According to Baal HaSulam, the great 20th-century Kabbalist and commentator on the Zohar, it's much more nuanced than that.
In his "Preface to the Zohar," Baal HaSulam urges us to understand the Ein Sof, blessed be He, specifically in relation to souls. Remember, the Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, is always talking about the inner workings of our souls and their connection to the divine.
So, the Ein Sof isn't just a general term for the Essence of God. Rather, it represents how all the worlds and all the souls are incorporated within Him. Think of it as the blueprint, the potential, the mystical "thought of creation" itself. This ties into the Kabbalistic idea of "last in deed, first in thought." In other words, the plan comes before the execution.
It's through this connection, through the Ein Sof, that all of creation, from beginning to end, is bound to the Divine. Baal HaSulam previously referred to this as the initial state of the souls. He describes it in his "Introduction to the Zohar" (Section 13) as a state where all souls exist within Him, filled with all the pleasure and refinement they will ultimately receive when the work of tikkun olam, the rectification of the world, is complete.
This initial state, where the souls—these vessels of receiving—are in perfect unity with the Creator, is what the Sages of the Talmud meant when they said, "He and His name were one." "His name," in this case, refers to the souls, the created beings designed to receive. All of creation, all of our struggles and triumphs, are simply part of the process of returning to that original state, bit by bit, through tikkun.
So, the next time you hear the term Ein Sof, don't just think of an abstract infinity. Think of the source of all souls, the blueprint for creation, and the ultimate destination of our spiritual journey. It’s a reminder that we are all connected, all part of something infinitely greater than ourselves. And that, perhaps, is the most infinite idea of all.