Shufersal (Hebrew: שופרסל), formerly known as Shufra-Sal, is the largest supermarket chain in Israel. As of 2012, Shufersal had 248 stores and 12,400 employees. Shufersal shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and it is a constituent of the TA-100 Index.
Shufersal was founded in 1958. In 2005, the company implemented a strategic growth plan, creating three supermarket categories: "Shufersal Deal", "Shufersal Big", and "Shufersal Sheli".
In early 2006, Shufersal purchased the third-largest retail chain in Israel, Clubmarket. In October 2006, the chain launched the Shufersal Credit Card. Sales turnover for the chain in 2007 totaled NIS 9,935 million.
In 2009 it launched a subsidiary, Yesh, targeting the Haredi market. Features of Yesh stores include products marketed to larger families, lower prices, stricter kashrut standards, and in some stores, separate hours for men and women In 2009, Shufersal was threatened with an antitrust suit for the purchase of Clubmarket.
Ayin (Hebrew: אַיִן, meaning "nothingness", related to Ain-"not") is an important concept in Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy. It is contrasted with the term Yesh ("something/existence/being/is"). According to kabbalistic teachings, before the universe was created there was only Ayin, and the first manifest Sephirah (Divine emanation), Chochmah (Wisdom), "comes into being out of Ayin." In this context, the sephirah Keter, the Divine will, is the intermediary between the Divine Infinity (Ein Sof) and Chochmah. Because Keter is a supreme revelation of the Ohr Ein Sof (Infinite Light), transcending the manifest sephirot, it is sometimes excluded from them.
Ayin is closely associated with the Ein Sof (Hebrew אין סוף), which is understood as the Deity prior to His self-manifestation in the creation of the spiritual and physical realms, single Infinite unity beyond any description or limitation. From the perspective of the emanated created realms, Creation takes place "Yesh me-Ayin" ("Something from Nothing"). From the Divine perspective, Creation takes place "Ayin me-Yesh" ("Nothing from Something"), as only God has absolute existence; Creation is dependent on the continuous flow of Divine lifeforce, without which it would revert to nothingness. Since the 13th century, Ayin has been one of the most important words used in kabbalistic texts. The symbolism associated with the word Ayin was greatly emphasized by Moses de León (c. 1250 – 1305), a Spanish rabbi and kabbalist, through the Zohar, the foundational work of Kabbalah. In Hasidism Ayin relates to the internal psychological experience of Deveikut ("cleaving" to God amidst physicality), and the contemplative perception of paradoxical Yesh-Ayin Divine Panentheism, "There is no place empty of Him".