lately I drink lots of coffee. because my pills make me sleepy I drink tons of coffee and more and more. and it’s affecting me. instead of sleeping 13 hours I sleep 7-8 hours which is a great advancement. but let’s get to the post.
today I will be addressing numerous neshamological theological matters from the work of rabbi natan of gaza sefer habria (“the book of creation”). the first matter is the matter of ma’aseh bereshit, which stands at the center of the sefer (as hinted by the title: sefer habria).
the mystery of ma’aseh bereshit in rabbi natan’s work is the function of anthropocosmic hyper-realization: the fulfillment and enforming of the partzufical self-configurations within the divine corpus, and the ever-renewed unification of life into a unique totalized vital substance. in sefer habria, r’ natan calls it: etzem hachaim (or, in english – the “bio-substance”). in daf 70a in the first division of the sefer, r’ natan states that the olamot (“world-eternities”) are instilled with neshamot, and that “after the conjoinment and clarification” of theirs, they will become etzem elohut etzem hachaim – “substance of godhead, the bio-substance”.
in page 12b of the same division, r’ natan writes that the constructions of the spirits (“neshamot”) by their collective soul (the malchut) leads them to “become filled with life”, in the mystery of ma’aseh bereshit, which is aligned with the total eschatical shechina, and is fulfilled in the “image of the shechina” (gavna d’shechinta).
according to r’ natan, the fulfilled neshamot are “understanders” (nevonim) who conceive logos from within a logos (mevinim davar mitoch davar) with da’at (the absolute interiority of divine life, the total neshama). MOHaRa”N describes the self-enforming of the shechina as a collective effort of the neshamot of ma’aseh bereshit to conceive themselves, and carry on in their struggle to bear and beget themselves, all this due to the name yisachar [“and of the children of yisachar, who were men that had understanding for times” – 1 chronicles 12:32], which can also be read as yesh sachar – “there is a payback” [for your creative efforts].

in page 64b, r’ natan describes ma’aseh bereshit as “done/made by itself”, from the might of its understanding (“mikoach binatam”). he writes more:

and this enforming which is conducted over this world [...] happens in every world by itself [...] hence, without nukva, as in ma’aseh bereshit there is no nukva.

what we learn here is that for rabbi natan every act of enforming is an act of self-enforming. the bio-morphic activity of humanity is always a self-activity, done by itself and made by itself from itself. in that sense, the redemptive olam is immanent to itself, and life is ever-encouraged by itself to subsist. the masculine automorphist is acting upon itself, without the ekstatic self-imposition of the nukva.
i used to consider this type of automorphic depictions of the neshama as justifying fappin’. I thought I was better off alone, without letting a woman intervene in my self-bestowal of plenitude. I believed I could’ve given form to my own abundance. I’ve read about the frankist traditional practices of communal masturbations, which sparked my interest in the liturgical aspect of masturbation. I started chanting the shema while jerking off, feeling myself affirming the divine substance and becoming something real. but at some point, due to the agony and demonic torture it inflicted upon me, I understood I am incapable of being a true messianic gooner. I am incapable of giving form to my own plenitude. I need someone.
at the same time, we know that the divine olamot act according to a different logic than ours, and self-pleasuring is a common practice of God. God is truly from himself, by himself and through himself. the self-enforming of the holy king, which is also a matter discussed in the treatise raza di-meheimanuta by amira”h, is a core tenant of shabbatean theology: the self-subsistence of inner life. birth, in the world of God, is the action of one upon oneself. may we all be privileged to enliven ourselves in times of crisis. amen