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It split and did not split its aura, was not known at all until under the impact of splitting, a single concealed supernal point shone. Beyond that point, nothing is known, so it is called, Reshit, beginning, first command of all.

This passage also comes from the Zohar parable “The Creation of God” and describes the origin of the universe. After the “spark of impenetrable darkness” flashed within Ein Sof, it “split and did not split its aura,” sending off a glint of light, described here as a “supernal point.” The word supernal means “heavenly,” and in Kabbalah it has come to refer to the first three sefirot, known together as the “Supernal Triad.” kabbalists consider the appearance of Ein Sof’s supernal light to be the beginning of time, the moment at which Ein Sof released its energy into the universe. The notion that Ein Sof could both split and not split its aura is yet another manifestation of Ein Sof’s unknowable identity. To the human mind, the idea of splitting and not splitting at once is unfathomable, a reflection of the vast unknowable identity of God.

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