A Chasidic Parallel to the Incarnation

Oct 28, 2009 at 1:48 PM | Posted by Rabbi Joshua

The idea of a preexistent Messiah is not unknown to Judaism. In fact, I lightly touched on this idea in my previous blog post on Breishit, where I additionally connected this idea to Creation, and further to John, chapter 1.

The book of John is traditionally attributed to the apostle John, one of the original twelve shlichim of Yeshua, and believed to be written between 60-100 CE. Many scholars believe that one of the main emphases of the book is to defend Yeshua’s deity. Rather than a history of Yeshua, it is primarily a profound study of who Yeshua is. It is deeply mystical, and filled with rich spirituality and symbolism.

When reading the beginning of John, one should be immediately hit by the imagery of Creation. This is no accident, for there is a direct and purposeful connection between Genesis 1 and John 1. John purposefully uses words and imagery from the Creation Account to equate the G-d of Creation with Yeshua. For John, since Yeshua was at the Beginning (John 1:1), and only G-d was existent at Creation (Genesis 1:1) John is contending they are one and the same! John wants the message to be bold and clear – Yeshua the Messiah is the God of Creation.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d.

He was with G-d in the beginning.

All things came to be through him,

and without him nothing made had being.

In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not suppressed it

…The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,

and we saw his Sh’khinah,

the Sh’khinah of the father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14)

For those steeped in Jewish thought, the Jewish context of John is clear. John is writing with Genesis in mind. As such, for many of us, the idea of the Torah made flesh – that Yeshua himself is the Torah incarnate – is not a problem.

However, the question may still arise as to the idea of incarnation within a modern Jewish context. One can argue that maybe during the Second Temple period there may have been a few Jews that believed in a divine Messiah, and in some sort of concept of incarnation. But is there a more recent parallel in Jewish texts?

The answer is yes! Around 1797, the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (the founder of Chabad Chassidus) composed the Tanya – which quickly became one of the primary texts of the Chassidic movement. In a particular passage of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explores an idea of the Torah and HaShem being one and the same. According to the Tanya, the Torah itself is a physical incarnation of G-d.

"The Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one. The meaning of this is that the Torah, which is the wisdom and will of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His glorious Essence are one, since He is both the Knower and the Knowledge … Therefore has the Torah been compared to water, for just as water descends from a higher to lower level, so has the Torah descended from it’s place of glory, which is His blessed will and wisdom; [for] the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one and the same and no thought can apprehend Him at all. Thence [the Torah] has progressively descended through hidden stages, stage after stage, with the descent of the worlds, until it clothed itself in corporeal substances and in things of this world (Likutei Amarim, Section 1, Chapter 4)."

Although this is not an exact parallel to John 1, what it does help us understand is that the idea of incarnation and specifically the idea of “Torah made flesh” are Jewish. The Alter Rebbe spends an entire chapter in the Tanya describing this mystical relationship between HaShem and the Torah.


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5 comments

  1. Anonymous Says:
    Posted on October 28, 2009 at 3:50:00 PM EDT

    Not to mention the divine sparks. That could also be an example of a type of incarnation, albeit more along a panentheistic route.

  2. Rabbi Joshua Says:
    Posted on October 29, 2009 at 11:16:00 AM EDT

    EDITORS NOTE: This is a repost of an anonymous post I have reposted. It has been edited for length and elements of Lashon Ha'rah.

    ------------

    Joshua,

    "For those steeped in Jewish thought..."

    It's abundantly clear that in the beginning G-d created heaven and earth (the Creator's words). Along comes John to tell us that no, no, no! "In the beginning was the Word."

    And so it is that Christian theology turned Jewish thought on its head, serially contradicating Jewish scripture verse by verse, starting with the first chapter of the first book in the Jews' Bible, and concluding that every major principle G-d conveyed for eternity to the Jews obsolete.

    Please respond to the direct challenges I've brought to you. You need to understand that Christianity can't be right if it isn't fully reconciled with the Hebrew scripture. If Jesus wasn't the messiah of the Jewish Bible, then what was he? If the clearest messianic texts in the Jewish scripture make plain that the messiah is not to be worshiped, then what are you doing worshiping the man Christianity teaches was the Jewish messiah? You want to put the hammer down on publicizing these challenges to Christianity for Jews, fine. But at least get your own head around the very serious problems the Christian doctrine of men like John and the Council of Nicea experiences when it crashes against the rock of G-d's actual writings.

  3. Rabbi Joshua Says:
    Posted on October 29, 2009 at 11:52:00 AM EDT

    "Anonymous"-

    First of all, most scholars agree that the context of the New Testament, of Yeshua, and all his earliest followers is firmly entrenched and birthed in Second Temple Judaism. Although the group that would splinter off and become "Christianity" would take this Jewish faith in a a whole new direction - that is not how it started. Yeshua, nor any of his earliest followers intended to start a new religion apart from Judaism. That is why they called themselves "HaDerekh - The Way" - a term that was also adopted by the Qumran Community (the compilers of the Dead Sea Scrolls).

    Second, the idea of expanding on the Creation Account is itself deeply Jewish. This was not unique to John, nor would he be the last.

    One of the most popular mystical expoundings of the Creation account is that of HaAri - Rav Isaac Luria - who developed another mystical understanding of Creation, introducing the (rather gnostic) Kabbalistic ideas of Tzimtzum, Shevirat HaKelim, and Tikkun.

    (In short, this is the idea that at Creation, G-d retracted Himself, thereby creating a vaccum so Creation could take place. Creation was basically the shattering of the Divine into shards of light that scattered throughout the Universe. And the role of the Kabbalist is to regather these divine sparks).

    In fact, Luria expands and adds to the Creation Account in a way that is much farther from the Biblical account than what John does in his Besora. John's Besora falls clearly within Second Temple JEWISH textual readings.

    Lastly, we do not worship Yeshua. We Jews, like all other Jews, worship HaShem (please note that as a Jew I cannot speak for Christianity).

    Let me clarify (at least what I can tursely in a blog response). Our sages teach that G-d is a composite unity - made up of eminations (s'firot). Yeshua is not seperate from HaSHem, but rather a sort of emination. Similar to the idea of the Malach HaShem or Theophanies in the Torah and Tanakh (when God intereacts with humanity in physical manifestations).

    As such, we should worship HaShem - the Source, not the emanation.

    Anyway, these Messianic ideas are clearly Jewish. It seems our difference is simply WHO this Messiah is.

  4. Rabbi Joshua Says:
    Posted on October 29, 2009 at 7:26:00 PM EDT

    ALSO-

    You may want to check out our friend Tim's blog for further ideas on this portion of the Tanya!

    http://emergentobserver.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-fourth-chapter-of-his-most-famous.html

    And thanks for originally pointing this passage out some time ago.

  5. Anonymous Says:
    Posted on October 31, 2009 at 6:40:00 AM EDT

    Interesting how two people can interpret a text in a very different way:)

    A while ago I too wrote about this parallel but my conclusion was the opposite of yours.

    Blessings,

    Daniel

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