Life Force
#nefesh
The next question that arises is why is it necessary to include “and provides the Life Force for them all?”
What is being said here is that in addition to this Infinite Being existing in all the world, It also “provides the Life Force”.
If there was intention for life to emerge in at least one of these worlds, then the Life Force would have been created together with the worlds. Remember, prior to the creation of the worlds, there was no reason for there to be a life force. Only with the emergence of worlds, could there be a place for Life Forms.
This Creation was done in a moment in the realm of the Creator, even though it might have taken billions of years from our perspective. Thus the “days” of Genesis are not days but periods.
This Life Force then is an additional quality. In other words, life could not occur unless the Creator provided the Force that powers Life. Thus “life” was shaped by this Force. It did not just occur, but is part of a Divine impetus. An additional Desire had to made manifest. A desire that we might call information.
In fact, one could say that the universe had to be “seeded” with the information of any life form that was to emerge.
#Information
One could think of this information that we encounter spread in the universe as forming this Creation that G-d has provided us!
Each spiritual universe contains countless entities, with myriads upon myriads of levels of angels and souls. The number of such universes is infinite, one higher than the next. As it should be if we posit an infinite Creation. It has to be infinite in every—and I emphasise—EVERY direction. The infinity of infinities ad infinitum.
The essence of the Infinite Being is exactly the same in the lowest worlds as it is in the highest. In this respect, it is just like the soul—which is equally present in all parts of the body. It is also like the infinity that every number is contained in, and thus contains, in some form or essence.
“She is hidden from all the hidden.”1
For even though the highest worlds are absolutely hidden, G-d is just as hidden in them as She is in the lower world. Thus “no thought can grasp It at all”—even in the highest worlds.
G-d therefore exists in the lower worlds in exactly the same manner in which he exists in the highest worlds. The only difference between the highest spiritual worlds and the lower ones involves the transmission of the Life Force.
So, according to this account, Creation emerged—and “it was good.”2
#nefesh
But there needed to be some Life Force that was input to the Creation in order for there to be living beings. There is some question as to whether this is referring to all life forms or to only the creation of the human, a being who is conscious of Creation. A being who is capable of denying G-d, of apprehending Her cloaked and hidden as she is in the densities of this existence. In fact, the teaching is that that is the very purpose here—to uncover the Divine sparks hidden in all of existence.
The Infinite Being transmits an illumination to all worlds through an aspect of “revealing out of concealment.” This is one of the reasons that the influence and transmission of the Life Force is called “Light” She gives Life Force to all worlds, as well as to the entities that exist in them.
#light_dark
Referring to this Life Force as Light, we divide the world into light and dark. Light being that which supports and nurtures this Life Force, and darkness that which opposes this Life Force. Thus murder is a capital crime, though the Bible would disagree with this. For it is the intention, or purpose, behind the action which determines whether it is good or evil. The sages might say that if it furthers G-d’s Will and is done in service to G-d, than it is Good. And if an act goes against G-d, it is bad. The difficulty always is to discern which is which. Another way to express this is, if the result of the action uplifts the people involved, and brings them closer to G-d, then it is Good.
The higher worlds receive this in a somewhat more revealed manner than the lower ones. The entities that exist in each world receive it, each one according to its own nature and strength. One could compare it to a template that has been created, and each instance of this template, is one that is filled with the Life Force. In each case, it also depends on the particular mode through which the Infinite Being transmits Life Force to each one and illuminates it. The lower spiritual worlds do not receive this Force in such a revealed manner. They must receive it through many garments, in which the Infinite Beings clothes the Life Force and the Light He transmits to them. He thus illuminates them and gives them existence.
This is the basic paradox we now face. The cloaking of the Life Force is needed in order for us to manifest in this density, to exist. Thus we are essentially an expression of the clothing, the garments, created by the blocking of Divine Energy.
These garments conceal the Light and Life Force to such an extent that the latter is not visible at all. All we are able to detect are corporeal, physical things, that appear utterly lifeless.
Actually, all things contain Light and Life Force, giving them being, and constantly changing from nonexistence to existence. Were it not for this, they would revert to utter nothingness, just as it was before creation. From this we gather that the Light exists in everything, even the non-corporeal forms.
This Light comes from the Infinite Being, but is clothed in many garments.3. Each level contains the spiritual level above it. All of these contain the Ten Emanations.4. These are in turn unified with the Emanator, who is the Infinite Being.
Postnote
G-d is present in each and every movement. It is impossible to make any movement or speak any words without His power. This is the meaning of the verse, “The whole world is filled with His Glory” (Isaiah 6:3).
For one to emerge, there had to be a “Not” that emerged out of whatever was or was not. So whatever was, had to produce a “Not”-ness for it to be recognised. Then the “Notness” will produce a “vibrationary” remains, a trace of itself in the Source from which it appeared. This is the quantum concept of the particle – anti-particle.
Footnotes
Tikuney Zohar 17a. The Tikuney Zohar is part of the Zoharic literature, and the entire work is based on the first verse of the Torah. See Sichot HaRan 285. ↩︎
Note: It is like the project was the installation—the Creation—as an expression of G-d’s Will. The maintenance of the project is then the Life Force. ↩︎
Etz HaChaim, “The Tree of Life”, is the main work expounding the Kabbalistic teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari). See Idem, Drush Egolim VeYahsar 4 (37b). ↩︎
Sephirot of Atzilut. Atzilut is the Universe of Emanations, or Nearness. It is the universe that contains the Sefirot or Emanations. We speak of four universes, Assiyah (Emanation), Yetzirah (Formation), Beriyah (Creation) and Atzilut (Emanation) — with Atzilut being the highest. They are alluded to in the verse, "All that is called by My Name, for My Glory (Atziluth), I have created it (Beriyah), I have formed it (Yetzirah) and I have made it (Assiyah) (Isaiah 43:7). As usually defined, Assiyah is the physical world with its spiritual aspect. Yetzirah is the world of angels. Beriyah is the world of the Throne and souls, and Atziluth is the world of the Sephirot. ↩︎