Get Ha-Shemot: Divorce of the Names

by Abraham Abulafia

Get Ha-Shemot is Abulafia's attempt to describe the general ideology and cosmology that underlie the fundamental principle of Kabbalah - that names and letters are the essential, active, and creative elements of reality. He meant it as a rule of thumb for the masters of the names to know the truth behind the names they use, because no name can properly be used without such knowledge. In this work, which was written from the start for general distribution, Abulafia outlines the cosmic stage on which his entire Kabbalah is set, and explains its general purpose - the perfection of the mind by way of the intellect. This makes Get Ha-Shemot an indispensable introduction to his entire Kabbalah. Abulafia explains that Kabbalah is the part of Torah that must remain concealed from the public, and only received by word of mouth from a worthy teacher to a worthy student. However, to set some guidelines about the form of Kabbalah, Abulafia presents us here with what he takes to be the first and fundamental principles of all of Kabbalah. This masterpiece of Kabbalah is a very lucid and actual introduction to Kabbalah both for beginners and advanced students.

52 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007