What is Bracha? (Hint: "Blessing" is Not The Answer)

(2) However, the truth is that ba-rookh, its meaning is an expression of increase and expansion, and consonant with the context of (Berakhot 7a) “accept, please, my b’rakha…” (B’reishit 33:11), and “and He will bless your food” (Shemot 23:25), and “and He will bless the fruit of your womb…” (D’varim 7:13), and many others similar to these in the text, so that it’s impossible to translate them as expressions of attributing glory and giving praise; rather [it’s] an expression of increase and expansion.

(5) However the context of blessing Him (blessed be His name), the intention is not [aimed] towards the Essence (so to speak) of the One Master (blessed is He), (never! never!), for He is far, far above any blessing. Rather the context is as is stated in the Zohar (Ehmore 98, and in other places), that the Holy One (blessed be He) is [both] revealed and hidden. For the Essence of the Ein Sofe (blessed is He) is the most hidden of the hiddens, and can’t be assigned any name at all, not even the name YHV”H (blessed is He), nor even to the top thorn of its letter Yud.

(6) And though the Zohar refers to Him (blessed be He) with the name Ein Sofe, it’s not a descriptive name for Him (blessed be His name). Rather the intention is relative to how we perceive Him, from the perspective of the forces that are affected by Him via his purposeful relationship with the worlds. And for this reason He is referred to as “Without End” and not “Without Beginning”, for in truth from the perspective of His Essence (blessed be His name) He has no end and no beginning; [it’s] only from our perspective of His powers (blessed be He). It’s that all of our understanding is just a beginning, but there’s no final destination at which we can arrive with an understanding of His powers (blessed be His name) that influence [the world].

(2) God created the world as a consequence of His compassion. For He wanted to reveal His compassion, and if Creation had not taken place, to whom would He have shown His compassion? He therefore created the entire creation, from the inception of Atzilut all the way down to the center point of the corporeal world, in order to display His compassion.

(3) Yet when God wanted to create the world, there was no place in which to create it, since there was nothing but Ein Sof (the Infinite One). He therefore contracted the Light to the sides, and through this contraction the Vacated Space was made. Then, within this Vacated Space, all time and space came into existence—this being the creation of the world {as explained at the beginning of Etz Chaim} .

(5) The Vacated Space is the result of the contraction; that [God], so to speak, withdrew His Godliness from that place. Thus there is, so to speak, no Godliness there. Were it not so, it would not be vacated. There would then be nothing but Ein Sof, with no place whatsoever for the world’s creation. However the actual truth is that, even so, there is surely Godliness there as well. For there is surely nothing without His life-force. This is why it is not at all possible to comprehend the concept of the Vacated Space until the Future.

(1) To the wise, complete person: You asked, "What are blessings? The term 'berachah[blessing]' ‎refers to increased good, but what can a servant add to his Master?" In truth, the word "berachah" ‎is an expression of increase and multiplication, like the expression, "springs [bereichot] of water".