Daily Tanya Monday 7th Tishreiy Igeres Hakodesh 20: From Divine Essence to Created Existence: How Yesh Emerges from Ein Sof

7^th Tishreiy

From Divine Essence to Created Existence: How Yesh Emerges from Ein Sof

🧾 Overview:

This passage explores the delicate boundary between Divinity and creation. Souls of angels and humans, before descending into the lower worlds, originate from Divine unions in Atzilut and are not considered true “yesh” (independent existence). They are expressions of Elokus in a highly contracted form, similar to the vessels of the ten sefirot of Atzilut.

True “yesh me’ayin”—creation from absolute nothing—can only come from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), whose existence stems from His own essence and is not caused by anything prior. To enable finite creation, the Infinite Light must be clothed within the vessels of Atzilut, where it unites completely (“He and His vessels are one”). Through this unity, and especially via its descent into Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, the Divine light creates beings with boundaries and definition.

Even the vast “worlds” within Arich Anpin and Ze’er Anpin are not truly separate entities, but more like spiritual emanations akin to angelic souls. They are called “worlds” only in relation to their source, but they lack the full independence of true created beings.

👼 Souls of Angels and Humans Before Descent

The souls of angels that emerge from the “Zivug Haneshikin” (spiritual union of Divine breath), and the souls of humans that originate from the union of Ze’er Anpin and Nukva of Atzilut before descending into Beriah–Yetzirah–Asiyah, are not considered “yesh” (independent existence). They are expressions of Divinity in a highly contracted form, similar to the vessels of the ten sefirot of Atzilut.

🌟 Divine Contraction and the Kav

These souls are infused with the “Kav”—the measured Divine light that flows from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) into the vessels of Atzilut. This process mirrors the original Divine contraction (Tzimtzum) that created the “vacated space” for existence.

🧠 The Nature of Early Tzaddikim

Even after descending into this world, the nefesh–ruach–neshamah of early tzaddikim may retain their essential Divine nature. This explains why their souls would depart before sinning—they could not tolerate separation from God.

🌌 Worlds Within Arich and Ze’er Anpin

The myriad “worlds” that reside within the Gulgalta (skull) of Arich Anpin and Ze’er Anpin are not truly “worlds” in the sense of independent existence. They are more like angelic souls born from Divine union, and are only called “worlds” relative to their source.

🔥 Only God Creates True Yesh Me’Ayin

These entities are not true Divinity capable of creating something from absolute nothing. Only God, whose existence stems from His own essence and is not caused by anything prior, can create true yesh me’ayin—existence from absolute nonexistence.

🏗️ The Role of Divine Vessels

In order for created beings to have boundaries and definition, the Infinite Light must be clothed within the vessels of the ten sefirot of Atzilut. Within these vessels, the light unites completely—“He and His vessels are one”—enabling creation of finite beings.

🌍 Creation Through Lower Worlds

Ultimately, creation of defined beings occurs through the descent and clothing of these Divine vessels and light into the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, where the process of creation unfolds in structured form.

🪙 Short Takeaway:

Only the Infinite One can create true existence from absolute nothing. Everything else—even the loftiest souls and worlds—are merely echoes of Divine light, shaped through contraction and clothed in vessels.