Kabbalah and The Meaning of Life

The 10 Sefirot

While the Lurianic Kabbalah is highly complex and recondite in its symbolism and ideas, its understanding of the meaning of life is neither hidden nor obscure: It involves the endeavor to realize objective values in the face of the obstacles, suffering, and tragedies of this world. This view if life-meaning follows from what I have termed the “Basic Metaphor,” Luria’s myth/theory about the nature and dynamic of God, the universe, and humankind.  This metaphor is grounded in the notion that the foundational elements of the universe are archetypal values (the sefirot) as opposed to matter and energy, and that such values exist in a “space” of experience, action, language and symbolism. The kabbalists held that Ein-sof (The Infinite) contracted itself and withdrew in order to produce a metaphysical space with which Adam Kadmon, the Primordial Human, emerged. This archetypal being embodies within itself the 10 sefirot, value archetypes that are both emanations of, and containers or vessels for. the infinite divine light. The sefirot, which include wisdom, understanding, kindness, beauty, compassion, judgment, and other values, were, however, unstable in their initial form, and were subject to displacement and or shattering. The highest sefirot, Keter/Ratzon (Crown/Will), Chochmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), and (an additional sefirah) Da’at (Knowledge) were only displaced, but the emotional, cultural and ethical values of Chesed (Kindness),  Din/Gevurah (Judgment/Power-Discipline), Rachamim/Tiferet (Compassion/Glory-Beauty), Netzach (Victory), Yesod (Foundation) and Malchuth (Sovereignty) were either wholly or (in the case of Malchuth) partially shattered.  Shards from the broken sefirotic vessels fell through the metaphysical void, trapping and enveloping sparks of the divine light that they initially contained. These sparks, now trapped and concealed by the “husks” or “shells,” became the constituent elements of the material world. Lurianic Kabbalah provides a parallel account of the creation of the human psyche, which is also said to be comprised of sparks of divine light or values that has been trapped and obscured. It is, according to the Lurianists, the purpose of humanity, and of each individual, to liberate the sparks from the husks that comprise both the world and the human soul. In doing so, the sefirotic values, which had initially constituted the original pristine world prior to the “breaking of the vessels,” are not only restored, but are actually brought to a level that they could never have attained in the absence of their own displacement and rupture.

The displaced and broken vessels serve as a metaphor for the harsh, painful and often tragic circumstances that each of us find ourselves in over the course of our lives. And it is only through our committed and enduring ethical, spiritual, and intellectual efforts in the face of these difficult circumstances which can bring to light the values that have been displaced, shattered and obscured in our world, and cause these values to attain their ultimate significance.

The Kabbalists understood the expulsion of the first humans from the Garden of Eden as an event that was necessary for humanity to realize its cosmic purpose and for individuals to attain a meaningful life. Had Adam and Eve remained in Eden they would have had few if any of the opportunities for the intellectual, spiritual, and particularly ethical conduct that makes human life meaningful in a harsh post-Eden world. Humanity is thus enjoined to “raise the sparks” of value inherent in all things, and within the human psyche or soul. Individuals has the opportunity to raise these sparks in each of their daily encounters and to thereby contribute to the value and meaning of the world and their own lives. In this way the meaning of life involves the endeavor to realize objective values in the face of the obstacles, suffering, and tragedies of this world, and a human participation in the restoration, repair and redemption of both the self and the world.

I indicated earlier that the value archetypes which serve as the foundational elements of the world exist in a “space” of experience, action, language and symbolism, and it is this space that affords us the opportunity to “raise the sparks,” realize values and emend the world (Tikkun Ha-Olam).  Put simply, this realization involves transforming our experience (through kavannah [intention)], devekut [cleaving to the divine] and Hitbodedut [meditation and prayer], engaging in action (the performance of ethical and spiritual deeds, the mitzvoth), participating in study (Torah, but also other intellectual pursuits), and the symbolic practices of religion. While this view of the meaning of life is clearly rooted in Jewish tradition, one might readily extend it in a universalist manner, one that understands various forms of meditation/prayer, ethical action, study, and symbolism.

Sanford Drob, May 20, 2025

For further elaboration on this theme see:

The Mystic as Philosopher: An Interview with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz