Let My People Know

"The reality of this world is a play of light and shadow"

 

The wonder of creation is not that being was brought out of nothingness but rather that the divine light of Ein Sof remains concealed and constricted. 

The wonder of creation is that in a world that receives its entire being from God, not only at the original moment of creation but at every moment, we could think that we are self-made. 

In the words of Pharaoh, "The Nile is mine, and I have created myself."

The process of creation is therefore one of concealment, in which we created beings do not realize that essentially "there is no other than He" but whose primary experience is each his own "I" and the seeming existence of the world around us.

Constriction creates a world of concealment.

So our world is a reality that is not nullified vis-à-vis the divine light of Ein Sof. 
 
For such a reality to exist, there must be a vast distance between us and God, and a dense concealment of His presence.

For if we were to be directly aware of the divine presence in everything, then there would be no more world. 

The reality of this world is a play of light and shadow, of revelation and concealment of the divine light. 

The moment that the light of Ein Sof is revealed, the game is over. 

Then there is only the one light. 

–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
 
From Learning from the Tanya by Rabbi Adin Steinaltz