Jewish mysticism, especially the Kabbalah, is all about diving into that hidden depth.
Today, we're going to peek into a particularly fascinating corner of Kabbalistic thought, a passage from the Idra Zuta. Think of the Idra Zuta as a super-intense, almost psychedelic exploration of the divine. It's part of the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah. (If you're picturing Indiana Jones searching for ancient scrolls, you're not far off!)
The passage we're looking at deals with the Sfirot (sometimes spelled Sefirot), the emanations of God. Imagine them as divine attributes, or aspects of God's personality, if you will – like wisdom, understanding, kindness, and strength. They’re often depicted as a kind of cosmic tree.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. The text speaks of the "light within all the luminaries," these Sfirot. Each one, each light, shines and holds onto a light that's even deeper, a light of infinity that's "indefinable outwards." What does that mean?
Well, it suggests that each Sfira, each attribute, isn't just a separate thing. They're all connected, all drawing from the same infinite source. Think of it like prisms refracting light. Each prism shows a different color, but all the colors come from the same original beam.
The Idra Zuta goes on to say that "all amounts to one level and all is crowned with the same matter and is inseparable from each other, He and his name are one." He and His Name are One. That's a powerful statement! It collapses the distance between the divine and its expressions. It tells us that the attributes we see are ultimately inseparable from the source.
The text then makes a distinction between revealed and concealed light. The "revealed light" is called "the king's garment." It's what we can perceive, the way God chooses to show Himself to us. But deep within all the lights is a "concealed light," where lies that which is "undefined and not revealed," which is "blessed infinity."
So, we have this image of layers: the outer garment, the revealed light, and then, deeper, the boundless, infinite potentiality. That hidden light is the Ein Sof, the Infinite, which by its very nature cannot be grasped.
What's the takeaway? For me, it's a reminder that what we see is never the whole story. There's always a deeper reality, a hidden dimension, an infinite source that connects everything. It’s a call to look beyond the surface, to seek the hidden light within ourselves and within the world. And maybe, just maybe, catch a glimpse of the indefinable. It suggests that the divine isn't just "out there" but is intimately woven into the fabric of existence, into every single Sfira. That's a pretty thought, isn't it?