The Algebra of Wholeness

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>Krael

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>The Algebra of Wholeness >Wed, 04 Apr 2001 08:52:52 -0400 >

>'Eyn Sof is perfection without imperfection. >If you propose that He has

unlimited power >and does not have finite power, then you >ascribe imperfection

to His perfection. Since >we should never ascribe imperfection to His

perfection, we are compelled >to say that He >has a finite power which is

unlimited.' >-- Rabbi Azriel of Gerona ('Explanations >of the Ten Sephiroth,'

trans. by Joseph >Dan in The Early Kabbalah, Paulist Press, >1986, p. 90) >

>Man, having been created 'in the image >of God' (Gen. 1:27), is, like his

creator, >'perfection' (which is to say, complete) >by virtue of being both

'perfect' and >'imperfect.' But whereas God is more >'perfect' than

'imperfect,' man is more >'imperfect' than 'perfect.' Yahweh alludes >to this

when he says to Moses, 'My ways >are not your ways; my thoughts are not >your

thoughts' and similarly when Krishna >says to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita,

'They >are in me, but I am not in them.' This >can be shown symbolically as

follows: > >God = [ xx + y ] > >Man = [ x + yy ] > >where x equals 'perfection'

and y equals 'imperfection.' Thus, the >Tikkun of >"Repairing the Face of God"

-- restoring >Him to His original unity, His Echad, >before splitting himself

off to create man -- >is accomplished when man returns himself >to God, as

follows: > >Tikkun = [ yy + x ] + [xx + y ] = xxyy > >This is what R. Azriel of

Gerona alluded to >when he stated that 'Eyn Sof has a finite >power which is

unlimited.' That is, prior >to the creation of man -- in whom He >invested more

of his imperfection than >perfection -- God was unlimited infinity >(i.e.,

xxyy); but in the process of creating >man, by investing more of His

imperfection >than perfection in him, the 'balance' in >God between his

'perfect' and 'imperfect,' >infinite and finite powers, although not >destroyed

altogether, is significantly >diminished (i.e., it devolves from xxyy >into xxy

) and therefore requires man >(xyy) to restore Him to His premundane >balance

in order that He can return to >His 'unlimited infinite power' rather >than

remain in the 'unlimited finite power' >of which R. Azriel speaks. This is what

>the Ba'al Shem Tov alluded to when he >stated, 'Evil is the throne of Good' and

>'the followers of evil Baalam did not >fulfill the commandment to make out >of

the Evil the Good.' > >It is also what we mean when we say >that man cannot, on

his own, become >anything more than he already is -- >which is more imperfect

than perfect -- >until the Creator and created become >one, and man returns to

God a portion >of his imperfection, and God gives a >portion of His perfection

to man -- thus, >Repairing the Face of God and returning >Him to the

undifferentiated unity in which >He existed prior to the cataclysm of creation.

> >[To be continued] > >Birkat Hakohanim, > >Yakov Leib HaKohain ['YaLHaK']

>(Lawrence G. Corey, Ph.D.) >DONMEH WEST WEBSITE:

http://home.earthlink.net/%7Eamirah/wsn1911.html >DONMEH WEST ARCHIVES:

DONMEH_WEST/messages > > >'I bless Yahweh who is

my counselor, and in the night my inmost Self >instructs me.' -- Psalms 16:7 >

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