Observations placeholder
The Kabbalistic Tradition: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism - Alan Unterman
Identifier
003115
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Marc Chagall
A description of the experience
From The Kabbalistic Tradition: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism (Penguin Classics) by Alan Unterman
You should know that before emanations were emanated and created beings created, the supernal undifferentiated Light filled all reality and there was no place empty, that is no vacant atmosphere or space. Everything, however, was filled with the undifferentiated Light of the Infinite, without beginning or end. Everything was one undifferentiated Light, equal with a unified equality, and this is called the Light of the Infinite.
When it was His undifferentiated will to create the worlds and to emanate the emanations, to bring into being the perfection of His activities, His Names and His epithets, since this was the cause for the creation of the worlds …. Behold then He, the Infinite Godhead, contracted [from tzimtzum} Himself into a middle point which was in the very centre of His Light ….. He contracted that light and distanced it to the sides around the central point, and then an empty place, atmosphere and vacant space remained from this central point ….. This contraction was completely equal on all sides, surrounding that vacant central point so that the space of that vacuum was circular, completely equidistant from all directions.
It was not a square structure with corners in the figure, for the Infinite Godhead had contracted itself into a circle equidistant from all sides. The reason for this was in order that the light of the Infinite Godhead should be completely equal … so all emanations which were to be emanated in future inside the vacant and completely empty space, were emanated in a circular structure.
Thus they are all as near, and as attached, to the Infinite Godhead which surrounds them completely equally. The light and the divine flow that they need, they absorb from the Infinite Godhead from all sides in equal measure. This would not be so if they were emanated in a square, triangular or similar pattern. For then they would have a corner jutting out that made that side closer to the Infinite Godhead than the others, and they would not receive the light of the Infinite Godhead equally.