ИСТИНА

The notions of pleroma and kenosis are generally associated with Christian theology and Gnosticism. I suggest that these notions derive from Plato and appear both in Philo and in early Rabbinic Literature. Mishnah Hagiga and Bavli Hagiga provide clear examples of their usage in connection with epistemological and eschatological matters. Israel is both full of religious duties and empty, as a pomegranate is full of seeds and a vessel empty of sacred liquids. In another metaphoric twist, the righteous of Israel are full of good deeds while the sinners are empty. God loves the emptiness of Israel, but at the same time, the emptiness prevents Israel from completing an eschatological pilgrimage, the latter a metaphor for the sacred rendezvous between God and Israel. Both tractates are utterly aporetic. They combine positive and negative understandings of fullness and emptiness. The salvation of all Israel (including the disciples of the sages) depends on the fullness and emptiness of the people. Moreover, these notions play a major role in the esoteric adventure of the four who entered Paradise.