Jewish Consciousness
from the World of Atzilut

God manifests Himself in different ways. After the initial contraction, if the multi-manifestations of Godliness remain true and unblemished (by created consciousness, the origin of sin), with no veil separating that manifestation and our consciousness, God's unity through His manifestation can be truly appreciated. The state of being after the initial contraction in which quantification in general does not hinder Divine consciousness, in which reality perceives God as the absolute One, is the state of being of the World of Atzilut, "Emanation."

The created consciousness inherent in the three lower worlds of "Creation," "Formation" and "Action" (those worlds whose state of consciousness has fallen from that of Atzilut) does tend to separate, differentiate and divide, and thereby to perceive reality as pluralistic in nature. This, then, may continue to degenerate into idol worship.

Since the origin of even the lowest of Jewish souls comes from the consciousness of Atzilut, the Jewish soul is able to see through the multi-manifestations of the world around him, and retain perfect faith in God's absolute unity (unless he consciously chooses otherwise). The non-Jewish soul may believe, "theoretically," that God is One. However, as soon as he pictures God as manifest in reality as he perceives it, God appears to him in some form of plurality, the number of which is irrelevant. His mind creates a division in God's true unity, a division that tends to degenerate into idol worship, as stated above.