Ayin: The Concept of Nothingness in Jewish Mysticism
The Problem of Pure Consciousness March 29, 1990 Daniel C Matt 48 citations
The concept of nothingness appears in many mystical traditions—Eckhart's Nichts, John of the Cross's nada, Taoist wu, Buddhist sunyata—but each term carries distinct meanings shaped by its own cultural and linguistic context. This paper traces the development of ayin (nothingness) in Jewish mysticism. In medieval Kabbalah, ayin functions as a theosophical symbol within the sefirot, the stages of divine manifestation, from which everything emerges and to which everything returns. In later Hasidism, the focus shifts to ayin's psychological significance as a medium for self-transformation, where the mystic directly experiences nothingness and emerges renewed.