Shefa (Kabbalah)

Often translated as bounty, flow, or abundance, shefa comes from the Hebrew word hashpa’a, which in this context means to give. Rays of sunlight, for example, can be described as the sun’s shefa. The rays constitute a “flow” of light from the sun that provides light and sustenance to the earth in bountiful abundance. In kabbalistic thought, shefa refers to different forms of light that flow from God's essence or from the sefirot and the like. Additionally, shefa can be used to refer both to God’s giving to creation, as well as the giving of created beings to each other.