Rabbi Isaac Luria (15341572), also known as The Ari, was a rabbi and mystic in Safed. His teachings are referred to as Lurianic Kabbalah. He taught the following story:
Before God created the world, the entire universe was filled with a holy presence. God took a breath to draw back and make room for the world. From that first breath, darkness was created. And when God said, “Let there be light,” lightness was created filling vessels with holy light. God sent those vessels to the world, and if they had each arrived whole, the world would have been perfect. But the holy light was too powerful to be contained, and the vessels split open sending sparks flying everywhere. Some of God’s holy light became trapped inside the shards of the vessels.
It is our job to release and gather the sparks. When enough sparks have been gathered, tikkun olam, repair of the world will be complete. How do we gather sparks? By doing mitzvot, tzedakah and acts of gemilut hasadim (loving kindness).
Before God created the world, the entire universe was filled with a holy presence. God took a breath to draw back and make room for the world. From that first breath, darkness was created. And when God said, “Let there be light,” lightness was created filling vessels with holy light. God sent those vessels to the world, and if they had each arrived whole, the world would have been perfect. But the holy light was too powerful to be contained, and the vessels split open sending sparks flying everywhere. Some of God’s holy light became trapped inside the shards of the vessels.
It is our job to release and gather the sparks. When enough sparks have been gathered, tikkun olam, repair of the world will be complete. How do we gather sparks? By doing mitzvot, tzedakah and acts of gemilut hasadim (loving kindness).
רב הונא רמי כתיב (תהלים קמה, יז) צדיק ה' בכל דרכיו וכתיב וחסיד בכל מעשיו בתחלה צדיק ולבסוף חסיד
§ Rav Huna raised a contradiction between the two halves of a verse. It is written: “The Lord is righteous [tzaddik] in all His ways” (Psalms 145:17), indicating that God acts in accordance with the attribute of strict justice [tzedek], and then it is written in the same verse: “And kind [ḥasid] in all His works,” implying that He acts with grace and loving-kindness [ḥesed], going beyond the letter of the law. Rav Huna explained: Initially, at the time of judgment, He is righteous, but in the end, at the time of punishment, He is gracious.
ויעבר ה' עלפניו ויקרא ה' ה' אל רחום וחנון ארך אפים ורבחסד ואמת
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed: “The LORD! the LORD! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness