It is evident, therefore, that while not a single kabbalist school of thought ever claimed that God has no existence apart from created beings, the position most commonly held was that He was nevertheless to be found within them in variously definable ways. Hence, too, the neoplatonic assertion frequently encountered in kabbalistic literature that God is "the soul of souls," a claim which is not entirely free of pantheistic nuances although it lends itself to other interpretations as well
I asked rabbi rackman about this, and he said he is not mekubal. But then he shared what rav Menachem kasher had told him. Rav kasher said that Spinoza was right about pantheism, but wrong about halacha.
ReplyDeleteI also asked rav kapach ztl about rav kook 's position on this. He said that rav kook is no longer with us to give us an answer.