Before The Beginning
G‑d as the all encompassing principle of existence, by definition, lacked nothing before creation…except, in some mysterious sense, the actualized experience of giving to another, for there was no “other” upon whom to bestow His gifts. It is this primal-will-to-give-good that inspired the Holy One to create a universe of creatures who would pleasure in receiving His kindness. Since G‑d, by definition, is ultimate perfection, this gift of good that He sought to bestow was nothing less than the experience of Himself, of the unadulterated beneficence that is the essence of His being. In other words, G‑d created the physical world for purely benevolent reasons: He desired to give of His goodness, which is to say, of Himself.[5]
History begins with this first and most drastic contraction described above. The Infinite One creates (within Himself) a dark space for the existence of worlds. The Hebrew root for “world” ((עלם actually means hidden. World (עולם) is, literally, “a place which hides the Presence of G‑d.”[6] This initial occultation of Light is a discontinuous shift, a leap from one extreme to the next. First the light is ever-present, then it disappears altogether. There is no gradual descent from grade to grade. This dark space becomes a womb for creation’s unfolding.
Yet the ray, when first it enters the vacuum, is still of the same overpowering intensity as the surrounding light. It has been reduced in quantity but not in potency. The original problem thus repeats itself, though on a smaller scale. The solution now entails a graduated series of concealments within the beam itself. Each progressive escalation of self restraint causes more fragile and corporeal entities to precipitate into existence. Similarly, when the sun first sets only the more brilliant stars appear in the sky. The others are still overshadowed by the light. Gradually, as the sky darkens, the weaker stars begin to show and soon the sky is filled with them.
G‑d’s creation of reality (as described in Genesis and explicated in Kabbala) becomes the prototype of all creative expression. Every similar endeavor must follow its precedent, step by step, detail by detail. Based on the principle of correspondence,[7] the way to perfect our own creative abilities is to apprentice ourselves to the Master Builder, to study His technique and emulate His style. The most holy name of G‑d is our primary resource. Concealed in the form and sequence of its letters is the key to creation. Each illustrates a specific phase in the process of constricting light and creating worlds.
