Baffled!

At present, I am baffled by certain schools of Jewish mysticism for claiming that God's Infinity ("Ein Sof") is not His Essence ("Atzmut"). If so, how do they interpret the references to God's Infinity found in the classical texts? They work around it with the claim that Infinity is merely an appellation, a title of sorts ("Keenui"). 

When asked, "Why?", they respond, "God's utterly indescribable! So, nothing can be said of Him at all. The word 'Infinite' says something about Him. It applies a description to Him."

To me, it seems like the very word "Infinite" itself actually means "not describable"; the very opposite of their claim. The notion of being "indescribable" is present in the etymology of the word.  For anything to be described means that it needs to be finite, i.e. have limits. The word "Infinite" breaks into the two root words "in" and "finite", which means, "not limited". (The same is true with the Hebrew word for Infinite, "Ein Sof". It too means, "not limited".)

Thus, a simple equation can be set up:

1) Infinite = not limited

2) Not limited = not describable
3) Infinite = not describable. 

So, when the members of those mystical schools claim that they cannot call God "Infinite" because they cannot describe Him, they seem to me to be unintentionally playing a game of semantics; a game of words. They dismiss a word meaning what they mean to say whose meaning they're going to say anyways. Got that?

To my ears, it sounds like they end up saying, "We cannot call God by a word which means, 'Indescribable' because He's Indescribable"!

Is it possible that they have yet to examine the true meaning of the word "Infinite"? Is it possible that I am the one misunderstanding? Shrug!


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Afterwards:

I posted around the above for comments and insights. The best responses I got came down to that anything which humans can conceptualize, even in a "negative sense", cannot be the Essence of God. 

Previously, I have come to understand of God's Oneness the following: 

What our sages teach when explaining the notion of Oneness is merely an understanding which is as close to edge as humans can possibly get to knowing God. Paradoxically, its real effect is to help us understand why we cannot know God. By revealing in His Torah that He's One, essentially God leads us down a contemplative pathway whose final destination is an appreciation of why He's unknowable.

The way Rabbi Bachya Ibn Pequda explains God's Oneness in "Sha'ar HaYichud" ends up meaning Infinity too. The notion of Oneness he explains ends up as a Being without limits. Therefore, what applies to Oneness is true for Infinity too. 

As two ways of expressing the same concept they're both as close to the edge as the human mind can possibly get to knowing God. However, their real goal is to serve as a contemplative path towards the appreciation that God is utterly unknowable.


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