Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, gives us a fascinating framework for understanding that very question, and it all starts with light – divine light.
Specifically, we're talking about the emanation of the ten sefirot. Now, sefirot (singular: sefirah) are often described as divine attributes or emanations. Think of them as the building blocks of all creation, the tools through which the Infinite expresses itself. The Sulam Commentary, a key text for understanding the teachings of the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, explains that these sefirot didn't just pop into existence fully formed. They emerged in stages.
Imagine existence as a towering stack, reaching from the most sublime realms all the way down to our physical world. According to the Sulam, there are three distinct "areas" within this stack, each with unique structural properties that influence how the partzufim, or divine "faces/configurations," emerge.
The first area encompasses the initial three partzufim of Adam Kadmon. Adam Kadmon, primordial Adam, is not a physical being but a realm of pure divine light and potential, the very first emanation from the Infinite. In this realm, the ten sefirot emerged all at once. It's like a single, unified burst of creation.
Then we move to the world of Nekudim. Nekudim, meaning "points," represents a more differentiated stage. Here, the Sulam tells us, the sefirot emerge in two phases.
Finally, we arrive at the world of Atzilut and all the worlds below it. Atzilut, the world of emanation, is the highest of the four worlds in the Kabbalistic system. Here, the emergence of the sefirot happens in three stages. So, one phase in Adam Kadmon, two in Nekudim, and three in Atzilut. You can see a progression of increasing complexity.
But what drives these staged emergences? It has to do with collisions and partitions.
Think of it this way: the divine light, in its descent, encounters different levels of "partitions." As the preceding sections of the Sulam Commentary explain, these partitions are like filters or barriers, represented by Malkhut, the final sefirah, that lie at the bottom of each level. When the light hits a partition, it creates a “returning light” that ascends and enclothes the direct light, forming a new vessel. The height of that returning light, and thus the nature of the vessel, depends on the “opacity” of the partition. What determines this opacity? Well, the surrounding light itself! The light beats against the partition, purifying it. The more purified the partition, the more refined the resulting vessel.
The Sulam goes on to explain that the fusion, or collision, on the fourth level of the partition caused the ten sefirot to emerge at the height of Keter, the crown, the highest of the sefirot. On the third level, the fusion caused them to emerge at the height of Ḥokhma, wisdom. And on the second level, at the height of Bina, understanding.
So, what does this all mean for us? It's a reminder that creation isn't a one-time event. It's an ongoing process, a continuous unfolding of divine potential. And just like the sefirot emerged in stages, so too can we understand our own spiritual growth as a journey of progressive refinement, moving from potential to actuality, from opacity to clarity.