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The Concept of Infinity (<i>Eyn-sof</i>) and the Rise of Theosophical Kabbalah

2012; University of Pennsylvania Press; Volume: 102; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/jqr.2012.0026

1553-0604

Sandra Valabregue-Perry,

Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies

This ESSAY DISCUSSES the rise of theosophical Kabbalah in light of the development of the notion of infinity. Arguing that the origin of the theosophic notion of infinity goes back to Sefer yefoirah, I will analyze its applications in early sources and in Sefer yefoirah's medieval philosophical commentaries up to its theosophical commentaries in Kabbalah. In these theosophical texts we encounter a concept of God as infinite dimension, where emanation is primarily understood as an infinite essence in expansion. This essay sets out to demonstrate how this theosophical infinite God has emerged from the multidirectional expansion of the ?efirot in Sefer yefairah. The very movement from the ?efirot to God himself and from the cosmological to the theosophical was made possible by two major shifts. The first depends on the understanding of the ?efirot as divine, thus as infinite; and the second, in the shift from the multidirectional expansion to a unidirectional and vertical one. This argument leads, therefore, to a new understanding of Eyn-jof and its role in theosophic Kabbalah. It will reflect, as well, upon the relation between Kabbalah and philosophy. After some short methodological remarks, I will examine the concept of Eyn-?of in early Jewish sources and notably in Sefer yefoirah. Then, in order to understand the novelty of theosophical Kabbalah, I will analyze the philosophical interpretations of Eyn-jof in the philosophical commentaries of Sefer yefoirah. I turn finally to the importance of the theosophical notion of Eyn-?of as formulated by the first generation of kabbalists in Provence and Gerona.In his seminal discussion of Eyn-oof, Gershom Scholem traces theosophic innovation as a transition from one grammatical form to another-from from the adverbial form to the noun: the rise of theosophical Kabbalah, he argues, is connected to a shift in the usage of Eyn-sof - from its use in adverbial phrases such as 'ad -eyn-sof (until infinity, that is, without end), to its appearance as a noun, the Infinite (ha-Eyn-sof)} The nominal form marks the integration of the philosophical transcendental description of God into Kabbalah and bears the mark of negative (apophatic) theology.2 This means that Eyn-sof comes to represent the concealed God whereas the sefirot are God manifested. This shift is paradigmatic and not strictly historical or linear and is, as Scholem notes, difficult to pinpoint historically.3 Thus, the linguistic shift is not determinative, and it cannot be used to pinpoint the emergence of theosophic Kabbalah. We need to reconsider our understanding of the theosophical structure, at least at the beginning of theosophic Kabbalah.4 Moreover, further research in this field has emphasized the diversity of concepts presented by theosophic Kabbalah. Moshe Idei has shown that viewing Eyn-jof as a concept that belongs to negative theology understates other uses of the concept, such as anthropomorphic descriptions of Eyn-jof.5 Elliot Wolfson, in a major article, has shown clear expressions of positive (kataphatic) theology diminish the hegemony of negative theology.6In light of these studies, a more comprehensive model of Eyn-sof as the ontological kernel of theosophic Kabbalah is still needed. This model should give a sense of the positive theology so intrinsic to theosophic Kabbalah. Therefore, I wish to propose an alternative comprehension of Eyn-jof. The ambivalence noted by Scholem and others between the uses of Eyn-jof as an adverb and as a proper noun reflects not merely a transitional phase in the development of theosophic Kabbalah but is a characteristic feature of the notion of Eyn-jof itself. In fact, the ambivalent expressions ad Eyn-dof (until infinity) and U-Eyn-jof (to infinity) are extremely common both in the earliest period of theosophic Kabbalah and in major thirteenth-century kabbalistic texts, including zoharic literature. Thus, I propose to view the adverbial forms as a major and fundamental form of theosophic Kabbalah rather than as an archaic form, and only a stage toward a more comprehensive and structured concept of God. …