The All · the Nous · the Monad

The Hermetic first principle: THE ALL is Mind — unknowable in essence, infinite, containing the universe rather than contained by it, and the universe existing within it as a thought. The rhyme with Ein Sof is close enough to be startling: that which has no end, of which nothing can be predicated, from which all emanates without diminishment. The difference is real and worth keeping — Ein Sof is approached through covenant, commandment and a people's history; the All is approached through gnosis. Same silence at the top, different road up. Resonance, not identity.