# Ohr

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{{Short description|Term in the Jewish mystical tradition}}
{{Hatnote|1="Ma'ohr" (luminary), "Kli" (vessel), "[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Makkif&redirect=no Makkif]"{{efn|1=e.g., ["makkif" is] mentioned in -- and "[linked to](/source/hyperlink)" from -- the last bullet point of the "[Levels of divine service](/source/Tanya_(Judaism))" sub-section of [this [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tanya_(Judaism)&oldid=1325627667#Levels_of_divine_service version] of] the article about [Tanya (Judaism)](/source/Tanya_(Judaism))}} (encompassing, surrounding), and "Shefa"{{efn|1=('''see''' [the explanation about "Shefa" in] the introductory part of this article)}} ("flow" or pleanty) redirect here. For vessels in the Talmud, see [Keilim](/source/Keilim).
<br />For other uses, see [Ohr (disambiguation)](/source/Ohr_(disambiguation)) and [KLI](/source/KLI_(disambiguation)).}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=March 2016}}
{{Sources exist|date=August 2024}}
}}
{{Kabbalah}}
'''Ohr''' ({{langx|he|אור|ʾor|Light}}, plural: {{lang|he|אורות}} ''ʾoroṯ'') is a central [Kabbalistic](/source/Kabbalah) term in [Jewish mysticism](/source/Jewish_mysticism). The analogy to [physical light](/source/Light) describes [divine emanations](/source/emanationism). '''Shefa''' "flow" ({{lang|he|שפע}} ''šep̄aʿ'') and its derivative, '''hashpaʾa''' "influence" ({{lang|he|השפעה}} ''hašpāʿā''), are sometimes alternatively used in [Kabbalah](/source/Kabbalah) and medieval [Jewish philosophy](/source/Jewish_philosophy) to mean divine influence, while the Kabbalists favour ''ʾor'' because its [numerical value](/source/gematria) equals {{lang|he|ר״ז}}, a homonym for {{lang|he|רז}} ''rāz'' "mystery".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schochet |first1=Jacob Immanuel |author1-link=Jacob Immanuel Schochet |title=Mystical Concepts in Chassidism: An Introduction to Kabbalistic Concepts and Doctrines, 3d Revised Edition |date=1988 |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |isbn=978-0-8266-0412-5 |pages=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vFvOPwAACAAJ |quote=The mystics have a special affinity for the term Or because its numerical value (gematriya) is equivalent to that of raz (mystery): "'Let there be light' (Gen. 1:3)-i.e., let there be Raz (Mystery; Concealment); for Raz and Or are one thing"; Zohar I:140a and ''Zohar Chadash'', Bereishit:8d; see Tikunei Zohur 21:53b, and cf. R. Moses Cordovero, Or Ne'erau (Fuerth,1701),111:ch.4.}}</ref> ''ʾOr'' is one of the two main Kabbalistic metaphors for understanding [God](/source/God_in_Judaism), along with the other metaphor of the human soul-body relationship for the [sefirot](/source/sefirot).<ref>''Mystical Concepts in Chassidism'', Kehot pub., chapter 1 "Anthropomorphism and Metaphors": (i Anthropomorphism, ii The Man-Metaphor, iii The Light-Metaphor)</ref>

==Image gallery==

<gallery>
File:Tree of Life, Medieval.jpg|Latin translation of ''Shaare Orah'' שערי אורה "The Gates of Light", one of the most influential presentations of the Kabbalistic system, by [Joseph Gikatilla](/source/Joseph_Gikatilla) in the 13th century<ref>Caption to this illustration on p.2 of ''Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction'', [Joseph Dan](/source/Joseph_Dan), Oxford University Press</ref>
File:Ancient shul in meron.jpg|Galilean [Meron](/source/Meron%2C_Israel). "Nature" ''HaTeva'' is the [numerical value](/source/Gematria) of ''[Elohim](/source/Elohim)'', the [name](/source/Names_of_God_in_Judaism) of [immanent](/source/Divine_immanence) light. The [Tetragrammaton](/source/Tetragrammaton) [transcendence](/source/Divine_transcendence) creates through it. Kabbalistically, in [Israel](/source/Land_of_Israel) the concealment is less severe.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [Ayin and Yesh](/source/Ayin_and_Yesh)
* [Deveikut](/source/Deveikut)
* [Divine light](/source/Divine_light)
* [Ein Sof](/source/Ein_Sof)
* [Emanationism](/source/Emanationism)
* [Essence–energies distinction](/source/Essence%E2%80%93energies_distinction)
* [Nur Muhammad](/source/N%C5%ABr_(Islam))
* [Panentheism](/source/Panentheism)
* [Sephirot](/source/Sephirot)
* [Thirteen Attributes of Mercy](/source/Thirteen_Attributes_of_Mercy)
* [Tzimtzum](/source/Tzimtzum)
* [Uncreated Light](/source/Uncreated_Light)
* [World of Light](/source/World_of_Light)
* [Taiji (philosophy)](/source/Taiji_(philosophy))
}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{Notelist}}

Category:Jewish theology
Category:Kabbalah
Category:Sefirot
Category:Hebrew words and phrases
Category:Kabbalistic words and phrases
Category:Light and religion

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ohr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohr) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohr?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.