{"id":17,"date":"2010-12-12T01:05:20","date_gmt":"2010-12-12T01:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/talesfromthezohar.wordpress.com\/?p=17"},"modified":"2010-12-12T01:05:20","modified_gmt":"2010-12-12T01:05:20","slug":"3-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/2010\/12\/12\/3-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"3. Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Book of Radiance: Tales from the Zohar<\/em><\/p>\n

By Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

3. Creation<\/p>\n

Arguably the best known sentence in all of world literature is this: \u201cIn the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the Earth\u201d (Genesis 1:1), which sets in motion the laying-out of just how G-d created the cosmos. But what does it mean<\/em> that \u201cG-d created Heaven and Earth\u201d? How did He do that?<\/p>\n

Well, according to the Zohar it come to this: \u201cWhen the King\u2019s Will began to manifest itself, a Firm Spark made an engraving within the Supernal Light that emanated from The Most Concealed and within the mystery of The Infinite One. (That Firm Spark) assumed a Formless Form which was then placed within a circle that was neither white nor black nor red nor green, nor any color at all. And when (that Firm Spark) began to assume size and dimension, it then created radiant colors (Zohar 1, 15a).<\/p>\n

Very well, but then what does that<\/em> mean? The Kabbalists have their explanations, to be sure, but since our task here is to simply catch sight of the wondrous ways the Zohar expresses its truths in all their glory, we won\u2019t offer those explanations.<\/p>\n

Before we present a number of other Zohar depictions of creation, though, let\u2019s see the mysterious ways that other early sages depicted creation without recourse to the Zohar\u2019s imagery.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s make a couple of things clear. First off, that when the Zohar and other traditional sources speak about the creation of \u201cthe world\u201d they aren\u2019t simply referring to the formation of planet Earth, or even of our galaxy or the entire universe. They\u2019re addressing the creation of reality<\/em> itself<\/em>, its known and unknown parts, its physicality and non-physicality: that\u2019s to say the formation of everything other than G-d Himself! And second, let\u2019s underscore the fact that none of this is meant to be taken literally to be sure; it\u2019s all a process of depicting the undecipherable and of laying out the unfathomable.<\/p>\n

As such, we\u2019re taught for example that seven things were created before the rest of reality came into being: the primordial Torah, repentance, the Divine Throne, The Garden of Eden, Gehenom<\/em>, the primordial Holy Temple, and the name of the Moshiach<\/em> (Pesachim 54a<\/em>). And interestingly enough, we\u2019re also taught that G-d actually created whole other forms of reality we can\u2019t even imagine — more than a thousand of them in fact (Zohar<\/em> Chadash<\/em> 9a)– before He created this one which He then rejected (Breishit<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 3:7, 9:2; Kohelet<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 3:11).<\/p>\n

Our sages referred to some strange amorphous \u201cprimal stuff\u201d from which the world was created, including unknowable forms of \u201cfire\u201d, \u201cwater\u201d, and \u201cwind\u201d (Shemot<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 15:22); of \u201clight\u201d, \u201cdarkness\u201d, \u201cchaos\u201d, \u201cthe void\u201d, and \u201cthe deep\u201d (Pirkei<\/em> d\u2019Rebbi<\/em> Eliezer<\/em> 3); and of \u201cwater within water\u201d which then turned to \u201csnow\u201d before turning to \u201cearth\u201d (J. T. Chaggiga<\/em> 2).<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re taught that a number of other non-material things played a role in creation, including the twenty-two letters of the primordial Aleph<\/em>–Bet<\/em> (Midrash<\/em> Konen<\/em> 23-24) which were then arranged into three orders (see Ch. 3 of Sefer<\/em> Yetzirah<\/em>), the original Ten Utterances (Pirkei<\/em> Avot<\/em> 5:1), and Wisdom (see Proverbs 8:22-29),<\/p>\n

But wait a minute, now — haven\u2019t we been taught that G-d created the world ex<\/em> nihilo<\/em> — out of sheer nothingness? Yes indeed, and the Zohar (as well as many other sources) says as much when it declares that \u201cwhen the Holy One, blessed be He, created His worlds, He created them out of nothingness\u201d (Zohar<\/em> Chadash<\/em>, Breishit<\/em> 17b). But as it makes the point elsewhere, that the \u201cnothingness\u201d or \u201cnon-materialness\u201d spoken of here refers to \u201ca single hidden light out of which all revealed lights emerged and shone\u201d and from which everything else was formed (Zohar<\/em> 1, 156b). The point is that the series of attenuating lights of \u201cnothingness\u201d all morphed into the universe, and each sage described the process his own way (based on his own insights as well as on his generation\u2019s stature).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s explore another series of fascinating statements found in Tractate Chagigah<\/em> (12a) before we return to the Zohar\u2019s revelations.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told there that the world was created by means of ten things: \u201cwisdom, understanding, reason, strength, rebuke, might, righteousness, judgment, loving-kindness, and compassion\u201d. (Students of Kabbalah would easily catch reference to the Ten Sephirot here, but once again, that\u2019s not our area of concentration.) And we\u2019re also taught there that the world is founded upon \u201cpillars\u201d (either one alone, or either seven or twelve in all), which stand upon \u201cthe waters\u201d, which stand upon \u201cmountains\u201d, which stand upon \u201cthe winds\u201d, which stand upon \u201cthe storm\u201d, all of which are \u201csuspended on the arm of the Holy One, blessed be He\u201d.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s now return to the Zohar and see how it differs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome and see!\u201d we\u2019re adjured, that \u201cwhen it arose in The Holy One\u2019s Mind, blessed be He, to create the universe, He brought forth a Single Flame from a Black Spark\u00a0 which brought about spark after spark . It then darkened and came aflame. And The Holy One, blessed be He, then brought about a Single Drop from the recesses of the Deep, and joined them together in order to create the universe\u201d (Zohar 1, 86b).<\/p>\n

But at one point at another depiction of creation, the Zohar likens the world to a \u201chouse\u201d that sits \u201cat the very center of all there is\u201d and is surrounded by \u201chidden holy places where the birds of Heaven build nests\u201d upon \u201ca huge and mighty tree\u201d which \u201cascends up to the clouds of Heaven\u201d. This \u201chouse\u201d which is \u201cnourished and watered by the tree\u201d somehow or another \u201cconceals innumerable heavenly and secret treasures\u201d. At certain points every single day, the Zohar seems to be saying, \u201cwhen darkness sets in\u201d — that is, when all is studded with mystery and rich wonder — \u201cspirits flit about in the air trying to enter \u2026 it because they\u2019re curious about what\u2019s in it\u201d, this world (Zohar 1, 172a).<\/p>\n

The point seems to be that though reality was formed in all sorts of G-dly ways, at bottom it\u2019s a single, solitary house lying deep in the fold\u2019s of G-d\u2019s bosom, if you will, with life abounding, secrets yet to be deciphered, and wonders yet to be unearthed. If you, too, are \u201ccurious about it\u201d like the spirits who revel in its secret messages, you\u2019ll also catch sight of the \u201cFirm Spark\u201d, the \u201cFormless Form\u201d, and the \u201cSingle Flame (that emits) from a Black Spark\u201d. And you too will know that G-d Almighty alone is behind it all, fashioning the \u201chouse\u201d and residing smack dab in the middle of it.<\/p>\n

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a>
\n——————————————————<\/p>\n

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Book of Radiance: Tales from the Zohar By Rabbi Yaakov Feldman 3. Creation Arguably the best known sentence in all of world literature is this: \u201cIn the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the Earth\u201d (Genesis 1:1), which sets … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqmS-h","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}