Breaking the Vessels

It's hard for us to imagine a time when the Names of Hashem did not exist. We should never err in thinking this means HE ever did not exist, for He is eternal. In fact, to say or think such a thing, to in any way divide the idea of His Oneness or His eternal character, is the worst type of heresy and is blasphemy! However, Hashem Himself is NOT His Names, nor His attributes; He is above them. They are the vessels, known in Hebrew as the Ten Sefriot, through which He expresses His light and relates to His Creation. They were created, each paralleling a part of the human body and representing one of His Names. Their creation is illustrated in the story of Jacob's deal with Laban found in Genesis 30-31.

In order to present this very difficult concept in the clearest manner, I quote from Inner Space by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (pages 78-79). "After working for Laban as a shepherd for twenty years, Jacob was ready to return home to the land of Israel. In payment for his service it was agreed that he would take only those sheep and goats which were "banded," "spotted" or "streaked...." "Banded" in Hebrew is "Akudim." Such animals had bands around their legs, while the rest of their body was white. Due to the bands, they appeared to be bound; in Hebrew, "Akud" means "bound." " Spotted " is "Nedkudim." Such animals had black spots on a white body. "Streaked" is "Berudim." This is the precise opposite of the above; the animal has a black body with white streaks, giving the appearance of hail. In Hebrew, hail is "Barad." The way in which Jacob succeeded in increasing his flock was obviously miraculous.... When he (Jacob) wanted his sheep to conceive banded, spotted or streaked offspring, he cut rods with the appropriate markings and set them out where the sheep mated. This in turn was based on a prophetic vision in which an angel appeared to Jacob and said to him, "Raise your eyes and you will see that the bucks mounting the sheep are banded, spotted and streaked" (Genesis 31:12). As a result of this vision, Jacob learned that he was to meditate on these rods while in a very high state of consciousness and thereby project his thoughts on the sheep being conceived.

Now, as the Ari states, when Jacob saw this vision, he was looking at the very beginning of the creation of the "Sefirot." It was because Jacob had reached such a high level of consciousness that he was able to meditate on the spiritual dimension that underlies the physical reality and thereby influence the genetic structure of the sheep. The three types of marking in the vision represented the three major stages in the evolution of the "Sefirot." By meditating on the latter, he succeeded in changing the former.

What Jacob saw was that when the "Sefirot" were first created they existed as a paradoxical "ten lights in one vessel." This is the first level, "Akudim" (banded), where all the "Sefirot" are completely undifferentiated and bound together. Next, these lights were divided into ten distinct entities. In this state they existed as simple "Nekudim" (spots or points). This is a state where the primitive "Sefirot" could receive G--d's light, and they are thus called "vessels." They could not interact or give anything to each other, however, and therefore could not hold the Divine light. Instead, they were overwhelmed by the light and "shattered...." After having been shattered, the Vessels were then rectified and rebuilt. This is the final state, "Berudim" (streaked), where the "Sefirot" are connected as "Partzufim," archetypal personas or spiritual parallels to the human body... It is in this rectified state that the "Sefirot" could now interact with each other and become givers as well as receivers."