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The Gender Metaphor  | | " G-d is one, but He has created a world that appears to exist outside of Him...." | | |
In discussing the dynamics of the spiritual dimension of reality, the Kabbala
makes frequent use of the male-female metaphor. This is because the basic
concept of Creation is duality, beginning with the fundamental duality of the
Creator and His creation. G-d is one, but He has created a world that appears to
exist outside of Him. This automatically sets up a tension between the
existential consciousness of creation as being a separate, independent reality
and its consciousness (or lack of consciousness) of its origin in and dependence
upon Him. | | " Thus, the underlying dynamic of life is one of yearning, passion, and romance...." | | |
G-d (in His purely infinite identity) and Creation yearn to reunite with each
other, since this reunion expresses the original, perfect state that existed
prior to Creation. Yet both G-d and Creation are conscious of the fact the world
was created for a purpose, and the "business" of this situation must be attended
to in order for the ultimate union of G-d and Creation to occur on an even
deeper level than existed originally. Along the way, however, besides the
underlying yearning for ultimate fulfillment that informs the entire process of
life, there are the ups and downs of periods of partial reunion followed by
renewed enforced estrangement. Thus, the underlying dynamic of life is one of
yearning, passion, and romance. | | " G-d assumes the role of the male and Creation that of the female...." | | |
In the dynamic of duality, G-d assumes the role of the male and Creation that
of the female. The male is "trapped" in His consciousness of the ideal, original
state of reality. His challenge in working toward the reunion is "get out of his
head", to realize and yearn for the superior fulfillment that is possible only
through uniting with what the female represents. The female, in contrast, is
"trapped" in her consciousness of perfecting created reality. Her challenge is
to remember the goal towards which she is working, to reveal the subconscious
yearnings of her heart to transcend created reality. | | " Every level of Creation has its male and female aspects...." | | |
Although, as we said, G-d is generally assigned the role of the male and
Creation that of the female, the male-female dynamic is replayed throughout all
levels of created reality. In other words, every level of Creation has its male
and female aspects - the part of it that represents the orientation towards
abstract perfection and the part of it that represents the orientation towards
concretizing and manifesting perfection in reality. The final, lowest
manifestation of this duality is, of course, man and woman in our physical
world.
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