Children of the Four Worlds

  Assiyah:   One kind of child (the so-called “simple son”) asks:  “ Mah zot?   What is that?”  This is the child of  Assiyah , the world of doing.   Assiyah  people are most interested in practical action, the physical senses, and tangible things.

Yetzirah:   Another child (the so-called “wicked son”) asks:  “What does this ritual mean to  you ?”  This is the child of  Yetzirah , the world of intuition, dreams, and metaphors.   Yetzirah people are most interested in personal symbolic meanings. They are introspective and find more truth in the arts than in the sciences.

Beriah:   A third child (the so-called “wise son”) asks:  “What is the meaning of the statutes, laws, and rules which our God has commanded?”  This is the child of  Beriah , the world of the intellect.   Beriah  people love abstract thinking.

Atzilut:   The fourth kind of child (the so-called “son who does not know how to ask”) is silent.  This is the child of  Atzilut , the world of divine emanation, where all forms are aspects of God.   Atzilut  people seek a life of mystery, ecstasy, and divine union.

Though every human has a particular strength, all four of these worlds are aspects of being fully human. We fail if we reject one of the worlds and try to exclude it from our lives.

Pause for a few moments and consider silently:  Am I spending too much of my energy in one of the worlds— Assiyah, Yetzirah, Beriah,  or  Atzilut ?  Am I stuck in that world, that approach to life, as if it were an Egypt? Do I need to liberate myself so I can receive the blessings of a different world?


haggadah Section: -- Four Children