Now, Da'at Tevunot itself is a deep dive, and this particular section, number 112, gets right to the heart of the matter.
The text poses a rhetorical question: "And is this an astonishing thing?" It's a bold opening! It assumes we're ready to grasp a fundamental truth. What truth? That the origin of everything, both good and bad, is intimately connected to God's presence, or, perhaps more accurately, God's absence.
It goes on to explain, "all that is good - is born from His G-dly emanation, and all that is negative - is born from the absence of G-dly emanation and its nullification with certainty."
Think of it this way: God, in this context, is the ultimate source of all goodness. Goodness flows from the divine. It's an emanation, a radiating force.
But what about the bad stuff? According to Da'at Tevunot, negativity isn't a creation of its own. It's the absence of that divine emanation. A void where God's light isn't shining. It’s a nullification, a canceling out, of that divine presence.
And here's the kicker: "if we see goodness and negativity, we certainly know that these two were made by the Lord, He gave G-dly emanation and removed his G-dly emanation, and these two creations that we mentioned were created."
Even the absence, the removal, is ultimately within God's domain. God gives and God withholds. The text is telling us that both the presence of divine light and its withdrawal lead to the creation of the world as we experience it, with all its complexities and contradictions.
Now, this isn't to say that God causes evil. That's a crucial distinction. Rather, the absence of God's active presence, the space created by that withdrawal, allows for the possibility of negativity to manifest.
It's a subtle but powerful idea, isn't it? It suggests that our world, with all its joys and sorrows, is a delicate dance between divine presence and divine absence. And that even in the darkest corners, the potential for God's light to shine remains.
So, the next time you encounter good or evil, remember this teaching from Da'at Tevunot. Remember that everything is connected, in some way, to the source of all being. And perhaps, that awareness can guide us to bring more light into the world, pushing back against the darkness, one act of kindness at a time.