Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

Mahashevet Habad
, 37 n. 
33. 
26
Sefer yetsirah
, 3:3-8, 4:4-12, 6:1-2.
On the triad of 
‘olam
, 
shanah
, 
nefesh 
in 
Sefer yetsirah
, see 
Stern, 
Time and Process
, 35-37, where he dismisses the later interpretations of these terms as abstract 
notions of space, time and person, showing instead that they originally referred to the 12 signs of the 
Zodiac, 7 planets and human organs. The importance of these notions in their later, abstract sense in 
Habad tradition is evidenced by the Tsemah Tsedek’s statement (
Or ha-Torah
, Shemot, iii, 823) that 
they constitute the very basis of 
Sefer yetsirah
.

---

33 
notions, borrowed from ancient mystical tradition, are interpreted by Rashaz as 
space, time and the divine life force, which are described as properties that are 
present “in all created beings.”
27
Moreover, the fact that they are initially contained 
within God creates a link between the transcendent God, the source of all beings, and 
the created beings – a link which in hasidic sources is referred to as “the secret of 
smoke” [
sod ‘ashan
].
28
Surely, the Light of Infinity [
Or Ein Sof
], blessed be he, is drawn down into 
everything, as Scripture says: “And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke” 
[
ve-har Sinai ‘ashan kulo
; Ex 19:18]. [The word 
‘ashan
is to be interpreted 
as an acronym of the Hebrew for] world, year, soul. World is a reference to 
space [
makom
], into which the Infinity [
Ein Sof
] is drawn, as Scripture says: 
“Behold, there is a place by me” [
hineh makom iti
; Ex 33:21]. Likewise with 
regard to year, which is a reference to time: “He reigned, he reigns, and he 
will reign”
29
– past, future and present, all are in the nature of Infinity, etc. In 
the soul, too, there is an illumination of the Infinite.
30
‘Olam, shanah, nefesh, 
or in other words space, time and the divine life force, 
represent three different aspects of the divine illumination in the world. Even though 
all these terms belong to the created reality, Rashaz cites Scripture to show that their 
source lies within the Godhead. He also links these notions with the Sinaitic 
revelation by deciphering the Hebrew word for smoke – 
‘ashan
, with which, 
according to Scripture, Mount Sinai was covered at the time – as an acronym of 
‘olam
, 
shanah, nefesh
. The Sinaitic revelation serves therefore as a paradigm for the 
incorporation and ultimate annihilation [
bitul
] of these three worldly categories 
within God,
31
seemingly because, at Mount Sinai, the borders between transcendence 
27
MAHZ 
Parshiyot
, ii, 865. 
28
On the “secret of smoke” in the teachings of Ya‘akov Yosef of Polnoye and Maggid of Mezeritch, 
see Margolin, 
Mikdash adam
, 325 n. 143, and 404. The interpretation of the Hebrew word for smoke 
[
‘ashan
] as an acronym for 
‘olam, shanah, nefesh
, comes from the Ra’avad’s commentary on 
Sefer 
yetsirah
. See 
Sefer yetsirah
, 2b. 
29
For the history of this expression, traced back to the 7
th
century liturgy attributed to Eleazar ha-
Kalir, see Stern, 
Time and Process
, 33 n. 21. 
30
LT