Mana Lore

String Divinity

Modern Science and the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria 

Alexander Conroy

The process by which the universe originates has been a subject of speculative debate throughout history. Both science and religion have promoted theories and ideas which can very well satisfy the criteria of a creation myth, yet are usually based upon various assumptions and conjecture which could have only come from the mind of an experienced and creative individual. Religious dissertation is even further speculative, claiming its authenticity through divine revelation and its interpretations.

            Lurianic Kabbalah is a more modern version of Kabbalah, the mystical tradition of Judaism, which is based upon interpretation of spiritual texts and commentaries. The creation myth proposed by Isaac Luria is an amalgamation of Jewish mystical literature. Throughout its story one may see the evolution of mystical thought and theory from thousands of years ago to the advent of the 16^th century. It has been noticed that there are many similarities between Luria’s explanation on the origins of creation, and current scientific models on how the universe, was created and operates. The intention of this study is to show similarities between the two as well as provide a reference point for solidification of both theories. Speculation is rife throughout the theories, at times drawing from imagination as much as empirical evidence. However, because of the large gap in time frame from Luria’s to ours, his theories may well serve to strengthen scientific theory in our now post modern era. Quantum physics has given us the opportunity to come close to a “theory of everything” as Isaac Luria has within the realm of Jewish Mysticism. The way the world works always seems simple for our perspective as observer but in reality it is amazingly complex. Biblical rumination also shows there is much richer and intricate meaning associated with “In the beginning” than we have been led to believe.

Lurianic Kabbalah

            To understand the following discussions the general background and theory of Lurianic Kabbalah and specifically the creation myth must be discussed. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (1534-1572) and the greatest luminaries at Safed in the 16^th century advanced the framework for the concept of a hidden and infinite God which would become a “theory of everything” of Kabbalah.[1] This infinite being and creator of everything is known as Ain Sof. Ain Sof, is everything infinitely, whom created the known universe with the purpose: to be known and to be complete.[2]

Ain Sof had to perform an act of tzimtzum, which means contraction. Ain Sof contracted and limited himself to a single point which in science we would compare to a singularity. After tzimtzum, Ain Sof removed himself from creation and was equally redistributed across infinity as well as equally covering the entire span of creation in the shape of a perfect sphere, known in physics as a hyper sphere.[3] Creation was now just a vast void. Ain Sof sent a ray of light from his infinite essence toward the center of creation. This divine ray is filtered through the sephirot, vessels representing the aspects of Ain Sof that were created to filter the ray for the created world.

The portrayal of the created universe which is now the center of Ain Sof, was that it was imperfect. This imperfection was necessary for the infinite’s perfection, for without imperfection, it would not be complete. This concept in itself seems contradictory but does make sense holistically. Because of Ain Sof trying to exert its divine light on his new creation, the vessels were overwhelmed which spawned the existence of pain death and evil. Those broken vessels became known as the Qelippot. After this supposed failure Ain Sof recreated the sefirot and this time allowed for the divine ray to be filtered through them at the appropriate levels. There are a few key concepts of Lurianic Kabbalah that must be introduced

            Throughout this work we will journey through Luria’s creation myth and compare the principles used to modern scientific theories. We will discuss in order: string theory and the divine ray, scientific systems and the four worlds, and the sephirotic emanations and 10 dimensions. I will wrap up the presentation on the subject of the Qelippot and Shadows, opening an argument for multiple universes. The subject of parallel worlds will touch on a philosophical topic known as the anthropic principle which will be shown to augment the cause for multiple universes. Correlations will be made to support each scientific theory which will hopefully at the end of this work, create a cohesive whole for which the basics of the creation myth will establish a scientific basis.

The Divine Ray and the Quantum String 

“Strings offer a possibility of describing all of nature”. [4] Strings are the quantum alternative to particles within quantum physics. The key difference between a string and a particle is that a string is 1-dimensional and travels on a 2-dimensional plane where as a particle is 0-dimensional traveling through a 1-dimensional plane. A string can also be open or closed depending if it has two free ends or is a continuous ring, in essence a circle or a line. One can imagine a particle moving from one place to another, or then a line moving from one place to another. The universe, at a quantum level is believed to be made up of these “strings”. The reasoning behind establishing string theory comes from the scientific discovery of hundreds of subatomic particles which would have been tedious to discover and name. Thus the proposition of strings as literally tiny vibrating strings was adopted to explain the sudden changes of quantum particle properties. In essence, quantum particles change the rate of vibration and become a new particle just like a violin string is played and changed from one note to another.[5]

            Strings, therefore, make up the universe at its most basic level. I would compare this directly with the divine ray sent by Ain Sof into creation. Why would the image of a straight line to the center of the universe be used if that line isn’t also a representation of the essence of Ain Sof? As the divine ray is filtered through the sefirot, it changes in potency and becomes one essence or the other. It exists throughout the four worlds in more or less subtle form and permeates all of creation. We are made up of these strings, and the string themselves are unpredictable and seemingly random as it is proved by the random activity of electrons. Is this not the channel through which Ain Sof created the universe and the most basic level of his influence? This leads us into the concepts of scientific systems and their increasing subtlety from our world to the quantum world as parallel to the four worlds and its essential make up.

The Four Worlds and Science

In Lurianic Kabbalah, the four worlds represent different realms of creation and existence. Our world is known as Assiah, the world of Action, where the “universe of space, time, matter and energy experienced directly through the senses”[6] exists. Our modern physical marvels and accomplishments through science are displayed in the physical world of Assiah which we work in everyday. The world of Formation, or Yetzirah, are the “patterns, laws, formulas and paradigms that underlie the physical world, which can be inferred through reason and imagination.”[7] Modern physics researches and works generally on this level and has been sufficiently researched and harnessed for our most important technological discoveries. The World of Creation, or Briah, is considered the realm of angels, where divine revelation and visions originate from. I would propose this as the creative aspect behind the discoveries in the scientific community, since, in essence, they come from the collective or individual ideas and revelations of scientists. This could also be considered the realm of the supernatural, which science has not yet or is not able to explain. The Final world, Atziluth, which means emanation, is the link between Ain Sof, and creation.[8] This, I propose, is where the divine ray, or string, enters into creation. The string could be seen as the x-factor upon which all other scientific systems await to process an action within the world of Assiah. Thus, quantum physics and string theory has begun to allow humanity the access to the fourth world, the world of emanation when it was not even fathomable to ruminate on such a topic before.

The Ten Sefirot and Ten Dimensional Space-Time

The next discussion will be of the ten sefirotic vessels, and ten dimensions within string theory.  One of the most controversial properties of string theory is, in order for the mathematical quantum formulas to work, the space-time the strings exist in would need to be ten dimensional. The idea sounds absurd because in our physical reality we believe we live in a three or four dimensional space (length, width, breadth)-time.  In Kabbalah the sephirot are the vessels by which the divine ray is emanated into creation. Not just into our world of Assiah, but throughout the other worlds as well. In each world the number of sefirotic emanations is ten. What an astonishing correspondence: ten sefirot, ten dimensions! The requirement for a ray of light, or string to function and exist within the universe is the establishment of a system of ten. Not only that but the sefirot are said to operate at both levels, circular and linear, which is precisely how a quantum string works as described above![9]

Although the sefirot represent more than just the physical aspects of the world, the sefirot can be considered the 10 dimensions by which quantum theory can rest its foundation. The sefirot represent many different aspects of our world, and our person as well. Kether, the very top is known as the crown or will which has the desire to create[10], essentially, the plucker, or first pluck of the string. And the very bottom is Malkuth, or sovereignty. Malkuth is the final stage of creation, the manifestation of the flow of the divine energy string through the rest of the sefirot. [11] Due to limited “space” and “time”, further investigation into this correlation will be withheld for a future project.

Qelippot, Shadows, and Multiple Universes

Lurianic Kabbalah describes the first creation of the world as a failed attempt. The world we currently live in is the product of a second attempt. During creation, Ain Sof, the infinite, overwhelmed the vessels of creation with his divine light in their original ordered pattern. These vessels shattered and became known as the Qelippot, the broken shells of the original world. This breaking apart is deemed necessary for if it did not occur the world would have been filled with the divine light and reabsorbed into Ain Sof. However, the Qelippot are also attributed as the source of evil, darkness, and shadow because they are devoid of the divine light. The second creation went smoothly. The sefirot filtered the divine light in a new configuration. At the center of the sphere of creation we came into existence, furthest from the infinite source. [12]

            The anthropic principle, when applied to scientific theory such as Evolution and the big bang, is very similar to this. What happened before the universe was created via the bang? It opens up the possibility of separate worlds which exist apart from our own. Although statistically, the number of worlds could be infinite, the interpretation of the Kabbalistic story can be molded to this viewpoint without much trouble. The idea of a first failed universe claims that it was not able to sustain life and consciousness. Without the limitation of the divine light, our own sparks of light would be overwhelmed and absorbed and thus the universe would be unfit for such a creation. The idea that the infinite created many more than just one or two universes is very plausible, for to truly be infinite and complete he would need to spawn every specific instance and possibility of creation. Scientific research into photon interference has discovered an invisible and almost undetectable form of particle. This particle can be shown in light experiments, where light is blocked by an unknown particle which can interact with and block photons. This leads scientists to believe there are shadow photons that exist as a sort of particle residing within one of many parallel universes hidden within shadows.[13] The broken shells still have influence over creation, as evil still exists and good acts known as Tikkun are required to repair these broken shells. This, shadow world can interact with the world of light, as shown by the scientific light experiments. Do our actions affect other universes and realities around us? With this line of thought not only are multiple universes possible in an infinite way, but infinite variations in time, size, shape, form, law, etc., an infinite amount of variation.

            It can be confidently stated that the similarities between Lurianic Kabbalah and modern scientific theories and experiments share a unique link. These two realms of thought can come together to complete a whole. Further research and development on their similarities is warranted from the brief overview of the key concepts. I believe that further in depth studies into the sefirot and qelippot in accordance to quantum particles will yield very interesting and meaningful results. I feel that we will eventually find that physical dimensions surpass time and space. They must incorporate all the different aspects of creativity and human being to be complete. What is creation without both compassion and judgment?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Ariel, David. (2006). Kabbalah: The Mystic Quest in Judaism. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield

Publishers, Inc.

Davies, Paul (1980). Other Worlds. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Deutsch , David (1997). The Fabric of Reality. New York: The Penguin Group.

Kaku, Michio (2003). Parallel Worlds. New York: Doubleday

Menzi, Donals W. & Padeh, Zwe (1999). The Tree of Life - Chayyim Vital’s Introduction to the

Kabbalah of Isaac Luria: The Palace of Adam Kadmon. Northvale: Jason Aronson, Inc.

Siegel, Warren(1988). Advanced Series in Mathematical Physics Vol. 8: Introduction to String

Field Theory London: World Scientific Publishing Co.