the godhead.
Mar. 28th, 2016 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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nameseekingGod is infinite, containing everything.
This is the first and most complete form of the Godhead, the Elohut: Ein Sof, the Infinite, a genderless, ineffable being that cannot be anthropomorphized. Transcendent, associated with void--this part of God has always existed but was not named until the twelfth or thirteenth century, because it opposes the very essence of naming.
But eventually, in the process of Creation, Ein Sof withdraws into itself and then reemerges as threefold.
Ehyeh asher ehyeh, or YHWH, the Will. "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE." The active, self-transformative force of God, concerned with striving and self-actualization. Masculine. Called Adonai or "Lord" euphemistically. His associated sefira is Keter, the crown, or incomprehensible Divine Will.
Elohim, or El Shaddai, the Almighty. The outward manifestation of God's power, capable of altering the world around Them. Masculine and feminine. Their associated sefira is Chokhmah, wisdom.
Shekhina, the Presence. Governs a number of different spheres in Her various aspects, including mercy, the Sabbath, the home, the sea, and sexuality. Feminine. The most fractured part of God thanks to millennia of patriarchy, She contains within Herself the repeated regenerations of the divine and monstrous feminine within Jewish tradition: Asherah, Lilith, Anath, the Shekhina, the Matronit, and the Sabbath Bride. Her associated sefira is Binah, understanding.
Standard Jewish practice is to seek to embody the Presence and serve the Will; I seek to embody the Will and serve the Presence.
I intend to engage with the Elohut in a way not entirely different from how I engage with my fandoms, those other fictions that shape my life. I will write about who and what they are, assigning them associations and characteristics drawn from my research. Sometimes I'll be Kabbalistic. Sometimes I won't. There are other things to talk about as well--not just the faces of God but the parts of the cosmos and the responsibilities of God's people.
It has always been a Jewish responsibility to repair the fragmented world (tikkun olam). What part of our world is more fragmented than the feminine? I am still a Jew, and this is my quest as such.
This is the first and most complete form of the Godhead, the Elohut: Ein Sof, the Infinite, a genderless, ineffable being that cannot be anthropomorphized. Transcendent, associated with void--this part of God has always existed but was not named until the twelfth or thirteenth century, because it opposes the very essence of naming.
But eventually, in the process of Creation, Ein Sof withdraws into itself and then reemerges as threefold.
Ehyeh asher ehyeh, or YHWH, the Will. "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE." The active, self-transformative force of God, concerned with striving and self-actualization. Masculine. Called Adonai or "Lord" euphemistically. His associated sefira is Keter, the crown, or incomprehensible Divine Will.
Elohim, or El Shaddai, the Almighty. The outward manifestation of God's power, capable of altering the world around Them. Masculine and feminine. Their associated sefira is Chokhmah, wisdom.
Shekhina, the Presence. Governs a number of different spheres in Her various aspects, including mercy, the Sabbath, the home, the sea, and sexuality. Feminine. The most fractured part of God thanks to millennia of patriarchy, She contains within Herself the repeated regenerations of the divine and monstrous feminine within Jewish tradition: Asherah, Lilith, Anath, the Shekhina, the Matronit, and the Sabbath Bride. Her associated sefira is Binah, understanding.
Standard Jewish practice is to seek to embody the Presence and serve the Will; I seek to embody the Will and serve the Presence.
I intend to engage with the Elohut in a way not entirely different from how I engage with my fandoms, those other fictions that shape my life. I will write about who and what they are, assigning them associations and characteristics drawn from my research. Sometimes I'll be Kabbalistic. Sometimes I won't. There are other things to talk about as well--not just the faces of God but the parts of the cosmos and the responsibilities of God's people.
It has always been a Jewish responsibility to repair the fragmented world (tikkun olam). What part of our world is more fragmented than the feminine? I am still a Jew, and this is my quest as such.
