Қаббаладағы «Шексіздік» тұжырымы: Ein Sof және Atzmus

In Kabbalah, God prior and beyond any human perception of it. Ein Sof, or Eyn Sof (/eɪ//n// //s//ɒ//f/, ; meaning "infinite", ), in Kabbalah, is understood as God prior to any self manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm, probably derived from Solomon ibn Gabirol's ( 1021 – 1070) term, "the Endless One" (she en lo tiklah). Ein Sof may be translated as "unending", "(there is) no end", or infinity. It was first used by Azriel ( 1160 – 1238), who, sharing the Neoplatonic belief that God can have no desire, thought, word, or action, emphasized by it the negation of any attribute. Of the Ein Sof, nothing ("Ein") can be grasped ("Sof" limitation). It is the origin of the Ohr Ein Sof, the "Infinite Light" of paradoxical divine self knowledge, nullified within the Ein Sof prior to creation. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the first act of creation, the Tzimtzum self "withdrawal" of God to create an "empty space", takes place from there. In Hasidic Judaism, the Tzimtzum is only the illusionary concealment of the Ohr Ein Sof, giving rise to monistic panentheism. Consequently, Hasidism focuses on the Atzmus divine essence, rooted higher within the Godhead than the Ein Sof, which is limited to infinitude, and reflected in the essence (etzem) of the Torah and the soul.

Hasidic Judaism in the 18th century internalised the esoteric, transcendent emanations of Kabbalah into immanent, psychological perception and correspondence. The term in Hasidic philosophy for the divine source is Atzmus ("essence"). While the Ein Sof of Kabbalah can only be infinite, Atzmus, rooted higher in the Godhead, is beyond finite/infinite duality. As the Etzem, it both transcends all levels, and permeates all levels. This is reflected in the paradoxical acosmic monism of Hasidic panentheism, and relates to the essence of the Torah and the soul. In Hasidic thought, Kabbalah corresponds to the World of Atzilus, the sephirah of Chochmah and the transcendent soul level of Chayah; Hasidic philosophy corresponds to the World of Adam Kadmon, the sephirah of Keter and the soul essence of Yechidah. The Baal Shem Tov taught that the only reflection of Atzmus is the sincerity of the soul in performing the Jewish observances and prayer. Consequently, Hasidism gave new emphasis to the common folk, and to prayer and action over traditionally pre eminent Torah study, as Atzmus is most reflected in the lowest levels, the purpose of creation in making a "dwelling place" for God in the lowest realms. In response, Chaim Volozhin, the main theological theorist of the Misnagdim, opposed Hasidic panentheism and re emphasised Talmudic study.

The Sabbatean movement believed in a heterodox doctrine of Lurianic Kabbalah as taught by Nathan of Gaza, in which the Ein Sof itself was the origin of evil and the world of the qlippoth. According to this belief, the tzimtzum and subsequent re radiation only took place for the creative aspects of the godhead, known as the “thoughtful light” (or she yesh bo mahshavah). The greater divine aspects that had no desire for creation, the “thoughtless light” (or she ein bo mahshavah), remained within the vacuum (tehiru) and became a material substrate for the thoughtful light’s creation. However, the ray of creative light could only penetrate to the upper half of the tehiru, while the lower half, known as the “Great Abyss”, remained dominated by the unformed thoughtless light, which retaliate by creating the world of the qlippoth to destroy the thoughtful light’s creation. Sabbateans believed that the Messiah, Sabbatai Zevi, was a trapped or demonic soul whose escape from the Abyss would result in the purification of the qlippoth and the Abyss itself being penetrated and formed by the creative light, thus reconciling the polarities of God.

In Modern Hebrew as spoken in contemporary Israel, "ein sof" (often contracted to "einsof" – אינסוף) is commonly used as simply the word for "infinity", without reference to God and to the above intricate Kabbalistic connotations.