Lesson 3: The Infinite Light

Lesson three journeys beyond the form of the four olamot, to explore Kabbalah’s concept of Divine transcendence, Ein Sof. We introduce the Or Ein Sof with a well-known passage in Chaim Vital’s Etz Chaim describing the original “simple Divine light.” We examine the use of light as a metaphor for Divinity, contrasting it to the metaphor of “flow” commonly employed in other Kabbalistic contexts.

We consider the Zohar’s description of G-d as simultaneously transcendent, sovev kol almin, and immanent, memalei kol almin. This concept is alluded to in the seraphim’s prayer “Holy, Holy, Holy,” as described in the prophet Isaiah’s vision, an example of the influence of Kabbalistic thought on Jewish liturgy.