Darkness and Light

The ongoing context of light in all its many manifestations is in relationship to its opposite state of darkness. Even more so, there is an additional advantage to light when juxtaposed to darkness as expressed by King Solomon and the sages:  “More advantageous is the light that comes from darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:13; Zohar 3:47b). Darkness is not just the opposite of light, rather they share an intimate and intrinsic productive connection.

The question has been frequently asked whether darkness is simply the absence of light or if it is an independent reality. Although there is certainly truth in viewing darkness as simply the absence of light, various commentaries treat darkness as having its own essence, purpose and function as well. This is especially true in Kabbalah when understanding darkness in relationship to creation. As we have seen continually when dealing with paradox and seemingly opposite views of the same reality that “these and these are the words of the living God” (Eruvin 13b). Concerning the darkness mentioned in the second verse in the Torah (“and the earth was astonishingly empty with darkness on the face of the deep…”) it is not just an absence of light, but alludes to a “womb-like” state of reality, a vacuum in which all “independent” reality came to be.

The state of Divine reality before the creation is referred to as en sof or or en sof, an infinite Divine light, as mentioned above. The word en, literally means “nothing” and is conceptually conceived of as infinite “womb-like “dark essence existing before the revelation of infinite light, or even deeper, a type of darkness which itself “shines.” This darkness is the “womb-like” state from which the infinite light can emerge. As we have seen, for the worlds to come into being this infinite light had to be contracted, creating the vacuum, the dark, “womb-like” space in which “independent” reality could emerge. The kav, the ray of infinite light from which all creation comes forth could then enter the vacuum in a manner that would accomplish God’s purpose for creation.

These four steps of alternating states of darkness and light form their archetypal pattern and relationship, and serve as the quintessential example of opposites throughout creation.

Darkness	En	Divine “nothingness”
Light	Ohr En Sof	Infinite light
Darkness	Tzimtzum	contraction
Light	Kav	ray of light

Although the very first sentence of the Torah mentions the opposites of heaven and earth, the first pair of opposites treated as such is the creation of light and its relationship and separation from darkness: “And God said let there be light and there was light. God saw that the light was good and God separated between the light and the darkness. God called to the light “day” and to the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:3-5).

Despite the many negative connotations of darkness, real and imagined, we see that in the simple reading of the text it appears to have a function and specific domain, for if not God would not have created it. Its separation from light, creating the quintessential example of opposites, is not a value judgment or moral indictment. Rashi explains that the separation was caused by God seeing that light and darkness were not good when mixed together, therefore He separated them.

This reminds us of God seeing that it was “not good” for man to be alone, leading to the subsequent separation of woman from man. This state of “not good” as regards man and woman finds its ultimate rectification in the situation where “He who finds a woman has found good, and will elicit will from God” (Proverbs 18:12).

In a previous chapter we employed the equation of “one becomes two in order to become one” to explain the all encompassing Divine dynamic of creation, as well as the specific creation of man and woman. We now see this same dynamic in relationship to light and darkness. Initially darkness and light co-mingled together but are then separated and each is given its own specific domain. The end of the first day of creation though is described as “and it was evening and it was morning, one day,” alluding to the essential oneness of light and darkness: “one becomes two in order to become one.”