Sources – Chapter F

The Secret of Tzimtzum – The Heavenly WinZip Program

For it is known what our Sages of blessed memory said: "No calamity comes to the world except for the sake of (bishvil) Israel, and no good comes to the world except for the sake of Israel." This is, as we have said elsewhere, that the conduct of all the worlds is entrusted into the hands of Israel, who form a complete stature in their six hundred thousand souls, which are an actual portion of Hashem, as it is written (Exodus 25:8): "And I will dwell within them," and it is said (Psalms 78:20): "the tent which He placed among men" – that His Shechinah (Divine Presence), blessed be He, is actually in Israel, within their hearts, as it is written (ibid. 73:26): "the Rock of my heart." For each person's heart must be a dwelling place for the Creator, blessed be He, so that the portion that flows into him not be separated, Heaven forbid, from its root. Through this he has the power to unite himself, and the whole world with all the creatures, and all the upper worlds, with Ein Sof (the Infinite), blessed be He. And then abundance, blessing and goodness are bestowed from Ein Sof, from cause to effect, cascading from world to world down to this world with all the creatures – since nothing is separated, Heaven forbid, from Ein Sof, blessed be He, for they unite everything, as stated. Then the path of the abundance is straight and whole, and the blessing and goodness descend along the straight path that Israel made and repaired through their cleaving (devekut) and their union with the All, which is Ein Sof, blessed be He, from whom no evil whatsoever goes forth, Heaven forbid, as it is written (Lamentations 3:38): "From the mouth of the Most High do not go forth evils," etc. And this is "no good comes to the world except bishvil Israel" – bishvil is an expression of a highway and road (shvil, path), for they repaired the path for the passage of the abundance, as stated. And in the opposite case, Heaven forbid, the corruption of the path causes judgments (dinim) and calamity, Heaven forbid, since there is no union: Israel are separated from their collective root, which is Ein Sof, blessed be He, and so the whole world and the creatures are separated, Heaven forbid, as well.

And to understand the matter further, let us first introduce the Mishnah in Avot: "With ten utterances the world was created. And what does this teach? … Rather, to exact punishment from the wicked," etc. To understand this: [to say] that the world was created with ten utterances in order to add punishment to the wicked, who destroy such a great world that was created with ten utterances – this is not understood, since it could have been created with one utterance. It is not possible that the Creator, blessed be He, who is "a God of faithfulness and without iniquity," created us with ten utterances in order to increase the punishment of the wicked.

But in truth the intent of the Mishnah is according to what is known: the utterances are ten attributes (middot), which are called in the books sefirot, and with these ten attributes the world was created. For the Creator, blessed be He, is good, and it is the nature of the good to do good; and He, blessed be He, wished that His attributes and His actions be recognized – that He is called Merciful and Gracious, Slow to anger – and all this is impossible unless there be a world and creatures. And it was the will of the Creator, blessed be His name, to create the world so that they would recognize His greatness. But because He, blessed be He, is Ein Sof, it was not at all possible for human beings to comprehend Him, since He is infinite. Therefore His wisdom, blessed be He, decreed to create the world with these ten attributes, which are called middot ("measures") because the Creator, blessed be He, measured Himself, as it were, so that they could comprehend something of His unity, blessed be He – that there is a Creator and Ruler, and that He is Ein Sof, blessed be He, who brings all beings into existence. And He measured Himself, as it were, from attribute to attribute: the highest attribute is called Ayin (Nothingness), for it is still not comprehensible; and He measured Himself, as it were, from attribute to attribute, cascading from cause to effect, down to the tenth attribute, which is called Malchut (Kingship). For through the tenth attribute they recognize the greatness of His kingship – that He is King over all the earth and that He created everything something from nothing (yesh me-ayin) – as it is written (Psalms 118:20): "This is the gate to Hashem; the righteous shall enter through it." For this attribute is the gate and the opening through which one who wishes to serve his Creator and to accept upon himself the yoke of the kingship of His blessed name may enter; as is known, there is no entrance in any way except through this attribute. And it is the final heh of the Unique Name, which is the five (heh) articulations of the mouth, which is speech – which is also set in the mouth of man, and through it he can cleave to the Creator, blessed be He.

And all this is through the goodness of the Creator, blessed be He, toward His creatures: so that they could comprehend His kingship and His lordship, He contracted Himself (tzimtzem), as it were, from attribute to attribute down to the tenth attribute, as is known from the books. And in each Jew – who are an actual portion of God, as stated above – [something] of these ten attributes, which are His Divinity, blessed be He, has cascaded down and been set within them. By entering through the aforementioned gate, he will recognize and comprehend more the greatness of His Divinity, blessed be He, through His supernal attributes, and the attributes set in the portion of his soul from the supernal attributes will be strengthened within him.

But it was not possible for the supernal attributes to be awakened within man, because he is clothed in such a material and bodily garment. How would he be awakened to love the Creator, blessed be He, with a pure love, or to fear Him, or [to] the other attributes? For his bodily nature would not allow him to be awakened to such a spiritual thing. Therefore His attributes, blessed be He, contracted themselves, as it were, also into physical things – which are the love of the pleasures of this physical world, and external fear, which is the fear of punishment and people's fear of one another – level after level, until the supernal attributes spread from cause to effect and reached very lowly things. And all this is so that, through the material [self] that desires physical pleasures, the attribute of love that is placed in that thing will be awakened in him. And when he has da'at (awareness) and faith that this comes from the attribute of supernal love – that the Creator, blessed be He, measured and contracted Himself with this attribute into this world, down to that very thing, so that they would be able to take hold of this attribute – then immediately he will tremble and take hold of this love that was awakened in him, and will begin to love the Creator, blessed be He, with a strong love. And certainly more and more love will be added in him, in spiritual delight, for "one who comes to purify himself is helped," and it is easy for him then, since the attribute has already been awakened in him. Understand this.

And then he brings the thing – that is, the attribute that was in contraction and constriction – to its root, to the world of love and of supernal delight, which is without constriction, where there are complete chassadim (kindnesses), from which comes the building of the world, as it is written (Psalms 89:3): "The world is built with kindness." Through this he does the will of the Creator, blessed be He, whose intention was only to awaken him to the supernal love. And then, just as he brings the supernal attribute out of the contraction, so too the judgments depart from him and from the world; for the judgments are the secret of the tzimtzum (contraction), but when he goes out of the contraction, the judgments are nullified, and goodness and blessing are increased through him.

And the same applies to all the attributes – for example, fear (yirah). His incomprehensible wisdom, blessed be He, decreed that it is impossible to come to complete and pure fear without there being something that awakens one's material self to this attribute. Therefore the attribute of supernal fear spread out and contracted itself into lowly and physical things, down to a place where material man can be awakened in that attribute, because the thing that is feared is also clothed as a material thing like himself – as is the rule with all external fear. And the main intention of the Creator, who measured and contracted this attribute there, is that through that place where the supernal fear is contracted, he can easily reach the fear of the Creator, blessed be He: since fear has already fallen upon him, he can immediately begin to fear the Creator, blessed be He, with that very fear, and bring this fear out of the place of contraction and lift it up to its root; and through this, those judgments that he feared are nullified – let the wise understand. For the essence of the judgments is due to their coming through contraction; and when one brings them up to their root, to the intention of the Creator, blessed be He, they are nullified, since the main intention was only to awaken him. But one who lacks faith and da'at remains in his place below, and draws himself, with the portion of the supernal attribute, further into the place of contraction, and those judgments come upon him, Heaven forbid.

And so too with the collective of Israel: when they serve with this da'at, they bring all the attributes out of contraction and lift them upward, and then there are no judgments in the world and they have no dominion at all, and the straight path is repaired; and then goodness comes to the world by way of (bishvil) the path and road that they repaired. Not so in the opposite case, Heaven forbid. Understand this.

Although above, too, it is in the aspect of chesed and gevurah (kindness and might), nevertheless it is for the good of the recipients, as it is written (Genesis 2:4): "On the day Hashem God (Elokim) made earth and heaven." For were it not for the attribute of gevurah, which contracts the attribute of chesed according to the capacity of the recipients, it would not be possible for the creatures to receive the kindness that comes from the attribute of chesed; but through the attribute of gevurah the attribute of chesed is contracted into a straight path, as the recipients are able to receive it, as is known. Not so the contraction below, which causes judgments if it is separated from its root. Understand this. And so it is with love as well: when one loves with that love which was contracted there – only that material thing – it too remains in contraction, and judgments come through this, Heaven forbid. And so it is with all the attributes.

(The next two paragraphs also appear above, in "Love.")

The general principle is that all physical things and creatures are only a parable (mashal), from which to understand the lesson (nimshal), which is the aspect of Divinity in that thing; through this "the whole earth is full of His glory." Just as when a teacher wishes to make a student understand some matter that the student cannot grasp unless the teacher lowers it for him and clothes it according to his intellect, and through this he understands the lesson – so is the intention of the Creator, blessed be He, in His world, in that supernal attributes were imprinted also in lowly and material things. As it is written (Deuteronomy 30:15): "See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil." For this is the free choice in the hand of man: to draw himself, with that attribute, either upward or downward. "And you shall choose life" – meaning, the vitality (chiyut), the intention of the Creator, blessed be He, that is in that thing. For the opposite, Heaven forbid, is called death, for he brings the attribute down; for "whoever descends from his level – Scripture calls him 'and he died.'" And this is (Ecclesiastes 9:9): "See life with the woman whom you love" – meaning, with that love, look at the vitality that is clothed in that thing, and do not be drawn downward so that the attribute remains there in contraction; but rather cleave to the love of the Creator through it, and then the attribute will rise to its root, which is the aspect of life.

And this is (Leviticus 20:17): "And a man who takes his sister… it is chesed" – as explained by us elsewhere in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, may his soul rest in the hidden treasures of Eden: [that this is] the supernal love, [placed there] so that through it one may come to the love of Hashem, for without this that attribute would not be awakened in him. And therefore the Torah said: "And a man who takes his sister" – and is drawn downward with that attribute – how did he not apply his mind to understand that "it is chesed," meaning that it is a fallen fruit of the supernal attribute of chesed, [placed there] so that through it it would be easy for him to come to the love of the Creator, blessed be He? On the contrary, through it he is drawn downward and forces, as it were, the will and intention of the Creator, blessed be He, to change it – let the wise understand. And there is no greater blemish than this, Heaven forbid.

And this is also the explanation of what our Sages of blessed memory said: "The Holy One, blessed be He, seized Jeroboam by his garment and said to him: Repent." For a garment (beged) is a clothing (levush): that thing in which the supernal attribute – that is, love or fear – clothed itself is called a garment, as stated, so that it should benefit him; but if there is no da'at, Heaven forbid, on the contrary it becomes for him a deadly poison, as stated. For the Holy One, blessed be He, because "He desires kindness" and does not desire the death of the wicked, contracts Himself to the person where he is, at that level, as stated; and this is called "seizing him by his garment" – by the clothing in which He clothed Himself at that time – "and said to him: Repent." For on the contrary, through that attribute which was awakened in you today, now is "a time to act for Hashem," to return and to come back to Hashem. As the saying of the Baal Shem Tov, may his soul rest in the hidden treasures of Eden, on (Song of Songs 2:9): "He gazes through the windows, He peers through the lattices": for even when the wicked man goes to commit a sin in a private room, fear falls upon him and he imagines that someone is watching him. This is the supernal fear contracting itself to him at that time, to bring fear into his heart, so that he will fear the Creator, blessed be He, and abandon his folly; and on the contrary, with that love and fear it will be easy for him to begin to love Him, blessed be He. Therefore it seems to him as though someone "gazes through the windows and peers through the lattices."

And this is also the explanation of the verse (Hosea 14:2–3): "Return, O Israel, unto Hashem your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take with you words… say to Him: Forgive all iniquity," etc. The explanation is: "Return, O Israel, unto Hashem" – and the quality of the return is through "your God (Elokecha)," which is the contraction of His Divinity and His attributes, blessed be He, into all the lowly and material things; through it you will come precisely to repentance, as stated above. For "there is no place empty of Him": there too is His Divinity, blessed be He, which contracts itself to you so that you can take hold of Him, blessed be He, and of His attributes. And this is also the explanation of (Deuteronomy 10:20) "You shall fear Hashem your God" and (ibid. 6:5) "And you shall love Hashem your God" – which is the contraction that is there. Understand this.

And it says "for you have stumbled," and explains: if you have stumbled through the love that was awakened in you, it is not because of any evil in the attribute, Heaven forbid, but only "in your iniquity" – the iniquity is called by your name, because you separated and cut yourself off from your root, since you lacked the aforementioned understanding and faith. But the counsel given is: "Take with you words (devarim)" – for the things (devarim) themselves, which are the garments in which the Divine attribute was clothed there – take them with you and return to Hashem. "Say to Him (imru elav): all…" – that is, imru is an expression of cleaving, from the expression imrei chaluko (the seams of his garment): that you cleave and raise up to Him "all" – meaning all the garments in which the supernal attributes were clothed. And then "forgive iniquity" (tisa avon, literally "lift up iniquity") – there will be an elevation for that iniquity, which becomes a throne for the supernal good, for through it you came to the good, and the evil is sweetened.

And then "we will render [for] bulls (parim) [with] our lips" – these are the secret of the 280 (PaR) judgments, from which the judgments come. And therefore wholeness and sweetening of "our lips" is brought about, and there is brought about the aspect of the five articulations of the mouth, which is speech, the final heh: wholeness and complete union are made, so that Hashem will be King over all the earth. For this is the aspect of the war of Amalek, which is the war against the evil inclination, as stated in the verse (Exodus 17:16): "Hashem has war with Amalek from generation to generation" – that is, in each and every generation. Just as when Israel went out of Egypt, the Satan himself was clothed in Amalek and went out to fight Israel, so in each and every generation he wishes to uproot, Heaven forbid, the world from the Creator, blessed be He, by drawing people [after him] when some attribute from the supernal attributes comes into their hearts, as stated – through which they could have taken hold of the good – and on the contrary, through this they become further entangled, because of our many, many sins. This is the secret of the exile of the Shechinah, which dwells in the lower beings to do them good, while the wicked, on the contrary, sin through this.

And therefore the Name is not whole and the Throne is not whole, as it is written (ibid.): "For a hand is on the throne (kes) of Yah" – the alef is missing from kisei (throne). For the final heh is the aspect of the Shechinah, which dwells in the lower beings, which are the holy sparks and the souls of Israel. And if Israel served with the da'at described, they would raise all things upward, and they would become a complete throne for the Creator, blessed be He, as it is written (Isaiah 66:1): "The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool" – for it is a small throne compared to the throne above, in the upper worlds – and all things would be in complete union with the Master (Aluf) of the world. And the Name too would be whole, as we have written elsewhere about this, that it is the aspect of (Proverbs 3:6) "In all your ways know Him": to unite the heh with the three [other] letters of the Name – all the parts of the letters from alef to tav that fell in the Breaking [of the Vessels], to unite them with the Name. Not so because of the war of Amalek, which is called "separating a close friend (aluf)" – separating the Master of the world from His Shechinah: then the Throne is not whole and lacks the alef, for the throne, the aspect of the footstool, is not cleaved to the Aluf, the Master of the world. Therefore kes is written lacking the alef, as it is written: "For a hand is on the kes of Yah." Understand this. And this is (Hosea 14:3): "we will render [for] bulls [with] our lips," which is the secret of speech.

And with this you will understand what is said: "The tzaddik rules [through] the fear of God" – "Who rules over Me? The tzaddik." For through the wicked the world totters and remains in contraction and judgments, Heaven forbid; and through the tzaddikim the King's wrath is, as it were, appeased – like a son who enters to his father even at the time of his wrath: because the will of the King draws very near to his beloved son, the attribute of love for his son is awakened in him, and then that attribute spreads also over those who are at the King's gate. So too through the tzaddikim, who draw themselves, with all things, near to their Father in Heaven and give Him pleasure (nachat ruach): His mind is, as it were, settled, and the judgments that were awakened by the wicked are sweetened. And this is "to exact punishment from the wicked who destroy," etc., "with ten utterances": for although the creation with ten utterances was for their good – so that even there, in their lowly place, they could take hold of His attributes, and likewise His attributes and His Divinity were contracted to them so that they would recognize them, as stated above – nevertheless, on the contrary, because of this they distance themselves even further. "And to give good reward to the righteous, who sustain," etc., as above – because it was created with ten utterances, through contractions; for without this it would not have been possible. Understand this.

And it is known that the kohen (priest) is the attribute of chesed. For although we find a quality of strictness in the kohanim, this too is as above with the supernal attributes; so too here, according to his level: the strictness contracts the attribute of chesed so that it be in uprightness and not in excessive kindness; for were it not for their strictness, their kindness would be much, much greater than is needed for conducting oneself in this world.

 

Now in the incident of Zimri at Shittim, when Israel began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab, they seized the attribute of the Creator, blessed be He – the attribute of love – and through it distanced themselves from Him, blessed be He, whereas on the contrary, through it they could have drawn near. They remained in contraction, in the place where the supernal love had been contracted, and were drawn downward to the place of judgments and contraction. Therefore the punishment came upon them, Heaven save us, and twenty-four thousand of Israel died. And Pinchas, by taking up the zeal of the Omnipresent, raised up and restored the attribute of chesed that the wicked had cast down, and therefore he merited to be a kohen. And this is "He has turned back (heshiv) My wrath": heshiv is from the expression meshivat nefesh (restoring the soul) – that His spirit was, as it were, settled, as above, through a beloved son, through whom the judgments were sweetened and included in the chassadim. And therefore "it shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of everlasting priesthood." And therefore Pinchas did not become a kohen until he killed Zimri, for then he took hold of and restored the attribute of chesed. Understand this. Blessed be Hashem forever, Amen and Amen.

(Meor Einayim – Pinchas)

Translated from the Hebrew sources page "מקורות- פרק ו’" by Roni Ayalon-Hirsch.