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In Jewish Mysticism, Tzimtzum (צמצום Hebrew: "contraction" or "constriction") refers to the notion in the Kabbalistic theory of creation that God "contracted" his infinite light in order to allow for a "conceptual space" in which a finite, seemingly independent world could exist. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. "Creationism" can also refer to Creation myths in general or to a concept about the origin of the soul. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Infinity (symbolically represented with ∞) comes from the Latin infinitas or "unboundedness "The world " is a proper noun for the planet Earth envisioned from an Anthropocentric or Human Worldview, as a place This contraction is known as the Tzimtzum.

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Kabbalah
Subtopics
Sephirot · Qliphoth · Raziel · Ein Sof · Tzimtzum · Tree of Life · Seder hishtalshelus · Jewish meditation · Kabbalistic astrology · Jewish views of astrology
People
Shimon bar Yochai · Moshe Cordovero · Isaac the Blind · Bahya ben Asher · Nahmanides · Azriel · Isaac Luria · Chaim Vital · Jacob Emden · Jonathan Eybeschutz · Chaim ibn Attar · Nathan Adler · Vilna Gaon · Shalom Sharabi · Chaim Joseph David Azulai · Shlomo Eliyashiv · Baba Sali · Ben Ish Chai
Texts
Zohar · Sefer Yetzirah · Bahir · Heichalot
Categories
Kabbalah · Judaism · Jewish mysticism · Occult
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Function

The function of the Tzimtzum was "to conceal from created beings the activating force within them, enabling them to exist as tangible entities, instead of being utterly nullified within their source" [1]. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Sephirot "enumerations" '''Sephiroth''' '''Sefiroth''' (סְפִירוֹת singular Sephirah also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] Qliphoth, kliffoth or klippot ( Heb קליפות qelippot, meaning "peels" "shells" or matter singular קליפה Raziel ( Heb רזיאל "Secret of God " is an Archangel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah Ein Soph or Ayn Sof ( Hebrew אין סוף, literally "without end" denoting "boundlessness" and/or " Nothingness " See also Sephirot (Kabbalah See also Tree of life (disambiguation for other meanings of the term Seder hishtalshelus (Hebrew סדר השתלשלות means the "order of development" or "order of evolution" where the word Hishtalshelus (or Jewish meditation can refer to several traditional practices of contemplation visualization analysis and gaining intuitive insights See also Jewish views of astrology Note This article does not describe normative Judaism as practiced by the majority of Jewish In Hebrew astrology was called hokmat ha-nissayon, "the wisdom of prognostication" in distinction to hokmat ha-hizzayon (wisdom of star-seeing or Astronomy Shimon bar Yohai, ( Aramaic: רבן שמעון בר יוחאי Shimon son of Yohai, Simon son of Yohai or Rashbi (רשב"י pronounced Moses ben Jacob Cordovero or Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570 ( Hebrew: משה קורדובירו) known by the Acronym Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר also known as Isaac the Blind, (c Bahye ben Asher ( Hebrew: בחיי בן אשר) or Bahye ben Asher ben Halawa also known as the Rabbeinu Behaye, born about the middle of the Nahmanides (1194 &ndash c 1270 was a Catalan Rabbi, philosopher, Physician, Kabbalist and biblical commentator. Azriel of Gerona Azriel ben Menahem ( Heb עזריאל בן מנחם) (c Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534 – July 25 1572) was a Jewish mystic in Safed. Rabbi Chaim ben Yosef Vital (1543 in Safed - 23 April 1620 in Damascus) was one of the most famous exponents of Kabbalah. Jacob Emden ( (the Yabets) was a Jewish Rabbi and notable Talmudist and prominent opponent of the Shabbethaians. Jonathan Eybeschutz ( Kraków 1690 - Altona 1764 was a Talmudist Halachist, Kabbalist, and secret Shabbatean, holding Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar חיים בן משה אבן עטר was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Mequenez, Morocco, in 1696 died in Jerusalem Nathan Adler (1741-1800 was a German Kabalist born in Frankfurt, December 16, 1741. Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew Acronym Gra (" G aon Sar Shalom Sharabi ( Hebrew: שר שלום מזרחי דידיע שרעבי also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Rabbi Chaim Joseph David ben Isaac Zerachia Azulai (1724 &ndash 21 March 1807) ( Hebrew: חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv (12 Tevet, 1841 - March 13 (27 Adar) 1925 (שלמה בן חיים חייקל אלישיב, also known as the Leshem or Ba'al Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira (ישראל אבוחצירא known as Baba Sali באבא סאלי (بابا صلى "praying father" (1890-1984 was a Moroccan Yosef Chaim ( 1 September, 1832 – 30 August, 1909) ( Hebrew: יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Hakham Like the rest of Rabbinic literature, the texts of Kabbalah were once part of an ongoing oral tradition though over the centuries much of the Oral Torah has been For the village in southern Israel see Tzohar The Zohar (זהר lit Splendor or Radiance) is widely considered the most important Sefer Yetzirah ( Hebrew, "Book of Creation" ספר יצירה is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish Esotericism. Bahir or Sefer Ha-Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר ( Hebrew, "Book of the Brightness" is an anonymous mystical work attributed pseudepigraphically Heichalot (The Palaces refers to a collection of Jewish literature The tzimtzum produced the required "vacated space" (chalal panui חלל פנוי, chalal חלל), devoid of direct awareness of God's presence.

Because the Tzimtzum results in the conceptual "space" in which the physical universe and free will can exist, God is often referred to as "Ha-Makom" (המקום lit. The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy The question of free will In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title "the place", "the omnipresent") in Rabbinic literature. Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history Relatedly, olam - the Hebrew word for "world" or universe - is derived from the root word עלם meaning "concealment". The root is the primary lexical unit of a Word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents This etymology is complementary with the concept of Tzimtzum, in that the physical universe conceals the spiritual nature of creation. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality

Inherent paradox

A commonly held understanding [2] in Kabbalah is that the concept of Tzimtzum contains a built-in paradox, requiring that God be simultaneously transcendent and immanent. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a Contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or inversely In Philosophy, the adjective transcendental and the noun transcendence convey three different but related primary meanings all of them derived from the word's literal Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere "to remain within" refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind

In a well known articulation, Rabbi Nachman of Breslav discusses this inherent paradox as follows:

“ Only in the future will it be possible to understand the Tzimtzum that brought the 'Empty Space' into being, for we have to say of it two contradictory things. For the amora see Rav Nachman of Nehardea Nachman of Breslov ( Hebrew: נחמן מברסלב also known as Reb Nachman of In Classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more Propositions It occurs when the propositions taken together yield . . [1] the Empty Space came about through the Tzimtzum, where, as it were, He 'limited' His Godliness and contracted it from there, and it is as though in that place there is no Godliness. . . [2] the absolute truth is that Godliness must nevertheless be present there, for certainly nothing can exist without His giving it life. (Likkutei Moharan I, 64:1) ”

This paradox is strengthened by reference to the closely related doctrine of Divine simplicity, which holds that God is absolutely simple, containing no element of form or structure whatsoever. For the amora see Rav Nachman of Nehardea Nachman of Breslov ( Hebrew: נחמן מברסלב also known as Reb Nachman of In Theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts This gives rise to two difficulties. Firstly, according to this doctrine, it is impossible for God to shrink or expand (physically or metaphorically) - an obvious contradiction to the above. Secondly, according to this doctrine, if God's creative will is present, then He must be present in total - whereas the Tzimtzum, on the other hand, results in, and requires, a "partial Presence" as above.

The paradox has an additional aspect, in that the Tzimtzum results in a perception of the world being imperfect despite God's omniperfect Presence being everywhere. As a result, some Kabbalists saw the Tzimtzum as a cosmic illusion.

A Chassidic Explanation

In (Chabad) Chassidism, on the other hand, the concept is understood as not meant to be interpreted literally, but rather to refer to the manner in which God impresses His presence upon the consciousness of finite reality [4]: thus tzimtzum is not only seen as being a real process but is also seen as a doctrine that every person is able, and indeed required, to understand and meditate upon. Chabad-Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism, and is based in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Doctrine (Latin doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachings quot or "instructions" taught principles or positions as the

Here Chassidus sheds light on the concept of Tzimtzum via the analogy of a person and his speech. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Analogy is both the cognitive process of transferring Information from a particular subject (the analogue or source to another particular subject (the target and (The source of this analogy is essentially Genesis Chapter 1, where God "spoke" to create heaven and earth. The Latin phrase ex nihilo means "out of nothing" It often appears in conjunction with the concept of Creation, as in creatio ex nihilo ):

In order to communicate, a person must put aside all that he knows, all his experiences, and all that he is, and say only one thing ("the contraction"). This is especially the case when we speak of an educator, whose level of mind and understanding is almost completely removed and incomparable to his student, that has to "find" an idea that is simple enough to convey to the student. However, when he goes through this process and now is choosing to express himself through this particular utterance, he has not in any way lost or forgotten all the knowledge of who he really is ("thus the contraction is not a literal contraction").

(Furthermore, the one who hears his words also has the full revelation of who that person is when he hears those words, though he may not realize it. If the listener understood the language and was sensitive enough, he would be able to pull out from those words everything there is to know about the person (incidentally, this is the theory behind handwriting analysis). Graphology is the study and analysis of Handwriting especially in relation to human Psychology. )

So too, God chose to express Himself through this world with all of its limitations. However, this does not mean, as pantheism posits, that God is limited to this particular form, or that God has "forgotten" all He can do. Pantheism ( Greek: πάν ( 'pan') = all and θεός ( 'theos') = God it literally means " God is All He still "remembers what He really is", meaning that He remains always in His infinite essence, but is choosing to reveal only this particular aspect of Himself. The act of Tzimtzum is thus how God "puts aside" His infinite light, and allows for an "empty space", void of any indication of the Divine Presence. He then can reveal a limited finite aspect of his light (namely our imperfect, finite reality).

(As clarified before, if man were spiritually sensitive enough, we would be able to see how God is truly giving us a full revelation of His infinite self through the medium of this world. To a listener who does not understand the language being spoken, the letters are "empty" of any revelation of the person. In the analogue this means that the world looks to us to be "empty" of Godly revelation. Kaballah and Chassidus, however, teaches one how to meditate in order to be able to understand God's "language" so that one can see the Godly revelation in every aspect of creation. )

Therefore, no paradox exists. The finite Godly light that is immanent within the universe, constantly creating and vivifying it, is only a "faint glimmer of a glimmer of a glimmer" (Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh, Chapter 20) of God's infinite, transcendent light that has been completely concealed by tzimtzum. Note Tanya Rabbati, a 16th century Italian code of Jewish law, is an unrelated work with a similar name (See also Dovber Schneuri, Ner Mitzva Vetorah Or, Kehot Publication Society. Dovber Schneuri ( 1773-11-13 - 1827-11-16 OS) was the second Rebbe (spiritual leader of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic Kehot Publication Society and Merkos Publications the publishing divisions of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement were established in 1942 by the sixth Lubavitcher ISBN 0-8266-5496-7. )

A Mitnaged Explanation

The main objection of the Vilna Gaon to Chasidut was their belief that tzimtzum was not literal, but only a metaphor. (See Tanya Shaar Hayichud v'ha'emuna chapter 4 where he attacks the literal understanding of tzimtzum)

The Leshem articulates this view clearly (and claims that not only is it the opinion of the Vilna Gaon, but also is the straightforward and simple reading of the AriZal and is the only true understanding).

He writes (Leshem Sh-vo ve-Achlama Sefer Ha-Deah drush olam hatohu chelek 1, drush 5, siman 7, section 8 (p. 57b))

I have also seen some very strange things in the words of some contemporary kabbalists who explain things deeply. They say that all of existence is only an illusion and appearance, and does not truly exist. This is to say that the ein sof didn’t change at all in itself and its necessary true existence and it is now still exactly the same as it was before creation, and there is no space empty of Him, as is known (see Nefesh Ha-Chaim Shaar 3). Therefore they said that in truth there is no reality to existence at all, and all the worlds are only an illusion and appearance, just as it says in the verse “in the hands of the prophets I will appear” (Hoshea 12: 11). They said that the world and humanity have no real existence, and their entire reality is only an appearance. We perceive ourselves as if we are in a world, and we perceive ourselves with our senses, and we perceive the world with our senses. It turns out [according to this opinion] that all of existence of humanity and the world is only a perception and not in true reality, for it is impossible for anything to exist in true reality, since He fills all the worlds…. How strange and bitter is it to say such a thing. Woe to us from such an opinion. They don’t think and they don’t see that with such opinions they are destroying the truth of the entire Torah….

However, the Gaon and the Leshem held that tzimtzum only took place in God's Will (Ratzon), but that it is impossible to say anything at all about God Himself (Atzmut)

The only person who seems to hold that tzimtzum was literal and also within God Himself is the R' Emanual Chai Riki who wrote in Yosher Levav that God's contraction at the time of tzimtzum was complete even within God Himself.

These views seems to have fallen by the wayside nowadays. The Chasidic view dominates, partly because of the influence of Rav Dessler (see volumes 4 and 5 of Michtav M'Eliyahu where he explains that everyone agrees that tzimtzum cannot be understood literally)

See also

External links and references

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