Summary: Shevirat ha-Kelim
As Ein Sof attempted to fill the vessel it had created
with its light, catastrophe struck, and the vessel shattered. Shevirat
ha-kelim is the name for the breaking of the vessel. The
breaking of the vessel destroyed the ordered universe that Ein Sof
had begun to create. Tiny pieces of the vessel, like shards of glass,
scattered and brought chaos to the universe. The masculine and feminine
aspects of Ein Sof divided. Even Adam Kadmon split into parts.
When the shards of the vessel began to fall, they brought
with them sparks of Ein Sof’s light, called netzutzot.
Together, the shards and the sparks fell into what would become
material reality, or the human world. In place of a harmonious world
made from the perfectly balanced ten sefirot, human
beings entered a broken world filled with scattered sparks of divine
light, which came to be called klippot, meaning
“husks.” Lurianic Kabbalah requires every human being to liberate
the sparks of light from these husks through righteous study of
Kabbalah. Only when all the sparks are freed will Ein Sof become
whole again, ushering in the perfect world that Ein Sof designed
at the moment of creation.
Analysis
Luria’s theory of creation presents a bold revision of
the traditional concept of divinity. Most religions portray God
as omnipotent, a force that guides the actions of all human beings
and depends on nothing but itself. Ein Sof is a dependent God, not
an all-knowing God. It’s a God that needs human beings in order
to understand its scope and purpose, and also to restore it to wholeness.
Luria’s idea has inspired kabbalists to speak of God becoming, not being.
As the world develops, sparks are liberated, people are born, and
Ein Sof evolves to become more and more true to itself. The God
of Kabbalah is not a static, unchanging force with one aspect or
face, but an ever-evolving source of energy that thrives on the
actions of human beings.
Many religions describe the creation of the world as an
act of God’s love, but Luria viewed it as a sign of God’s self-sacrifice.
The Bible’s account of creation makes it sound like a harmonious
simple affair: God simply spoke, creating light and life. But Luria
describes creation as a disaster, a catastrophic descent into chaos.
The world and human beings form not according to God’s perfect plan,
but as a result of destruction—the fragments of Adam Kadmon and
the ruin of Ein Sof’s perfect plan. Yet because human beings can
liberate the sparks from the material world and help to restore
God, the universe becomes filled with good deeds and the hope for
redemption.
Summary: Klippot
Every human being must liberate the sparks of divine light
from the klippot. Luria described the klippot as
shells in which the light is trapped, existing everywhere. Not all
of the light trapped within klippot can be freed,
nor should it be. Luria believed some klippot are
like demons, incapable of being redeemed.
Among the most famous of all klippot is
a female demon named Lilith. Lilith was initially associated with
female vengeance: she attacked newborn infants and pregnant women
and tried to kill mothers in labor. Kabbalah followers now believe
that Lilith was Adam’s first wife, the predecessor of Eve. The Bible
says Eve arose from Adam’s rib, but Lilith was supposed to have
been created from earth, just like Adam. Since Lilith had the same
origin as Adam, she considered herself his equal and refused to
be subservient to him, especially when it came to sex. Adam and
Lilith fought, and three angels chased Lilith from the Garden of
Eden. Eve was then created in Lilith’s place, this time from one
of Adam’s ribs, so she would know she was not equal. Lilith herself
became a klippa (the singular form of klippot).
