Jewish mysticism offers a powerful explanation for this feeling, and a path toward mending what's broken.
Our story begins with the Shechinah, often understood as the Divine Presence dwelling within creation. Think of it as the immanent aspect of God, the part of the Divine that's closest to us, radiating light and energy. According to Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah, all the wonderful qualities, these "exalted attributes," that we see (or yearn to see) in the world ultimately spring from the lights emanating from the Shechinah. These lights are the very roots of everything that exists in the realms of Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah – the realms of Creation, Formation, and Action, respectively. These are the lower worlds, the realms where our everyday reality unfolds.
Now, imagine that some of the good stuff, the things that should be flourishing in those lower worlds, actually has its source in the "Strengths" – the powerful foundations – within Yesod of the Shechinah. Yesod, meaning "foundation," is one of the Sefirot, the ten emanations of God, and acts as a conduit, channeling divine energy downward. These "Strengths" in Yesod are, essentially, the blueprints for goodness and light in the lower creations.
But here's where the story takes a twist. What happens when these exalted levels, these divine energies, somehow leave the worlds? What happens when that light gets obscured?
According to the text, those roots – those blueprints for goodness – either become concealed, hidden from view, or, even worse, they become damaged. And this damage comes from descending into the husks – the kelipot in Hebrew. Think of these kelipot as the forces of negativity, the shells or coverings that obscure the divine light. When the light descends into these husks, instead of benefiting the world and Israel – the Jewish people, often representing humanity striving for spiritual connection – the husks themselves benefit! It's a cosmic imbalance, a distortion of the divine plan.
So, what's the solution? How do we fix this?
The answer, beautifully and hopefully, is restoration. The text tells us that it is these very levels that must be restored. And how does that happen? By revealing the light. Every day, some of these lights are once again revealed, bit by bit, in order to repair the world. This is Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">tikkun olam, the repairing of the world, a concept so central to Jewish thought and practice.
Think about that for a moment. Every single day, there's an opportunity for revelation, for bringing more light into the world. It might be through acts of kindness, through moments of insight, or through simply striving to live a more meaningful life. Each small act of goodness, each moment of awareness, contributes to the ongoing process of tikkun olam, of restoring the divine light and healing the fractures in our world.
The Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah offers not just a diagnosis of what ails the world, but also a potent prescription: a daily commitment to revealing the hidden light and restoring balance to creation. It's a reminder that even in the darkest of times, the potential for healing and wholeness always remains. What light will you reveal today?