The Purpose of Creation

 

Since the beginning of time, man has grappled with the question, “What is the purpose of Creation?” And, the greatest thinkers among our people have answered it in different ways.[56]

 

The exposition of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi[57] – the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, known by chassidim as “the Alter Rebbe” – is based on the Midrash paraphrased above, that the purpose of creation is that G-d wished to have a dirah betachtonim,[58] a dwelling place in the lower worlds.

 

What is meant by “worlds”?[59]

 

G-d is infinite. He is perfection. Accordingly, His power extends not only throughout the realm of the infinite: He embraces both infinite and finite powers. And in order for Him to create this finite world, it was (so to speak) necessary for Him to conceal the infinite and reveal the finite.

 

A concealment of G-d’s true essence is called a “world”. This is reflected in the Holy Tongue, in which olam – (“world”) shares a root with he’elem – (“concealment”).

 

The Kabbalah describes how G-d created the world not in one step, but rather in a gradated process called Seder Hishtalshelut – the chain-like scheme by which the creative Divine light undergoes successive stages of self-concealment in the course of its descent from G-d’s ethereal transcendence to the creation of tangible physicality. Each successive link in the chain is a further concealment of the infinite, and a further revelation of the finite.

 

In general terms, there are (in descending order) Four Worlds:

 

These Worlds correspond to the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name: the letter yud corresponds to the World of Atzilus, the upper letter hei corresponds to Beriah, the letter vav to Yetzirah, and the lower letter hei to Asiyah.

 

The greatest degree of Divine self-concealment, i.e., the lowest of the worlds, is Asiyah, the World of Action. This is where “our world” and “we” are. In this world G-d has concealed His Presence so severely and so efficiently, that it is possible for people here to actually (heaven forfend) deny His existence.

 

It is only in such a world, where only the trained eye will perceive the Creator, that free choice may be given to man; hence it is only in such a world that reward and punishment are warranted. In the “higher” worlds, by contrast, G-d’s Presence is so indisputably manifest that the angels who inhabit the Worlds of Beriah and Yetzirah have no free choice. Indeed, so directly do they experience G-d’s Presence that they stand continually in a state of awe.

 

This was G-d’s will – that there also be created a world whose creatures could not see G-d. Accordingly, he did not endow the physical eye with the capability to see Him. Only with the mind’s eye can the Divine be apprehended, and this is made possible by G-d’s self-revelation. For example, when G-d gave our people the Torah, the blueprint of Creation, He is described as having “come down” on Mt. Sinai. Since He is everywhere, this phrase is merely a metaphor for revelation.[60]

 

The revelation of the infinite light of G-d’s Essence radiates in any of ten modes. The first of these ten emanating Divine attributes or Sefiros is called Chochmah (lit., “wisdom”). This wisdom is embodied in the Torah,[61] and just as G-d existed before the world was created, so too did His wisdom then exist. Indeed, to quote the metaphor of the Zohar,[62] G-d “looked into the Torah and created the world,” rather like a builder looking into the architect’s plans.

 

Having hidden Himself in this world, G-d then entrusted man with the task of revealing its true essence, and transforming its darkness into light – transforming the world’s superficial obscurity into an environment in which G-d’s Presence is felt, and in which He feels (so to speak) at home.

 

For mankind at large, this task entails the observance of the Seven Noahide Laws[63] that provide any society with civilized foundations; for Jews, this task entails the observance of the 613 commandments of the Torah. In the Holy Tongue, the word meaning “commandment” (mitzvah) shares a root with the Aramaic word for “connection” (tzavsa). In other words, the observance of each particular mitzvah has its own distinctive way of connecting the individual with the Giver of the commandments. By setting up all 613 connections with G-d,[64] we reveal His Presence on earth; we fashion the dwelling place, the dirah betachtonim, that He desired.

 

This explains why it is in this physical world, in the World of Action, that the commandments must be fulfilled, for their function is to refine and elevate the world. In our present circumstances, however, the physical world can be uplifted only to a certain degree. Not until the Messianic Era, and thereafter in the time of Resurrection, will all mankind be sufficiently sensitized to perceive G-d. At that time, when all creatures will know their Creator, His dwelling place will be complete. The ultimate purpose of creation is thus the Messianic Era and the period that follows it.

 

This revelation, however, depends on our actions and Divine service throughout the duration of the present galut (“exile”).[65]

 

Our life in this exile is as unreal and as inconsistent as a dream. In a dream, one can envisage anomalies; one can see oneself walking on the ceiling. Likewise, in the present state of galut, we can know all about G-d, yet at the same time be occasionally oblivious to His commandments. Contrasting with this dreamlike unreality, the true reality of the world will become apparent in the days of Mashiach. As steps in this direction, our entire service of G-d, both through Torah study and through the observance of the mitzvot, should thus be directed to constructing G-d’s dwelling on earth, which will attain completion in the days of Mashiach.[66]

 

To be continued.