Emanations, Light, Vessel

Ohr: Emanations ma'or: "luminary" kli: "vessel"

“Everything is light, and each of you is the light of Divinity”

Kryon

Long wikipedia article on LIGHT in Kabbalah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohr

The term Ohr is contrasted with ma'or "luminary" and kli, the spiritual "vessel" for the light.

Ohr (Hebrew: אור, romanized: ʾor, lit. 'Light', plural: אורות ʾoroṯ) is a central Kabbalistic term in Jewish mysticism. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical divine emanations. Shefa "flow" (שפע) and its derivative, hashpoah "influence" השפעה), are sometimes alternatively used in Kabbalah, a term also used in Medieval Jewish philosophy to mean divine influence, while the Kabbalists favour Ohr because its numerical value equals ר״ז, a homonym for רז rāz "mystery".1 It is one of the two main metaphors in Kabbalah for understanding God, along with the other metaphor of the human soul-body relationship for the sefirot.2

Light can be veiled ("tzimtzum"-constrictions in Kabbalah) and reflected ("an ascending light from the Creations" in Kabbalah). White light divides into seven colours, yet this plurality unites from one source. Divine light divides into the seven emotional sefirot, but there is no plurality in the Divine essence.

Tzimtzum – Restrictions of Divine Light

As the Ohr Ein Sof is itself infinite, it could not itself directly be the source for the creation of Worlds (Four Worlds and Seder hishtalshelus). Any direct creations of the Infinite Light would be of infinite number, and would not be actual creations at all, as they would remain totally nullified ("bittul") to the Infinite Light, and would have no independent self-awareness. Rather it is only through the restrictions of the Sephirot and the descending "Chain of Progression" (Seder hishtalshelus), that the Worlds could unfold. In the descending chain of Worlds from the Infinite to our finite realm, the creative flow of Divine light encapsulated in the Sephirot, undergoes countless restrictions, diminutions and veilings, to progressively hide Divinity. In Kabbalah these are called "Tzimtzum" ("Constrictions" – plural "tzimtzumim").

Each of the Sephirot is said to consist of a "light" (an ohr) that is vested in a "vessel" (a kli Hebrew: כלי; plural: keilim Hebrew: כלים). Generally speaking, the light is simple and undifferentiated, as it stems originally from the Ohr Ein Sof ("The Light of the Ein Sof"), God's infinite light. It represents Divine revelation in the world. It is associated with the Kabbalistic Divine Name of Ban. The differentiation between the 10 Sephirot, each with its own particular characteristic, arises from each of their different spiritual vessels. The light adapts itself to each vessel, to express the particular nature of each vessel.

Sovev/Makif and Mimalei/Pnimi – Surrounding/Transcendent light and Filling/Inner light

The other light, called Mimalei Kol Olmin ("Filling All Worlds") is the Divine light of immanence, rooted in the Kav (first "Ray" of light) after the Tzimtzum in Lurianic Kabbalah. This is the light that descends immanently to every level of the Chain of Worlds, itself creating every spiritual and, ultimately, physical vessel of each World. It undergoes the innumerable concealments and contractions of the second Tzimtzumim. Hasidic thought sees the ultimate advantage of this lower light, because the ultimate purpose of Creation lies in this lowest realm. Hasidism therefore rejected Jewish asceticism, seeking to utilise and mystically transform the physical into spirituality, through dveikus cleaving to God. Hasidic thought likewise describes another, higher type of miracle that is immanently invested within the physical laws of this World, without breaking them. Only a higher source rooted in the Divine essence, beyond infinite-finite duality, could unite the infinite encompassing light of Sovev within the limited invested light of Mimalei.

The Light

ma'or "luminary" kli, the spiritual "vessel" for the light.

the 10 "lights" of God encapsulated in the Sephirot, Kabbalah also describes a more primordial light that shines from the Ein Sof (Infinite) itself. This light, the origin of all Creation, and all lower lights, is called the "Ohr Ein Sof" ("The light of the Infinite", or alternatively, itself "The Infinite Light").

10 Sefirot: Ohrot and Keilim – Lights and Vessels

Ohrot and Keilim – Lights and Vessels: In Kabbalistic thought, the process of creation involves the interaction between two primary elements: Ohrot (Lights) and Keilim (Vessels). Ohrot represent the divine emanations or spiritual energies flowing from the divine source, while Keilim represent the vessels or forms that receive and contain these energies. The interaction between Ohrot and Keilim is central to the process of creation, as divine energy fills and animates the vessels, giving rise to the myriad forms and phenomena of the universe.

The "Ohr" ("Light") stems from the "Ma'ohr" ("Luminary"), the source of the light. Traditionally, the Mashal (parable) given to explain this relationship, is the relationship between the sun and the light that it gives off.

The 10 Sephirot describe the emanations, or attributes of God in Kabbalah. The Ein Sof ("Limitless") is the unknowable, undifferentiated, infinite Divine essence. The 10 emanations of the Sephirot enable the Creation to know God, and become God's attributes that reveal Divinity. They are also the channels through which all of Creation is continuously sustained from nothing, as in the Kabbalistic scheme, Creation is continuous and God is the only true existence. A "Chain of Progression" (Seder hishtalshelus) of descending "Worlds", including the Four Worlds, links the Ein Sof with our physical realm. Each of the Sephirot is said to consist of a "light" (an ohr) that is vested in a "vessel" (a kli Hebrew: כלי; plural: keilim Hebrew: כלים). Generally speaking, the light is simple and undifferentiated, as it stems originally from the Ohr Ein Sof ("The Light of the Ein Sof"), God's infinite light. It represents Divine revelation in the world. It is associated with the Kabbalistic Divine Name of Ban. The differentiation between the 10 Sephirot, each with its own particular characteristic, arises from each of their different spiritual vessels. The light adapts itself to each vessel, to express the particular nature of each vessel.

Sovev means "surrounding" and Mimalei means "filling". The geometric associations of these adjectives are metaphorical. Kabbalah describes two types of light that emanate in Creation. One, called "Sovev Kol Olmin" ("Surrounding All Worlds"), is the Divine light of transcendence, rooted in the Ohr Ein Sof (primordial "Infinite Light") before the Tzimtzum of Lurianic Kabbalah. It descends through the Seder hishtalshelut (Chain of Worlds), representing Divine transcendence in each level. It could be revealed in a blessing or miracle above the vessels and limitations of that realm. Souls in their essence transcend the body and all the Worlds. Similarly, as the Zohar states that God is totally united with his Torah, the Torah is inherently transcendent in all Worlds, and each World studies it according to their mystical level of perception. The other light, called Mimalei Kol Olmin ("Filling All Worlds") is the Divine light of immanence, rooted in the Kav (first "Ray" of light) after the Tzimtzum in Lurianic Kabbalah. This is the light that descends immanently to every level of the Chain of Worlds, itself creating every spiritual and, ultimately, physical vessel of each World. It undergoes the innumerable concealments and contractions of the second Tzimtzumim. Hasidic thought sees the ultimate advantage of this lower light, because the ultimate purpose of Creation lies in this lowest realm. Hasidism therefore rejected Jewish asceticism, seeking to utilise and mystically transform the physical into spirituality, through dveikus cleaving to God. Hasidic thought likewise describes another, higher type of miracle that is immanently invested within the physical laws of this World, without breaking them. Only a higher source rooted in the Divine essence, beyond infinite-finite duality, could unite the infinite encompassing light of Sovev within the limited invested light of Mimalei. These terms are equivalent to the parallel notions of Makif ("Outer") and Pnimi ("Inner"), taught in Hasidic philosophy.