Montage of the Soul: Towards a Theory of Editing According to Kabbalah

I have already written extensively on Facebook about the surprising similarity between the dialectics of Sergei Eisenstein's montage and the idea of the "unity of opposites" in Rav Kook's teachings. The classical montage, where shot A (thesis) collides with shot B (antithesis) to create a new idea C (synthesis), echoes deep structures in Hebrew thought: Abraham (Chesed - kindness) and Isaac (Gevurah - strength/judgment) beget Jacob (Tiferet - beauty/harmony); the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau together create Israel.

But the source for this is much older than Rav Kook or the philosopher Hegel. It is found at the heart of the Torah of the Secret (תורת הסוד - Kabbalah). The entire structure of the Sefirot in Kabbalah is built on the connection between opposites. The Sefirah of Chesed (expansion, love) and the Sefirah of Din (צמצום - contraction, judgment), when they connect, create the harmonious synthesis – the Sefirah of Tiferet (beauty, truth).

This idea is so profound that it opens the entire Book of Zohar. The first article in the Zohar, "The Article of the Rose" (מאמר השושנה), describes the Congregation of Israel as a rose combining shades of white and red. The white, the Kabbalists explain, symbolizes the attribute of mercy (Chesed), and the red the attribute of judgment (Din). The perfect beauty of the rose, its Tiferet, stems precisely from the tension and the dialectic connection between these two opposites.

From here arises a fascinating question: Is it possible to formulate a theory of montage, a new conception of cinematic editing, according to the rich structure of the Sefirot and Partzufim (configurations) in Kabbalah?

Sefirotic Editing: How Does It Look on the Timeline?

If Eisenstein proposed a "montage of attractions" designed to generate an intellectual idea, perhaps Kabbalah offers us a "Montage of the Soul," designed to create a complete spiritual experience. Let's imagine how this might work:

The Cut of "Chesed": This is a connection that creates expansion, flow, openness. It can be expressed in a dissolve (soft transition), a connection between a wide shot and an even wider shot, or a connection based on harmonious movement. It does not create conflict, but expansion, compassion.

The Cut of "Din/Gevurah": This is a connection that creates contraction, tension, boundary. It can be expressed in a sharp jump-cut, a connection between a close-up and an extreme close-up, or a connection based on violent graphic contrast. It does not create flow, but alertness.

The Connection of "Tiferet": Here lies the big difference from Eisenstein. "Tiferet" is not just a new idea created from a clash, but a moment of beauty and harmony that unites the two poles within it. It is the perfect connection between a shot of expansion and a shot of contraction, which generates a moment of poetic truth. It is not an intellectual synthesis, but an aesthetic revelation.

The Sefirotic model can enrich our toolbox far beyond this. Perhaps "Netzach" (נצח - victory/eternity) and "Hod" (הוד - splendor) are principles of rhythm and tempo in editing, and "Yesod" (יסוד - foundation) is the hidden, subconscious connection that links all the shots in the scene.

A few years ago, I spoke with Naum Kleiman, an elderly Jewish man, director of the Cinema Museum and the Eisenstein Center in Moscow. He told me that Eisenstein would have been very happy if his books were translated into Hebrew. In the Russian library in Jerusalem, near Mahane Yehuda, lie six thick volumes of his writings and lectures, waiting for in-depth research on montage as a general phenomenon, whose roots, perhaps, also grow from the Torah of the Secret.