The Sefirot of Tohu & Tikun

“And the earth was Tohu and Vohu (Chaos and Void), with darkness over the surface of the deep..."  -Genesis 1,2

The Sefirot of Tohu and Tikun

The Sefirot  (spiritual emanations) of Tohu -Chaos are the primordial root of the Sefirot of Tikun- Fixing. Just as emotional immaturity comes before the regulation of the mind, so too the Sefirot of Tohu is the intense energy that can not coexist with each other.

The Sefirot of Tikun on the other hand have more vessels, therefore able to regulate the intensity of light. In the Torah, Esau represents the world of Tohu while Jacob represents the world of Tikun. The commentators say that they were vying for which world holds the supreme importance. Kabbalah and Chassidut teach that Isaac loved Esau because he saw his great potential, while Rebbeca saw more of the whole picture land, therefore, loved (preferred)  Jacob over Esau.

Jacob i.e the world of Tikun is meant to regulate and channel the great lights of Tohu within the vessels of Tikun. 

In this class, we cover some major concepts such as the breaking of the vessels, the uplifting of the sparks, Tikun Olam, the balance of light (giving) and the vessel (receiving), and more. 

The primordial Sefirot called the Sefirot of Tohu preceded the Sefirot of Tikun. Kabbalah teaches that the intense lights could not be sustained and caused the "breaking of the vessels'- Shvirat Hakeilim.

The concept of Shevirat haKeilim is linked together with the mystical account of the eight kings who "reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites" (Gen. 36:31) and the Midrashic account of the building and destruction of the primordial worlds (Bereishit Rabba 3:7, 9:1).

Each emanation emerges as an independent principle, so that intellect does not mediate the absolute emotional expressions; kindness, severity and so forth become opposing forces”

-Arizal

This is a portion of class # 6 of our Kabbalah 2.0 Semester. 

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