The Great Struggle

Infinitely before our universal clock began to tick, beyond concepts of space and time their is only G-d in His absolute unified state[1]; able to do and able not to do[2]. His eternal ‘I’ state, desires toward His ‘able to do’[3] side to dominate over His ‘able not to do’ side to shine His eternal and infinite light on Himself[4] and ‘other’[5][6][7]. ‘Other’? Not yet in existence G-d, in His penultimate state, took delight in His concept of His Light and also in The Light, which arose from His desire to illuminate for the sake of 'other'(s)[8].

By this He established The Nature of His Will in order to be the Creator and King of all that were to come[9]. The instant following the establishment of His Will, to create man (other) in His image, G-d radiates that which is good (able to do) and that which is evil (able not to do) to and through the spiritual realms from where our souls, our universe and ultimately man is created.

Without affect to His Essence, G-ds’ loving desire, to shine His light on ‘other’, spurred a folding and separation of the higher realms, establishing the lower realms, symbolically joined by ‘13 fountains’[10]. Then, He constricted His Infinite force, altering the balance of all order, changing the form of His perfect ubiquitous, Infinite Eternal Light to give birth to the pre-finite in which the ultimate struggle between dark and light, evil and good, left and right would begin.

In Kabbalistic literature the flow and vitality of G‑dliness is termed 'light' rather than 'flux', as it is termed in Jewish speculative philosophy (chakirah). 'Light' signifies 'revelation out of concealment': previously the light had been concealed within the luminary and subsequently it is drawn forth from this source and is revealed as 'light'. Thus, in the case of 'revelation out of concealment', only a minute illumination of the source is drawn down into a revealed state.

G-d calculated carefully before He established His will[11] and favor over the side of good. Then, from a central point, He removed His light and that of His Will creating a dark spiritual void by constricting His infinite dimension, to accommodate the void, forming a massive finite sphere[12]. From His Essence, through the outermost Light (Atzilut), a thin Ray of Intense Light (Kav - the illuminating 'Life Force') is drawn to the centre of the void filling it with His direct Spiritual Light. In decreasing intensity, through three [13] spherical lower realms (Beriyah, Yetzirah, Asiyah), 10 cascading[14] energies flow from the outermost by the Ray that penetrates each realm. In the outermost finite realm His sensitive eternal light (Beriyah), He established the origin of the vessels of the soul in which the push-pull struggle between good and evil would be played out until the point at which G-d’s decision would ultimately yield its intended dividend. That point would be the restoration of the perfected soul of man, the point where good prevails over evil[15], where the left is enjoined to the right and the lower worlds unite with the upper[16].

With the awakening of His desire, His Will, His eternal light, His removal from and His constriction of that light[17], the side of evil was also aroused seeking to gain His favor. Instantly G-d’s celestial angels of the dark side desired to extinguish all traces of the eternal light in order that evil may dominate its own infinite realm by extinguishing light and therefore any ability for G-d to favor it.

At the precise moment of G-d’s initial constriction the infinite was willed to co-exist with the finite spiritual realms that filled the void where the precursors to our dimensions of time and space began. Here the Divine energies live and flourish, behaving in ways that relate directly to their designated purpose in each of three realms and the fourth outermost realm of Atzilut. At the moment G-d’s thin Ray of Intense Energy determined the singular centre of the void, the point at which our universe was created, the pre-creation battle between the forces of light (good) and dark (evil) climaxed and G-d’s primordial laws of science became increasingly more critical to the ultimate spiritual outcome in the increment immediately before the manifestation of the physical.

In the strictest of physical terms G-d’s calculations, reflecting His favor toward good, were at the penultimate point of physical realization. At this singularity, in which G-d’s Light were contained, the forces of darkness made one last attempt to eradicate, from the barest of pre-universal space, the concealed remnants of His constricted eternal light. Just one wrong calculation, at scales that are well beyond any and all of our capacities of comprehension and G-d’s plan would have failed. However, as all people of faith know and have complete comfort with, there was never any chance, even the slightest chance, that a different outcome could have eventuated, yet the forces of darkness were free in their quest to dominate.

The Divine life-force is concealed, garbed in many garments so that lower realms can exist without being nullified. This concealment involves not only a multitudinous profusion of garments — a quantitative manner of concealment — but a qualitative one as well: As the realms descend, there becomes a significant difference between the simpler garments required to conceal the vitality in the higher worlds and the much denser garments necessary to conceal G‑d’s intense vitality so that creation of the physical can become possible.

In the spiritual dimension, before our universal clock started to tick, amongst the extreme holy conditions of our soon to be physical finite realm, the dark force attempting to dominate, prevail and penetrate the absolute realm of good established the very conditions that The Lord G-d = (י'ה'ו'ה א'ל'ה'י'ם) = (112) had originally ordained. A condition that would lead to reversal and massive inflationary physical force, the moment now referred to by science as the Big Bang[18]!

From mans point of view this would be the beginning of the long struggle. His desire, His concepts, His Will, His arrangement of the spiritual, His arousal of evil, His manipulation and oscillation of the physical and His plan for creation and the birth of man are some of the facets that describe the ultimate battle between good and evil. The battle for the lowest spiritual and universal realm, the ultimate struggle where evil would be set free to oppose the forces of good with man’s soul as G-d’s chosen vessel, His ultimate adjudicator and benefactor.

This was to reveal G-d’s plan to establish man as His creation, a body and soul imbued with a ‘free will’[19], in His image, to ultimately harmonize with Him as He had desired. The harmonious unification in His universal realms, by a process of truth, righteousness purification and holiness would enable man to overcome and elevate the dark forces of evil to finally and infinitely be united with G-d[20].

After G-d cleaved[21] the feminine soul of Eve from Adam’s left side[22], Adam continued to be guided by his right side representing the holy wisdom and the predominance of mercy and kindness in his masculine soul. Confronted by the revelation of Eve’s acute and holy feminine awareness, her desire to know, to understand and judge, emanating from her dominant left side, Adam was left to make a determination. Should they remain in their perfected state, in the Garden of Eden, or should he follow her desire to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge thereby exiting his state of complete submission to G-d’s higher wisdom, the only state that was known to him at that time[23]. By surrendering to the desire of their feminine attributes (the left side) they both reached decisions, by their ‘free will’, thus beginning an un-tethered journey through an unknown world in their quest for the forbidden knowledge. In this new ‘forbidden’ world, only the predominant elevation of evil would enable mans permanent return to the ‘able to do’ side of the right, in the Garden of our earthly plain. Only then would G-d return to instantly elevate the spiritual, lifting the physical conditions that were about to be imposed on them.

Adam’s complete love of G-d led him to eat of the forbidden fruit[24]. He decided that Eve’s G-d given powers, for understanding and perceiving concealed knowledge, were far greater than his and it was his absolute love and faith in G-d, the source of their unified souls and his deep wisdom that caused him to choose the affirmative. This was the only choice that truly respected G-d’s purpose in His creating Eve. As they left their perfected spiritual state in the Garden of Eden, exposing themselves to the nakedness of the lowest spiritual and physical realm, the ‘free will’ journey of the future of man was declared. The journey back to the perfected state would first require the ultimate nullification of souls, through them and their descendants, to elevate the scattered evil unlocked and dispersed by their decision to favor ‘free will’ over G-d’s will.

Our responsibility to G-d and our fellow man is great!

[1] http://www.inner.org/worlds/atzmut.htm
[2] “Yachid” ,Shar Hayichud ch 10, http://www.inner.org/worlds/yachid.htm, The Knowledge of G-d pg 15
[3] Shaar HaYichud – The Gate of Unity Ch Eleven
http://www.inner.org/worlds/yachid.htm
[4] The Knowledge of G-d – Rabbi Amirel Markel and Shimon Markel – The Infinite Light
[5] http://www.truekabbalah.com/deh.php?p=TheKnowledge009 – Keter Malchut. The Desire for Kingship
[6] http://www.inner.org/worlds/shashuim.htm
[7] “Before the creation of the world, there was Him and His name alone.” The Knowledge of G-d Pg 14 - The Infinite Light .Shar Haryichud Ch 10
[8] “Echad” Shar Hayichud ch 10, http://www.inner.org/worlds/echad.htm, The Knowledge of G-d pg 16
[9] Shar Hayichud ch 11, http://www.inner.org/worlds/kadmon.htm, The Knowledge of G-d pg 17
[10] http://www.inner.org/worlds/avirkad.htm . 13 Principles of Mercy
[11] Inner Space Ch 3 The Universes Adam Kardmon Pg 23, Pg110 Ch 12
[12] The secret of the tzimtzum http://www.inner.org/worlds/tzimtzum.htm - Shaar Hayichud ch 12 and 13 – Inner Space Ch 13 Pg 120
[13] Inner Space God and Man – Pg 15 The Universes
[14] Sefer Yetzirah – Kaplan 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 (Pg 42 Table 7)
[15] Inner Space pg 27 Asiyah
[16] Inner Space – Meditation and Prophecy Part II - The Glowing Husk pg 159
[17] Inner Space Pg124 – The Lamp of Darkness (Zohar)
[18] http://www.inner.org/kisses/kiss1.htm
[19] Inner Space Ch2 Pg 13 – Zohar1:23a
[20] Inner Space Pg 27
[21] Zohar 1 [48b-49b]
[22] The Mystery of Marriage pg 8 footnote 15 - Etz Chaim 29
[23] Zohar 1 [52b]
[24] Zohar 1 [36a]