Atzmut and Sefirot

Abstract

The term atzmut designates the divine essence. The sefirot, by contrast, have to do with the ways in which the divine essence is manifest or expressed. The dual doctrine of atzmut and sefirot aims to preserve the notion that while God’s essence is perfectly one, it is also true that this essence manifests itself in many different ways. In this chapter, we shall explore different ways of understanding this doctrine. The standard view is that atzmut is an entity or being, and that the sefirot are also entities or beings. The alternative approach is that neither atzmut nor sefirot designate entities or beings. Rather, atzmut designates Being itself, and the sefirot designate the ways in which Being is manifest. I shall argue that the alternative approach has several philosophical or conceptual advantages over the standard approach.