Gevurah (Kabbalah)

Gevurah or geburah (גבורה) is the fifth sephirah in the kabbalistic tree of life, and it is the second of the emotive attributes of the sephirot. It sits below Binah, across from Chesed, and above Hod.

Gevurah is 'the essence of judgment (DIN) and limitation, and corresponds to awe and the element of fire,'

In the Bahir it is written "And who are the Officers? We learned that there are three. Strength (Gevurah) Is the Officer of all the Holy Forms to the left of the Blessed Holy One. He is Gabriel."

Gevurah is associated with the color red.

Gevurah is the fifth of the ten Sefirot, and second of the emotive attributes in Creation, and which corresponds to the second day of creation(Zohar 2:127b). In the Bahir it says "What is the fifth (utterance)? Fifth is the great fire of God, of which it says 'let me see no more of this great fire, lest I die (Deut 18:16). This is the left hand of God".

Gevurah is understood as God's mode of punishing the wicked and judging humanity in general. It is the foundation of stringency, absolute adherence to the letter of the law, and strict meting out of justice. This stands in contrast to Chesed.

We thus speak of God's primary modes of action as being the kindness and unaccountability of Chesed, versus the stringency and strict accountability of Gevurah. It is called "might" because of the power of God's absolute judgment.

Gevurah is associated in the soul with the power to restrain one's innate urge to bestow goodness upon others, when the recipient of that good is judged to be unworthy and liable to misuse it. As the force which measures and assesses the worthiness of Creation, Gevurah is also referred to in Kabbalah as 'Midat Hadin' ("the attribute of judgment"). It is the restraining might of Gevurah which allows one to overcome his enemies, be they from without or from within (his evil inclination).

The angelic order of this sphere is the Seraphim, ruled by the Archangel Samael. The opposing Qliphah is represented by the demonic order Golachab, ruled by the Archdemon Asmodeus.

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