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Chesed, also called Gedullah,
is the comforter, the restorative, the silver lining.
Chesed, or "Mercy," is the reward when we survive
Gevurah; It is where we can drink
deep of the joy in life, and show appreciation. Tipharet
is justified through Gevurah into the bounty of Chesed. Chesed,
on the same level as Gevurah, has the same authority.
The Zohar associates Chesed with Abraham, because his love for
God was so great that he was prepared to sacrifice his own son
at the Holy command. Isaac is associated with Gevurah, perhaps
partly because of his anger for what had almost been done to
him.
Chesed, forming a triad with Tipharet and Gevurah, balances
three forces: The Heart (Tipharet),
Judgement (Gevurah), and Generosity
(Chesed).
Chesed is from the same root as the word "Hassid,"
as in "Hassidic Jews." A Hassid is someone who is
fervently religious, who goes above and beyond the call of duty
out of devotion and love of God.
From Chesed flows the merciful qualities of the Divine intelligence.
Potentials of Chesed: Deep love, bliss, tenderness, abundance,
achievement, preservation, respect, enthusiasm, leadership,
optimism, caring, safety, protection, trust, success, well-earned
rewards, generosity, gratitude, realized interpersonal love
and union, insight, knowledge, understanding, and learning.
• Quick to judge and criticize, or
• Restraint and reflection before judgement
• A giver or a taker in relationships
• Ethical honesty; knowing when an action is selfish
Chesed/Gevurah is a check-and-balance system; is has a form
of parallax, and depth perception, discussed in Key 6.
Balance, always a core concept in Qabala, manifests itself in
the soul triad as a synthesis of our more developed thinking,
feeling and sensing functions. Imbalance with too much Chesed
brings emotional weakness, gullibility, melancholia, victimhood,
masochism, and helplessness.
A person who lives on the beneficence of someone else and loses
their identity has a Chesed imbalance. This person becomes a
vessel of the benefactor.
Chesed is the giving nature, and is balanced by Gevurah, which
is restraint. Chesed is the boundless outpouring of divine desire
to give. Gevurah, or 'might,' is the energy of constriction
or withdrawal, also called Tzimtzum, which contains or circumscribes
the rush of life force. The divine attribute of Gevurah condenses
the Chesed flow of light and life force, concealing it within
materiality, so that creatures can live and matter exist screened
from the intensity of the very forces providing the source of
their existence.
Chesed is the male force, emitting energy, while Gevurah, the
female force, is the container that channels that energy. Men
DO, Women BE. Woman is the "akeret habayit" - the
essence of the home - the Temple of the Family, while Man simply
lives in the house.
The Soul Triad is comprised of the Primary colors.
The fragrance ascribed to Sepher Chesed is Cedar. Chesed is
associated with Zeus; it is the sphere of the philosopher king.
Chesed symbolizes our spiritual and religious needs, and the
tendency to expansion.
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