Groping for a transcendent word in a vocabulary generated by our physical lives, we seize upon “light.” Light is our metaphor for the incorporeal, the spiritual, the Divine. We speak of an era of “enlightenment” dispelling dark ages of ignorance and ignominy, of a “ray” of hope penetrating the blackness of despair, of the Divine “light” that bathes the virtuous soul.
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The Physical World According to Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi The 24th of Tevet is the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,…
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Forget Briggs Myers. To get a true glimpse of your personality, enter the fascinating world of the sefirot, the ten character traits that form who we are: kindness, pride, fortitude… We’re each a composite of these ten building blocks. Knowing what they are and how they work helps us better understand ourselves and the people around us.
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The world was created with ten divine utterances. Could it not have been created with a single utterance?
—Ethics of the Fathers 5:1
G-d certainly could have generated the whole of creation without any process at all, instantaneously creating the world He desired. But then, one of two things would be the case. Either every phenomenon would be a visible act of G-d, leaving no room for free choice. Or else the world would have no traceable link to its Creator at all. This is why G-d created the world through the “ten utterances,” each of which is reflected in some aspect of the nature of our existence, so that they stand as a ladder by which we ascend to appreciate the Master of All. —Akeidat Yitzchak, Bereishit 3
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