In An Ocean Of Infinite Light

In the article “The Matter of Spiritual Attainment,” (Shamati #3) Baal HaSulam writes: with respect to spiritual attainment, reality in general is divided into three discernments: 1. Atzmuto [His Self], 2. Ein Sof [infinity], 3. The Souls. …

3) The souls, which are the receivers of the good that He wishes to do.

The souls are the desire to enjoy, which receive the light of the Creator, the filling that comes from Him.

Ein Sof is called so because it expresses the connection of the Creator with the souls. This is actually how He wants to bring us pleasure, to fill us so that we will feel Him as an infinite source. We do not attain anything other than this connection, and so we cannot speak about anything else. It is in this connection with Ein Sof that everything begins.

When we begin to attain the Creator, the upper world, we discover that this state is unlimited. It is as if there is an infinite ocean around us from which you can take whatever you like, and it all depends only on your desire. Similarly, when we begin to reveal the Creator’s light, we feel as if we are swimming inside Him since He surrounds us.

We understand that we are in the ocean of the Creator’s light, and His attitude toward us is absolutely good, eternal, infinite, and perfect. But how can we receive anything from this state?

Imagine that you are like a newborn and your parents relate to you with infinite love and benevolence. What is next? You do not know what to ask for, what to demand, what to do, and how to relate to them because you are facing absolute love.

Such a state, which we experience when we begin to reveal the Creator, seemingly stops a person, since what can one do if one encounters such an attitude?

So, we begin to realize that our mutual cooperation with the Creator can be built with certain boundaries when we try to create a kind of barrier between us and the Creator so that we will be able to feel ourselves in some kind of framework. Otherwise, it is as if we are swimming in an ocean and cannot scrutinize anything at all, cannot feel anything.

As created beings we can exist only when there are specific, accurate frameworks which enable us to feel ourselves in relation to certain qualities and influences. But if there is no framework, this situation cannot be described or felt, and we cannot integrate it into our attributes in any way.

We must place ourselves in some framework, enclose the Creator in this framework, and then we will be able to speak about our attitude or about our connection with Him.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 12/8/19