Letters of Light. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein

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Letters of Light - Kalonymus Kalman Epstein


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(Gen 1:3), signifying that following that chaos, the World of Repair emerged. The words, “Let there be light, and there was light,” refer to that second contraction.

      As a consequence, the much more limited Light was such that the vessels were able to contain it [and it came at least within the periphery of what the mind and language can attempt to express], though in a higher respect that Light itself remains on a level of “darkness,” as that which is utterly beyond the reach of mind and language is referred to as “darkness,” as is written, “He made darkness His screen . . .” (Ps 18:12). This is conveyed in the words, ”And God separated the light from the darkness” (Gen 1:4)—the blessed Holy One made a division between the Light which came into being through the second contraction, that Light which is attainable to some degree, and between the Primordial Light, which is called “darkness” in that it remained utterly beyond reach. . . .

      Comment: This opening discussion in Maʾor va-shemesh makes the case that the account of creation found at the very beginning of the Torah is both not to be understood literally and unable to be understood literally and, furthermore, that the biblical text itself clearly indicates that such is not its purpose.

      Drawing from the legacy of kabbalistic teaching upon which his worldview was rooted, the biblical text was read in quite a metaphorical sense, and virtually every word or element of that text came to be interpreted symbolically. Kalonymus Kalman clearly understood various verses and elements in the account of creation, which opens the Torah, as allusions to the worldview of Lurianic Kabbalah, the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), which revolutionized the earlier body of kabbalistic thought, and in large measure he viewed the biblical creation-text as a kind of code for the much more complex Lurianic explanation of how the world or worlds came into existence. That pattern, based upon Lurianic teaching, centers largely around the basic principles of Contraction (Tzimtzum), the Shattering of the Vessels (Sh’virah) and Repair (Tikkun). Reference to the building-blocks of Lurianic cosmology recurs at various places within the homilies of Maʾor va-shemesh and of kindred Hasidic homily-texts. In this homily on the very opening verse of the Torah (Pentateuch), the preacher fused his very brief synopsis of the Lurianic cosmology with the much earlier motif of the Primordial Light, subject of the following passage, perhaps causing some confusion in the process.

      In his discourse on various passages from the Torah, the preacher’s ruling out a literal reading creates an enlarged space for his homiletical interpretation which, by its very nature, goes beyond the simpler, surface meaning of the biblical text.

      The Sages said that with that Light (of the six days of creation) man could see from one end of the world to the other, but, seeing that the world is not worthy of utilizing that Light, God removed it and hid it for the righteous (tzaddikim) of a future time. The righteous of our time have taught that the Light is hidden within the Torah, and the righteous who purify themselves and study Torah for its own sake (not for any personal benefit) succeed in finding that Light.

      The above excerpt from Maʾor va-shemesh represents a transmutation in that it speaks of that Light as being hidden for the righteous (tzaddikim), not necessarily in the World-to-Come, but rather throughout the generations, in the sense that they would be able to draw upon that greater spiritual Light and understanding in their own respective times. That general re-interpretation of the older agada is heard already in Degel maḥaneh ʾEfrayim (B’reiʾshit) and also in Noʿam ʾElimelekh (B’reiʾshit), which consists of homiletical notes of Kalonymus Kalman’s own teacher, Elimelekh of Lyzhansk.

      “God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.’ God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse. . . . God said, ‘Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.’” (Gen 1:6–9)

      It is important to note that the waters are not included in the list of created objects; there is no verb indicating their being created. . . .

      For this reason, only the simple level of the Torah was given to us; however, through our study of that plain surface level of the Torah and our engaging with it in discourse and observing it (being faithful to its commandments), we will come to grasp its innerness.

      The very core-principle


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