Tzimtzum facts for kids
The tzimtzum or tsimtsum (Hebrew: צמצום, romanized: ṣimṣum, lit. 'contraction') is a special idea in Lurianic Kabbalah. It helps explain how God started to create the world. Imagine God's infinite light, called Ohr Ein Sof. To make space for our world, God "contracted" or "pulled back" this light. This created an "empty space" (חלל הפנוי, ḥalal hapanuy) where finite things could exist.
This first big contraction is what tzimtzum means. It creates a puzzle: God is everywhere, but also made a space where He seems less present.
Contents
Why Tzimtzum is Important
The tzimtzum created a "space" where our spiritual and physical Worlds could exist. It also allowed for free will, meaning we can make our own choices.
Sometimes, God is called "Ha-Makom" (המקום), which means "the Place." This is because God is the "place" of the world, but the world doesn't contain God.
The Hebrew word for "World/Realm" is Olam. It comes from a word meaning "concealment." This fits with Tzimtzum because the different spiritual and physical worlds hide God's infinite light in different ways.
There are also smaller "secondary tzimtzumim." These are like many layers of "concealment" or "veiling" of God's light as it moves through creation.
Before Creation, there was only the infinite Or Ein Sof filling all existence. When it arose in G-d's Will to create worlds and emanate the emanated ... He contracted (in Hebrew "tzimtzum") Himself in the point at the center, in the very center of His light. He restricted that light, distancing it to the sides surrounding the central point, so that there remained a void, a hollow empty space, away from the central point ... After this tzimtzum ... He drew down from the Or Ein Sof a single straight line [of light] from His light surrounding [the void] from above to below [into the void], and it chained down descending into that void. ... In the space of that void He emanated, created, formed and made all the worlds.
—Etz Chaim, Arizal, Heichal A"K, anaf 2
The Puzzle of God's Presence
The idea of tzimtzum has a built-in puzzle. It means God is both far away (transcendent) and close by (immanent) at the same time.
If God's infinite light didn't pull back, nothing else could exist. Everything would be completely filled by God. So, God had to make space for creation.
But also, God is always supporting and maintaining the universe. He is never truly absent from it.
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.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslav talked about this puzzle:
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 ... [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
Think of it like an onion. The Zohar says:
And all the heavens are one on top of the other, like onion skins one on top of the other, some below and some above
—Zohar
This shows how layers of creation hide God's light.
Before creation, God filled everything. God's wisdom, the Torah, was with Him. The Midrash says God "played with the Torah" before creation. This means God's wisdom was His joy. Maimonide explained that God, His knowledge, and what He knows are all the same. God knows Himself, and this knowledge is His wisdom, the Torah.
Lurianic Kabbalah and Repairing the World
Rabbi Isaac Luria taught four main ideas in Kabbalah:
- Tzimtzum: God pulling back His light to make space.
- Shevirat HaKelim (the shattering of the vessels): After tzimtzum, God poured light into "vessels." But these vessels couldn't hold all the light and shattered.
- Tikkun (repair): This is the process of gathering the sparks of God's light that fell when the vessels shattered.
- Partzufim: These are like different "faces" or "configurations" of divine energy that help in the repair process.
Tzimtzum leaves a "residue" (reshimu) of God's light in the empty space. The shattering of the vessels scattered sparks of this light. Tikkun is about fixing this.
Luria connected these ideas to how we live. He taught that by doing good deeds and following Jewish traditions, humans can help gather these sparks. This helps to repair and perfect the world. So, for Luria, the first act of creation was a kind of hiddenness, and our actions help bring God's light back into the world.
Different Ways of Understanding Tzimtzum
Chabad's View
In Chabad Hassidism, tzimtzum is not seen as God literally shrinking. Instead, it's about how God makes His presence known to us in our limited world. It's a way God hides His infinite power so that we can exist as separate beings.
The tzimtzum creates a "vacated space" (chalal panui חלל פנוי). This space is where we don't directly feel God's presence. This allows us to feel like we are real and independent, instead of being completely overwhelmed by God's infinite light.
Vilna Gaon's View
The Vilna Gaon also believed that tzimtzum was not literal. He thought that the idea of the universe being an illusion, and tzimtzum being figurative, was very deep. It could only be understood by those who studied Kabbalah very deeply.
However, some say the Vilna Gaon did believe in a literal tzimtzum. Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv strongly supported this view. He said that all of existence is not just an illusion. He believed it truly exists. He argued that if everything were an illusion, it would go against the truth of the Torah.
The Gaon and Elyashiv believed that tzimtzum happened in God's will (Ratzon), but not in God's true essence (Atzmus). This means they didn't think God Himself literally changed.
Tzimtzum and History
The idea of tzimtzum can also be thought about in history. The concept of Hester Panim (God hiding His face) is similar. It describes times when God's presence seems hidden in history.
For example, during difficult times like the Shoah, people might feel God's presence is hidden. This is like a historical tzimtzum. It's a time when God's direct help seems less obvious.
Jewish teachings say that "All universe is created for me." This means God created the world with important foundations, like Chokmah (wisdom) and Binah (understanding). The Torah is God's light. Studying Torah can bring life to the universe and help prevent its destruction.
Tzimtzum in Psychology
An Israeli professor, Mordechai Rotenberg, thinks the tzimtzum idea can help in therapy. He believes God's "self-contraction" to make space for the world can be a model for how humans act.
This tzimtzum model suggests a community-focused way of thinking. It's different from Western psychology, which often focuses on the individual. It encourages people to "make space" for others, just as God made space for creation.
The Truth of Kabbalah
The Torah mentions eight kings who ruled the land of Edom before there was a king in Israel. (Genesis 36:31-39; 1 Chronicles 1:43-51) These kings are sometimes linked to the idea of a broken, uncorrected world, called the world of "Tohu".
Some people mistakenly connect these kings directly to the tzimtzum in Luria's teachings. However, the tzimtzum is about the entire creation process. The kings of Edom are more about the idea of "broken vessels" and the need for Tikkun (repair). They represent the mix of good and evil in the world.
See also
- Acosmism
- Big Bounce
- Monism
- Nondualism
