the concentric emanation of worlds, according
to Lurianic Kabbalah
{from R. I. Krakovsky - Kabbalah, the Light
of Redemption)
Lurianic Kabbalah
The Five Worlds
Whereas in the Zohar and elsewhere there are only four worlds or universes
(planes of existence) the Lurianic system adds a fifth universe, Adam Kadmon,
a s ort of manifest Godhead, that mediates between the En Sof and the four
lower worlds.
In Lurianic cosmology therefore we have the following strata of reality:
En Sof - Absolute or Infinite
- Beyond all archetpes
Asiyah
- Inferior Angels and klippot; Physical world
It is interesting to consider that whereas for other Kabbalists it was
the En Sof which was identical to the Deity, for Luria it was the world
of Atzilut, or at least its higher aspects.
These aspects of divinity Luria refers to as Partzufim, more on which shortly.
Thus he distinguishes between Atzilut and the three lower worlds [Sholem,
pp. 2723].
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