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Sha'arei Orah (Gates of Light) is a book by Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla. It is a book of kabbalah and features an in-depth discussions on the attributes of each sefirah. However, many of its statements (at first pass) appear contradictory. For instance (names of God are altered):

  • Adoshem is fed by and raised up by Kel Chai, but Kel Chai is also said to be an attribute of Adoshem - so each raises up the other?
  • The essence of Brit is divided into the Brit of Binah, Brit of Adoshem, and Brit of Kel Chai, each of which is the essence of different aspects. The ensuing paragraphs repeatedly contradict which element (most notably Torah and Shabbat) is an aspect of which Brit. This in particular I found so confusing that "Rabbi Gikatilla kept forgetting which one was which" or "There was a massive scribal error" both feel like serious possibilities.
  • Tzedek is said to be a cognomen of Adoshem and Tzadik a cognomen of Kel Chai, but Tzadik contains Tzedek within it. So is Tzedek of Kel Chai or Adoshem? (One could perhaps argue that Tzadik being of Kel Chai has its "lower form" of Tzedek attached to Adoshem, but I'm mostly guessing)
  • Mishpat is somehow a cognomen of Adoshem (of Malchut) and the essence of Tiferet (a totally different sefirah) at the same time

All told, I find the book often confusing and repeatedly self-contradictory, with many cases of aspects which appear to support alternate names for themselves, be both holding and held up by each other, be the essence of two different things at once, or similar. Is this an intentional element of the book? Am I missing something? Is this because I am reading the book in translation (though many words have transliterations provided)?

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    It was written during a time when Kabbalists would deliberately obfuscate the lessons, making it impossible to learn without a teacher.
    – Rabbi Kaii
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 16:03
  • In Kabbalah some terms could have multiple meanings. It seems less like a logical contradiction and more that you are not familiar with the style.
    – user15294
    Commented Dec 26, 2023 at 23:44
  • This is exactly why not anyone can pick up a kabbalah book. Generally, if you can't read a book of kabbalah in the original, you definitely shouldn't read it in translation. And this goes for many other works that are more basic than kabbalah, such as advanced Talmudic and halachic works.
    – N.T.
    Commented Dec 27, 2023 at 7:50
  • @N.T. Unfortunately, I have nobody to study with (who cares about Kabbalah), no copy of the Hebrew original, and no good place to learn Hebrew from. This (and the nightmarishly complicated flow chart I have been creating to keep track of it all) is all I've got. It may not be optimal, but my choice is "sort of learning Sha'arei Orah in this way, getting confused by a lot, but still having a couple very interesting insights" or never learning it at all.
    – Benyamin
    Commented Dec 27, 2023 at 13:49
  • The confusion is going to be worse than the few insights you might get, which even then will be suspect. A better approach is to start with more basic works, and find a way to learn Hebrew. If you have an internet connection, you can learn. Try webyeshiva, or a similar website.
    – N.T.
    Commented Dec 28, 2023 at 8:12

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