And G-d said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
How does the artist decipher the secret of creation and the secrets of the various worlds? Is his creativity spiritual or scientific? What are the spiritual and cognitive tools that the artist uses to engender the act of creation? And does the artist's creation of the world resemble or differ from the creation of the world by the physicist or the mystic?
The artist, the physicist and the mystic all attempt to imitate G-d in his act of creation, and this constitutes the main thread interwoven through all of the artistic creations in this exhibition. The artist re-creates the world. The prayer verse 'who each day in his beneficence renews the act of creation' can be extended to include the act of the artist who constantly renews the act of Genesis; the creation of the world.
Is there an internal connection between the Kabbalistic mythology of the formation of the universe from its inception until the present day and the "Big Bang" theory of the formation of the universe? Indeed, numerous highly regarded scholars have made interesting attempts to compare the "Big Bang" theory to Kabbalistic mythology on the creation of the universe, mainly the school of thought associated with the Ari Hakadosh (Rabbi Isaac Luria). Nevertheless, it is important to note that the mystic's toolbox differs from that of the scientist's. The Kabbalist contemplates on the inner light within his own heart and, through it, connects with the light of the divine; hence, he knows, by internal and direct experience, how the universe was created. In this regard, the artist resembles the mystic whose inspiration is drawn from direct experience.
Moreover, like the mystic, the artist works with visual, iconic tools. As opposed to the Talmud which opens a new subject with the phrase "Ta Shema", meaning "come and listen", the Zohar regularly begins a discussion with the phrase "Ta Haze", meaning "come and see". While the Talmud uses arbitrary literary symbolism, the mystic, like the artist, uses visual iconic symbolism. Even the scientist occasionally uses visual imagery as a tool to assist scientific creation and problem-solving, as shown in the Gestalt psychologist Wertheimer's classic study of Einstein's creative processes. The artist, like the Kabbalist and the best of scientists, represents the world as a picture, not necessarily a word.
This exhibition employs a creative visual tool that is commonly found in the Kabbalah- the theoretical construct of the four worlds which form our universe. The four worlds are known in the Kabbalah as ABY"A, the acronym for Atzilut ("the world of emanation"), Beriah ("the world of creation"), Yetzirah ("the world of formation"), and Assiyah ("the world of action"). These worlds express the different levels of the realization of the power of God.
To get some of the flavor of the four worlds concept, let us look at what Rabbi Haim Vital, a follower of the Ari Hakadosh (Rabbi Isaac Luria), writes in his seminal essay "The Tree of Life", second part: "ABY"A in general":
The four worlds are abbreviated as ABY"A: It is necessary to clarify in general all aspects of the four worlds known as ABY"A. And we should also explain the world of emanation. This is the root from which to understand three worlds as ten worlds. Because at first they are the ten spheres of emanation, which existed originally from days of yore until the end of the Nukba (female aspect) merged with Zair Anphin [lit., 'the small face'- 6 lower spheres] of emanation and they are followed by the world of creation in which there are also ten spheres like the example of the ten spheres of emanation. And this is called the world of the seat of honor, meaning that they are below the Nukba of Zair Anphin called honor. And the [world of] creation is the seat beneath it, so that the world of creation is called the seat of honor. And this is followed by the world of formation, and this is also composed of ten spheres. And in this is the world of METATRON, the internal Minister [highest of angels] with ten sets of angels and after them the world of action, and they are ten cycles of the heavens encircling us who are within them, the lower earth.
The power of Jack Cymber's exhibition stems from the fact that Jack strives to recreate the four worlds whilst maintaining an internal dialog with the secrets of the Kabbalah. Several aspects of this exhibition stand out in the comparison with the concept of ABY"A in the Kabbalah namely: Flow, movement and dynamism which are central characteristics in the mystical approach of the book of the Zohar and the Kabbalah of the Ari Hakadosh (Rabbi Isaac Luria); the usage of letters - a core part of the mystical theory of the Sefer Hayetsira (Book of Creation) and that of the Sephardi Kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham Aboulafia; the tension between order and chaos, and between unity and multiplicity - a theme that recurs in different streams of the Kabbalah throughout the generations.
The tension between unity and multiplicity is expressed in different aspects of the works of art and in the internal dialog that takes place between these art works. Many pictures in the exhibition contain four geometrical forms - circles or rectangles - that represent the four worlds, and thus express the multiplicity. It should be noted that multiplicity is illustrated by abstract geometric shapes and not through anthropomorphic shapes. This is in contrast to the Kabbalah of the Ari where worlds are represented through the image of the 'prehistoric man' the archetype figure that represents the structure of the world, through the figure of a man. Here it is apparent that the artist seeks abstraction and geometrical simplicity. If so, the artist grasps the internal fundamental essence of the Kabbalah as a desire for the abstract.
A central motif in Jack's work is the conception of the worlds through the enigmatic power of letter combinations. According to the Kabbalist Rabbi Israel Sarug, the Torah, which was the tool for God's creation, was revealed differently in each of the four worlds: In the world of Emanation, the Torah was merely a sequence of all possible combinations of the alphabet letters. The initial linguistic sequence of letter combinations is the product of the whimsical play of infinity deep within its omnipotence to reveal its strength. Thus, G-d weaved the divine fabric of the Torah as a mantle of letters. In the world of creation the Torah was constructed in the form of holy names out of combinations of the elements that existed in the world of emanation. In the world of formation, the Torah appears in the shape of names of angels and divine forces congruent with the unique regularity of this world. In the world of action, the Torah appears as it is revealed to us.
Jack is influenced by way that the formation of the worlds is conceptualized in the Kabbalah as conforming to the secret power of letter combinations. In one of his paintings, you can even see the revelation of the Torah through the enigmatic power of circles of letters in different ways in each of the four worlds. Not only do these circles of letters signify the worlds ontologically, they also represent the worlds as creative forces through meditative practice, that is to say, states of consciousness representing the passion within the human soul. In other words, observing the image meditatively may alter the observer's state of consciousness.
Note how one of the circles, possibly hinting to the world of emanation, does not contain the entire range of the letter combinations. There is one dimension, according to Jack, that goes beyond letter combinations, beyond language, perhaps suggesting the revelation of the power of infinity that does not appear through letter combinations. In other words, the creation of the world, or the creation of a new state of consciousness, does not necessarily need to be realized or revealed only through the language of letter combinations, but may also appear through abstract geometry like the perfect shape of the circle. Thus, Jack creates his own unique path, in contrast to Rabbi Avraham Aboulafia and Rabbi Israel Sarug, in his attempt to understand the secrets of the creation of the worlds, the formation of the divine language and the creation of divine consciousness in the human soul.
Dr. Avi Elqayam
Head of the Moussaiof Center of Kabbalah Bar Ilan University
Dr. Elqayam
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