Even though the Nefesh Hachaim [by Rav Chaim of Voloshin] is a great and important book, still I have to disagree with one aspect. He says that from the aspect, or point of view of God, there is nothing besides Him. But from our point of view, things are not Godliness.
The problem with this is it does not explain anything. Things are all God, or they are not.
The other problem is that the point of view of the Rishonim was that God created the world from nothing, not from Himself. [Not like a spider that makes its web from itself. God is not a spider. He made the world from nothing., not from himself.] Even the Ari brings this very idea that Creation was from nothing in the very beginning of the Eitz Chaim. The world is definitely not Godliness in the very beginning of the Eitz Chaim. [The reason all this is not clear nowadays is he religious leaders are stupid and do not understand what they are reading.]
Ex Nihilo is the view of Torah.
