Sefer Yetzirah: title, textual versions and correspondence tables
Sefer Yetzirah is a short Jewish text commonly called the Book of Formation or Book of Creation in English. It connects numbers, Hebrew letters and the created world. When looking up a passage or correspondence, the version and translation are essential parts of the reference.
Published · Our editorial approach
Term and spelling
ספר יצירה · Sefer Yetzirah / Sefer Yesira / Sefer Yetsirah: Book of Formation or Creation.
Begin with its own vocabulary
Chapter 1 introduces ten sefirot belimah and twenty-two foundation letters. Later diagrams and commentary can help explain how readers have understood those words, but should remain distinguishable from the text you opened. An introduction to the book and an interpretation of a passage are different kinds of help.
The book survives through different versions
Mohr Siebeck’s description of A. Peter Hayman’s critical edition identifies Short, Long and Saadyan recensions and a comparison of manuscript readings. This is evidence for treating the text as a versioned work. The publisher also describes its early reception and later importance to Kabbalah; that does not establish one certain ancient author or a single date of composition.
A title such as “Gra version” identifies the textual tradition used in the edition you are reading. It does not mean that the Vilna Gaon authored the original work. Record the base text, translation and commentary separately before copying a table into your notes.
Sources: Mohr Siebeck · A. Peter Hayman, Sefer Yesira critical edition
A month table needs the version beside it
Mazalogy uses the Gra version, chapter 5, for its month, letter, sign and faculty correspondences. For example, 5:7 associates Heh, speech, Aries and Nisan. Other displayed versions arrange some faculties differently, so combining lists without naming their sources creates a table that no single linked passage may support.
The source’s twelvefold Adar entry is also distinct from applying it to a thirteen-month leap year. Mazalogy labels grouping Adar I and Adar II under one correspondence as an editorial convention. The calendar preserves the actual Adar month, while the month reference explains the application.
Sources: Sefer Yetzirah · Gra version, chapter 5, especially 5:7–10 · Sefer Yetzirah · Another version, chapter 5:1–2
Use the book guide for a slower reading
For a lookup, save the title, version and exact passage. For guided study, continue to the existing Sefer Yetzirah book introduction and its related learning path. You can check a small correspondence without assuming that it supplies a deterministic account of a person’s life.
Related terms and learning
Sources and editorial approach
Prepared by Mazalogy with AI assistance and the named sources. Definitions summarize a source in its context; reading exercises are contemporary editorial work. Source attribution does not imply that its author or institution reviewed or endorsed this page.