SHEVIRAT HA'KELIM

Shevirat HaKelim means the "shattering of the vessels". According to Kabbalistic theory, God is the totality of all things, and it is the nature of abundance to want to give. The desire to give immediately created a vessel to receive. However, this vessel initially could ONLY receive, and in an instant it was filled to capacity and shattered. The universe was then reconstituted into vessels that could both give and receive. As a consequence, our present universe now contains areas of abundance as well as lack, and only through giving can the original balance be restored. This is why charity, giving, and acts of loving kindness are so important. In fact, if it weren't for the shattering of the vessels, we would not be able to experience the joy that comes from giving to others. This same shattering of the vessels also occurs on a personal level. For the first few years of our lives, we take in many perceptions, but the connections between things are few. It takes time to construct a proper perceptual map. However, after perhaps two or three years, a dramatic shift suddenly occurs, and our whole universe becomes reoriented around the development of a personal sense of "I". At the moment that this "I" emerges, the previous, egoless universe is shattered and a new universe emerges in which thoughts and experiences can now be connected with one another. For a deeper look at shevirat ha'kelim, check out the following passage from the Zohar. Sounds a lot like the Big Bang, nu?