The Stages of the Creative Process
from God's Infinite Light to Our Physical World
| Introduction Or Ein Sof ("God's Infinite Light") Sod Ha'Tzimtzum ("The Secret of 'Contraction'") Adam Kadmon ("Primordial Man")  Akudim, Nekudim, Brudim ("Binding, Points, Connection")Keter D'Atzilut ("The 'Crown' of Emanation") Olam Ha'Atzilut ("The World of Emanation") ABiYA (The Four Worlds: Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah) |
Akudim, Nekudim, Brudim ("Binding, Points, Connection") | ||
| Olam Ha'Akudim | Olam Ha'Nekudim | Olam Ha'Brudim |
Olam Ha'Nekudim
"The World of "Points"
Following the three stages of orot ozen- chotem-peh (concluding with the creation of olam ha'Akudim), as described above, light emanates out of the "eyes" of Ak, and descends to encompass Ak from "naval" to "feet." Here, ten individual vessels are created to contain the ten lights of this world. The vessels are small, undeveloped or "immature." Relative to the fully developed and mature vessels of the rectified world of Atzilut to come, these vessels are considered as merely "points." For this reason, this world is called olam ha'Nekudim, "the world of points."
In the human soul, this can be compared to an immature youth who possesses distinct but most limited language or "phrases" to express each of his individual attributes.
Unlike the world of Akudim, where the ten lights flow freely in and out of the single vessel in the "dynamic" of mati v'lo mati described above, in the world of Nekudim (all of) the lights enter, forcefully, into (each of) the small vessels of the respective sefirot and "break" them one by one.
In the human soul this is like a psychological "breakdown" (resulting from the trauma of adolescence). Relative to the physiology of the human body this is like "death." The lights ("soul") return to their source, the broken vessels ("physical limbs of the body") fall into the lower realms of reality ("burial ground"), but contained within the broken vessels are "sparks" (nitzozot) of life-force which though temporarily hidden and inactive insure the eventual "resurrection" of the broken vessels.
The world of Nekudim is generally referred to as olam Hatohu, the world of "chaos." Often the two world of Akudim and Nekudim are considered to be two states of "chaos," relatively "stable chaos" (Akudim, the state of "chaos" which doesn't break) and "unstable chaos" (Nekudim, the state of "chaos" which breaks). In modern "Chaos Theory" these two types of "chaos" are described in relation to the physical world.
The lights of the world of Nekudim, which emanate from the "eyes" of Ak, correspond to the spiritual soul-root of those souls of Israel whose primary function and purpose in life is to act as a "messenger" or "emissary" of God and His Mashiach (as present in every generation) to bring the light and goodness of God to spread and permeate all of reality and human consciousness that God become recognized as "King of the earth."
According to this understanding, the meaning of the "breaking of the vessels" is that these first "emissaries" did not succeed in their intended task. Rather than recognizing that God alone rules over all of reality, each of the "kings" of tohu (alluded to in the Torah as the kings of Edom that rules before the kingdom of Israel) said "I shall rule," as taught at length in Kabbalah.
