That’s kind of how the mystics of the Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, felt when grappling with the nature of God.
The Tikkunei Zohar, a companion and extension of the Zohar – one of the most central books of Kabbalah – dives deep into these very questions. In Tikkunei Zohar 34, we encounter a profound idea: that God is beyond any single name, beyond any specific definition.
Think about it. We often try to categorize things, to put them in neat little boxes. We give names to everything, even to the divine. We call upon the sephirot, the emanations of God, each with its own name and associated angels. But according to the Tikkunei Zohar, God isn't limited to those names. In fact, God fills all names. God is the very completeness of everything.
It's a radical thought, isn't it? That the source of all being is so vast, so encompassing, that no single label can contain it. It’s like trying to capture the ocean in a bottle.
The text goes on, "And when You withdraw from them, all those names are left like a body without a soul." Imagine the sephirot, the divine attributes, as vessels. Without the divine presence, they are empty, lifeless. This image vividly conveys the idea that the names and attributes we assign to God are only meaningful because of God's presence within them.
Furthermore, the text emphasizes that God isn't "wise" in a specific way, nor does God "understand" from a particular understanding. These are human concepts, limited by our own perspectives. God transcends these limitations.
So, what's the point of it all? If God is beyond definition, beyond names, why do we even bother trying to understand? The Tikkunei Zohar offers a beautiful answer: God reveals God's self to humanity "to make known Your strength and Your power to humans, and to show them how the world is governed."
It's not about perfectly defining God, but about understanding how God interacts with the world. Through mishpat (judgement) and tzedek (righteousness), we see how the world is governed "according to the deeds of people." In other words, our actions have consequences, and God's presence is felt in the very fabric of justice and mercy.
This idea resonates deeply. We may never fully grasp the essence of God, but we can strive to understand how God's presence manifests in our lives and in the world around us. We can see it in acts of kindness, in the pursuit of justice, and in the moments when we connect with something larger than ourselves.
The Tikkunei Zohar invites us to embrace the mystery, to acknowledge the limits of our understanding, and to find meaning in the ongoing quest to connect with the divine. Perhaps, the journey of seeking is more important than arriving at a final destination. And maybe, just maybe, in that seeking, we catch a glimpse of the infinite.