The Infinite Light

'And God said, "Let the water that is beneath the heavens gather into one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so' (Genesis 1:9). 'What is the way to love and awe of God? Whenever one contemplates the great wonders of God's works and creations...'(Maimonides, Foundations of the Torah 2:2).

In the beginning of the Book of Genesis, we read a description of the original formation of the universe. The Torah tell us that God did not simply "snap His fingers" and poof! Rather, He created the world through speech. But what does this mean? Since God is described as Ein Sof - Without End, a perfect unity without parts (that includes organs like a mouth), what does it mean when it says, "And God said"? Let's take a look at what speech really represents by looking at human beings, and then we will extrapolate back to God, as it says: 'God made Adam in His image' (Genesis 1:27) and 'From my flesh I see God' (Job 19:26).

When you say something, are the words that are spoken considered a part of your being? Not exactly. Yet could they be considered anything other than you? Absolutely not. The words are solely yours, but they are only emanations from your being; expressions of who you are. They are also merely a revelation outward of an idea which was hidden before within. So too, God speaking is the revealing of His inner light outwardly. The Jewish Mystics explain (Tanya, Gates of Unity Ch.1 ) that before God spoke creation, He and His Infinite Ability/Light filled all of existence. To make room for another existence, God hid His light and emanated a finite light that descended through concealment upon concealment until finally creating the physical matter of the universe. That outward revelation of His finite creative energy is called His speech. Incredibly, this means that every detail of the universe that we see is a specific expression of God's light! That blade of grass and that star and that butterfly is an emanation and manifestation of God's light; the sky and earth are the expressions of God. So when you are looking at any object in this world, you are seeing God's light condensed, tailor made to express that specific object. The mystics teach further that God is continually speaking every existence into creation, as King David: "Forever your word stands firm in the heavens" (Psalms 119:89).

If you thought this idea was deep, we are going to go one step deeper. We explained earlier that in order to emanate a finite light and create a universe full of beings that would appear and feel completely independent, God had to hide His Infinite Being and abilities. But although hidden, His Infinitude never left. Therefore, this finite expression of God's light through His speech that created all that we see, in truth, is also the Infinite reality of God. God contains the ability for infinitude and finitude just the same. Imagine the way speech is before it's spoken, in the mind of the speaker. 'There is no place devoid of Him.' (Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 57) Walking down a dark street, eating a salad, wherever you find yourself and whatever you are doing, know that you and your surroundings are within the infinite light of God. We are not just standing in front of the king; we are one with the king. All of existence is one with God's inner Being.

When we contemplate on this idea in depth and picture it, we can lift our perspective and reality from the lowest of levels to the loftiest of heights.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Daniel