Ein Sof, or Ayn Sof, Atzmus, Ohr Ein Sof, Tzimtzum, Ohrot and Keilim, Ratzo and Shuv

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Ein Sof, or Ayn Sof, (/eɪn sɒf/, Hebrew אין סוף), in Kabbalah, is understood as God prior to his self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual Realm, probably derived from Ibn Gabirol's term, "the Endless One" (she-en lo tiklah). Ein Sof may be translated as "no end", "unending", "there is no end", or infinite.

Ein Sof is the divine origin of all created existence, in contrast to the Ein (or Ayn), which is infinite no-thingness. It was first used by Azriel ben Menahem, who, sharing the Neoplatonic view that God can have no desire, thought, word, or action, emphasized by it the negation of any attribute. Of the Ein Sof, nothing ("Ein") can be grasped ("Sof"-limitation). It is the origin of the Ohr Ein Sof, the "Infinite Light" of paradoxical divine self-knowledge, nullified within the Ein Sof prior to Creation. InLurianic Kabbalah, the first act of Creation, the Tzimtzum self "withdrawal" of God to create an "empty space", takes place from there. In Hasidism, the Tzimtzum is only illusionary concealment of the Ohr Ein Sof, giving rise to Monistic Panentheism. Consequently, Hasidism focuses on the Atzmus Divine essence, rooted higher within the Godhead than the Ein Sof, which is limited to infinitude, and reflected in the essence (Etzem) of the Torah and the soul.

Explanation[edit]

The Zohar explains the term "Ein Sof" as follows:

Before He gave any shape to the world, before He produced any form, He was alone, without form and without resemblance to anything else. Who then can comprehend how He was before the Creation? Hence it is forbidden to lend Him any form or similitude, or even to call Him by His sacred name, or to indicate Him by a single letter or a single point... But after He created the form of the Heavenly Man, He used him as a chariot wherein to descend, and He wishes to be called after His form, which is the sacred name "YHWH".^[1]

In other words, "Ein Sof" signifies "the nameless being." In another passage the Zohar reduces the term to "Ein" (non-existent), because God so transcends human understanding as to be practically non-existent.^[2]

In addition to the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, other well-known explications of the relation between Ein Sof and all other realities and levels of reality have been formulated by the Jewish mystical thinkers of the Middle Ages, such as Isaac the Blind and Azriel.^[3] Judah Ḥayyaṭ, in his commentary Minḥat Yehudah on the Ma'areket Elahut, gives the following explanation of the term "Ein Sof":

Any name of God which is found in the Bible can not be applied to the Deity prior to His self-manifestation in the Creation, because the letters of those names were produced only after the emanation. . . . Moreover, a name implies a limitation in its bearer; and this is impossible in connection with the 'Ein Sof.'

The Ten Sefirot[edit]

Main articles: Sephirot and Ohr

According to Gershom Scholem, the Ein Sof is the emanator of the ten sefirot. Sefirot are energy emanations found on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.^[3] Ein Sof, the Atik Yomin ("Ancient of Days"), emanates the sefirot into the cosmic womb of the Ayin in a manner that results in the created universe. The three letters composing the word "Ayin," (אי״ן) indicate the first three purely intellectual sefirot, which precede any emotion or action.^[4] The order of devolution can be described as:

000. Ayin (Nothing; אין)

00. Ein Sof (Limitlessness; אין סוף)

0. Ohr Ein Sof (Endless Light; אור אין סוף)

-.Tzimtzum (Contraction; צמצום)

Keter (Crown; כתר)
Chokhmah (Wisdom; חכמה)
Binah (Understanding; בינה)
Chesed or Gedulah (Loving Kindness or Mercy; חסד)
Gevurah or Din (Power or Judgement; גבורה)
Tiferet (Beauty or Compassion; תפארת)
Netzach (Triumph or Endurance; נצח)
Hod (Majesty or Splendor; הוד)
Yesod (Foundation; יסוד)
Malchut (Realm; מלכות)

The ten sefirot were preceded by a stage of concealment called tzimtzum, which "allows space" for creations to perceive themselves as separate existences from their Creator. The sefirot exhibit reflection in sets of triads between more exalted states of being (or "non-being," when "otherness" does not yet exist) and the lower, more mundane levels of existence:

Ayin, Ein Sof, Ohr Ein Sof
Keter, Chokhmah, Binah
Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet
Netzach, Hod, Yesod

The sefirot consist of lights invested in vessels, similar to water poured into a glass. While taking on the shape of the glass, the water is essentially unchanged.

Concerned that misinterpretation could lead to the idolatrous belief of duality or multiplicity in God, the Kabbalists frequently stress that the sefirot are bound up in the Ein Sof, and that without the Ein Sof the sefirot have no existence. However, there is an apparent contradiction, since in Kabbalah, the sefirot are sometimes called Divine in themselves, despite the assertion that they are only vehicles to manifest God. Moshe Cordovero, who gave the first full systemization of Kabbalah in the 16th century, resolved the contradiction, explaining that the sefirot consist of lights invested in vessels. In detail, whereas the vessels are differentiated vehicles for creation, the light is the undifferentiated Light of the Ein Sof. This is similar to how water poured into differently-shaped vessels will take on the vessels' forms, or how light streaming through different colors of glass appears in different colors. Despite the change in appearance, the water and the light emanate from a single source and are essentially unchanged; the vessels merely serve to filter and veil the light to reveal different aspects of the Creator, and to permit creations to benefit from His Light. This explanation was accepted and expanded upon in later works of Kabbalah and Chassidut.^[5]^[6]

Atzmut-Essence[edit]

Main article: Atzmus

Hasidic Judaism in the 18th century internalised the esoteric, transcendent emanations of Kabbalah into immanent, psychological perception and correspondence.^[7] The term in Hasidic philosophy for the Divine source is "Atzmus" (Essence). While the Ein Sof of Kabbalah can only be infinite, Atzmus, rooted higher in the Godhead, is beyond finite/infinite duality. As the Etzem, it both transcends all levels, and permeates all levels. This is reflected in the paradoxical Acosmic Monism of Hasidic Panentheism, and relates to the essence of the Torah and the soul. In Hasidic thought, Kabbalah corresponds to the World of Atzilus, the sephirah ofChochmah and the transcendent soul level of Chayah; Hasidic philosophy corresponds to the World of Adam Kadmon, the sephirah of Keter and the soul essennce of Yechidah.^[8] The Baal Shem Tov taught that the only reflection of Atzmus is the sincerity of the soul in performing the Jewish observances and prayer. Consequently, Hasidism gave new emphasis to the common folk, and to prayer and action over traditionally pre-eminent Torah study, as Atzmus is most reflected in the lowest levels, the purpose of Creation in making a "Dwelling Place" for God in the lowest Realms. In response, Chaim Volozhin, the main theological theorist of the Misnagdim, opposed Hasidic Panentheism and re-emphasised Talmudic study.^[9]

Ohr ("Light" Hebrew: אור‎; plural: Ohros/Ohrot "Lights" Hebrew: אורות‎) is a central Kabbalistic term in the Jewish mystical tradition. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical Divine emanations. Shefa ("Flow" Hebrew:שפע‎ and its derivative, Hashpoah "Influence" Hebrew: השפעה‎) is sometimes alternatively used in Kabbalah, a term also used in Medieval Jewish Philosophy to mean Divine influence, while the Kabbalists favour Ohr because its numerical value equalsRaz ("mystery").^[1] It is one of the two main metaphors in Kabbalah for understanding Divinity, along with the other metaphor of the human soul-body relationship for the Sephirot.^[2] The metaphorical description of spiritual Divine creative-flow, using the term for physical "light" perceived with the eye, arises from analogous similarities. These include the intangible physicality of light, the delight it inspires and the illumination it gives, its apparently immediate transmission and constant connection with its source. Light can be veiled ("Tzimtzum"-constrictions in Kabbalah) and reflected ("an ascending light from the Creations" in Kabbalah). White light divides into 7 colours, yet this plurality unites from one source. Divine light divides into the 7 emotional Sephirot, but there is no plurality in the Divine essence. The term Ohr in Kabbalah is contrasted with Ma'ohr, the "luminary", and Kli, the spiritual "vessel" for the light.

As a metaphor it also has its limitations. Divinity can only be understood from analogous comparisons to the spacial and temporal phenomena we understand. Once these images are grasped, Kabbalah stresses the need to then attempt to transcend them by understanding their deficiencies. Among the limitations of the central metaphor of "light" are the physical inability of the luminary to withhold its radiance, the fulfilment of purpose the light gives the luminary, and the categorical differentiation between the source and its light. For God, the Creation metaphorically "arose in the Divine Will"^[3] and was not impelled. The emanation of Creation fills no lack in the perfection of God.^[4] The distinction between the Divine light (beginning with the Ohr Ein Sof - the primordial "Infinite Light", and subsequently the 10 Sephirot emanations) and the Divine Source(the Ein Sof "Infinite") appears only relative to Creation. From God's perspective, Scripture states "For I, the Eternal, I have not changed".^[5] From the perspective of God's self-knowledge, the emanations remain completely united and nullified to their source. This answers early Rabbinic criticism of dualism in Kabbalah. The term in Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy for this nullification is Bittul. In daily spiritual life (Dveikus) it inspires the mystical humility of nullification of the ego.

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The Ohr Ein Sof - The Infinite Light[edit]

Main article: Ein Sof

The Ein Sof (literally: "Without End"/Limitless/Infinite) is the Kabbalistic term for the Divine essence. Kabbalah describes 10 Sephirot (The 10 Divine emanations or attributes), that reveal the unknowable Godhead to the creations and channel the creative life-force to all levels of existence. However, these 10 attributes of God do not represent the Divine essence. The Kabbalists differentiated between the manifestations of God (forms of "light"), and their origin in the Divine essence (the "Luminary"). This difference overcame the criticism that they were introducing plurality into the pure Monotheism of Judaism. Kabbalistic texts take great care to emphasise this difference, and warn against anthropormising the subtle descriptions of Kabbalah in human terms. To avoid such heresies, the historical transmission of Kabbalah was traditionally restricted to direct teaching in close circles.

As well as the 10 "lights" of God encapsulated in the Sephirot, Kabbalah also describes a more primordial light that shines from the Ein Sof (Infinite) itself. This light, the origin of all Creation, and all lower lights, is called the "Ohr Ein Sof" ("The light of the Infinite", or alternatively, itself "The Infinite Light"). The Kabbalistic and Hasidic masters ask the question of how there can be a revelation of God, in the Ohr Ein Sof, before Creation. Surely, there can be "no king without a people". Before Creation, there could be no being to behold a revelation of Divine light. The Ohr Ein Sof is a form of Divine self-knowledge, and through God knowing Himself, He created everything, with its subsequent historical unfolding, and its ultimate purpose in the innermost Divine Will.

Tzimtzum – Restrictions of Divine Light[edit]

Main article: Tzimtzum

Art inspired by the initial Tzimtzum"constriction" in the Ohr Ein Sof, taught by Isaac Luria in the 16th century, to allow self-aware Creation to emerge. It is understood without spacial connotation, according to the incorporality of Divinity

As the Ohr Ein Sof is itself infinite, it could not itself directly be the source for the creation of Worlds (Four Worlds and Seder hishtalshelus). Any direct creations of the Infinite Light would be of infinite number, and would not be actual creations at all, as they would remain totally nullified ("bittul") to the Infinite Light, and would have no independent self-awareness. Rather it is only through the restrictions of the Sephirot and the descending "Chain of Progression" (Seder hishtalshelus), that the Worlds could unfold. In the descending chain of Worlds from the Infinite to our finite realm, the creative flow of Divine light encapsulated in the Sephirot, undergoes countless restrictions, diminutions and veilings, to progressively hide Divinity. In Kabbalah these are called "Tzimtzum" ("Constrictions" - plural "tzimtzumim").

However, after the new teachings and doctrines of Isaac Luria (The "Arizal"), in Lurianic Kabbalah, these innumerable Tzimtzumim of the descending chain of Worlds are called the "Second Tzimtzum". Isaac Luria taught the new concept of a "First Tzimtzum", based on earlier allusions in the Zohar. As Lurianic Kabbalah became almost universally accepted in the Jewish development of Kabbalah, nowadays if the termTzimtzum is used without qualification, it will invariably refer to the first, cosmic, ultimate Constriction taught by Luria (see Tzimtzum).

In this radical concept of the "Ari", at the beginning of Creation the Divine "withdrew" (a complete tzimtzum) from a "Chalal" ("Vacated space"), to allow Creation to take place. The interpretation of this forms a central concern of subsequent Kabbalah (see Tzimtzum), and the "withdrawal" of God is interpreted only as a concealment from the perspective of the Creation, and only to apply to His light, not His Essence, as that would imply heretical limitations to the Divine. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the Tzimtzum concealed the Ohr Ein Sof, which resolved the dichotomy between the Infinite Light and the possibility of creating finite Worlds. Without this radical leap of a concealment of the Ohr Ein Sof, even with the progressive, gradual concealments of the Chain of Worlds, the problem would not properly be overcome. Only a second, new light, immeasurably diminished, and of a different quality than the Ohr Ein Sof, could become the creative source of all reality. This new light, a "thin" illumination from the Ohr Ein Sof, called the "Kav" ("Ray"), shone into the "Vacated Space", and was a light that was adapted to the perspective of the subsequent creations on their own terms. It could relate to finite creation (Divine immanence), rather than the infinite Primordial light (the ultimate Divine transcendence).

Interpretations of this in Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy, are careful to avoid literal, spacial, geometric understandings of the Vacated Space and the Kav, as such dimensional understandings relate only to our physical world. Nonetheless, circular diagram representations of this, strictly metaphorical, are used in Kabbalah to represent the process. In the first, a black circle is broken only by one thin, vertical, straight line that descends from the surrounding white into the centre of the black circle from the top. Here the surrounding white represents the Ein Sof, the black circle represents the Chalal vacated "space", and the thin white line represents the "thin" illumination of the Kav, derived from the Ohr Ein Sof, but able to illuminate into the Chalal on its own terms.

Metaphorical representation of theFive Worlds with the 10Sephirot in each, as successively smaller concentric circles, derived from the light of the Kav after theTzimtzum

This representation is then augmented by a second, similar diagram, where the successive, unfolding Five Worlds, each with 10 successiveSephirot, are shown within the original circle as a series of concentric circles. The descending chain of Worlds proceeds in the diagram towards the centre of the circle, representing our lowest, physical realm. Each successive World and Sephirah is a successively smaller concentric circle, representing diminished, more constricted Divinity. The same Kav line is still shown connecting the outer Ein Sof to the centre of the circle, as the light of the Kav is the origin of all Creation after the Tzimtzum, though its light undergoes innumerable second tzimtzumim, toward the circle's centre. The utilisation here of concentric circles, or spheres is also significant, as with each subsequent lower step, the light encompasses" (sovev - "surrounds") that level of "immanent" (mimalei"-"filled") creation. Each of the Sephirot comprises both an encompassing light vested in its immanent vessel. Each World similarly incorporates its own relative level of Divine transcendence, illuminating its own level of Divine immanence.

In the 10 Sefirot: Ohrot and Keilim - Lights and Vessels[edit]

Main article: Sephirot

The 10 Sephirot describe the emanations, or attributes of God in Kabbalah. The Ein Sof ("Limitless") is the unknowable, undifferentiated, infinite Divine essence. The 10 emanations of the Sephirot enable the Creation to know God, and become God's attributes that reveal Divinity. They are also the channels through which all of Creation is continuously substained from nothing, as in the Kabbalistic scheme, Creation is continuous and God is the only true existence. A "Chain of Progression" (Seder hishtalshelus) of descending "Worlds", including the Four Worlds, links the Ein Sof with our physical realm.

Each of the Sephirot is said to consist of a "light" (an ohr) that is vested in a "vessel" (a kli Hebrew: כלי‎; plural: keilim Hebrew: כלים‎). Generally speaking, the light is simple and undifferentiated, as it stems originally from the Ohr Ein Sof ("The Light of the Ein Sof"), God's infinite light. It represents Divine revelation in the world. It is associated with the Kabbalistic Divine Name of Ban. The differentiation between the 10 Sephirot, each with its own particular characteristic, arises from each of their different spiritual vessels. The light adapts itself to each vessel, to express the particular nature of each vessel.

Kabbalists read their mystical teachings into exegetical interpretations of Scripture and Rabbinic literature. This arose from their belief that Kabbalah forms part of the Oral Torah inherent in the revelation at Mount Sinai. Accordingly, in Jewish tradition, each verse and concept can be interpreted in the fourfold Jewish method of Pardes, with the metaphysical interpretations of Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy forming the Sod (secret) level of meaning. In this way, Kabbalah interprets a second meaning inTalmudic legislation and use of the term for "vessel" ("kli"). In the Halachic sense a vessel is an object that can serve a useful purpose, even if it may not resemble a physical receptacle. This term is used frequently in discussion of the laws of Shabbat. In Jewish mysticism, typically, these narratives are given metaphysical interpretations, which relate "kli" to its Kabbalistic meaning. In Hasidic philosophy, the plural fourfold levels of meaning are viewed as uniting in a higher essential source of explanation that describes Divinity. Jewish mysticism views such alternative, spiritual interpretations of Torah as stemming from more revealed Divine realms in the Chain of Worlds.

Bittul - Nullification of emanations and Creations in the Divine light[edit]

Ratzo and Shuv - Run and Return of emanations and Creations[edit]

Main article: Merkabah

Jacob's vision in Genesis28:12 of a ladder between Heaven and Earth. Kabbalah relates this to the chain ofWorlds. Angels embody spiritual levels of enclothedohr-light. They "ascend and descend" in ratzu-runnullification desire, and shuv-return purpose of Creation

More generally, Ohr also refers to the revelation and expression of any particular spiritual level which descends from that level and enclothes itself in a vessel (Kli). This Ohr is typically in a state of "Bittul" ("nullification") vis-a-vis the level from which it stems. Therefore, even when it descends to lower realms, it possesses a characteristic of "Ratzo" ("Run"), the desire to ascend and return to its source. Correspondingly, the Kli persuades the Ohr to descend through impressing upon it the need for Shuv ("Return"), the acknowledgment of the necessity of descent in order to fulfill the ultimate supernal will.

The purpose of Creation was not for the sake of the higher spiritual Worlds. In relation to the infinite Ein Sof, their great revelations of Divinity are a concealment, and have no comparison. Instead, the ultimate purpose of Creation in Kabbalah is for the sake of the lowest World, our physical realm. The Divine Will was to have a dwelling place in this World, made by man, which will be achieved in the Messianic Age. In higher spiritual Worlds (Seder hishtalshelus), the souls and angels sense this, and seek to channel Divine flow down the chain of Worlds. Therefore Shuv, even though it is an exile for the light to descend into the vessel, is the ultimate purpose of Creation. The terms "Ratzo" and "Shuv" come from the Biblical description of the angels in the vision of Ezekiel (1:4-26), when he beheld the Divine chariot (Merkavah). These angels "ran and returned". In this explanation, they desired to ascend to God, but returned down to their station, to fulfil their purpose. In daily spiritual life too, man seeks dveikus (cleaving) with God, and then returns with this inspiration to fulfil his or her tasks in the World. Here the human soul is the "ohr", the body the "kli", and this realm presently an exile for the soul.

The dynamics of Ratzo and Shuv are felt by the angels and man, but also apply to any spiritual emanation. The "Seder Histalshelus" describes the continuous descending chain from the Infinite to our finite World. In each World, the 10 Sephirot shine. Each World unfolds from the previous, with the lowest Sephirah (Malchut-"Kingship"-fulfilment of the plan in reality) of one World, becoming the highest Sephirah (Keter-"Crown"-the supernal Will of the plan in that World) of the next, lower World. Within each World too, the spiritual chain descends down the 10 Sephirot, with the illumination of one giving birth to the next, lower Sephirah.

Ohr and Ma'ohr - Two levels of Nullification of the Light to the Luminary[edit]

The "Ohr" ("Light") stems from the "Ma'ohr" ("Luminary"), the source of the light. Traditionally, the Mashal (parable) given to explain this relationship, is the relationship between the sun and the light that it gives off. However, technically speaking, the light that comes from the sun is not the perfect example for the Ohr, since it has already passed through a "Nartik" ("Sheath/Shield"), a level that reduces the intensity of the revelation of the sun. In truth, the Ohr that exists in the parable of the sun is the light of the sun that exists in the sun itself. The light that we see from the sun has already been limited in its quality and therefore lacks the "Bittul" ("nullification") of the true Ohr to its origin. Rather, this Ohr, being that it has been limited by the Nartik, is called Ohr HaNartik (the light of the sheath), for although it does not actually come from the Nartik, since the Nartik limited it in such a way that it no longer possesses a connection with its ultimate source, we associate it with the Nartik.

In Kabbalah, the level of the Ma'ohr is represented by the higher Hebrew name of God, the Tetragrammaton, and the Ohr is the revelation of that level. Similarly, the lower name of God, Elokim (Here the "h" has been replaced with a "k" in traditional deference to avoid writing the names of God), represents the Nartik, and the light that stems thereof is the Ohr HaNartik, and as such, it lacks a higher level of nullification, enabling it to create the Worlds. If the light of the Tetragrammaton were to create the Worlds, they would not exist as creations with independent self-awareness. The immense revelation of the Divine would nullify them in their source, as the light of the sun inside the sun itself.

General Worlds in Kabbalah

A"K Atziluth Beri'ah Yetzirah Assiah

In the second section of the Tanya by Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Hasidic Panentheism of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, is systematically explained in philosophical terms. Two levels of Divine Unity are explained, that paradoxically are both true perspectives. From God's perspective, in comparison to the unchanging Divine Infinity, all of Creation is literally as if it did not exist (Acosmism). This is represented by a Higher Bittul-"Bittul Hametsiyas" ("Nullification of Essence") of the light of the sun inside the orb of the sun itself. This is called the "Upper Divine Unity". The "Lower Divine Unity" describes the Unity of God from the illusory self independent perspective of the Creations. From this perspective, Creation does exist, but is continuously dependent on receiving its Divine lifeforce that constantly brings it into being from nothing. In our World, this constant, total dependence for the existence of everything on the Divine creative light is hidden. In the spiritual Worlds of Creation, it is revealed, but they still lack true "Bittul" (nullification), as the souls and angels in those realms have some self-awareness, albeit totally nullified to God. This Lower Bittul-"Bittul Hayesh"("Nullification of Ego") is represented by a light of a candle on a sunny day. In the Chain of Four Worlds, the first realm, the World of Atzilus, is not yet considered a Creation, but rather an emanation of supernal Divinity. It is characterised by the higher Nullification of Essence. The three lower realms of Beriah, Yetzirah andAsiyah are considered created realms as they only possess different levels of the lower Nullification of Ego.

This explanation of the spiritual meanings of the different Hebrew names of God of the Tetragrammaton and Elokim, gives the Kabbalistic reason why the lower name "Elokim" (Divine immanence) is universally used in the Creation account in the beginning of Genesis, with the multiple phrases on each day:

"And God (Elokim) said, 'Let there be..'"

In Kabbalah, going back to the Scriptural commentary of Nachmanides, the 7 Days of Creation are understood to symbolically refer to the 7 Emotional revelations of theSefirot, each one called a "day". These Hebrew sayings themselves, are explained in Kabbalah to be the creative channels of the Sephirot in activating Creation. Only after Genesis recounts its first narrative of Creation, with the beginning of its second account, does it use the higher, essential, Divine name of the Tetragrammaton (Divine transcendence). Here it combines both names, as both are involved in Creation. Later on, when God speaks to Moses, the name of God used is only the transcendent Tetragrammaton. In the second account of Creation:

"This is the account of the Heavens and the Earth when they were created, when the Lord (Tetragrammaton) God (Elokim) made the Earth and Heavens."^[6]

According to the Kabbalistic and Hasidic explanation, the ability to Create Ex nihilo (something from nothing) can only come from the Divine essence (Ein Sof), which is referred to by the Tetragrammaton. Nonetheless, the light to create existence must be constricted through the name Elokim. This process is referred to in this second account of Creation.

Sovev/Makif and Mimalei/Pnimi - Surrounding/Transcendent light and Filling/Inner light[edit]

Direct/Descending light and Reflected/Ascending light[edit]

A descending light is a Divine emanation "from above". It is metaphorically called "masculine waters" and "an arousal from Above" in Kabbalah, based on the verses inGenesis 1:6-8 about the Upper and Lower Waters:

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

The descent of masculine waters can be a free expression of the Sephirah of Hesed (Kindness), which has the essential nature to give Divine blessing in an unlimited way, without considering whether the vessels of the Creation are worthy. Hesed is counterbalanced by Gevurah (Judgement), that measures and withholds the blessing according to the worth and capacity of the vessel.

More commonly, the descent of direct light is in response to the ascent from below of reflected light. This "arousal from below", the ascent of "feminine waters", is the spiritual illumination created by each person through meritorious ethical or ritual mitzvot (Jewish observances). While Kabbalah offered radical theosophical cosmic explanations of Judaism, it remained inherently conservative. The metaphysical doctrines of Kabbalah support and deepen normative Jewish observance. Kabbalah, especially the new teachings of Isaac Luria in the 16th Century, taught the cosmic power of each person to affect and rectify the Divine scheme of Creation. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the ultimate Tikkun is dependent on each individual fulfilling their own unique tasks in Creation, through the mitzvot. This affect would occur whether the person was aware of the deeper meanings or not. The great delight the illumination of the ascending feminine waters causes in the Heavenly realms (Four Worlds), leads to the reciprocal Divine response of descending blessing and light in the Masculine waters. This gives the inherent metaphysical Kabbalistic structure of the traditional Jewish belief of "Reward and Punishment", incorporated in Maimonides' Jewish Principles of Faith. The Kabbalistic explanation puts these external categories in an inner scheme of Divine loving-kindness.

The Maharal

Synagogue of theBaal Shem Tov

Schneur Zalman of Liadi

An example given in Kabbalah of the dynamics of "masculine" and "feminine" waters, is found in the yartzheit (date of passing) and birthdays of three central figures in the Jewish mystical tradition. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal) died on the 18th day (18 means "Chai"-"life" in Gematria) of the Hebrew month of Elul in the year 1609 (17 September). The 18th of Elul, 12 days before Rosh Hashanah, is a central mystical date in the personal preparations of teshuvah (return to God) for the upcoming "Days of Awe". A central component of the teachings of the Maharal was the concept of Divine paradox, above intellect. This prepared the way for the Hasidic movement, that sought the inner expression in Hasidic philosophy of the Kabbalistic tradition. The founder of Hasidism, Israel Baal Shem Tov was born on the 18th of Elul in 1698 (August 27), and the founder of Habad intellectual expression of Hasidism, Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was born on the 18th day of Elul in 1745 (September 4). Kabbalah teaches that the yarthzeit of a Tzaddik (righteous person) causes the spiritual revelation and ascent of their life's spiritual service, the ascent of the "feminine waters" the Tzaddik illuminated. Anyone who attaches themselves to the teachings and influence of the Tzaddik receives from their illumination and blessing on the yartzheit. In the Kabbalistic scheme, this "arousal from below" elicited the "arousal of God from above" to descend "masculine waters" by the descent of the souls on this date, later on, of the Baal Shem Tov and Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Kabbalah finds an allusion to the deeper aspects of this structure, including the essence of the different spiritual teachings of these three figures, in a Scriptural verse that relates to the mystical meaning of the 18th of Elul.^[7]

Photo gallery[edit]

Latin translation ofShaare Orah שערי אורה "The Gates of Light", one of the most influential presentations of the Kabbalistic system, byJoseph Gikatilla in the 13th century^[8]
Galilean Meron. "Nature"HaTeva is the numerical value of Elohim, thename of immanent light. The Tetragrammaton transcendence creates through it. Kabbalistically, in Israelthe concealment is less severe

Ayin (Hebrew: אַיִן‎, meaning "nothingness", related to Ain-"not") is an important concept in Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy. It is contrasted with the term Yesh ("something/existence/being/is"). According to kabbalistic teachings, before the universe was created there was only Ayin, and the first manifest Sephirah (Divine emanation), Chochmah (Wisdom), "comes into being out of Ayin."^[1] In this context, the sephirah Keter, the Divine will, is the intermediary between the Divine Infinity (Ein Sof) and Chochmah. Because Keter is a supreme revelation of the Ohr Ein Sof (Infinite Light), transcending the manifest sephirot, it is sometimes excluded from them.

Ayin is closely associated with the Ein Sof (Hebrew אין סוף), which is understood as the Deity prior to His self-manifestation in the creation of the spiritual and physical realms, single Infinite unity beyond any description or limitation. From the perspective of the emanated created realms, Creation takes place "Yesh me-Ayin" ("Something from Nothing"). From the Divine perspective, Creation takes place "Ayin me-Yesh" ("Nothing from Something"), as only God has absolute existence; Creation is dependent on the continuous flow of Divine lifeforce, without which it would revert to nothingness. Since the 13th century, Ayin has been one of the most important words used in kabbalistic texts. The symbolism associated with the word Ayin was greatly emphasized by Moses de León (c. 1250 – 1305), a Spanish rabbi and kabbalist, through the Zohar, the foundational work of Kabbalah.^[2] In Hasidism Ayin relates to the internal psychological experience of Deveikut ("cleaving" to God amidst physicality), and the contemplative perception of paradoxical Yesh-Ayin Divine Panentheism, "There is no place empty of Him".^[3]

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History of Ayin-Yesh[edit]

Kabbalah, the fourth level of Pardes Jewish exegesis, relating to the Sephirah Chochmah-Wisdom, focuses on the esoteric supernal emanations, defining them through anthropomorphisms and metaphors. Creation is seen as Yesh me-Ayin from "below" and Ayin me-Yesh from "above"

In his Arabic language work Emunoth ve-Deoth ("Beliefs and Opinions"), Saadia Gaon, a prominent 9th-century rabbi and the first greatJewish philosopher, argues that "the world came into existence out of nothingness". This thesis was first translated into Hebrew as "yesh me-Ayin", meaning "something from nothing", in the 11th century.^[4]

Jewish philosophers of the 9th and 10th century adopted the concept of "yesh me-Ayin", contradicting Greek philosophers and Aristotelianview that the world was created out of primordial matter and/or was eternal.^[2]

Both Maimonides and the centuries earlier author of the kabbalistic related work Sefer Yetzirah "accepted the formulation of Creation, "yesh me-Ayin.""^[4] Chapter 2, Mishnah 6 of the latter includes the sentence: "He made His Ayin, Yesh". This statement, like most in Jewish religious texts, can be interpreted in different ways: for example, "He made that which wasn't into that which is", or "He turned His nothingness into something." Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi, who wrote a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah in the 14th century, and Azriel of Gerona, Azriel ben Menahem, one of the most important kabbalists in the Catalan town of Girona (north of Barcelona) during the 13th century, interpreted the Mishnah's "He made His Ayin, Yesh" as "creation of "yesh me-Ayin.""^[4]

Maimonides and other Jewish philosophers argued a doctrine of "negative theology", which says there are no words to describe what God is, and we can only describe what "God is not". Kabbalah accepted this in relation to Ayin, becoming one of the philosophical concepts underlying its significance.^[4] However, Kabbalah involves itself with the different, more radical proposition that God becomes known through His emanations of Sephirot, and spiritual Realms, Emanator ("Ma'ohr") and emanations ("Ohr") comprising the two aspects of Divinity.

For kabbalists, Ayin became the word to describe the most ancient stage of creation and was therefore somewhat paradoxical, as it was not completely compatible with "creation from nothing". Ayin became for kabbalists a symbol of "supreme existence" and "the mystical secret of being and non-being became united in the profound and powerful symbol of the Ayin".^[2] There is also a paradoxical relationship between the meaning of Ayin and Yesh from kabbalistic point of view. Rachel Elior, professor of Jewish philosophy and mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, writes that for kabbalists Ayin (nothingness) "clothes itself" in Yesh (everything there is) as "concealed Torah clothes itself in revealed Torah".^[5]

Kabbalists on Ayin-Yesh[edit]

David ben Abraham ha-Laban, a 14th-century kabbalist, says:

Nothingness (ayin) is more existent than all the being of the world. But since it is simple, and all simple things are complex compared with its simplicity it is called ayin.^[6]

Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi says:

AYIN means No-Thing. AYIN is beyond Existence, separate from any-thing. AYIN is Absolute Nothing. AYIN is not above or below. Neither is AYIN still or in motion. There is nowhere where AYIN is, for AYIN is not. AYIN is soundless, but neither is it silence. Nor is AYIN a void - and yet out of the zero of AYIN'S no-thingness comes the one of EIN SOF^[7]

Ayin-Yesh in Hasidism[edit]

Main article: Hasidic philosophy

Hasidism related esoteric transcendentKabbalah to internal perception in the soul, making devotion andDivine immanence of this material world its central values. Different pathsexplored different aspects of Yesh-Ayin, fromcontemplative paradox inHabad, existential faith inBreslav, and public embodiment in Mainstream "Practical" Hasidic charismatic doctrine of Tzadikleadership

Hasidic master Dov Ber of Mezeritch says:

one should think of one's self as Ayin, and that "absolute all" and "absolute nothingness" are the same, and that the person who learns to think about himself as Ayin will ascend to a spiritual world, where everything is the same and everything is equal: "life and death, ocean and dry land."^[1]^[7]

This reflects the orientation of Hasidism to internalise Kabbalistic descriptions to their psychological correspondence in man, making Deveikut(cleaving to God) central to Judaism. The populist aspect of Hasidism revived common folk through the nearness of God, especially reflected in Hasidic storytelling and the public activity of the Baal Shem Tov, Hasidism's founder. Dov Ber, uncompromising esoteric mystic and organiser of the movement's future leaders, developed the elite aspect of Hasidic meditation reflected in Bittul (annihilation of ego) in the Divine Ayin Nothingness.

Schneur Zalman of Liadi, one of Dov Ber's inner circle of followers, developed Hasidic thought into an intellectual philosophical system that related the Kabbalistic scheme to its interpretation in the Hasidic doctrine of Panentheism. The Habad follower contemplates the Hasidic interpretation of Kabbalistic structures, including the concept of Ayin, during prolonged prayer. Where Kabbalah is concerned with categorising the Heavenly realms using anthropomorphic terminology, these texts of Hasidic philosophy seek to perceive the Divinity within the structures, by relating to their correspondence in man using analogies from man's experience. Rachel Elior termed her academic study of Habad intellectual contemplation "the Paradoxical ascent to God", as it describes the dialectical paradox of Yesh-Ayin of Creation. In the second section of his magnum opus Tanya, Schneur Zalman explains the Monistic illusionary Ayin nullification of Created Existence from the Divine perspective of "Upper Unity". The human perspective in contemplation sees Creation as real Yesh existence, though completely nullified to its continuous vitalising Divine lifeforce, the perception of "Lower Unity". In another text of Schneur Zalman:

He is one in the heaven and on earth... because all the upper worlds occupy no space to be Yesh and something separate in itself, and everything before Him is as Ayin, verily as null and void, and there is nothing beside Him. (Torah Or Mi-Ketz p.64)^[8]

Here, the Lower Unity perspective is ultimately false, arising out of illusionary concealment of Divinity. In Schneur Zalman's explanation, Hasidism interprets the KabbalisticLurianic doctrine of Tzimtzum (apparent "Withdrawal" of God to allow Creation to take place) as only an illusionary concealment of the Ohr Ein Sof. In truth, the Ein Sof and the Ohr Ein Sof still fills all Creation, without any change at all from God's perspective.

Atzmus-Essence resolving the Ayin-Yesh paradox of Creation[edit]

Main article: Atzmus

In Hasidic interpretation, the revelation at Sinai began the union of descending Ayin spirituality and ascending Yesh physicality through the higher Divinity of Atzmut essence, equally beyond Finite-Infinite duality, reflected in the innermost Divine Will of theMitzvot. This will be completed in this World's future Divine "dwelling place"

In Habad systemisation of Hasidic thought, the term Ein Sof ("Unlimited" Infinite) itself does not capture the very essence of God. Instead it uses the term Atzmus (the Divine "Essence"). The Ein Sof, while beyond all differentiation or limitation, is restricted to Infinite expression. The true Divine essence is above even Infinite-Finite relationship. God's essence can be equally manifest in finitude as in infinitude, as found in the Talmudic statement that the Ark of the Covenant in the First Temple took up no space. While it measured its own normal width and length, the measurements from each side to the walls of the Holy of Holies together totalled the full width and length of the sanctuary. Atzmus represents the core Divine essence itself, as it relates to the ultimate purpose of Creation in Hasidic thought that "God desired a dwelling place in the lower Realms",^[9] which will be fulfilled in this physical, finite, lowest world, through performance of the Jewish observances.

This gives the Hasidic explanation why Nachmanides and the Kabbalists ruled that the final eschatological era will be in this World, against Maimonides's view that it will be in Heaven, in accordance with his philosophical view of the elevation of intellect over materiality in relating to God. In Kabbalah, the superiority of this world is to enable the revelation of the complete Divine emanations, for the benefit of Creation, as God Himself lacks no perfection. For example, the ultimate expression of the sephirah of Kindness is most fully revealed when it relates to our lowest, physical World. However, the Hasidic interpretation sees the Kabbalistic explanations as not the ultimate reason, as, like Kabbalah in general, it relates to the Heavenly realms, which are not the ultimate purpose of Creation. The revelation of Divinity in the Heavenly realms is supreme, and superior to the present concealment of God in this World. However, it is still only a limited manifestation of Divinity, the revelation of the Sephirot attributes of God's Wisdom, Understanding, Kindness, Might, Harmony, Glory and so forth, while God's Infinite Ein Sof and Ohr Ein Sof transcend all Worlds beyond reach. In contrast, the physical performance of the Mitzvot in this world, instead relate to, and ultimately will reveal, the Divine essence.

In Hasidic terminology, the separate realms of physicality and spirituality are united through their higher source in the Divine essence. In the Biblical account, God descended on Mount Sinai to speak to the Israelites "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" ("I am God your Lord").^[10] This is explained in Hasidic thought to describe Atzmus, the Divine essence (Anochi-"I"), uniting the separate Kabbalistic manifestation realms of spirituality (Hashem-The Tetragrammaton name of Infinite transcendent emanation) and physicality (Elokecha-The name of God relating to finite immanent lifeforce of Creation). Before the Torah was given, physical objects could not become sanctified. Thecommandments of Jewish observance, stemmining from the ultimate Divine purpose of Creation in Atzmus, enabled physical objects to be used for spiritual purposes, uniting the two realms and embodying Atzmus. In this ultimate theology, through Jewish observance, man converts the illusionary Ayin-nothingness "Upper Unity" nullification of Creation into revealing its ultimate expression as the ultimate true Divine Yesh-existence of Atzmus. Indeed, this gives the inner reason in Hasidic thought why this world falsely perceives itself to exist, independent of Divinity, due to the concealment of the vitalising Divine lifeforce in this world. As this world is the ultimate purpose and realm of Atzmus, the true Divine Yesh-existence, so externally it perceives its own Created material Yesh-existence ego.

In Habad systemisation of Hasidic philosophy, God's Atzmut-essence relates to the 5th Yechidah Kabbalistic Etzem-essence level of the soul, the innermost Etzem-essence root of the Divine Will in Keter, and the 5th Yechidah Etzem-essence level of the Torah, the soul of the 4 Pardes levels of Torah interpretation, expressed in the essence of Hasidic thought.^[11] In the Sephirot, Keter, the transcendent Divine Will, becomes revealed and actualised in Creation through the first manifest SephirahChochmah-Wisdom. Similarly, the essential Hasidic purpose-Will of Creation, a "dwelling place for God's Atzmus-essence in the lowest world", becomes actualised through the process of elevating the sparks of holiness embeded in material objects, through using them for Jewish observances, the Lurianic scheme in Kabbalah-Wisdom. Once all the fallen sparks of holiness are redeemed, the Messianic Era begins. In Hasidic explanation, through completing this esoteric Kabbalah-Wisdom process, thereby the more sublime ultimate Divine purpose-Will is achieved, revealing this World to be the Atzmus "dwelling place" of God. In Kabbalah, the Torah is the Divine blueprint of Creation: "God looked into the Torah and created the World".^[12] The Sephirah Keter is the Supreme Will underlying this blueprint, the source of origin of the Torah. According to Hasidic thought, "the Torah derives from Chochmah-Wisdom, but its source and root surpasses exceedingly the level of Chochmah, and is called the Supreme Will".^[13] This means that according to Hasidic thought, Torah is an expression of Divine Reason. Reason is focused towards achieving a certain goal. However, the very purpose of achieving that goal transcends and permeates the rational faculty. Once reason achieves the goal, the higher innermost essential will's delight is fulfilled, the revelation of Atzmus in this World. Accordingly, Hasidic thought says that then this World will give life to the spiritual Worlds, and the human body will give life to the soul. The Yesh of ego will be nullified in the Divine Ayin, becoming the reflection of the true Divine Yesh.

Atzmus in the eschatological future[edit]

The resolution of the Ayin-Yesh paradox of Creation through Atzmus is beyond present understanding, as it unites the Finite-Infinite paradox of Divinity. This is represented in the paradox of the Lurianic Tzimtzum, interpreted non-literally in Hasidic Panentheism. God remains within the apparent "vacated" space of Creation, just as before, as "I the Eternal, I have not changed" (Malachi 3:6), the Infinite "Upper Unity" that nullifies Creation into Ayin-nothingness. Creation, while dependent on continual creative lifeforce, perceives its own Yesh-existence, the Finite "Lower Unity". The absolute unity of Atzmus, the ultimate expression of Judaism's Monotheism, unites the two opposites. Maimonides codifies the Messianic Era and the physical Resurrection of the Dead as the traditionally accepted last two Jewish principles of faith, with Kabbalah ruling the Resurrection to be the final, permanent eschatology. Presently, the supernal Heavenly realms perceive the immanent Divine creative Light of Mimalei Kol Olmim("Filling all Worlds"), according to their innumerably varied descending levels. In the Messianic Era, this world will perceive the transcendent Light of Sovev Kol Olmim("Encompassing all Worlds"). In the Era of the Resurrection, generated through preceding Jewish observance "from below", the true presence of Atzmus will be revealed in finite physical Creation. A foretaste of this was temporarily experienced at Mount Sinai, when the whole Nation of Israel heard the Divine pronouncement, while remaining in physicality. As this was imposed "from above" by God, the Midrash says that God revived their souls from expiring with the future "Dew of the Resurrection".

The concept of Ayin-Yesh in literature and science[edit]

In his autobiographical trilogy Love and Exile, Isaac Bashevis Singer, an American-Jewish writer and a Nobel Prize laureate, remembers how he studied Kabbalah and tried to comprehend how could have it been that he

Rothschild, the mouse in its hole, the bedbug on the wall, and the corpse in the grave were identical in every sense, as were dream and reality...^[14]

Scientific theories of the Big Bang and ideas about the Universe being created out of nothingness resembles those expressed in Kabbalah. "One reads Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time, perhaps a sign of things to come, and the affinities with Kabbalah are striking."^[15] Kenneth Hanson sees similarity in the Kabbalistic idea that Hebrewletters were the material of which the Universe was built and Stephen Hawking's explanation why Albert Einstein's Theory of relativity will break down at some point that he called the "singularity". Hanson says that although Hebrew letters have shapes they are actually made out of nothing, as well as the singularity of the Big Bang. Hanson also argues that the singularity of Black holes could be compared to Kabbalistic "spheres of nothing", as it was written in an early Kabbalistic text Sefer Yetzirah: "For that which is light is not-darkness, and that which is darkness is not-light."^[16]

In their book The Grand Design physicists Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow argue that there was nothing before the Beginning, and explain it by comparing the Beginning to South Pole. They say: "there is nothing south of the South Pole", and there was nothing before the Beginning.^[17]

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