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Lesson 4: 4 Elements Fire/Water/Air/Earth Fire As you probably can tell, I really enjoy the idea of fire. My first name, Moshe, only bares the element of fire within it. This is generally not a healthy thing as if a person has an uncontrolled fire, they can simply burn from it and in life, dream and dream and end up accomplishing nothing. But, should they channel this and direct it positively, it truly becomes a valuable element to have. The other significant elements are Air, Water, and Earth. We will speak of this in more detail in another lesson. When many Tzaddikim left this world, tradition has it that those closest to them, are able to see a ray of fire ascend from their body. Angels are many times referred to in terms of fire. Sefiros are seen as lights flashing. It could be some see them acting in similar ways as fire does. Of course, there is nothing physical about the spiritual realms. We can only allude to them in terms in which we understand. So what do we know about Fire? -Fire comes from the Sefirah of Binah, Understanding. -Heaven was created from Fire -Fire is the electromagnetic force. It is through this that all matter interacts. -Fire is energy. -The Midrash states, "fire conceived and gave birth to light". (Sh'mos Rabbah 15:22) -Fire is dry and hot and its corresponding humor (bile) is red. Excerpt from Sefer Yetzirah by Aryeh Kaplan -Fire is represented by the letter Shin. Shin is the dominant letter in the word Esh, meaning fire. It is joined with the Alef, reprsenting air, because a fire cannot exist without air. (Raziel 11b) -The three heads of the Shin also suggest the flames of the fire. The hissing sound of this letter furthermore is like the hiss of a flame. End Excerpt
Water -Damp and hot, its corresponding humor is green MORE TO COME Air -Damp and hot, corresponding humor is white MORE TO COME Earth -Dry and cold, corresponding humor is black MORE TO COME
Combinations of Elements There are five parts of the mouth used to articulate speech, involving both fire and water. As it takes both heat and moisture to produce speech. Rambam shows how below the celestrial band in which the moon orbits, there are four more bands, each one a sourc efor one of the four elements. MORE TO COME |