Kabbala #2: Perceiving the Infinite

The Kabbalah is about understanding God.

This brings us to a major paradox, because how can we -- who are finite, understand God, who is Infinite.

The Kabbalah describes God as Ein Sof, which in Hebrew means "without end."

Colloquially, of course, we are accustomed to use "infinite" whenever we refer to something “very, very big” or “uncountable.” But its real definition is “without borders” or "without parameters."

Just as when we physically grab something, we need edges/borders to hold onto, so too when we mentally grasp a concept, we need to perceive the boundaries of the idea as points of reference. Thus, when we define something we give it parameters, and thereby we are able to comprehend it.

A picture’s clarity depends on the sharpness of contrast of its boundaries. When I wish to describe a person, I point out the distinctions between him and others. If I say, “he is tall”, I really mean to say “he is taller than most others.”

God is termed Bal Tachlis -- He is not bound in any way.

This doesn't just mean that His powers are not limited in any way, but, more deeply, that we cannot contrast God with any experience known to humanity.

Describing the Indescribable

When a child asks to describe honey, we can point to the sweetness of sugar, the color of brown toast, and the texture of syrup, and tell him to imagine all three together.

But when a child asks for an explanation of the politics of workplace relationships, we have a difficult time finding an illustration, because emotional interactions have no real parallel in a child’s universe.

The same is true of God’s essence. No amount of comparison, illustration, or metaphor will bring His reality closer to our understanding. He is simply Ein Sof -- indefinable, period.

So what are we studying in Kabbalah?

Is the mind a useless tool when it comes to contact with God?

Are we adopting the view that the mind is a useless tool when it comes to contact with God? Or that communion with God is but a transcendental, emotional state of self-negation and acceptance?

No. It cannot be that the human mind -- our most important and God-like organ -- has no purpose in our attempt to communicate with our Creator.

The Realm of Understanding

The answer is that while God Himself is Ein Sof, He has created a place of interaction between Himself and humanity that is, for our sakes, bounded and defined. This place is called hanhaga -- and this is the realm within which we can make use of our understanding and knowledge.

But is this realm meaningless in the absolute sense? Has it been created just for the sake of keeping our minds occupied, since we can’t ever grasp the real thing?

Let us contrast two illustrations that will highlight our question and hopefully, provide an answer.

An adult is visiting the home of his friend, who has asked him to baby-sit. The adult has little in common with the child, yet must busy him somehow (let's say the television is broken.) He devises a game of marbles, and sits with the child and plays.

In doing so the adult has completely left the adult world and has entered the child’s world. Years later when the child will remember this incident, he might feel this as an example of the adult's kindness. But nothing in the game itself is a reflection of the adult’s values.

Now let us consider a second illustration. An adult sets up a school for children, where he will teach them dignity, responsibility and justice. But those are abstract concepts, meaningless to a child. Therefore, he makes a rule that white shirts and ties be worn at all times, that a certain amount of homework be the duty of the child to prepare, and that studying or the lack of, will be noted and publicized.

In the child’s mind these are concrete rules, and physical realities that the child can relate to. Yet underpinning the rules are abstract principles that the child is meant to learn. When the child grows up, he will perceive the inner values represented in these rules.

Commandments are finite and graspable. Yet their "soul," so to speak, is Divine.

This is what is at work in Divine hanhaga -- which, of course, is contained in the rules and laws of the Torah.

To us the commandments of the Torah are rules and dictates. Being concrete and finite they are graspable. Yet their "soul," so to speak, is Divine.

Studying, obeying and understanding that hanhaga allows us to gradually develop some sense of the Divine will.

This is the subject matter of Kabbalah.

The Kabbalah seeks to understand the Divine hanhaga, as opposed to understanding God Himself. Yet in reaching a deeper understanding of hanhaga, we get a glimpse of God Himself.

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Published: February 14, 2000
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Visitor Comments: 21

(20) magnus, January 3, 2013 11:34 PM

kabbala

the teaching of kabbala is great but very difficult to understand please it will be nice if it can be summarize in simple term . with few word but i agree that concept of GOD CAN NOT be completely understand by our human mind , but we can at least understand his nature a little . may be with the future study of kabbala we may understand more BUT THANKS FOR THis GREAT ARTICLE

(19) Maurice, November 28, 2012 4:57 AM

Stop trying to understand g-d

We have to stop trying to understand g-d. ..the human mind lacks the capacity to know g-d---only when we stop thinking reside in the moment g-d is revealed as our essential self as one ..this portal is more experiential than cerebral ...

(18) Michala, November 8, 2012 12:08 AM

God in everything

I sense a bit of aloofness in this article. Ultimately, I believe that the heartbeat of God is palpable in everything. We are never without God, because He is in everything. If you look at all forms of mysticism all throughout the world (Celtic, Essenes, Gnostic, etc) you will see that the main heart of the mystic is the love affair with God- to draw night to Him, to know Him, to feel Him, to have Him, to hold Him! in fact, this is the big difference between mysticism and religion. I sense that you may be trying to say that mysticism is nothing without religion, but that would defeat the heart of mysticism, for you to say that! I understand your frustrations over the commercialization of Kabbalah, but, is love not better when it is spread out, rather than kept in one place? Perhaps its too easy to become judgmental of others? God is not aloof and incomprehensible and difficult to understand. When I feel the warm embrace of a father- or I see the warm embrace of a father- I feel, I see, God! As I breathe in the air, I breathe in God! God fills my lungs, and I live!

(17) BW, November 5, 2012 10:06 AM

Is the mind an organ?

This article limits the capacity of our mind to the biological by comparing it to an organ which is piagetian and limiting. Our mind is the totality of all we have learned, experienced, and understood...not an organ.

(16) Irene, October 29, 2012 6:54 PM

Kabbala #2

Sometimes Kabbala is alittle hard for me to comprehend. But one thing I do know, understanding God is way beyond my understanding, but his essence, his nature of character, I do understand. Although sometimes my human nature would do some things different than his Spirit nature. The way Kabbala is taught is sometimes hard to grasp, and I wonder why it is not taught in a more simple way. But I do enjoy it and I have learned from it. So please keep the lessons coming. Thank you, may the blessings of Hashem be upon all of you at aish.com.

(15) Sarah, April 18, 2012 3:21 PM

Definitions are always subjective

This is good reading, however, definitions are always subjective, and therefore very limited as far as descriptors of the real thing. And what human being can ever know the "real thing", whether it is G-d or something else. Boundaries to hold onto are slippery, but yes, we need them or else we would go insane. Real Kabbalah is deep, too deep for most of us. W

(14) Emmanuel Ikan Astillero, December 12, 2011 6:26 AM

We live God's life by living His attributes.

The only way, as Kabbalah teaches, to attain the Creator is to adhere to this teachings. As we obey His commandments, we become like God.

(13) Han David, May 13, 2011 7:47 PM

Clear and usefull! Shalom !

(12) Alexander Huzau, September 19, 2010 8:37 PM

A glimpse of G..d

To Stacy: The undefinable can not be defined. Our finite mind encount difficulties defining parameters which are infinite, such as SPACE or TIME(although TIME is rather a unit of measure than a physical parameter..) Just try it on your own, to give an acceptable definition for this two... G..d is infinite in time and space: eternal. And because of this, He has no past or future time, just present. We are free on taking decisions, but He already knows which decision we chose... He has no 'here' and 'there' because He is everywhere: omnipresent. He is non-physical (considering the actual stage of science about dark matter and dark energy) and non-corporeal, but He can take material forms: man, burning bush, clouds, frog, or everything in between. He is omnipotent: the creator of all things.

(11) meyer zuckerman, March 15, 2010 5:01 PM

Use of "uncountable" and "parameter" in description of infinite

First, as a long time student of Kabbalah, I applaud this plain talking series. I'd like to refer the interested person to the work of the late 19th century mathematician Georg Cantor,who describes infinity in a way that actually gave me some of the same insights posited in this series. I would like to just make note that we must be careful when using descriptive terms such as "uncountable" with regard to infinity because there is an infinite set of "countable" numbers(the set of integers) and a set of "uncountable" nunbers(all the rest of numbers as well). The same basic argument is true of "parameter". If you are interested in comparing a mathematical description of infinity to a Kabbalistic one, than there are several not very technical books available on the work of Georg Cantor.

(10) Margarita, September 18, 2008 8:31 PM

homework

i think it's missing a point, homework is good for children to develop their mind, no matter how little we sometimes think of it. even playing is good for children. so before you say that it's an abstract concept, i think you should make clear that some of them (like uniform) are abstract and some of them (like homework) are very important. this is a bigger picture, some rules are just because, and some rules we need for our development.

(9) Stacy, June 29, 2007 1:29 PM

Graspable concept

Thanks for defining something so undefinable. This article allowed me to understand how G-d teaches us how to better see the light and understand his ways.

Deborah, September 23, 2011 7:34 AM

Divine hanhaga

Am I grasping the concept? Concrete rules are set up that in effect teach abstract concepts that a child (or a beginning Kabbalah student) cannot yet grasp?

(8) K.Katapodi, May 22, 2007 11:59 AM

Comments

From first sight we cannot distinguish that God has set a puzzle for us..and that He leads us to find its solutions.The puzzle is every day..''How can I solve this problem, when it comes out?.And there is God's Wisdom..that he has prepared the material for the solution, and suddenly a factor ''X'' comes to complete the puzzle of our daily..sometimes unsurmountable problems..The way God has determined our Destiny is ready already.It's up to us, not only to discover, but to meet the ''ready solution''..this explains the procedure of life evolving..

(7) Dorothy, August 14, 2005 12:00 AM

Oy yu yu!!

ok ok so I'm not sure how to spell it I hope you all know what I mean. Some of these comments are making me crazy..The one after mine about science etc..Does the commentor realize he explained the Ten Sefirot. I obviously should concur with the Rabbi first but I do believe I am right.. The comments to those who have ears, eyes etc. you do not have to be Jewish or GentilE to love these studies. The head of this article sums it up best. THE KABBALAH IS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING GOD keep studying, read the Torah, and the Kabbalha. Rabbi can anyone be a Kabbalhaist? lol with love light and laughter...

(6) Anonymous, August 31, 2003 12:00 AM

rules are created by God to give our human minds something simple to grasp that will lead us to understand His will , and therefore, Him

as a parent I understand this. we cannot fully love God unless we have the opportunity and the free will to not love Him.

(5) Patrick Webb, October 18, 2002 12:00 AM

Enlightening Metaphores

I am very impressed by Rabbi Leiberman's
deconstruction of what can often become an
illusive concept of the divine, and how each of us
exists in reference to it. I would point out to the
very learned Rabbi, however, that to say that "Kabbala
is to Torah what Philosophy is to Science",
is slightly misguided, although this is a common
mistake in the English language, as Science is
itself only a Philosophy. Modern "Science" as we
know it is a set of disciplines which include
Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, and Religion,
to name a few. These are in fact all schools of
Philosophy, and each require a certain degree of
Faith in consensual laws, givens and postulates
in order to be believed and accepted amongst one's
other scientific peers. These consensuses are then studied,
debated, and finally included in the current oracle.
It is important to point out this distinction between
Science and its origins in Philosophy, especially since we are
now living in an age where Scientific and technological
developement go hand in hand, and are often held above
reproach as religions onto themselves- often fiercely guarded by
powerful and governing interests of the state and its media arm.
Believing in any school of Science will require each and every believer
to have faith in its principles and beliefs, therefore we must not classify Science as
fact or reality. It is only a branch of Philosophy. All this, mind you,
does not detract from a wonderfully insightful article by
Rabbi Leiberman.

(4) Vivian Ting, July 28, 2002 12:00 AM

Thank you.

Dear Rabbi Leibeman,
Thank you for your comparisons in your writings. They are simple and yet very profound. To explain an abstract concept is a very difficult task. I understand how much effort you've put into your writings. I discover great truths in your articles.
God bless.

(3) Carl Siegel, June 3, 2001 12:00 AM

I read 1 article and couldn' stop until I read them all.

Dear Rabbi Leiberman,
Your articles on Kabbalah are fascinating,enlightening, and intriguing. I read one article and couldn't stop until I read them all. Please continue this vital series as you are helping many of us who are trying to understand our relationship with God.

(2) Mirjam Antonides, February 15, 2001 12:00 AM

#2 perceiving the Internet

I'm always amazed and quited within when I read your studies. They are an answer to the secret questions deep inside..... Thank you

(1) Shabtai Shatsky, February 1, 2001 12:00 AM

The clearest explanation of Kaballah I've seen!

I was immediately impressed by Rabbi Leiberman's understandable and tangible explanations. Too often, other works on the subject seem so abstact and divorced from reality - I don't know what they're saying. I'd like to see a list of his other publications. Finally a gem!

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About the Author

Rabbi Shimon Leiberman

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Rabbi Leiberman is a leading Jewish educator in Israel and abroad, and has written a number of works on Jewish thought and Kabbalah.

Kabbala #2: Perceiving the Infinite

How can we get a glimpse of God? Kabbala reveals how the Infinite interacts with humanity.

Article 2 of 24 in the series Kabbala

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