Jewish mysticism, commonly referred to by the name of its collected text Kabbalah, is a subject of contention and much misunderstanding. Much of it came out of the teachings of Judaic scholars in the Middle Ages who attempted to create a deeply spiritual component of Judaism in conjunction with the daily rituals of Halakha and the rabbinic law of Talmud. These scholars were travelers and students of many different modes of thought throughout Europe, North Africa and Muslim-controlled Asia, so their mystical concepts often reflect those influences. It is most important to remember that Kabbalah was never intended to be a system of magic or an explanation of natural phenomena. Rather, it is a deeply metaphorical set of concepts that require an understanding of many Jewish topics and texts in order to apply properly. One of the central concepts in Kabbalah is the Ten Sephirot.

The Ten Sephirot are a metaphor for how Middle Ages Jewish scholars interpreted the divine, specifically as observed in the act and nature of creation. These ten attributes represent those aspects of consciousness and action the rabbis considered holy, of the highest regard. While they are presented as attributes of God, most are things we can see reflected in ourselves and more importantly they are things to which we can aspire.

Keter, meaning "Crown", is often absent from most representations of the Ten Sephirot, as it was later replaced by Da'at, so strictly speaking there are eleven Sephirot but only ten regularly recognized. The crown of Keter represents the inaccessible divinity of God above and outside all else. The sages came to a general consensus that in order for there to be a God-like divinity, it had to be fundamentally removed from all else to make it clear how that divinity is not subject to the same rules and limitations of life.

Da'at means "Discerning intellect, reason". This indicates not just general intellect but the logic behind a particular subject, i.e. "da'at mekanit" would translate as "the logic of automobiles". It is therefore considered holy to have a functional knowledge of what one creates as one creates it.

Khokhma means "Wisdom", though it is different than Da'at by merit of an inherent holiness or general above-ness. There is a moral element to this. It is intelligence that informs right action.

Binah is "Understanding". The word shares a root with the word Ben, meaning "son". The implication of this common root is that understanding results from a sort of epiphany with a logical "parentage" of thought, that Observation+Existing Knowledge = Understanding.

Khesed means "Kindness". This word appears in key places in the Bible to describe a common but no less remarkable human warmth. It indicates kindness beyond custom and obligation.

Gevurah is "Courage" or strength of disposition in the sense of battle, actual or metaphorical. The implication is that creative action requires real mettle, that it's not easy.

Tiferet means physical, or more accurately, intentional beauty. It shares a root for the word for "decoration". It's also important to note that, grammatically, this shouldn't stand alone. The lone adjectival version is "tiferah", so this implies a connection to a noun to come afterward. For example, "Tiferet Yisrael" means "the beauty of Israel". It's an intentional fill-in-the-blank. If one must create, one should create with an aim toward the beauty inherent to the creation.

Netzach is the hardest of the Sephirot to translate. Roughly, it comes out as "forward momentum, continuation". It is usually translated as "infinity" but that's really off the mark. It more closely implies the continual nature of creation and a forward-thinking attitude. If one must create, one can only create for the present and future.

Hod means "Glory" in the sense of formal recognition by others. It is tangentially related to the word todah, meaning "thank you". This indicates respect between the creation and the creator.

Yesod is "Foundation", as in the noun version of "to found". It is intentional creation with a slight implication of intended permanence.

Finally, Malkut is "Kingship", the state of being a leader. This is another dangling adjective that needs a proceeding noun to make grammatical sense, so it would be "kingship of _______". It could very well come out as "kingship in the realm of knitting" or "kingship of music". No matter what is being created, one is ultimately responsible for the well-being of the creation.