We dsicussed the fascinating letter of R. Hai Gaon in the last post. The fascinating part is the laying out of 13 rather than 10 steps of Emanation. We then saw how the later Kabbalists attemtped to fit these 13 into the framework of 10 sefiros. But what if the Geonim had a totally diffferent system than the later Kabbalsits. On the basis of Geonic writings that have now began to become available, I believe that they, in fact, did.
The Geonim, I think, faced a difficult problem. On one hand they had to confront the issue of anthropomorphism in the Torah as well as writings such as Shiur Komah, which, provided exact measurements and components of the Divine Body. On the other hand, there were multiple scriptural references to Hashem's incorporeality and common sense logical philosophical assumptions that make anthropomorphism unsustainable for a religious thinker. What does one do?
I think that the Geonim found the concept of 'Divine Glory" perfectly suited for resolving this contradictions. "Divine Glory", otherwise known as Shekhina, is what prophets saw and heard when they received prophecy. It was a created cloud that represented G-d and interacted with the prophets within the physical worls. They could see it, hear it, and respond to it. But this Glory was not necessarily just created anew for each prophetic encounter. In fact, it was the first step of Creation, in which the non-physical, unique and indivisible Diety created a representation of itself that was physical, divisible and able to both emanate and function within the physical world. They understood emanation as consisting of the first step of creating a spiritual semi-physical body in the shape of a man. The perfect, unchangeable, divine being that was in no way a body created an intermediate substance in the shape of a man, the the substance which acts in the Bible, and which then emanated the physical universe. He tehn animated it as the soul animates a body. The first three steps are the creation and animation of such a body and the next 10 steps represent emanation of physical universe out of it. As the solution of the problem of anthropomorphism it is powerful and elegant. Many discussions of the antropomorphism among Rishonim are seriously flawed because they fail to understand that the so-called antropomorphists also understood that G-d is not physical but were talking of Created Glory and not the Perfect and Unique Divine Soul that animated it.
R. Saadiah Gaon's commentary to Sefer Yetzirah 4:1contains a discussion of the “created matter”, – Davar Nivra -
שר ספירות בלימה, אחת רוח אלקים חיים חי עולמים נכון כסאו מאז, ברוך ומבורך שמו תמיד לעולם ועד. וזו היא רוח הקדש,
“Parallel to the ten defined numbers, first there is the living God’s will, the life(force) of the worlds whose throne is there from beginning to end, blessed be His name forever. That is the holy will.”
This the view that we already enountered - that WIll, called by others Keser, is always present as the part and Essence of the Ain Sof.
“Saying these three things about the Creator - חי עולמים נכון כסאו מאז, ברוך ומבורך שמו -
imparts a great secret. That is, it is telling us how we should visualize in our minds the existence of God, by using a metaphor as an approximation but not as [a] corporeal [depiction]. Sefer Yetsira suggests that we visualize the relationship of God to the world just as we see the life force in its relationship to a living thing. We could therefore say metaphorically that He is the life force of the universe. From that, we can now move to the next level, the level of the intellect, and refer to Him as the intellect of the universe. The idea is to help us understand that a living thing, especially one who thinks, its body is more naturally refined [adin in Hebrew.] and more advanced than other bodies [e.g. plants or inanimate objects- DG], allowing for a life force to attach itself to it. That life force can now sustain an intellect, because the life force is more refined than the body and the intellect is more refined than the life force. This conclusion leads us to visualizing that air, which is simple and refined, is the substance in which God’s will, namely His ability, spreads creating in it and giving it mobility just as the life force gives mobility to the body. The Creator is present in all this just as the intellect is present in the life force, directing it. Therefore, the closest metaphor for Him is that He is the intellect of the universe. Just as the intellect is not divisible even if the body is, so too the Creator is indivisible, even if the universe should divide. Just as the intellect does not die when the body dies so too the Creator would not cease to exist should the universe cease to. Just like the intellect, although is part of the soul, it is superior directing it, so too the Creator, although He is found in everything, He is superior over all and everything is directed by him. And just as the intellect permeates every part of the body, every bone, ligament, every dense matter, all are impacted by its direction so too the Creator is found in everything; no mountain, sea, or dense entity is without Him, just like air is everywhere… With these metaphors, the opinions of the believers will be strengthened in accepting that God is everywhere… that He watches over mankind’s actions… that He hearkens to every prayer for He is with the supplicant.
There remains the problem that all early Kabbalists struggled with but which is not what we are discussing now- within the multiplicity of Emanation, to whom do we pray?
If one should say that it is a created glory, in accordance with
the view of the Master [Maimonides] in regard to the verse "and the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" and others, how can we
apply thereto 'baruch' [blessed is] and ha-mevorach [the blessed]?
Moreover, one who prays to a created glory is, as it were, an
idolater.
(Nachmanides, Perush ha Torah, on Genesis 46:1)
However, if it is the original Divine Being who animates it, the objection does not apply.
Its' worthwhile to comment on
R. Moshe Taku's views in Tamim Deim. This work by one of Baalei Hatosafos is often adduced by "scholars" as a proof for the existence of the view that G-d is physical (
other scholars, such a Berliner and Dan) do not think he was a corporealist). However, all that R. Moshe Taku does is echo the views of the Geonim. I believe that he also accepts the existence of an incorporeal G-d, of which the semi-physical Kavod Nivra is only a representation and an intermediate step for the purpose of having interactions with humanity.
Of course, it is hard to know what R. Moshe Taku actually held because only a part of Tamim Deim survived and is available to us. It may be that he agrees with creation of Kavod Nivra as the first step in Emanation but not that a prophetic experience is that of encountering Kavod Nivra. For example, he writes: "we have been able to escape from the reasoning of those who say that God created forms through which to speak with His creations. That tradition (reasoning that the voice with which God speaks to prophets is itself a creation) remains with the Karaites and heretics.”
