Essential Nature
Binah is the third Sefirah, known as Understanding or Intelligence. She is the Supernal Mother (Imma Ila'ah), the primordial womb from which all lower emanations emerge. Where Chokmah is the flash of insight, Binah is the deep contemplation that unfolds meaning.
Binah represents the feminine principle of reception, gestation, and articulation. She receives the seminal point of Chokmah and expands it into structured thought. As the "Palace of Understanding," Binah constructs the archetypal forms that will manifest in lower worlds.
"Binah is called Understanding because she comprehends and gives birth to all things... She is the mother who receives the seed of wisdom and brings forth understanding." โ Sefer Yetzirah 1:4, with commentary
In the Zohar, Binah is associated with Teshuvah (return/repentance), the principle of restoration and healing. She is the force that allows broken vessels to be mended and scattered sparks to return to their source.
Attributes & Correspondences
Pillar
Left Pillar
(Gevurah/Severity)
Planetary Body
Saturn
(Shabbatai)
Color
Black, Dark Brown
(In Atziluth: Crimson)
Principle
Restriction & Form
Gestation & Birth
Gender
Feminine
(Supernal Mother)
Key Concepts
The Supernal Mother (Imma)
Binah is called the Supernal Mother because she gives birth to the seven lower Sefirot. She is the womb of creation, the dark fertile void where potentiality becomes actuality.
"From Binah, all the lower emanations proceed... She is the river that flows and waters the garden, the source from which understanding spreads to all the worlds." โ Zohar I:15a
The Palace (Heikhal)
Binah is described as a Palace or chamberโa sacred space where wisdom is contemplated and elaborated. This is the realm of deep meditation and analytical thought.
The 50 Gates of Binah represent the 50 levels of understanding, of which Moses achieved 49 (the 50th remaining unknowable until the messianic age).
Teshuvah (Return)
Binah governs Teshuvahโthe power of return and restoration. Just as she gives birth, she also receives back what has fallen. The Jubilee year (50th year) is associated with Binah as the year of ultimate return and restoration.
"Repentance reaches unto the Throne, which is Binah... for there is the source of all return." โ Tikkunei Zohar 6
Gevurah & Restriction
As the head of the Left Pillar, Binah introduces the principle of restriction (Tzimtzum) and boundary. She gives form and definition, creating the vessels that can contain divine light. This limiting quality is what makes manifestation possible.
The World to Come (Olam HaBa)
Binah is associated with Olam HaBaโthe World to Comeโrepresenting the ultimate future state of perfection and understanding. She holds the vision of what will be when all sparks are restored.
Associated Sparks
Binah contains approximately 29 Sparks, derived from Names 21-49 of the 72 Names across the Four Worlds. Each Spark embodies a specific aspect of Understanding and the Supernal Mother's power.
Relationships to Other Sefirot
โ Receives from Keter
Binah receives the primordial will and pleasure from Keter and gives it structure and form.
โ Receives from Chokmah
The primary relationship: Chokmah (Father) provides the seed of wisdom, and Binah (Mother) gestates it into articulated understanding. This is the divine marriage of Abba and Imma.
โ Gives Birth to Da'at
From the union of Chokmah and Binah emerges Da'at (Knowledge), the hidden Sefirah that bridges the supernal and manifest realms.
โ Gives Birth to Chesed
Binah is the mother of Chesed (Loving-kindness), the first Sefirah of the manifest world below the Abyss.
โ Head of Left Pillar
Binah is the source of Gevurah (Severity) and Hod (Splendor), the limiting and structuring forces.
Ascension Practices for Binah
Stage 1: Recognition (1-3 days)
Study & Contemplation
- Read this page and the cited sources on Binah
- Meditate on the concept of Understanding vs. mere knowledge
- Journal: "What does it mean to truly understand something?"
- Contemplate the Divine Name: ืืืื ืืืืื (YHVH Elohim)
Stage 2: Intellectual Engagement (1-2 weeks)
Analysis & Structure
- The Palace Meditation: Visualize Binah as a vast, dark palace filled with infinite chambers. Each chamber contains one aspect of understanding.
- The 50 Gates Practice: Each day, contemplate one of the 50 Gates of Understanding (50 levels of comprehension of any subject)
- Analytical Study: Choose a complex text (Zohar, Talmud, philosophical work) and study it deeply, unpacking layers of meaning
- Build a System: Take an area of your life and create a comprehensive organizational structure for it
Stage 3: Emotional Integration (2-4 weeks)
The Mother's Womb
- Receiving Practice: Practice pure receptivityโlistening deeply without formulating responses
- Gestation Meditation: Take a seed idea and "hold" it in meditation daily, allowing it to slowly unfold
- Teshuvah Work: Identify something broken in your life and contemplate the path back to wholeness
- Saturn Day Observance: Dedicate Saturdays to deep contemplation and restriction (digital fast, silence, etc.)
Stage 5: Service & Teaching (3-6 months)
The Mother Gives Birth
- Teach a complex subject, breaking it down into understandable parts
- Facilitate healing and restoration in your community
- Create structures/systems that help others organize their lives
- Become an elder/wise counsel in your domain
Stage 6: Mastery & Transformation (6-12 months)
The 50th Gate
- Deep Contemplative Practice: Daily 1-2 hour meditation sessions in silence
- Mystery Study: Engage with the deepest mystical texts and contemplate their hidden meanings
- Vision of Return: Hold the vision of ultimate restoration (personal and cosmic)
- Integration: Binah's understanding should now permeate all aspects of life
Stage 7: Unity (Ongoing)
Dwelling in the Palace
- Live as embodied Understandingโa walking temple of Binah
- Your presence brings structure and healing to chaos
- You see the deep patterns in all things
- You facilitate return and restoration effortlessly
- Continue deepeningโthe 50th Gate is approached but never fully grasped in this life
Core Binah Meditation
Duration: 20-30 minutes daily
- Preparation: Sit in darkness or with eyes closed. Establish slow, deep breathing.
- Invocation: Whisper the Divine Name: ืืืื ืืืืื (YHVH Elohim) 7 times
- Visualization: See yourself entering a vast, dark palace. The darkness is not emptyโit is pregnant with infinite potential.
- Reception: In the center of the palace is a throne. Sit upon it. You are the Mother, receiving all that comes.
- The Seed: From above, a single point of brilliant white light (Chokmah) descends into your heart.
- Gestation: Hold this light in your heart. Feel it slowly expanding, revealing layers of meaning, structure, and understanding.
- The 50 Gates: See the light unfold into 50 doors in the palace, each revealing a deeper level of comprehension.
- Understanding: Rest in the knowing that comes not from thinking, but from deep seeing.
- Closure: Thank the Mother. Slowly return to normal consciousness. Journal any insights.
Sources & Further Reading
- Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) 1:4
- Zohar I:15a, I:50a, I:246b (Binah and the Supernal Mother)
- Tikkunei Zohar 6 (Binah and Teshuvah)
- Pardes Rimonim (Orchard of Pomegranates) by Moses Cordovero, Gate of the Sefirot
- Etz Chaim (Tree of Life) by Isaac Luria, Portal of the Sefirot
- The Bahir (Book of Illumination) ยง107-124
- "The Mystical Shape of the Godhead" by Gershom Scholem, Ch. 4
- "A Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism Reader" ed. Daniel M. Horwitz, Section on Binah