Kabbalists distinguish Ein Sof—the infinite, unknowable divine essence—from Ohr Ein Sof, the first emanation of light that flows from that essence to create and sustain reality. This separation explains how a hidden God can be present in the world without being diminished or known directly.
Where the Terms First Appear
The concept of Ein Sof predates the word. Jewish mystics before the 12th century had already described God as eyn lo tikhlah (without end) and eyn lo siyum (without limit). But the fixed term appears in Sefer HaBahir, a text that circulated in Provence around 1180. The Bahir speaks of a “hidden light” that is above the sefirot but does not yet distinguish it as a separate principle.
The Zohar, compiled by Moses de León in the 1280s, makes the distinction explicit. In the Zohar, Ein Sof is the attika de-attikin, the most ancient of the ancient, the concealed head. Ohr Ein Sof is the light that fills Atzilut (the world of emanation), but even that light is not the essence. A key Zoharic passage (Zohar I, 15a) says: “He is not known, and no one can know Him. But through the flow of the light that issues from Him, the worlds are sustained.”
Moses Cordovero (1522–1570) systematized the distinction in his Pardes Rimonim (1548). Cordovero wrote that Ohr Ein Sof is not identical with Ein Sof but a “radiation” or zohar that spreads out from the essence. For him, the sefirot are vessels (kelim) that receive this light, and the light itself is the same throughout, only the vessels cause diversity.
Isaac Luria (1534–1572) added the doctrine of tzimtzum (contraction). Luria taught that Ein Sof contracted itself to create an empty space (tehiru), because infinite light would overwhelm any finite vessel. Into that space a single, thin ray of Ohr Ein Sof entered. The ray is called the kav (line). Everything that exists, from the highest worlds to this physical one, is formed from that ray.
What Each Concept Actually Describes
Ein Sof is a negation. It means “without end” only because any positive statement would limit the limitless. It has no attributes, no will, no intention, no location. Cordovero compares it to the ocean, which has no shore and cannot be poured into a cup. Ohr Ein Sof is the water we can pour, but it is still ocean-water, not the ocean itself.
Ohr Ein Sof is not a second entity. It is the activity of Ein Sof. In Kabbalistic language, it is the outflow (shefa) that becomes the sefirot. The medieval Kabbalist Azriel of Gerona (12th century) wrote that the sefirot are “vessels filled with the light of Ein Sof,” but he also insisted that the light and the vessel are inseparable in effect yet distinct in source.
A concrete image: Ein Sof is the sun as a ball of fusion. Ohr Ein Sof is the sunlight that reaches Earth. The light carries the sun’s power but is not the sun. And we can never look at the sun directly, only at what it illuminates.
How a Kabbalist Practices with This Distinction
The difference between Ein Sof and Ohr Ein Sof is not academic. It shapes every meditation in Lurianic Kabbalah. The practitioner begins by saying “For the sake of the unification of the Holy One and His Shechinah, in awe and love, to unify the name YHV”, and this unification is about drawing the Ohr Ein Sof down through the sefirot. The goal is never to reach Ein Sof. That is impossible. Ein Sof cannot be reached, experienced, or known. The Kabbalist aims instead to become a vessel that can hold the light.
One meditation is called kavvanah of the ray. The practitioner visualizes a single point of white light above the crown of the head. That point is a reflection of Ohr Ein Sof. From it, lines of light descend through the sefirot of the head and body. The body becomes the merkava (chariot) for the light. The meditation ends by returning the light to its source, acknowledging that the light is borrowed, not possessed.
A simpler practice appears in the prayers. Psalm 36:9, “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light”, is recited in many Kabbalistic circles as a reminder that we see only the light, not the fountain. One does not chant “Ein Sof.” That name is never uttered in prayer. It is referred to only as Shaarei Haseder (the gates of order) or HaMa’or (the Luminary). Silence is the appropriate response to Ein Sof.
How Ohr Ein Sof Differs from the Sefirot
A common confusion: Is Ohr Ein Sof the same as the sefirah Keter? In some sources, yes; in others, no.
Cordovero identified Ohr Ein Sof with Keter, the highest sefirah. For him, the light first condenses into Keter, then flows downward through the remaining nine sefirot.
Luria rejected this. For Luria, Keter is still a vessel, the highest vessel, but a vessel nonetheless. Ohr Ein Sof is before any vessel exists. The kav enters the space and first fills a structure called Adam Kadmon (Primordial Man), which is above Keter. Only then does Keter emerge. This is why Lurianic Kabbalah speaks of igulim (circles) and yashar (straight line), the light moves in both circular and linear patterns before any sefirah takes form.
The practical consequence: a Lurianic Kabbalist meditates not on Keter but on the kav itself, imagining the line of light as a thread that connects the mundane world to the hidden source.
Common Misconceptions
“Ein Sof is God’s name.” It is not a name. It is a description of what cannot be described. Traditional Jewish theology reserves the Tetragrammaton as the name; Ein Sof is a theological placeholder.
“Ohr Ein Sof is the light of the Shechinah.” The Shechinah is the immanent presence, the last sefirah (Malkhut). Ohr Ein Sof is the transcendent light before it becomes immanent. The Shechinah is a vessel that receives the lower reflections of that light, not the source itself.
“Humans can merge with Ein Sof.” This idea appears in some New Age and Neo-Hermetic literature, but classical Kabbalah denies it. Ein Sof is blishi mah (without what), completely beyond relation. The mystic only touches the light that flows from it, and even then through layers of vessels. The goal is devekut (cleaving), not union.
“Ein Sof and Ohr Ein Sof are two gods.” No. Kabbalists repeatedly insist that there is only one cause. Ohr Ein Sof is an action of the one cause, not a separate being. The distinction is logical and emanation-based, not polytheistic.
FAQ
What does Ein Sof mean literally? It means “without end.” The term indicates that God’s essence is infinite and lacks any boundary, including the boundary of definition itself.
Is Ohr Ein Sof the same as the light of creation? No. The light of creation is the light that enters the sefirot; Ohr Ein Sof is the light before it enters any vessel. Once it enters, it becomes ohr atzmi (essential light) within the sefirah.
Why do some texts say “Ein Sof” and “Ohr Ein Sof” interchangeably? In non-technical writings, especially in early Kabbalistic homilies, the two terms blur. But systemizers like Cordovero and Luria were careful to distinguish them. The sloppy use is a source of modern confusion.
The Distinction That Holds the Tree Together
The difference between Ein Sof and Ohr Ein Sof is not a theological subtlety. It is the hinge that holds Kabbalistic cosmology in place. Without it, the sefirot become either gods or metaphors. With it, they become images of something reachable yet rooted in the unreachable. To understand the distinction is to see why the Kabbalist speaks of God only in whispers, and then only of the light.
For a deeper look at the vessels that receive this light, visit our guide to the sephirot. To see how Isaac Luria rebuilt the entire system around the kav and tzimtzum, read our study of Lurianic Kabbalah. And for the complete framework of emanation, return to the Kabbalah hub.