In Jewish Mysticism, Tzimtzum (צמצום Hebrew: "contraction" or "constriction") refers to the notion in the Kabbalistic theory of creation that God "contracted" his infinite essence in order to allow for a "conceptual space" in which a finite, independent world could exist. This contraction is known as the Tzimtzum. This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ... Hebrew redirects here. ... This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ... The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. Creationism can either refer to: the belief that humanity, life, the Earth, or the universe as a whole was specially created by a supreme being (often referred to specifically as God[1]) or by other forms of supernatural intervention. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Infinity is a word carrying a number of different meanings in mathematics, philosophy, theology and everyday life. ... Antarctica Australia Africa Asia Europe North America South America Middle East Caribbean Central Asia East Asia North Asia South Asia Southeast Asia SW. Asia China Australasia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Central America Latin America Northern America Americas C. Africa E. Africa N. Africa Southern Africa W. Africa C. Europe E. Europe...

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]. 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 place", "the omnipresent") in Rabbinic literature. Relatedly, olam - the Hebrew word for "world" or universe - is derived from the root word עלם meaning "concealment". This etymology is complementary with the concept of Tzimtzum, in that the physical universe conceals the spiritual nature of creation. The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... Free will is the philosophical doctrine that holds that our choices are ultimately up to ourselves. ... At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... 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. ... Not to be confused with Entomology, the study of insects. ... Look up Complement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Galunggung in 1982, showing a combination of natural events. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ...

Inherent paradox

It is understood that the concept of Tzimtzum contains a built-in paradox, requiring that God be simultaneously transcendent and immanent. Robert Boyles self-flowing flask fills itself in this diagram, but perpetual motion machines cannot exist. ... In philosophy, transcendental/transcendence, has three different but related primary meanings, all of them derived from the words literal meaning (from Latin), of climbing or going beyond: one that originated in Ancient philosophy, one in Medieval philosophy and one in modern philosophy. ... Immanence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

• On the one hand, if the "Infinite" did not restrict itself, then nothing could exist - everything would be overwhelmed by God's totality. Thus existence requires God's transcendence, as above.

• On the other hand, God continuously maintains the existence of, and is thus not absent from, the created universe. "The Divine life-force which brings all creatures into existence must constantly be present within them... were this life-force to forsake any created being for even one brief moment, it would revert to a state of utter nothingness, as before the creation..." [2]. Thus the biblical teachings: "You have made the heaven... the earth and all that is on it... and You give life to them all" (Nehemiah 9:6); "All the earth is filled with God's Glory" (Numbers 14:21); "God's Glory fills the world" (Isaiah 6:3). Creation therefore requires God's immanence.

In a well known articulation, Rabbi Nachman of Breslav discusses the inherent paradox as follows: The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanach and to Christians as the Old Testament. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, believed to be written by Isaiah[1]. // The 66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah. ... Nachman of Breslav known as Reb Nachman of Breslov or simply as Rebbe Nachman (1772-1810) was a rabbi and the founding rebbe of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty. ...

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 whatever. Thus, here, 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 paradoxical "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 Presence being everywhere. As a result, most Kabbalists see the Tzimtzum as a cosmic illusion. Furthermore, since man is an Olam Katan, a "world in miniature", this same process of tzimtzum is said to be replicated within each person. Broadly speaking, a contradiction is an incompatibility between two or more statements, ideas, or actions. ... Nachman of Breslav known as Reb Nachman of Breslov or simply as Rebbe Nachman (1772-1810) was a rabbi and the founding rebbe of the Breslov Hasidic dynasty. ... In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. ... Olam katan (Hebrew: Small World) is a concept of Jewish philosophy that certain concepts mirror (in a kind of microcosm) the world as a whole (the macrocosm.) Its use probably originates from the Midrash (a section of the Midrash collection Otzar ha-Midrashim bears the title). ...

A Chassidic Explanation

Chabad Chassidus offers the analogy of a person and his speech to shed light on the concept of Tzimtzum. Chabad Lubavitch, also known as Lubavitch Chabad, is a large branch of Hasidic Judaism. ... Hasidic Judaism (also Chassidic, etc. ... Analogy is either the cognitive process of transferring or giving information from a particular subject (the analogue or source) to another particular subject (the target), or a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. ...

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"). However, when one goes through this process and now is choosing to express himself through this speech, he hasn't in any way lost or forgotten all his endless knowledge of who he really is ("the contraction is not a literal contraction").

Further, 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 of handwriting and its connection to behavior, personal information and other human traits. ...

So too, God who can do anything, 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. He still remembers what He really is, but is choosing to reveal only this particular aspect of Himself. Further, if we were sensitive enough would be able to see how God is truly giving us a full revelation of His infinite self through the medium of this world.

In the analogy, the "empty place" refers what remains when a person expresses himself through speech which seems to take on an indepndent existence from the person. To the listener who does not understand the language, the letters are "empty" of any revelation of the person. In the analouge this means that the world looks to us to be "empty" of Godly revelation.

True Kaballah and Chassidus, however, teaches one how to understand God's "language" so that one can see the G-dly revelation in every aspect of creation.

(See Dovber Schneuri, Ner Mitzva Vetorah Or. Kehot Publication Society. ISBN 0-8266-5496-7)

See also

• Jewish principles of faith
• Negative theology: the Jewish tradition
• Free will in Jewish thought
• Neti neti
• Mysticism
• Nondual
• Zim Zum

There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ... Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa (Latin for Negative Way) and Apophatic theology - is a theology that attempts to describe God by negation, to speak of God only in terms of what may not be said about God. ... Free Will in Theology is an important part of the debate on free will in general. ... In Hinduism, and in particular Jnana Yoga and Advaita Vedanta, neti neti is a chant or mantra, meaning not this, not this, or neither this, nor that ( is sandhi from not so). Adi Shankara was one of the foremost Advaita philosophers who advocated the neti-neti approach. ... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an... A nondual philosophical or religious perspective or theory maintains that there is no fundamental distinction between mind and matter. ... Timothy Michael Linton (born June 25, 1969), better known by the stage name Zim Zum, is a Chicago, IL rock musician. ...

External links and references

• "Paradoxes", in "The Aryeh Kaplan Reader", Aryeh Kaplan, Artscroll 1983, ISBN 0-89906-174-5
• "Innerspace", Aryeh Kaplan, Moznaim Pub. Corp. 1990, ISBN 0-940118-56-4
• Understanding God, Ch2. in "The Handbook of Jewish Thought", Aryeh Kaplan, Moznaim 1979, ISBN 0-940118-49-1
• Tzimtzum: A Primer, chabad.org
• Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah Shneur Zalman of Liadi - see Lessons in Tanya, chabad.org
• Shaar HaYichud - The Gate of Unity, Dovber Schneuri - A detailed explanation of the concept of Tzimtzum.
• Veyadaata - To Know G-d, Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, a Hasidic discource on the paradox of Tzimtzum