Spirituality Studies 47 Arik Segev odologically and educationally be justified by Marion’s idea of the “endless hermeneutics” needed to make sense of the “saturated phenomenon” – the excess of the phenomenon experienced (Mackinlay 2010, 35–36). As such, the meaning of the Sefirot can be revealed step by step, and their accumulated meaning can spread over time and be experienced with increasing clarity. Second, it hermeneutically translates the mystical symbols of the Ten Sefirot (such as Chesed, Gevurah, and Tiferet) from divine attributes into universal educational categories and distinct stages of existential awareness. In other words, the phenomenological aspect is expressed in the description of how a developing consciousness becomes aware of – experiences, discloses, and conceives – the ten dimensions of Being, analyzing them as structural phases in the education of the spirit towards wisdom. The hermeneutical aspect is expressed by analyzing each Sefirah’s unique character through the lens of classical metaphysical and ethical theories, as well as the etymological interpretation of their specific names. The resulting map interprets the meaning of each of the Ten Sefirot as they are disclosed and experienced by a developing consciousness, how they change that consciousness, and within their interrelationships with the next Sefirah on the path, as well as within the overall model. Another methodological-phenomenological aspect that supports the rationale and justification of the proposed educational roadmap stems from the inner coherence in the description; a coherence of the changes in experience, in the way these changes cohere with the description of the outer independent aspects of being and developmental stages that the consciousness experiences and gradually becomes more clearly and sharply aware of. One more tool that may enable us to assume the independent essence and meaning of the Ten Sefirot is a transcendental argument, that is, philosophical arguments that reveal the necessary (un-empirical and generally un-obvious or unknown) pre-conditions of a generally accepted phenomenon from which we start (Stern and Cheng 2023). Thus, we assume that the mind-independent essence of the Ten Sefirot is a non-empirical conceptual precondition for the possibility of the ideas of truth, wisdom, morality, and education in any characterization of being that we conceive. See an analogous argument by Maimonides (1912, chap. 8) regarding the essential freedom and autonomous virtue of human beings, which necessarily preconditions many aspects of life we cannot imagine living without – aspects that emanate from and are conditioned by the essence and idea of human autonomy and freedom. 3.1 Limitations of the Study Having argued all the above, the necessity of relying on a theological-phenomenological approach remains a limitation of this study. While I hope I offered reasonable methodological justifications and rationale – arguments that provide a robust academic foundation for the study – the study remains a theoretical idea until (if at all possible) it is proven empirically. Regarding the study’s content, one limitation is that it does not describe how consciousness can expand its awareness to encompass other aspects of Being. In other words, it does not describe the specific educational exercises and practical demands of each spiritual stage that may help a person develop and progress to the next stage. In that sense, it is a model that describes the different ten spiritual “sites” within which the soul should try to be, but not how to get there. Future research should address this issue.
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