לְכָךְ צִמְצֵם הָאוֹר שֶׁיּוּכְלַל בַּמָּאוֹר (לִהְיוֹת רַק בְּכֹחַ וְלֹא בְּפוֹעַל),
Therefore, Hashem retracted the Light so that it should be included within “the Luminary,” (so that it exists only in potential, but not actually revealed,)
וְיִתְעַלֵּם בּוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה גִּילּוּי הָאוֹר רַק הַמָּאוֹר.
and thereby concealed it, so that the Light would not be revealed, rather, only “the Luminary” would be “revealed.”
(אֲבָל בַּמָּאוֹר – שֶׁהוּא אֵין־סוֹף עַצְמוֹ – לֹא שַׁיָּיךְ צִמְצוּם חַס־וְשָׁלוֹם וְלֹא הֶעְלֵם.
(However, in “the Luminary,” the Infinite One Himself, there is no possibility of Tzimtzum-Withdrawal or concealment, G-d forbid.
וְאַדְרַבָּה, הַמָּאוֹר הוּא בְּהִתְגַּלּוּת.
On the contrary, “the Luminary”18 is revealed even more than before the Tzimtzum.
There are three levels19 in understanding this statement, that “on the contrary, the Luminary is revealed” through the Tzimtzum:
- A basic level of understanding this is that the Tzimtzum did not affect the Luminary, Hashem’s Essence. This is because He transcends the category of Light, He is not a “Light” and therefore cannot be hidden. He is not an idea or concept that can be too lofty to be grasped. He is the “True Existence” of anything that can come into being, and nothing could possibly exist unless He is already there, bringing it into existence. According to this, the emphasis is on the fact that Hashem’s Essence is not affected by the Tzimtzum, and, in fact, He is found everywhere just as before. (See the Rebbe Rashab’s notes on this statement in Notes on Pasach Eliyahu, p. 54 of the new edition (p. 52 previous edition, p. 73 of first edition.) This understanding of the statement is similar to the Alter Rebbe’s explanation in Shaar HaYichud Vehaemuna, that the concept of Tzimtzum does not apply to Hashem’s Essence.
- A deeper level of understanding: Hashem is more “found” after the Tzimtzum than before. This is because the Light “distracts” from Essence. (See Hemshech Beshaa Shehikdimu chap. 349, Parshas Lech Lecha 5675 page 717.) In many places (see beginning of Sefer Hamaamarim Yiddish) there is an analogy for this concept: When a person wants to test water to see if it is too hot, he does not use his head, which is very sensitive, but rather his feet. This is because the power to jump into hot water regardless of what will happen comes from a deep part of the person, the essence, that can tolerate anything. However, because the head (and other body parts) have their own function and sensitivity that derives from lower aspects of the soul, they are not “tuned in” to the essence. Only the foot that has no other revealed soul powers “distracting it” can “tune in” to the essence. This is also why the power of self-sacrifice, mesirus nefesh, is found specifically in the simple people and in the lowest generation, and not as much in the great intellectual scholars. The wisdom and understanding they perceive “distracts” them from the core-level essential connection of a Jew to Hashem, which is expressed in Mesirus Nefesh.
- A deeper level of understanding: It’s not just that the Tzimtzum caused us to be less “distracted” from His Essence because He hid His Light. More than that, the awareness and connection to His Essence is specifically found in the physical world, in people who overcome their ego for Hashem. The reason: The source of the notion of ego, that something exists by itself, seemingly independent of anything else, as though its existence is from itself, is derived from the Essence of Hashem, the absolute True Existence, whose being is from Himself, and has no outside source at all. In all the spiritual levels, everything has a source. All the souls and angels recognize their spiritual source. Emotion shows on intellect that is its source, conscious intellect shows on subconscious intellect, etc. Only physical creatures in this world, people, have a notion of existing without a source. Even though this is illogical, because something cannot create itself, nonetheless, this notion exists as a (backwards reflections and) derivative of the fact that Hashem’s Essence has no source. When a person overcomes the foolishness of his ego, and chooses to serve Hashem, he transforms the ego itself to reveal its source in Hashem’s Essence. Similarly, every physical object that seems to not have a source, by transforming it into something holy through using it for a mitzvah, we reveal its source, its special connection, to Hashem’s Very Essence, that has no source. In that sense, the “Luminary,” Hashem Himself is found specifically after the Tzimtzum, in the physical world, in physical people serving Hashem. (See Basi Legani 5729 chap. 7-9 and in the footnotes there.)
וְלָכֵן אֲפִילוּ תִּינוֹקוֹת יוֹדְעִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם אֱלוֹהַּ מָצוּי כו׳, אַף שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶם הַשָּׂגָה וּתְפִיסָה אֵיךְ וּמָה, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶם גִּילּוּי הָאוֹר, שֶׁמִּכָּל מָקוֹם הַמָּאוֹר עַצְמוֹ הוּא נִמְצָא לְמַטָּה כְּמוֹ לְמַעְלָה).
This is why even young children know that Hashem exists, even though they have no intellectual grasp or understanding how He exists or what His existence entails. This is because there is no revelation of intellectual light within these young children. Nevertheless, “the Luminary” itself exists below just as it is Above.)
This concept, that the Tzimtzum only applies to the Light, but not to the source of the Light, is one of the fundamental novelties of Chassidus. (In the time of the Alter Rebbe there were certain other Torah scholars that believed that Tzimtzum could apply on some level to Hashem as well, and this opinion was shown to be erroneous, as explained in Tanya, Shaar HaYichud Vehaemuna, mentioned above.)
The Alter Rebbe’s proof brings this out: If Hashem was a “Light,” a revelation, an idea or concept, then some people would know about Him and some people not. Smarter people would be more aware of that concept, and those of lesser intelligence would be less aware. However, all people are equally aware of the fact that Hashem exists. This is because Hashem is not a Light, not an Infinite Light, or any kind of Light or spiritual level or revelation. Rather, Hashem is just Himself, and He is also the source of all revelations. Since He is not a Light, no Tzimtzum can affect Him at all, He cannot be hidden or concealed in any way whatsoever.
Based on this, what does it mean that “the Luminary” is revealed, if He is not a revelation? He is not revealed in the intellectual sense of understanding how He exists, or what He is. He is only revealed in the basic fact that He does exist. Every person has an intuitive sense of the fact that there is a Creator, even if they have no intellectual explanation for Him at all. This is because His Essential Being is “felt” at the essential level of the soul, at the core-being of every creature, at a level higher than explanation.
This is true in a very profound way in Jewish people, who have an inherent connection to Hashem on a level that transcends intellect. But even non-Jews have some intuitive awareness of this most basic truth of existence, that there is a Creator, even though we cannot understand Him.
וְלָכֵן נִקְרָא צִמְצוּם זֶה "מָקוֹם פָּנוּי וְחָלָל כו׳", פֵּירוּשׁ: שֶׁהוּא חָלָל וְרֵיק מִן הָאוֹר, שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ אוֹר וְהִתְגַּלּוּת כְּלָל, אֶלָּא נִשְׁאַר בְּכֹחַ בַּמָּאוֹר.
Therefore, this Tzimtzum is called “An empty space and void,” meaning that it is empty and devoid of Light, and contains no Light or revelation, whatsoever. Rather, the Light remains entirely in a potential state, within “the Luminary.”
As will be emphasized further in the maamar, the effect of the Tzimtzum is only in terms of our perception. It created a space where we do not perceive the Light. It did not actually cancel out the Light, it just hid it from us, so that from our perspective, it seems as though the Light was retracted back into its source, since we do not see it. In that sense, the Tzimtzum created a “space” that looks empty from the Light. This is needed so that the worlds do not become overwhelmed by the intensity of the Infinite Light.
וּכְמִשַׁל הַנֶּפֶשׁ, שֶׁבְּבוֹאָהּ לַגּוּף נִרְאֶה גִּילּוּי הַחַיּוּת שֶׁבָּהּ שֶׁמְּחַיֶּה אֶת הַגּוּף;
This is analogous to the soul. When it enters the body, the revealed energy through which the soul animates the body is perceptible.
אֲבָל קוֹדֶם בּוֹאָהּ לַגּוּף, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ כֹּחַ הַחַיּוּת לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת הַגּוּף בְּהִתְלַבְּשׁוּתָהּ בּוֹ,
However, prior to entering the body, even though the soul already contains the necessary energy to animate the body upon becoming invested in it,
מִכָּל מָקוֹם הֲרֵי הַחַיּוּת הַהוּא בְּכֹחַ וְלֹא בְּפוֹעַל,
nonetheless, this energy and ability still only exists in a potential state, but do not actually animate the body,
כָּל זְמַן שֶׁלֹּא נִתְלַבְּשָׁה עֲדַיִין בַּגּוּף לְהַחֲיוֹתוֹ, וּלְהוֹצִיא גִּילּוּי הַחַיּוּת מִכֹּחַ אֶל הַפּוֹעַל וּמֵהַהֶעְלֵם אֶל הַגִּילּוּי.
as long as the soul has not yet entered the body to animate it, thereby revealing this potential ability from its hidden state and actualizing it.
וְכֵן אִישׁ חָכָם,
Similarly, regarding the wisdom of a wise man:
שֶׁכְּשֶׁהַחָכְמָה שֶׁלּוֹ הִיא בִּבְחִינַת הִתְפַּשְׁטוּת לְזוּלָתוֹ, אוֹ אֲפִילוּ לְעַצְמוֹ, דְּהַיְינוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעוֹסֵק בָּהּ, אֲזַי הִיא בִּבְחִינַת גִּילּוּי, שֶׁנִּרְאֵית וְנִגְלֵית חָכְמָתוֹ לְזוּלָתוֹ אוֹ לְעַצְמוֹ;
When his wisdom is shared with others, or even with himself, when he is consciously involved in it (his own wisdom), then it is revealed, since his wisdom is seen and revealed, either to others or to himself.
אֲבָל בְּעִידָּנָא דְּלָא עָסֵיק, הֲרֵי חָכְמָתוֹ רַק בְּכֹחַ הַנֶּפֶשׁ.
However, when he is not involved in utilizing his wisdom consciously, then his wisdom only exists in his soul in potential.
דְּהַיְינוּ, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכֹחוֹ לְהַשְׂכִּיל אִם יַעֲסוֹק בְּהַשְׂכָּלָה, אֲבָל לֹא בָּאָה לִידֵי גִּילּוּי מִכֹּחַ אֶל הַפּוֹעַל.
Meaning, that he has the ability to understand if he will apply his intellect to understanding, but this ability is not realized from its potential state unless he actually applies himself to understanding some matter.
וְכֵן כֹּחַ הָרְאִיָּה שֶׁבָּעַיִן, שֶׁאַף שֶׁאִם יִסְתּוֹם הָעַיִן יֵשׁ לוֹ כֹּחַ הָרְאִיָּה בִּשְׁלֵימוּת,
Similarly, regarding the ability to see with the eyes. Even if one closes his eyes, his ability to see remains perfectly intact.
מִכָּל מָקוֹם לֹא בָּא לִידֵי גִּילּוּי לִהְיוֹת הָעַיִן רוֹאָה מַמָּשׁ עַד שֶׁיִּפְקַח עֵינָיו.
Nevertheless, this power of vision is not revealed so that the eye can actually see unless one opens his eyes.
וְכֵן כֹּחַ הַהִילוּךְ שֶׁבָּרֶגֶל, וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה בִּשְׁאָר הַחוּשִׁים שֶׁבְּכָל הָאֵבָרִים כו׳.
The same is true for the ability to walk that is invested in the foot, and with all other senses and abilities in each of the limbs of the body.
וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ זֶה יוּבַן לְמַעְלָה בִּבְחִינַת הַצִּמְצוּם בְּאוֹר אֵין־סוֹף,
Similarly, this can be understood regarding the Tzimtzum of Hashem’s Infinite Light Above:
שֶׁהָאוֹר וְהַגִּילּוּי נִתְצַמְצֵם וְנִתְעַלֵּם, לִהְיוֹת רַק בְּכֹחַ הַמָּאוֹר וְלֹא בְּפוֹעַל.
The Light and revelation are retracted and concealed so that they remain only in a potential state within the Luminary, but are not actualized and revealed in the world.
וַהֲרֵי זֶה נִקְרָא "מָקוֹם פָּנוּי וְחָלָל" – לְגַבֵּי הָאוֹר, שֶׁלֹּא נִשְׁאַר אוֹר וְגִילּוּי.
This is known as an “Empty space and void,” with respect to the Light, since there is no revealed Light apparent.
וְאַף שֶׁבֶּאֱמֶת אֵינוֹ מָקוֹם פָּנוּי לְגַמְרֵי חַס־וְשָׁלוֹם – שֶׁהֲרֵי הַמָּאוֹר מְמַלֵּא אֶת כָּל הֶחָלָל,
Now, it is not a truly “empty space,” Heaven forbid, since the Luminary fills the entire void and is present despite the lack of revelation.
שֶׁבַּמָּאוֹר עַצְמוֹ לֹא שַׁיָּיךְ צִמְצוּם וְהֶעְלֵם חַס־וְשָׁלוֹם, וְהָאוֹר הוּא בְּכֹחַ כו׳ –
This is because the Luminary cannot possibly undergo a tzimtzum or concealment, and the Light remains only in potential.
As mentioned above, not only is there no Tzimtzum at all regarding Hashem Himself, “the Luminary,” even in the Infinte Light of Hashem it is not an actual “removal” or cancelation of the Light. The Light exists just as strongly as it did before the Tzimtzum. All that happened is that it became hidden from our perspective. This is described as reverting to a potential state. The power of sight in the eye is just as strong when the eyelids are closed, it is just not noticeable. The wisdom in the mind of the sage is just as strong when he is temporarily involved in something else, it didn’t disappear. It just isn’t noticeable.
Similarly, Hashem’s Infinite Light is actually still here, in the place where we exist. It did not actually leave or go somewhere else. It just became unnoticeable, invisible, to us. That is why most people don’t even know that the Infinite Light exists in the first place, since it became invisible to us.
However, regarding Hashem Himself even that type of Tzimtzum did not take place. Hashem’s Essential Being is found and experienced here and now exactly as before. That is why everyone knows deep down that Hashem exists.
אַף עַל פִּי כֵן, לְפִי שֶׁהִמְשִׁיל הָאֲרִיזַ"ל אֶת הַגִּילּוּי וְחַיּוּת הַנִּמְשָׁךְ מֵאֵין־סוֹף וְהִתְהַוּוּת עֶשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת – חָכְמָה, בִּינָה כו׳, בְּשֵׁם "אוֹרוֹת", שֶׁהֵם כְּמוֹ אוֹר וְזִיו הַיּוֹצֵא מִשֶּׁמֶשׁ וּמֵאִיר כו׳,
Nevertheless, since the Arizal used the analogy of light to describe the revelation and life-force that extends from the Infinite One that brings into being the Ten Sefiros (Chochma, Bina, etc.), likening it to the radiance and rays that travel from the sun in order to shine upon the world and its inhabitants,
לְכָךְ קָרָא לְהַצִּמְצוּם מַה שֶׁנִּכְלַל הָאוֹר בַּמָּאוֹר בְּשֵׁם "מָקוֹם פָּנוּי",
therefore, he (the Arizal) called the Tzimtzum, which describes how the light retracted and become included in its source within the luminary, as an “empty place,”
שֶׁהוּא הִתְעַלְּמוּת הָאוֹר.
in reference to the concealment of light and revelation, indicating that the place is empty and devoid of our perception of Hashem’s revelation.
וְהִתְעַלְּמוּת זוֹ הִיא הֶעְדֵּר הָאוֹר, עַד שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹלֶה בְּשֵׁם כְּלָל לִהְיוֹת נִקְרָא בְּשֵׁם "חָכְמָה", וַאֲפִילוּ "חַכִּים וְלָא בְּחָכְמָה יְדִיעָא כו׳",
This concealment is a lack of expression, to the extent that it cannot be given any name at all, not Chochma-Wisdom, and not even “Wise, but not in the sense of a wisdom that can be known [to others],”
(שֶׁאֵינוֹ נִיכָּר מוּרְגָּשׁ אֲפִילוּ בְּכֹחַ);
(in fact, it cannot be felt or experienced at all, not even as an abstract potential),
The Rebbe Rashab explains: When Hashem “retracted” the expression of His Infinite Light to become included back into the Luminary, it became reunited with its source in Hashem so powerfully, that it lost any sense of being a possibility to be the source of creation in any way.
To explain this: When a person holds up a candle in the middle of the day facing the sun, the light of the flame is unnoticeable. However, the flame still exists, and if one were to put something in the flame of candle it would still get burned, since the fire exists, even though it isn’t noticeable.
However, the light of the sun that we see, when it was still inside the sun, it did not exist as light at all. If you could somehow go inside the sun, you would not find light, only fire. Inside the body of the sun is only the “possibility” for light, no actual light, not even “unnoticeable light.”
Similarly, when the Infinite Light was retracted into the Luminary of the Infinite Hashem, it only exists as a “possibility” for Light, not “potential Light,” not “unnoticeable Light.”
עַד אַחַר כַּמָּה יְרִידוֹת וְהִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הַמַּדְרֵגוֹת עֲקוּדִּים, נְקוּדִּים כו׳.
This “possibility for Light” found in the Luminary can only be perceived after it is drawn down in a “Kav-Singular Ray of Light” that undergoes numerous descents from one level to the next, through the various levels of Adam Kadmon, Akudim, Nikudim and Brudim, etc.
18 In Sefer Hasichos 5752 page 127, note 59, the Rebbe explains: Here we are referring to Hashem as the “Luminary” not as a “definition,” since it is not Hashem’s job to give light, and here we are talking about Hashem’s Essence that transcends all Light. Nonetheless, since we are talking about Hashem in the context of how He is found and “recognized” on a core-level awareness by creations, we use the term “Luminary” figuratively, in the sense that He is “found” below in this world just as He is found Above in the spiritual worlds (and even more so), unlike His Light, which is found Above more than below.
19 The explanation here that there are three levels of understanding this statement of the maamar, is partially based on two essays on this topic, one from Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Gurary, printed in קובץ היובל ע׳ 449, and from Rabbi Hertzel Pevzner, printed in הערות התמימים ואנ"ש כפר חב"ד תשע"ג.