The Spiritual Meaning of Colors in Kabbalah: White, Red, Blue, and Black Explained

According to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), the very first pure divine light from which all of creation came forth is known as the sefirah (divine emanation) of Keter (Crown). This highest spiritual source contains within it all the other ten sefirot and is represented by a radiant white light. From Keter, all the other sefirot emerge, each associated with a different spiritual color.

In his classic Kabbalistic work Pardes Rimonim, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (known as the Ramak) elaborates on which color is associated with each of the ten sefirot. He clarifies that these colors are not literal or physical but are symbolic of the sefirot’s spiritual functions. Nonetheless, every color in our physical world is rooted in its corresponding spiritual source and derives its properties from it. He explains as follows:

Often a reader of Kabbalistic texts or the Zohar will find that specific colors are attributed to each of the sefirot. The reader must be cautious not to take these descriptions literally. Color is a physical quality- something you can see with the eye- whereas the sefirot are not physical. Assigning literal color to spiritual emanations is a mistake that leads to a distorted understanding of divine concepts. Anyone who believes these colors are real is effectively materializing the divine, which is forbidden.

Instead, the colors are metaphors for the way the sefirot influence the world. For example, the color red is associated with Gevurah (Strength or Judgment) because red symbolizes bloodshed and intensity- traits found in war, anger, and fierce justice. Therefore, strong divine judgment is metaphorically described as red. Likewise, all red-colored things in the natural world reflect the influence of this spiritual root.

White, by contrast, symbolizes kindness, compassion, and peace. It is the color associated with mercy, often embodied by the elderly and the wise, who are traditionally seen as gentle and peaceful. When we speak of divine mercy, we describe it in terms of whiteness. All white things in the natural world also draw their spiritual force from this source.

There is no doubt that colors play a role in spiritual flow. For this reason, when a person wants to draw down divine compassion into the world, they visualize the name of the sefirah Chesed (Kindness) in white light. If it’s complete kindness, the light is pure white; if it’s mixed, they might imagine a softer white like limestone. Conversely, if one wants to draw divine judgment, they might wear red garments and visualize the divine name in red. For compassion and mercy, one would dress in white.

We find support for this in the garments of the ancient Temple priests, who served as channels of divine kindness and wore white to symbolize peace. The High Priest on Yom Kippur would remove his golden garments and put on pure white robes because the service of the day was rooted in mercy.

Another powerful example is the High Priest’s breastplate, which held twelve different gemstones, each a different color, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. Each color was chosen based on its spiritual root and connection to the tribe it represented.

This also explains the miracle of the red wool thread (called “lashon shel zehorit”) used in the Temple. On Yom Kippur, this red wool would turn white if the people’s sins were forgiven, because when judgment (red) is transformed at its root to mercy (white), the result is revealed as a physical change so that red becomes white.

Elsewhere in Pardes Rimonim, the Ramak writes that white is the color of the angel Michael, who represents kindness and mercy, while red is the color of the angel Gabriel, who represents judgment and severity.

White vs. Black, Blue vs. Red

Broadly speaking, the sefirot aligned with divine kindness function like a giving, masculine energy and are associated with the colors white and blue (or tekhelet, a sky-blue). The sefirot aligned with divine judgment, which function more like a receiving or constricting force, are associated with red and black.

Black is seen as a form of red in a diminished state. As the Talmud explains: “Black blood is red blood that has decayed.” Fire, too, which is red and consumes without giving back, leaves behind blackened ash. Even the red color of the sky at sunset, just before nightfall, signifies the transition into a time ruled by harsher forces, symbolized by darkness and blackness, as it says: “You bring on darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest stir.”

On the other hand, water- though clear and white in its essence- often appears blue to our eyes. This is for the same reason the sky appears blue- certain elements in water and air absorb and scatter blue wavelengths of sunlight more than others. The Torah even commands that the central thread of the tzitzit (ritual fringes worn by Jews) be dyed with tekhelet, a sea-blue derived from a marine snail, as it offers divine protection.

Sky-Blue and Tzitzit

Rabbi Meir once said: “Why was tekhelet chosen from among all colors for tzitzit? Because tekhelet resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the sky, and the sky resembles the Divine Throne.

The white and blue threads of the tzitzit draw down divine mercy and protect the wearer from all directions. They function “beyond the letter of the law,” which is associated with the harsh judgment of Gevurah. Since the Temple was destroyed and the source of tekheletlost, white threads alone suffice to draw this spiritual influence.

Even in metals, this principle holds. Gold, with its reddish hue, is linked to judgment; silver, with its white sheen, is linked to kindness. This is why the structure of the Mishkan (the desert sanctuary) reflected this balance: its posts stood on silver bases but were overlaid with gold. Similarly, the priestly garments and the Temple tapestries were woven from white linen (representing Chesed), blue wool, purple-red wool (argaman), and scarlet wool, all paired with gold thread. Together, these elements balanced the spiritual energies of kindness and judgment, making the Mishkan a powerful channel for divine light.

This same symbolism appears in Jewish tradition today: meat utensils (which stem from the trait of judgment) are often marked in red, while dairy utensils (which stem from kindness) are marked in blue.

It’s remarkable how this balance shows up even in nature. The sky and clouds above are white and blue- givers from above. The earth and soil below are red and brown- receivers from below. The same masculine and feminine dynamic of giving and receiving, kindness and judgment, is mirrored across creation. Everything in the universe was designed by a single divine wisdom, following the principles of the sefirot and their symbolic colors. This pattern reveals itself in every layer of life- in nature, in ritual, and in the design of the world itself.