En Sof
En Sof , also Ein Sof, Eyn Sof, En Soph or Ain Soph ( heb. אין סוף Eyn Sof , "it has no end") is a term of kabbalistic mysticism , of the infinite referred. What is meant is the ultimate reality of God beyond all specific qualities of Sefirot , the God beyond God. From the contraction ( Tzimtzum , Heb. צמצום) of the indefinable and indefinite primal light of the En Sof, according to Isaac Luria, creation arises . The spiritual and the sensual world emerge through emanation from the divine One . It is a kind of self-creation or self-revelation. Some Kabbalists also equate En Sof with the infinite hidden God.
The infinity of deity
The main teaching of Kabbalah is the teaching of En Sof and Sefirot. These terms are not found in either the Torah ( Bible ) or the Talmud . The expression אין סוף is possibly based on the Greek ἄπειρον, the unlimited, but this is also questioned. God must not be attributed to will, intention, thinking, speaking or doing. He cannot even have willed or intended the creation of the world, for willing reveals the imperfection of what is willing. This view is inspired by the Neoplatonic philosophy. The concept of God or En Sof can only be understood in the form of negation ( via negationis ). The deity can actually neither be grasped with thoughts nor denoted by a word. In contrast to the Neoplatonists, the emanation process is more dynamic. It is not a (temporally) already completed, but an ongoing, vital process that maintains the existence of all beings. The power of human action can influence what goes on in the divine world.
The deity is above everything, even above being and thinking. Therefore one cannot say that it has language, action, thoughts, will or intention. All of these human characteristics boil down to a limitation. But the deity is unlimited on either side because it is perfect. Only this single attribute, unlimitedness and unlimitedness, can be predicated of it. The Kabbalah therefore gives God the name “the unlimited or infinite” (Hebrew En Sof ). In this, his incomprehensible generality, God or En Sof is unknowably hidden, veiled and therefore in a sense not being. Because that which cannot be recognized and understood by the thinking spirit is also not available for it. The general being, En Sof, is therefore like nothing ( Ajin ). So in order to express his existence, he had to or wanted to make himself manifest and recognizable. He had to be effective and create in order for his existence to come into knowledge.
The emergence of the Sefirot, the various inner-divine manifestations of the divine being, from the first Sefira can therefore be understood as a creation out of nothing, because this is the primal nothingness ( Ajin Gamur ). If the first Sefira is thought of as an emanation of the En Sof, there is a difference between the infinite and the nothingness of the divine primordial will. According to another view, the first Sefira represents the essence of the En Sof itself as the infinite will of God. According to this, En Sof and Ajin, infinite and nothing would be identical. The manifestation in the Sefirot is to be understood as the becoming of God. A mystical play on words draws attention to the connection between the Hebrew words for nothing ( Ajin ) and for I ( Ani ): The divine I emerges from nothing.
Characteristics of the En Sof
En Sof, as the source of all things, is infinite, unlimited, self-identical, without any attributes and without will or thoughts. It is characterized as
- the most absolute perfection (אין סוף הוא שלות בלי הסרון)
- an absolute unity and invariably constant immutability (גמורה בה שוי, ואם הוא מבלי גבול אין חוץ מה שאיו מוגבל קרוי אין סוף והוי הסואה ו שהדוה, ממנו באנהדוו,
- there is nothing but him, d. H. everything, the universe, is in him.
If everything is in God, then the imperfect, limited world is also in him. On the other hand, it cannot be assumed that En Sof created the finite world directly. Because then he would have had to have a certain will to create it, although willing is a limitation in the Godhead. Also, if the visible world had been created by God, it would have to be as infinite as its Creator. In fact, it is not infinite at the moment. If the world, through its purposeful order, points to a creative will guided by reason, then, on the other hand, through its finiteness and imperfection, it proves that it cannot have emerged directly from the infinite En Sof.
“Know that everything that is visible and that can be grasped with the senses of the heart is limited (and everything limited has an end, and everything that has an end is not indiscriminately the same, schawe). That is why what is not limited is called 'Infinite', 'En Sof, and this is perfect equality (Hashwa'a) in absolute unity in which there is no change. And if there is no limit, there is nothing but him. And since it / he is exalted, he is the fountainhead / root of all that is hidden and revealed [...] "
Light metaphor
God is the infinite ( En Sof ), the unlimited, attributeless nothing that was everything in the beginning. He is the hidden primal light that filled everything. He sets the world out of itself in order to reveal itself. The world emerges from it in that the primordial light is shaped and not shaped, in that it shines into everything and yet remains one. The primal light limits itself. This creates an empty space into which the primal light radiates the world.
“Know, before the emanations were emanated and the created was created, a supreme simple light filled all reality, so that there was no free place at all in the sense of an empty, hollow space, but everything was filled with that simple light of En Sof. [...] And when it arose in his simple will to create the worlds and to emanate the emanations in order to make the perfection of his works, his names and his attributes recognizable, which was the reason for the creation of the worlds [ ...], there the En Sof contracted at the middle point, truly in the middle of its light. It contracted the light and moved away in all directions around the center. This left a free space around the center, an empty, hollow space [...] This contraction (tzimtzum) was of absolute equality around the empty [virtual] center, in such a way that the empty space had the shape of a perfect one spherical sphere because the En Sof had contracted into itself from all surrounding sides in the form of a perfect sphere. The reason for this was that the light of the En Sof is of perfect absolute equality [...] "
Sefirot as emanations of En Sof
Sefirot as intermediate stages
As in Neoplatonism, intelligible principles or substances, namely the Sefirot, are inserted between God and the world, otherwise the emergence of the finite from the infinite would be inexplicable.
“There is a radiance that surrounds En-Sof. How it came about is never made clear. In the solemn passage with which the Zohar opens the explanation of the first word of the Torah, it is simply there: 'When the will of the king began to work, he dug signs into the highest brilliance'. "
First an intelligence emanated from the En Sof that contains all the rest and has been present in the En Sof for eternity. When emanating, there is no decrease in force. The others develop from the first Sefira. This emanation from the En Sof, the Sefirot in their entirety, are part of its perfection. They are unlimited and form the first finite. Therefore they are finite and infinite at the same time. When the fullness of the En Sof is communicated to them, they are perfect and infinite, otherwise they are deficient and finite. They form the root of the finite.
The En Sof is in itself unknowable, for the infinite cannot be grasped by the human mind. Everything that he can understand must have measure, proportion and limit. If the En Sof wants to reveal itself, it must reveal itself in the limited and finite. In the emanation of the Sefirot, the finite side must come to the fore. From this finite point of view, the Sefirot can even be said to be physical. This makes it possible for the En Sof, which is immanent in the Sefirot, to also be embodied. The emanation of the Sefirot from the En Sof can be compared with the emanation of light in order to illustrate the immanence and complete unity.
The Sefirot are held together from within by the power light that they receive from the En Sof and the three uppermost Sefirot. Despite all tremors and polarities, they represent the unity of God. As outflows of the divinity, the ten Sefirot are in themselves at the same time dependent and therefore limited. The ten does not contradict the absolute unity of the En Sof, since the one is the basis of all numbers and the majority arises from the unity. Only in so far as the En Sof gives the Sefirot abundance of power, they can have an infinite effect. This effectiveness is shown in the fact that they create the soul and body world. In addition, they maintain the world with which they are related and constantly give it divine life. By means of the Sefirot, God is able to make himself visible or to embody himself.
Creation according to the Zohar
In the Zohar , creation is described as the emanation of the Sefirot from the En Sof in allegorical language:
“On the head of the King's power, He carved engravings on the lamp above. A spark of impenetrable darkness shone in the hidden of the hidden, from the head of infinity - a plume of steam forming in the formlessness, pressed into a ring, not white, not black, not red, not green, of no color at all. By measuring a string, it acquired brilliant colors. A stream welled deep in the spark, spreading colors below, the hidden within the hidden of the mystery of En Sof. It divided and did not share its aura, was not known at all, until a single, hidden, supernatural point appeared under the impression of the division. Nothing is known beyond this point, so it is called rešīt [beginning], the first commandment of all.
Zohar shine! The hidden of the hidden met his aura, which touched that point and didn't touch it. Then that beginning expanded and built a palace worthy of glory. There it sown seeds to give birth, to fertilize worlds. The secret is: A holy seed will be such a tribe [cf. Isa 6:13 EU ].
Zohar shine! It sows seeds for its glory, like the seed of fine purple silk it envelops itself in it, weaves a palace, gives grounds for its praise, fertilizes everything.
With this beginning the unknown hidden man created the palace. This palace is called Elohīm, God. The secret is: “Berešīt bara 'Elohīm” [In the beginning he created God, cf. Gen 1.1 EU ]. "
En Sof is called "King" or "the unknown hidden one", the Sefirot are described as "engravings" in paraphrase of the beginning of Sefer Jezira . The emanations that have not yet been emanated are referred to as "the hidden in the hidden", the impulse that sets the emanations in motion, as the "spark of impenetrable darkness" or as a "tape measure", the paths and levels of the emanations, as well as the spectrum of the divine Measures colors. The hidden power of emanation is called Zohar (shine). Numerous allegorical pictures describe the first three Sefirot. In detail, these are:
- Keter (crown): Shine on high, the hidden of the hidden, the aura, the hidden secret.
- Ḥochma (wisdom): a single hidden supernatural point, the beginning, first ray of light, the first creation commandment "In the beginning", the divine Father, the original secret.
- Bina (understanding): circle, palace, the divine womb, Elohim, the all lower preserving mystery.
- Four of the seven lower Sefirot are only briefly indicated in this passage by naming their colors: Ḥesed as white, Gevura as red, Tif'eret as green and Shekhina as black.
Three groups of the Sefirot
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The totality of the ten Sefirot divides the Kabbalah into three groups, above which the En Sof, the primal nothingness ( Ajin Gamur ) stands as beyond the emanations. The highest group has its effect first of all on the spiritual world:
- the inexplicable height or the crown (Rum-Mala, Kether ) from which the Godpower emanates, thinking the beginning
- the creative wisdom (Chochmah) from which the angelic beings and the revelation of Judaism (the Torah ) proceed,
- the receiving spirit (Bina), from which the prophetic stimulus proceeds, the insight into the Ḥochma.
The second group has its influence on the soul world and the moral world order:
- infinite divine love (Ḥesed)
- the strict divine justice, the judging crushing power (Gevura, Pachad)
- the mediation of both opposites, the beauty (Tif'eret).
The third group affects the visible world, nature:
- the strength (Netzaḥ)
- the splendor (Ḥod, form)
- the mediation of both opposites, the original reason (Jesod).
As the lowest sphere, Yesod is followed by the sphere of the kingdom (Malchut or Shekhina ), which embodies the visible world.
The created world
God or En Sof did not create the visible world immediately and next to him, but as one of his Sefirot. Not only the species, but all things, also the individual beings in the lower world have their archetypes in the higher world. Therefore nothing in the lower world is indifferent, everything has a higher meaning. The whole universe or God resembles a giant tree rich in branches and leaves, the roots of which are the spiritual world of the Sefirot. The human soul participates in the higher world and is in direct contact with all Sefirot through a system of channels. Through its moral and religious behavior, the soul can promote or hinder the blessing of the divinity. Through good actions it creates an uninterrupted stream of grace; through bad actions the stream of grace runs dry.
In the Lurian tradition, the evolutionary process is even understood as a dramatic break. With the tzimtzum, the absolute contracted to make space for creation. When the divine light shone and began to fill the empty space, some of the Sefirot channels and vessels that were full of light ( Schwirat ha-Kelim ) broke. Part of the light that was previously locked in its containers fell into the void and formed matter. The universe is then disturbed and needs repair or replacement ( Tiqūn ). What happens to the earth can help rebuild heaven because of the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The individual can help by observing mysticism and Torah. God needs people for his salvation (and / or the salvation of his creation, since as En Sof he is anyway the infinite from which everything is) just as people need him to be / become whole again in him .
literature
- Joseph Dan : The Kabbalah. A little introduction . Stuttgart 2007 (reclam)
- Heinrich Graetz : History of the Jews from the oldest times to the present . Volume 7, Leipzig 1897
- Karl Erich Grözinger : Jewish thinking. Theology - Philosophy - Mysticism . Volume 2, Frankfurt / Main 2004
- Adolph Jellinek : Contributions to the history of Kabbalah . Fritzsche, Leipzig 1852, reprint Ayer Publishing 1980
- Moses de León (presumed author), Daniel C. Matt (ed.): The Zohar . Pritzker Edition . Volume 1, Stanford 2004
- Gershom Scholem : Jewish mysticism in its main currents . 1957, new edition Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-518-27930-0
- Gershom Scholem: Origins and Beginnings of Kabbalah . De Gruyter, Berlin 1962
- Gershom Scholem: About some basic concepts of Judaism . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1970
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Daniel C. Matt (Ed.), The Zohar. Pritzker Edition , Volume 1, Stanford 2004, p. 459
- ↑ Cf. Karl Erich Grözinger : Jewish Thinking Volume 2: From Medieval Kabbalah to Hasidism. 2005, p. 248
- ↑ Ch. D. Ginsburg, The Kabbalah , London 1865, p. 105 and G. Scholem, Ursprung und Beginn der Kabbala , p. 233
- ↑ z. B. von Grözinger, Jüdisches Denk , Volume 2, 2005, p. 218, because the Sa'adja Ga'on , cited by Scholem , who introduced the doctrine of incorporeality into medieval Jewish thought, has a different terminology and no En Sof .
- ^ Karl-Erich Grözinger: Jewish thinking. Volume 2: From Medieval Kabbalah to Hasidism. 2005, p. 249 with a quote from Azriel von Gerona
- ↑ Joseph Dan: The Kabbalah. A little introduction. 2nd Edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-15-018946-7 , p. 59 f.
- ↑ Gershom Scholem: Creation from nothing and God's self-entanglement. In: About some basic concepts of Judaism. 1970, p. 75 ff .; ders., Origins and Beginnings of the Kabbalah. 1962, p. 372 ff.
- ↑ Gershom Scholem: The Jewish mysticism in its main currents. 1957, p. 237.
- ^ Adolph Jellinek, Contributions to the History of Kabbalah , p. 62
- ↑ Azriel von Gerona: Perusch 'Eser Sefirot / Scha' ar ha-Scho 'el , NA Goldberg (ed.), Berlin 1850, p. 2a, quoted from Karl-Erich Grözinger: Jüdisches Denk , Volume 2: Von der Medieval Kabbala to hasidism. 2005, p. 249.
- ↑ Sefer Ez Hajjim, Hechal I, Scha'ar I, quoted from Karl Erich Grözinger, Jüdisches Denken. Theology - Philosophy - Mysticism , Volume 2, p. 626 f.
- ^ Gershom Gerhard Scholem : About some basic concepts of Judaism , 1970, p. 47
- ↑ Clemens Thoma : The Messiah Project. Theology of Jewish-Christian Encounters. 1994, p. 376
- ↑ See Adolph Jellinek, Contributions to the History of Kabbala , 1852, p. 64
- ^ Translated from The Zohar, Parashat Be-Reshit , Pritzker Edition, ed. v. Daniel C. Matt, pp. 107-110
- ↑ cf. Jeremiah 31: 37-39: “Thus saith the LORD: If one can measure the heavens above and search the bottom of the earth, then I will also reject all the seed of Israel for all that they do, saith the LORD. Behold, the time is coming, saith the Lord, that the city of the Lord shall be built from the tower of Hananeel up to the corner gate. And the guideline will go further out next to it to the hill Gareb and turn towards Gaath. "
- ↑ Cf. Karl-Erich Grözinger: Jüdisches Denk , Volume 2: From Medieval Kabbala to Hasidism , 2005, p. 226 for Isaak the Blind