Ayin and Yesh

“And the Earth, she was empty, and chaos filled her; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the endless abyss. And Ruach Elohim moved upon The Presence of the Water, for I am Elohim.” Beresheet 3:4-5 (The Brass Plates)

The idea of yin and yang is very popular in modern western culture. It is the idea of balance between light and dark, positive and negative, between everything. But it is not a new concept. In Kabbalah this idea of balance is called the Ayin-Yesh.

Ayin

Ayin is Hebrew (אין‎) and some in Kabbalah might say or suggest that as the half of Ayin-Yesh means  “nothingness.” In traditional Kabbalah it is taught that before creation there was nothing. But we know this is not true as there was God, and Kabbalists will agree. In reality, the word means “eye,” here referring to the All Seeing Eye of God. So this cannot refer to literally nothing but rather God, and likely to everything that is and was before the creation.

This isn’t the heavens, as we know the heavens were created as a part of the creation. Rather, it is the waters of the deep that the Spirit of God moved upon (Genesis 1:2, Book of Remembrance 2:14). It is where the Spirits of the gods were brooding awaiting the creations (Abraham 4:2, Book of Remembrance 2:15). We cannot then see Ayin as nothing because there is no such thing as “nothing.” There is what we know and what we do not, there is what we understand and the incomprehensible, there is the finite and the infinite, there is the Creation and The Creator.

Yesh

Yesh is Hebrew (ישׁ) meaning “there is,” “something,” or “existence.” This is that second half of the equation, the what we know to the what we do not, the finite to the infinite, the Creation to The Creator. If Ayin is what was before the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, the Yesh is the something that was created. Yesh then is what came out of the Divine Will and what created the Council of Heaven. Yesh exists and functions because of the flow of life stemming from Ayin into the creation.

It is important to note that Yesh isn’t something from nothing, as there was never nothing. There was always God. Yesh is the organized Will of God , God’s Love in action as the Lord is pouring out life into this Creation. It wasn’t something that didn’t exist, but rather it was the organization of something into everything we know and can know. Thus Yesh is an aspect of Ayin. These are one as the giver and the receiver. God pours out everything into the creation and we receive or reject that which is given.

Ayin-Yesh

It is interesting to note that when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil it was their Ayin that was opened (Genesis 3:7). This is the change in perception we gain as we begin to see things as God does. Once we know, we must make a choice. Do we accept the love of God and this Christlike perception, as did Adam and Eve? (See Book of Remembrance 9:37-38) Or do we reject what we know to be true and flee from truth, as Lilith did? (See Book of Remembrance 5:25-28)

As Lehi teaches us, when Satan tempted Eve he tried to destroy the creation by giving that creation a Godly portion of the Creator (Genesis 1:2, 2 Nephi 1:1:101-104 RAV, 2:17-18 OPV). But this failed! It was always the intent for mankind to partake of the fruit of that tree. Satan merely sped up the process and introduced it by way of sin rather than as a gift of God. But God knew this would happen and had a plan (2 Nephi 1:1:108-110 RAV, 2:21 OPV, Book of Remembrance 9). And that plan is Jesus Christ. It is the Gospel that we must choose to receive into salvation or reject unto damnation.

Yin and Yang

At this point one might be wondering what any of this has to do with yin and yang. Isn’t this Eastern philosophical symbol one of opposing forces? No. Yin and yang is a symbol of the balance of all things. When the forces of nature are at one they are at peace. What good is a giver without a receiver? If one only gives or only receives they are out of balance. There must be order to their chaos and some chaos to their order to create true inner peace.

Likewise, Ayin-Yesh is about this inner balance. God is everywhere and in everything, and all we see, touch, hear, smell, taste, or in any way perceive is God’s creation. Therefor we cannot merely be takers, we must be givers as we are an extension of the Creator. As the Psalmist tells us, we are gods, children of the Most High (Psalms 82:6). We must then pass on the light and life of the creation to others. We cannot merely be receivers but givers as well. This is the balance, the yin and yang, the Ayin-Yesh.

“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” -James 1:22 KJV