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Concept
Atzmus
Summary
Atzmus/atzmut ( from the Hebrew etzem) is the descriptive term referred to in Kabbalah, and explored in Hasidic thought, for the divine essence.
Classical Kabbalah predominantly refers to the Godhead in Judaism with its designated term "Ein Sof" ("No end"-Infinite). Reference to atzmus is usually restricted in Kabbalistic theory to discussion whether "Ein Sof" represents the ultimate divine being in itself, or to God as first cause of creation.
God in Judaism and Godhead (Judaism)
Medieval Jewish philosophers like Maimonides, articulate a transcendent negative theology where it is only possible to describe God in terms of what He is not. Here Divine Unity means that God's singularity is unique and bears no relation to any concept one can conceive. Kabbalah, influenced by the philosophical argument, but seeking the Biblical God who is also immanent, gives a different, more radical solution. It distinguishes between God in Himself and in His emanations. The Infinite Divine, the Ein Sof ("Limitless") is beyond all understanding, description or manifestation. Only through the 10 Sephirot Divine attributes is God revealed to Creation, and the sustaining lifeforce that continuously recreates existence is channeled. The final sephirah Malchut (Kingship) becomes the feminine Shechina (Divine presence), the immanent indwelling Divinity in Creation. In manifestation God is anthropomorphically described as both male and female, where male denotes outward giving and female denotes inward nurturing.
In Kabbalah there are traces of Panentheism, such as the Zohar's description of the two forms of sustenance, the "Light that surrounds" and the "Light that fills" all Worlds, and Moshe Cordovero's description of Panentheism in his 16th-century quasi-rational hierarchical systemisation of Kabbalah. Cordovero reconciles previous opinions regarding the Divine nature of the sephirot, by describing them as lights invested in vessels.
Official source
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