Q: What are the stones or jewels associated with each Hebrew tribe?
A: There are a few systems in Kabbalah regarding the correspondence between the sefirot and the tribes, but the primary version is that of the central authority of Kabbalah, the holy Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria, in Likutei Torah, parshat Vayeitzei). According to this, the correspondence between the stones, the tribes, and the sefirot (which, if you have read our book The Alef Beit, you recognize as corresponding to the dimensions of Worlds, Souls, and Divinity), are:
keter Zebulun
chochmah Isaachar
da'at Levi
chesed Reuben
gevurah Simeon
tiferet Dinah
yesod Yosef
malchut Judah
The tribes and their corresponding stones:
Reuben odem
Simon pitdah
Levi bareket
Judah nofech
Issachar sapir
Zebulun yahalom
Benjamin yoshfeh
Dan leshem
Naftali shevo
Gad achlamah
Asher tarshish
Joseph shoham
There is considerable uncertainty today with regard to the identification of the Hebrew terms for the stones. There is in fact a whole body of literature devoted to this research, and a number of suggestions have been proposed by Torah scholars working in conjunction with experts in the various fields of Hebrew linguistics, archeology, ancient history and the study of stones and gems. Unfortunately, no completely conclusive identifications have been made, and it appears as though we will have to wait for Moshiach's arrival before we know with certainty which stone is which.
