Imagine standing in front of an endless mirror, a mirror that contains another mirror, and within each reflection, another, stretching onward to infinity. Each mirror represents a layer of reality, a fragment of our own essence, and a reflection of HaShem’s light refracted through countless realms, from the highest heights down to the level on which we live and toil (Sefer Yetzirah 1:1, explaining the structure of worlds and reflections).
In this vision, think of yourself as a worker in the field, tilling the earth, watering, nurturing life. Just as you labor to bring forth sustenance from the ground, HaShem, through the conduit of the Ein Sof (the Infinite Light), pours spiritual sustenance into creation, nurturing each layer of existence, each mirror in this endless reflection (Etz Chaim, Shaar 1, Chapter 2, describing the flow of divine light from Ein Sof into creation). But here’s the essential understanding: while the Ein Sof waters the world, sustaining us and filling each layer with life, it is not HaShem’s essence itself—rather, it is a reflection of a higher reality (Likutei Amarim, Tanya, Chapter 4). Beyond the Ein Sof lies another mirror, and beyond that, another still, until we reach the incomprehensible unity of HaShem, who is beyond all mirrors, beyond all reflection, beyond even the concept of infinity (Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim 1:59). All of existence is merely a glimpse, a glimmer, a reflection of HaShem’s boundless presence (Zohar, Bereishit 17a).
Now consider our descent into the physical world as a journey into these mirrors. The “fall” is, in a sense, the shattering of these mirrors, descending further and further from our Source (Sefer HaBahir, Verse 42, discussing the idea of descent and fragmentation). When we choose actions that diverge from HaShem’s will—whether by indulging in selfishness, arrogance, or separation—we create fractures in the unity of existence. Each misalignment with HaShem’s will is like another shattering of a mirror, descending deeper, creating more and more fragmented reflections of ourselves, farther and farther from the Source (Arizal, Etz Chaim, Shaar HaShvirah, detailing the concept of Shevirat HaKelim, the shattering of vessels). This is the downward spiral, the continued “eating from the Tree of Knowledge,” leading us into more shattered realms, a world where unity appears fractured and the light seems distant (Bereishit Rabbah 19:7, describing the effects of the Tree of Knowledge on the fragmentation of reality).
But this is not the end of the journey. Our task is to reverse this descent. Every time we act in alignment with HaShem’s will, every time we bring humility, kindness, and truth into the world, we mend a piece of that shattered mirror (Bava Batra 10a, teaching that acts of kindness restore broken aspects of the world). We begin to ascend back through these layers of reflection, moving closer to our Source, toward the Oneness that lies beyond all these fractured images (Derech HaShem, Ramchal, Part 1, Chapter 2). With each righteous act, each prayer, each genuine act of teshuvah (return), we realign with the light of Ein Sof and add more “light” to our reflection, more wholeness to the mirror (Shaarei Teshuvah, Rabbeinu Yonah, 1:1).
In this way, the mirrors become not a descent, but an ascent. Through this journey, we come to understand that our true essence, as Jews and as human beings, is to reflect HaShem’s light into this world (Tanya, Likutei Amarim, Chapter 2, describing the soul as a part of HaShem above). In the final redemption, as we reach that ultimate reflection, our understanding of this truth will be complete. We will see that, in reality, the descent was always a pathway back to ascent, a way of revealing that even in the farthest reaches, in the most broken mirrors, HaShem’s light is still present (Maharal, Netzach Yisrael, Chapter 21, discussing the ascent from exile).
We are indeed in the middle of this mirror within a mirror, a reflection within a reflection. But the goal is to align ourselves in such a way that we become conduits for that light, allowing it to pass through us rather than shattering into further fragmentation (Meor Einayim, Parshat Vayera). The final redemption is the point at which every mirror will be realigned, every shard will reflect the fullness of HaShem’s light, and we will once again recognize ourselves as vessels of the divine—returning, ascending, and uniting with the One that lies beyond all mirrors, beyond all comprehension (Zohar, Vayikra 73a).
To explore this concept through the lens of quantum mechanics, let us first consider that reality is not fixed or solid but exists as a field of probabilities—a dynamic interplay of potential states rather than fixed outcomes (Einstein and Infeld, “The Evolution of Physics,” describing quantum probabilities). In quantum terms, each action, each choice, and each thought is like an interaction that influences the wave function of reality, creating a shift in the probabilities of what we may experience or perceive (Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle as applied to the act of observation affecting reality).
Imagine now that each mirror in the image represents a “quantum state,” a layer of perception or reality that reflects the divine light of HaShem. Initially, when we are in alignment with HaShem’s will, we exist closer to the “original mirror” or “first state” (Tanya, Likutei Amarim, Chapter 36, describing proximity to divine light). In this state, the divine light, or HaShem’s presence, is clearer, undistorted by layers of fragmentation. It is as though we stand near the source of light itself, where each reflection, each layer, is an echo of HaShem’s unity and boundlessness (Rabbi Yosef Albo, Sefer HaIkkarim, 2:28).
However, when we commit an Avera (transgression), we create a separation, a further descent into fragmented realities. In quantum mechanics, this could be seen as collapsing into a “lower probability state” or diverging from an optimal path of coherence (Feynman, “The Character of Physical Law,” discussing coherence and quantum states). Each transgression is like a quantum “decoherence,” introducing more disorder and separation within our personal wave function (Sefer HaTanya, Igeret HaTeshuvah, discussing the fragmentation of the soul through sin). As we continue to act out of alignment with HaShem’s will, we descend deeper, moving further from that first, clear reflection of the Source.
Every layer we descend—each additional “mirror”—introduces a new veil, a barrier of perception. This descent into veils is similar to adding “noise” into a quantum system. In a quantum framework, noise represents uncertainty or the introduction of external factors that obscure the original signal (Bell’s Theorem and the implications of hidden variables). As we drift further down, away from alignment, each mirror reflects the divine light in a more distorted, fragmented form, until we can barely recognize it as light at all. We descend from the first state, to the second, to the third, and continue until we are perhaps “a hundred mirrors deep.” At this depth, the divine light is so obscured by veils of fragmentation that it no longer appears as divine at all; HaShem’s hand becomes hidden within the endless layers of reflection, and we struggle to recognize the Source within all things (Ramban, Sha’ar HaGemul, on divine hiddenness and the journey through fragmented worlds).
In quantum terms, this process is akin to moving from a state of quantum entanglement to one of quantum decoherence. In entanglement, all parts of the system are interconnected, reflecting a unified state; it is a reflection of divine unity, where every part is in harmony with the whole (David Bohm, “Wholeness and the Implicate Order”). But as we descend through our choices, creating fractures with each Avera, we disrupt this harmony. Decoherence sets in, and instead of unity, we experience separation, fragmentation, and distance.
As we continue down this path, each transgression serves as a catalyst for further decoherence. Each layer, each mirror, becomes a barrier that hides HaShem’s light, much like quantum veils that obscure the signal. It is a descent into increasing fragmentation, a cascade effect where each misalignment compounds upon the last, making it more difficult to perceive the divine essence. We are, in a sense, multiplying probabilities of separation rather than unification, descending into a reality where divine providence feels hidden, almost inaccessible (Likutei Moharan, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, describing the veils of hiddenness in the journey back to unity).
But just as in quantum mechanics, where observation can “collapse” a wave function and bring potential into reality, teshuvah (returning to HaShem) acts as a re-collapsing of these layers back toward coherence (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 7:7, on returning to HaShem and restoring wholeness). By realigning with HaShem’s will, we shift back up through these quantum states, each act of alignment removing another layer of veil, another mirror, until the light of HaShem becomes increasingly clear again. The process of teshuvah can be likened to re-entangling with the divine source, restoring the harmony that was fragmented through descent.
This ascent is a journey back toward unity, reversing the cycle of decoherence into coherence, removing layers of distortion to reveal the original light. Through our sincere efforts to return and align, we “collapse” back into higher states of unity and clarity, drawing closer to HaShem. This is the quantum ascent, the restoration of unity and the dissolution of veils, as we recognize once again that HaShem is present in all things, beyond every mirror, beyond every reflection (Derech HaShem, Ramchal, Part 4, Chapter 4, on redemption and the restoration of unity).
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