On the Nature and Origin of the Doctrine of Emanation among the Kabbalists

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forces of life original German: "Lebenskräfte" aim to gradually free, purify, and gather to themselves all noble parts of life imprisoned in hard shells or rinds These "shells" or "husks" are known in Kabbalah as the Kelipot, which represent the shards of impurity or material existence that trap divine light. Opposing this works the Prince of Evil, Belial, who likewise formed himself into a system during that great revolution The "great revolution" refers to the Shevirat HaKeilim or the "Breaking of the Vessels," a foundational event in Lurianic Kabbalah where divine light overwhelmed its containers, leading to the current state of the imperfect world; he strives, by means of all the powers and tools of his malice, to seize the good life-forces for himself, especially those of the lower or visible world. He feuds with them most violently exactly when they are on the verge of becoming free, because that which is dead does not want to let go of the living: for that which is holy, say the Kabbalists Practitioners and scholars of Jewish mysticism, which is redeemed from hard shells, is life and itself serves as life even for the dead shells, which nourish themselves from it like foliage, but which will one day fall away when the fruits have reached maturity ¹²).

Thus, everything descends from the Firstborn of the Primal One original: "Erstgebohrnen des Urersten," likely referring to Adam Kadmon, the first primordial man/emanation or the hidden Deity, from the highest to the lowest original Latin: "a summis ad ima", and just so will also

¹²) III, 2, 443 — 444. Pneumatic Kabbalah original: "Pneumat. Cabbal." 2, 10. On the Revolutions of Souls original Latin: "de revolut. anim." I, 1, 3. 4. C. 19. C. 6, 1 — 2. 13, 20. Pneumatic Kabbalah C. 6.