En-Sof

("Infinite"). Term used as a designation for God in Jewish mystical literature, the Kabbalah, signifying the highest aspect of the Divinity, which is beyond human comprehension. The early kabbalists reserved this designation for the transcendental "hidden God," whereas the various Sefirot denote those aspects of God which are revealed and active (see Mysticism). En-Sof as an epithet for the hidden God, was used by the earliest kabbalists, Isaac the Blind and Azriel of Gerona, and in the Zohar. It originally described the infinite (i.e., én-sof) extension of God's thought, but later kabbalists used the term as a proper noun, speaking of God Himself as the "En-Sof" and the "En-Sof, Blessed be He." It signifies the total perfection of God, in which all contradictions and differentiations exist in a static harmony that defies human understanding. The existence of the En-Sof can only be recognized indirectly, as it is the Prime Cause of all that exists. In kabbalistic literature, the philosophical concepts relating to the God who is without attributes, the Prime Cause and the Cause of all causes, are viewed as referring to the En-Sof. The kabbalistic school of Gerona, Spain, designated the En-Sof as "that which is not conceivable by thought," the "Hidden Light," and the "Indistinguishable Unity"---all terms expressing the hidden nature of the Infinite and the unity of all contradictions within it. As the En-Sof is beyond man's comprehension, there is little kabbalistic discussion of this aspect of the Divine. Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut ("The Order of God"), a mystical treatise of the 13th-14th century, came to the radical conclusion that the En-Sof is so hidden that it is not even mentioned in the Bible. Some Jewish mystics identified the En-Sof with the primal will and with the highest of the Sefirot, Keter Elyon (the "Supreme Crown").

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