5 Worlds - Jewish Cosmology
What if the universe you see is only a fraction of what truly exists? The jewish tradition tells of five worlds, Assiyah, Yetzirah, Beriyah, Atzilut, and Adam Kadmon.
What if the universe you see is only a fraction of what truly exists? And I don't mean distant planets and galaxies yet to be discovered, but other dimensions, alternate realities all around us - all outside of our ability to sense?
This is how the ancient Jewish tradition views reality, not as a single [physical] plane, but a layered hierarchy of worlds, some more refined and spiritual.
In this article, we'll study what are often referred to as the five worlds. The tradition is deep and offers a cosmic map that unifies not just your physical reality, but also the heavens and your inner spiritual capacity, too.
The Five Worlds
Within the Hebrew words of the Bible, the Rabbis uncovered a hint at the cosmological structure of creation. But you won't find these ideas in an English translation; instead, these are revealed in the Jewish hermeneutical methodology¹.
Specifically, the tradition identifies five worlds. Not planets. Think in terms of dimensions for now. Just like dimensions, humans are unable to perceive higher dimensions outside of time and space. They are concealed from us.
This truth is actually hinted at in the Hebrew word for "world" (Olam/עוֹלם). It comes from the root word Elam (עלם), which means concealed.
While hints are found in various places in scripture, the Book of Isaiah encodes the five worlds in succession.
“All who are linked to My name, Whom I have created, Formed, and made for My glory”- Isaiah 43:7
Tradition maps these out as follows;
| World | Meaning | Term | Order | Desc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָדָם קַדְמוֹן (Adam Kadmon) | Primordial Man | My Name | 1st | The first emanation; pure divine will before differentiation—closest to the Infinite (Ein Sof). |
| אֲצִילוּת (Atzilut) | Emanation | My Glory | 2nd | The world of Divine Presence and unity; source of the Sefirot. |
| בְּרִיאָה (Beriyah) | Creation | Created | 3rd | The world of Creation; beginning of separation. The realm of the divine throne and archangels. |
| יְצִירָה (Yetzirah) | Formation | Formed | 4th | The world of Formation; the realm of angels and emotion. |
| עֲשִׂיָּה (Assiyah) | Action | Made | 5th (Lowest) | The physical world, action and deeds. |
We will now explore the unique characteristics of these five worlds.
Ascending and Descending the Worlds
When speaking about spiritual concepts, it is helpful to use metaphors to aid our understanding. One ancient metaphor is that of a ladder, reflecting on Jacob's vision in Genesis 28.
In his vision, Jacob received a glimpse of a kind of wormhole between the upper and lower worlds. Like a ladder, he watched the angels ascending and descending, moving between these dimensions.
The higher the world, the more spiritually pure it is. With a 'closer' in spiritual proximity to the Creator, the upper worlds contain a higher degree of Divine Light. The highest world is known as Adam Kadmon².
As we move towards the lower worlds, existence becomes more separated, darkened from the spiritual until we reach a state of physicality and duality. The lowest is known as Assiyah. This is our world, and it is in this world that evil³ has the greatest potential to exist, and even thrive.
As we have an entire article on Adam Kadmon, we will begin our focus with the world of Atzilut.
The chart below will help visualize these worlds.