wisdom, ways of insight and craftiness, ways of knowledge and cleverness, a highway rising to Beit El, turning to Shechem, the holy steps, highways of the gates of truth and doors of righteousness; the sayings of HaShem, holy sayings, which announce the coming of a great army – with them He engraved and refined and purified and created all with ten sefirot, to establish the foundation of the earth and the nature of the circumference of the heavens and all their legions. And He created man to serve Him, to bless Him and to thank Him. Blessed is His name and blessed is His glory.

And similarly in Avraham Chayyim Shor in Torat Chayyim (Sanhedrin 46a):

It appears that this is the secret meaning of the big yud in the verse ועתה יגדל נא כח, and the small yud in the verse צור ילדך תשי, as a hint that when Israel do HaShem’s will, they add great strength to the ten sefirot that HaKadosh Baruch Hu emanated from Himself to conduct His world; and when they don’t do HaShem’s will, they weaken the strength of the ten sefirot. It furthermore appears that the small yud of תשי is a hint to the ten departures that the shechinah departed, from the cherub to the antechamber, from the antechamber etc., and תשי signifies movement as in “ויתשם ה’” (Devarim 29:27) which is translated into Aramaic as וטלטלינון (“and He expelled them”).

And similarly in Maharsha, Chiddushei Aggadot (Yoma 39b):

“And he already said, ‘[Please] HaShem’” etc. Apparently this is not a standalone phrase, but is referring to what is above it. And it appears that the fact that the kohen gadol mentions the name ten times on this day, which is also the tenth of the month, corresponds to the ten sefirot and the ten kedushot, each one above the next. Accordingly, when the kohen gadol would mention the name ten times in a row, he would also say it in ten degrees of loudness, each one above the next. Therefore, it says that he would raise his voice so loudly at the tenth name that his voice could be heard in Yericho, which is ten parsaot away from Yerushalayim, because he would raise his voice louder in each mention of the name than the previous one.

If so, regarding the number of sefirot, everyone dealing with this hidden field of study have agreed unanimously that they are ten, and there is no dispute about this at all. This is, then, one of the things that is guaranteed in the study of sefirot.

However, in many places in the Arizal’s writings it is stated that da’at is also a sefirah along with keter, and that the sefirot are eleven.

Something of this sort is stated in Etz Chayyim (gate 30, Shaar HaPartzufim 1, final edition):

Thus we have said that on weekdays, ze’er anpin has only two vessels of da’at, forward and backwards only, which are ב”ן and ס”ג; and on Shabbat, ע”ב ס”ג, which are the same that are mentioned in the three vessels in the sefirah of da’at.

The attempt not to count da’at when there is keter or keter when there is da’at doesn’t constitute a solution to the contradiction. Come and see this in Sha’ar HaKavvanot, Derushei HaKaddish (1):

Although it is stated in the Tikkunim that imma nests in thrones in three sefirot, and we have said that they are four, the solution is that the sefirah of da’at is never counted in the count of ten sefirot, as is well-known, because it is very concealed and hidden between chochmah and binah, and therefore only the three sefirot were mentioned there, although they are four. Neither should you think that tiferet netzach hod yesod themselves of malchut of atzilut are the ones that descend and dress themselves in the secret of the throne in the chamber of holy of holies in beriah. In truth, they are lights drawn from them, which become mochin in olam haberiah. This is how the four lights of mochin denukva and the entire existence of the ten sefirot in it were generated from the tiferet netzach hod yesod of ze’er anpin. And since its shiur komah is always in the aforementioned four sefirot, they too were therefore spread out and generated from the tiferet netzach hod yesod which contain four lights. And they are dressed in the chamber of holy of holies of beriah, and there attain the aspect of the throne, which is the soul of beriah as already mentioned, and these four lights shine in the four chambers of the chamber of holy of holies, which is the secret meaning of the four mochin of beriah.

There are similar statements in hundreds of other places.

Thus we have proven that there is a contradiction between the kabbalah of the Arizal and everything stated in the Oral Torah, from the words of the Sages and the commentators from generation to generation, regarding the number of sefirot in Mosheh Rabbenu’s Torah.