Masseket Azilut (מסכת אצילות): Tractate of Nobility
An Ancient Kabbalistic Text.
An influential and anonymous 14th-century work, dealing with the doctrine of the Four Worlds: It is the first text to explicitly define the four stages of creation:
- Significance of the Letters: It establishes the connection between these four worlds and the four letters of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH—י-ה-ו-ה).
- Content and Themes: The text introduces the concepts of Sefirot (divine attributes) and angelology, with Metatron and the angels centered around him in the world of Yetzirah. It strongly emphasizes the necessity of studying the hidden, mystical aspects of the Torah.
- Authorship and Date: While some, like Adolph Jellinek, attributed it to Jacob ha-Nazir of Lunel (a 13th-century Provencal kabbalist), Gershom Scholem identified it as a 14th-century work.Influence: It was an important, early source that influenced later, more mature Kabbalistic developments, including the Lurianic Kabbalah, which further detailed the four worlds.
Translation and Commentary by HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok
Massekhet Azilut (Hebrew: מסכת אצילות, romanized: māsekheth ʾəṣiluth, lit. ‘Mask of Nobility‘) is an anonymous kabalistic work from the early 14th century. It is the earliest literary product of speculative Kabbala that contains the doctrine of the Four Worlds, a doctrine not contained in the Zohar, as well as that of the concentration of the Divine Being. The Messekhet Atzilut opens with the following passage:
Eliyahu opened, it is written, “The secret of God is for those who fear Him”. (Psalms 25:14) This verse refers to the idea that even if a Jew learns Mishnah, Gemara and yet has no awe—for naught does he splash in the great waters [of Kabbala], he toils entirely for nothing. Every one who fears God should actively pursue the hidden aspects [of Torah], which are the essence of wisdom and knowledge, “God’s glory is a hidden thing”. (Proverbs 25:2) When will you make glory for God? When you are occupied in the hidden aspects of Torah.[citation needed]