The Beur Eser Sefirot, a Kabbalistic text, dives headfirst into this very question.
The core idea? To say that God's power only exists in the infinite, and not in the finite – in the limitless, but not in the limited – is to diminish God. It’s like saying an artist is only good at painting landscapes, not portraits. It puts artificial boundaries on the boundless.
Think about it. If limitation only appeared at the moment of creation, that also implies a reduction in God's essence. The Beur Eser Sefirot insists that God must possess limitless, limited power. It’s a seeming paradox, but it’s central to understanding how the divine interacts with our reality.
This brings us to the S'firot (סְפִירוֹת) – often translated as emanations or attributes of God. They are the ten interconnected nodes through which the divine light manifests in the world. According to this teaching, the S'firot possess both perfect and deficient forces. When they receive the divine flow from God's perfection, they are perfect. But when that flow is somehow hindered, they become deficient. They contain within them the potential for both.
This duality, this dance between perfection and deficiency, is what allows for differentiation. It's what allows for us. It's what allows for one thing to be distinct from another.
Now, some might argue: "If God is one, and was alone at the creation of the world, then where do the S'firot come in?" Well, the text tells us this absence is deliberate. These attributes are, in a sense, intentionally "omitted" from our direct perception, allowing for the unfolding of creation.
And what about the order of creation? Is it random? The Beur Eser Sefirot strongly disagrees. If there were no inherent direction or structure, why would creation be described so meticulously in the Torah? No word in the Torah is without purpose.
Consider the sun, moon, and stars – each appearing in its appointed time. The order of their establishment, their eventual destruction, and their renewal... this is the realm of the S'firot.
The S'firot are the force behind everything that exists, everything that can be described in terms of numbers, in terms of structure and form. They are the blueprint, the underlying architecture of reality. All of creation is, in essence, a projection of these divine attributes.
They shift and change, containing high points, low points, and everything in between. Yet, despite their diversity, they are all of one essence. All emanate from the Infinite One.
There is nothing outside of God.
Ultimately, the Beur Eser Sefirot paints a picture of a God who is not distant or detached, but intimately involved in every aspect of creation. A God whose perfection embraces limitation, whose unity allows for diversity, and whose presence permeates everything. It invites us to see the divine spark in every corner of existence, even – and perhaps especially – in the imperfections. What does it mean to see the divine in the imperfect? That’s something to consider.