The Kabbalah: its doctrines, development, and literatureGinsburg, Christian D. (Christian David)
Religion
The Kabbalah: its doctrines, development, and literature
Ginsburg, Christian D. (Christian David)
Cabala
Being boundless in his nature—which necessarily implies that he is an
absolute unity and inscrutable, and that there is nothing without him,
or that the τὸ πᾶν is in him, [1]—God is called En Soph (אין סוף) =
ἄπειρος Endless, Boundless. [2] In this boundlessness, or as the En
Soph, he cannot be comprehended by the intellect, nor described in
words, for there is nothing which can grasp and depict him to us, and
as such he is, in a certain sense, not existent (אַיִן), because, as
far as our minds are concerned, that which is perfectly
incomprehensible does not exist. [3] To make his existence perceptible,
and to render himself comprehensible, the En Soph, or the Boundless,
had to become active and creative. But the En Soph cannot be the direct
creator, for he has neither will, intention, desire, thought, language,
nor action, as these properties imply limit and belong to finite
beings, whereas the En Soph is boundless. Besides, the imperfect and
circumscribed nature of the creation precludes the idea that the world
was created or even designed by him, who can have no will nor produce
anything but what is like himself, boundless and perfect. On the other
hand, again, the beautiful design displayed in the mechanism, the
regular order manifested in the preservation, destruction, and renewal
of things, forbid us to regard this world as the offspring of chance,
and constrain us to recognize therein an intelligent design. [4] We
are, therefore, compelled to view the En Soph as the creator of the
world in an indirect manner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account