Living Religions of the West

¶ … transcendence and the kabalistic idea of En Sof. It has one source.

Explain the concept of "transcendence," and illustrate the concept with the kabbalistic idea of the En Sof and the mystic view of Ra'bia.

Religious beliefs are concepts that people have of divine existence, and since these concepts are ones that have developed ages ago, it is difficult to criticize them because of the time frame within which they emerged. One cannot possibly understand the reasons for which individuals in the past did certain things because contemporary man has a very different mindset as compared to people in those times. However, in this rational world one cannot really choose to ignore religious beliefs. As believers in divine existence assert that there are certain characteristics about divine existence that are beyond human perception and understanding, as explained by the understanding of transcendence.

Analysis:

According to religious beliefs there is always reinforcement in transcendence in order to secure belief in the divine. It is because of transcendence that individuals may understand the existence of a divine god. There are three types of transcendence of which the first is a formal or official one. This transcendence encourages a feeling of humility and subordination on the part of a human being. It is through this transcendence that certain religions insist on the utmost respect for the divine. The second transcendence is realizing how impossible it really is to understand what the divine wants of human beings. Human beings cannot decipher the way in which the divine thinks or plans. The third transcendence is realizing the 'otherness' of the divine. Human beings cannot really know what the divine being is like, and in no way can one begin to compare or assume similarity between humans and the divine. Transcendence may be observed in the living western religions. In the mystic view of Ra'bia, it is observed that there is a need for observing a distance between human beings and the divine so much so that believers are not even supposed to take the name of the divine. This relates to the first type of transcendence. The kabbalistic idea of the En Sof relates to the second and third type of transcendence because of the fact that it considers the nature of the divine as something that focuses on the world's structure at a deep cosmic level. This perhaps holds on to the understanding that human beings cannot really decipher God's form, but can only know that he exists and that the world is a result of His actions.