Divine Light with Plotinus and in the Sefer ha-Bahir: A Comparative Study
Divine Light with Plotinus and in the Sefer ha-Bahir: A Comparative Study

Summary/Abstract: Taking Scholem’s famous Ten Unhistorical Aphorisms on Kabbalah as a starting point, the author embarks on a comparison between the ways in which neoplatonic light metaphysics and the light symbolism of the early Kabbalah interact. Through a detailed analysis of several fragments from the Enneads and the Sefer ha-Bahir, he argues that in both mystical discourses, the concept of divine light is employed in a very similar fashion: First there is a clear distinction between the transcendent Principle and Its manifested light. This primordial light however, is considered to be superior to the spiritual light that usually guides this world, be it through philosophy or the Torah. Because of its tremendous power, that first, brilliant light has to be diminished in order to penetrate the human realm. The ascent towards that superior light is nevertheless possible, for both Plotinus and the Bahir. This study may thus be a starting point for a more detailed comparison of neoplatonic and Jewish light symbolism and mysticism in general.

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