Ein Sof
En Sof, even Ein Sof, Sof Eyn, En Soph Ain Soph or ( heb. אין סוף EYn SOF, " it has no end " ) is a term of Kabbalistic mysticism, which denotes the infinite. What is meant is the ultimate reality of God beyond all specific qualities of the Sefirot, so to speak, the God beyond God. From the contraction ( tzimtzum, heb. צמצום ) of the indefinable and indefinite primal light of the Ein Sof is created by Isaac Luria creation. The spiritual and the sensual world is shown by emanation from the divine One. It is a kind of self-creation or self-revelation. Some Kabbalists translated En Sof with the infinite hidden equal to God.
The infinity of the Godhead
The main teaching of the Kabbalah is the science of En Sof and the Sefirot of. These terms are found neither in the Bible nor in the Talmud. The term אין סוף may be the Greek ἄπειρον, the unlimited, modeled, but this is also in doubt. God must not desire, nor intent, nor thinking, nor speak, nor do be settled. He may not even have intended the creation of the world wanted or, for want betrays the imperfection of the wishers. This view is inspired by the Neo-Platonic philosophy. The concept of God or En Sof is to be taken only in the way of negation ( via negationis ). The deity can actually detected neither with thoughts still be described with one word. However, in contrast to the Neo-Platonists of the emanation is done dynamically. He is not a one, but a continuing, vital process that maintains the existence of all beings. The power of human action can affect the processes in the divine world.
The deity is exalted above everything, even about being and thinking. You can not say that they have language, actions, thoughts, will, or intention, therefore. All of these human characteristics amount to a narrowness. But the deity is after each side unlimited because it is perfect. Only this single attribute, the limitlessness and infinity, can be predicated of it. The Kabbalah, therefore, God sets the name of " the unlimited or infinity" at (Hebrew En Sof ). In this his incredible generality God or En Sof is unknowable hidden, concealed and therefore in a sense not being. For that which can not be recognized and understood by the thinking mind is, for him does not exist. The general being, En Sof, therefore, resembles nothing ( ayin ). So to express his existence, he had to or he wanted to manifest and make recognizable. He had to be effective and provide for its existence occurs in the knowledge.
The proceeding of the Sefirot, the various intra- divine manifestations of the divine being, from the first Sefirah can therefore be understood as a creation out of nothing, because this is the primal nothingness ( Ayin Gamur ). If the first Sefirah is thought of as an emanation of En Sof, there is a difference between the infinite and the void of the divine primordial will. According to another view, the first Sefirah as the infinite will of God, the essence of the En Sof itself dar. Then would En Sof and Ain, infinite and nothing identical. The manifestation in the Sefirot is to be understood as Ichwerdung God. A mystical word game draws attention to the relationship between the Hebrew words for Nothing ( ayin ) and I ( Ani ): Out of nowhere, the divine self.
Characteristics of En Sof
En Sof is infinite as the origin of all things, infinite, identical with itself, attributlos and without will or thought. It is characterized as
If everything is God, so also the poor, limited world in him. On the other hand, can not be assumed that En Sof had created the finite world directly. Because then he would have had to have a certain will to create, although willing is a narrowness in the Godhead. In addition, should the visible world, if it had been produced by God, be as infinite as their creator. In fact, it's just not infinite. Assigns the world through their purposeful order on a guidance of reason creative will, as she proves on the other hand by their finitude and imperfection that they can not be emerged directly from the infinite Ein Sof.
"Know all that is visible and which can be detected by the senses of the heart is limited ( and everything Limited has an end, and everything has an end, is not the same distinction, Schawe ). Therefore, whatever is not limited, > infinity <, 'En Sof, called, and this is the perfect equality ( Haschwa ' a ), in which there is no change in absolute unity. And is it / he without limit, there is nothing apart from him. And because it / he is exalted, he is the first cause / root of all secret and revealing [ ... ] "
Light imagery
God is the Infinite (En Sof ), the infinite, featureless void that was all in the beginning. He is the hidden primordial light that filled everything. It sets the world out of itself in order to reveal itself. The world is going out of him by the primordial light designed and not designed by radiates into everything and yet remains one. The primordial light limited itself This creates an empty space into which the primordial light radiates into the world.
" Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the created was created, filled a Supreme simple light all reality, so that there was absolutely no free place in the sense of an empty, hollow space, but everything was filled with that simple light of the En Sof. [ ... ] And when there arose in his simple desire to create the worlds and emanate the emanations, in order to make the perfection of his works, its name and its attributes can be seen which was the reason for the creation of the worlds [ ... ] because the En Sof contracted at the midway point, truly in the middle of its light. It contracted the light and took off in all directions around the center. This was around the center of an open space, an empty, hollow space left [ ... ] This contraction ( tzimtzum ) was around the empty [ virtual ] center of absolute equality, in such a way that the empty space in the form of a perfect spherical ball had [ ... ] because the En Sof had contracted in the form of a perfect shot of all the surrounding pages in itself. The reason for this was that the light of the Ein Sof of perfect absolute equality is [ ... ] "
Sefirot as emanations of Ein Sof
Sefirot as intermediates
Similarly as in Neoplatonism be intelligible principles or substances, namely the Sefirot, inserted between God and the world, otherwise the proceeding of the finite from the infinite would be inexplicable.
"There is a radiance that surrounds En - Sof. How did he come about, is never made clear. In the solemn passage with which the Zohar opens the declaration of the first word of the Torah, he is just there: ' When the will of the king began to take effect, he dug character in the highest radiance .' "
First emanated from the En Sof an intelligence that contains all the rest, and in the En Sof existed since eternity. When emanate no power loss occurs. From the first Sefirah develop the rest. This emanation from the En Sof, the Sefirot in its entirety, share in his perfection. You are unlimited and constitute the first finite. Therefore they are both finite and infinite. When the fullness of the En Sof itself informs them they are perfect and infinite, otherwise they are deficient and finite. You are at the root of the finite.
The En Sof is unknowable in itself, because the infinite can not grasp the human mind. All he can comprehend, must measure, have money and limit. The En Sof wants to reveal it to be seen in the finite and the finite. It must show the reverse side in the finite emanate the Sefirot. Under this finite aspect one can even say of the Sefirot that they are physically. Thus, it is possible that the En Sof, which is immanent in the Sefirot, can also be embodied. The emanation of the Sefirot from the En Sof can be compared with the radiation eradication of light to illustrate the immanence and complete unit.
The Sefirot are held together by the force of light they receive from the En Sof and the three upper Sefirot, from the inside. Despite all the bumps and polarities so that they represent the unity of God. As emanations of the Godhead are the ten Sefirot to be both dependent and limited accordingly. The Ten is at the absolute unity of the En Sof but not in contradiction, since the one is the cause of all the numbers and the majority of the unit is apparent. Only insofar as the En Sof the Sefirot donates abundance of strength, they can act infinitely. This activity is reflected in the fact that they created the souls and the material world. They will also receive the world with which they are associated, and constantly give her the divine life. By means of the Sefirot can God to make themselves visible or to embody itself.
The creation according to the Zohar
In the Zohar, creation is described as an emanation of the Sefirot from the En Sof in allegorical language:
" At the head of the power of the king, he chiseled engravings in the light in height. A spark of impenetrable darkness lit up in secret of the unseen, from the head of infinity - a plume of steam is shaping in the formless, pushed into a ring, not white, not black, not red, not green, from no color. By a cord surveyed, it became shiny colors. Deep within the spark erquoll a current popular colors below, the hidden secret in the mystery of En Sof. It shared and did not share his aura was not known until under the impression of division on chien a single, hidden, supernatural point. Beyond this point, nothing is known, therefore he is called Resit [ top], the first commandment of all. Zohar shine! The Unseen of the Unseen met his aura that touched this point and not touched. Then this initial expanded and built to be praised worth a glorious palace. There it sowed seeds to give birth to fertilize worlds. The secret is: so the holy seed will be such a strain [ see Isaiah 6,13 EU]. Zohar shine! It sows seeds to his fame, like the seed of fine purple silk it wraps themselves in a to weave a palace, justified his praise, all fertilized. With this the beginning of the unknown Hidden created the palace. This palace is called Elohim, God. The secret is: " Berešīt bara Elohim" [ With the beginning he created God cf. Gen 1.1 EU]. "
En Sof as stated in the "king" or " the unknown hidden ", the Sefirot are described in paraphrase of the beginning of Sefer Yetzirah as " engravings ". The emanations were emanated not be as " the hidden in secret " refers to the impulse that sets the emanations in motion as a " spark of impenetrable darkness " or " tape " that the paths and levels of emanations, and the spectrum of the divine colors by measures. The hidden power of emanation is called Zohar ( gloss). Many allegorical pictures describe the first three Sefirot. Specifically, it is here:
- Keter ( crown): Light in height, the secrets of the unseen, the aura, the hidden secret.
- High-mA (wisdom): a single hidden supernatural point of beginning, first light beam, the first creation commandment "In the beginning ", the divine father, the original secret.
- Bina ( understanding ): circle, palace, the divine womb, Elohim, all lower -keeping secret.
- Four of the seven lower Sefirot are briefly indicated only by naming their colors in this passage: hesed as white, red as Gevurah, Tiferet as green and Shekinah than black.
Three groups of the Sefirot
The whole of the ten Sefirot Kabbalah is divided into three groups, on which the En Sof, the primal nothingness ( Ayin Gamur ) stands as beyond the emanations. The highest group has its effect first on the spirit world:
The second group has its influence on the soul world and the moral world order:
The third group acts on the visible world of nature:
As the lowest sphere joins Yesod, the sphere of the Kingdom ( Malchut or Shekinah ), which embodies the visible world.
The created world
God or En Sof has created the visible world and not directly next to him, but as one of its Sefirot. Not only the genera, but all things, even the individuals in the lower world have their prototypes in the higher world. Therefore nothing is indifferent in the lower world, everything has a higher meaning. The whole universe or God is like a branch and leafy giant tree whose roots form the spiritual world of the Sefirot. The human soul partakes of the higher world and is available with all the Sefirot through a system of channels in the immediate connection. Due to their moral and religious behavior, the soul can promote or hinder the blessing donation of the Godhead. By good actions it causes a continuous stream of grace, through bad actions dried up the stream of grace.
In the tradition of Luria's evolutionary process is understood even as a dramatic break. With the tzimtzum the Absolute pulled together to make room for creation. As the divine light beamed and started to fill the empty space, broke some of the ducts and vessels of the Sefirot, which were full of light ( Schwirat ha - Kelim ). Part of the light, which was included in its containers before, fell into the void and formed matter. The universe is then disturbed and in need of repair or replacement ( Tiqūn ). What befalls the earth can help to build the sky again because of the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The individual can help by the provisions of mysticism and Torah. God needs people for his salvation as people need it.