It’s a question that has haunted mystics and theologians for centuries. How can we, bound by time and space, truly perceive Ein Sof, the Endless One?

The answer, according to Kabbalah, lies in the way Divine light manifests itself in the world. It's like the sun shining through a stained-glass window: the light itself is pure, but it takes on different colors and forms as it passes through the glass. These forms, in Kabbalistic terms, are the sefirot.

Now, the Zohar, that foundational text of Kabbalah, delves deeply into this very idea. And in his preface to the Zohar, Baal HaSulam—Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ashlag, a towering 20th-century Kabbalist known for his "Ladder" commentary (hence the name "Baal HaSulam," Master of the Ladder)—offers a crucial insight. He explains that the Zohar reveals how Divine light spreads over all of creation by "enclothing" itself in these holy sefirot.

Think about it: if the Divine light hadn’t taken on these forms, how could we possibly recognize it? How could we even begin to perceive the Divine presence in the world? Without this "enclothing," how could the verse from Isaiah, "The whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3), ever come to pass?

Baal HaSulam emphasizes that the Zohar explains that this apparent "change" in the sefirot—the way Divine light seems to take on different forms and qualities—is, in a sense, presented as if it were a change in God. But it's not! It’s for our benefit. It's to give our souls the possibility of truly recognizing and perceiving the Divine.

It’s a profound thought, isn't it? The Infinite, in its boundless compassion, makes itself knowable to us through these intermediaries, through the sefirot. As we find in Midrash Rabbah and other classical sources, God desires relationship.

So, the next time you witness beauty, kindness, or even just the simple wonder of existence, remember the sefirot. Remember that these are glimpses of the Divine, shining through the "stained glass" of creation. And perhaps, just perhaps, you'll catch a glimpse of the Endless One, and understand the deeper meaning of the verse: "The whole earth is full of His glory." As Baal HaSulam helps us to understand, that’s the whole point.