The Concept of Tzimtzum, the Contraction

Misc. | February 24, 2024 | Ezekiel, sources

[Ezekiel]

Klein's:

צִמְצוּם m.n. MH 1 compressing, condensing, contraction. NH 2 restriction, reduction, limitation. [Verbal n. of צִמְצֵם (see צמצם), coined by Rashi (1040–1105).]

 

The tzimtzum or tsimtsum (Hebrew: צמצום ṣimṣum "contraction/constriction/condensation") is a term used in the Lurianic Kabbalah to explain Isaac Luria's doctrine that God began the process of creation by "contracting" his Ohr Ein Sof (infinite light) in order to allow for a "conceptual space" in which finite and seemingly independent realms could exist. This primordial initial contraction, forming a ḥalal hapanuy "vacant space" (חלל הפנוי‎) into which new creative light could beam, is denoted by general reference to the tzimtzum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzimtzum

***

Tzimtzum

Contraction

The concept of tzimtzum, the contraction and "removal" of God's infinite light in order to allow for Creation of independent realities, is elucidated in the teachings of the Arizal. In the generations that followed, two schools of thought developed with regard to the meaning of tzimtzum: one took the concept literally (i.e. that God's infinite light is no longer present within the "vacuum" or "womb" of the created universe) while the other (that of the Ba'al Shem Tov and his disciples after him) understood the concept 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...

https://inner.org/worlds/tzimtzum.htm

new creative light

Introducing the literal Tzimzum contraction:

ם

ו

צ

מ

צ

The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation CMYK refers to the four ink plates used: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black).

The CMYK model works by partially or entirely masking colors on a lighter, usually white, background. The ink reduces the light that would otherwise be reflected. Such a model is called subtractive because inks "subtract" the colors red, green and blue from white light; white light minus red leaves cyan, white light minus green leaves magenta, and white light minus blue leaves yellow.

Color printing typically uses ink of four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.	When subtractive CMY inks are combined at full strength, pairwise combinations are red, green, and blue. Combining all three gives an imperfect black color.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model

 

cyan, magenta, yellow, and key...

The Hebrew CMYK page translates:

ציאן (cyan)
מג'נטה (magenta)
צהוב (yellow)
ו (and)
מפתח (key)

Thus to form an Hebrew abbreviation (contraction of the CMYK color model): צמצו"ם

(צמצום)

The CMYK model works by partially or entirely masking colors on a lighter, usually white, background -- the concept of tzimtzum, the contraction and "removal" of God's infinite light in order to allow for Creation of independent realities.

צמצם

related:

Diaphragm (optics) צַמצָם
Aperture מִפְתַח, מִפְתַח צַמצָם

🛞

[monkeyshine]

As I understand the Kabbalah teachings, which is very rudimentary, before Creation there were 3 beams of light. All mass, all matter, came from the contraction (or inversely the “big bang”) of at least one of those beams of light.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

One interpretation is that the contraction, creating a void, was followed by the light, or lightning, which created an incredibly small, but self replicating particle in the middle of the void. As it generated more and more copies of itself, they combined creating any number of complex things.

The purpose of doing this was to create a universe, that itself would “mirror” what was outside the void, so that God could find out if there was anything “not God”. Once it had achieved this purpose it would cease to exist and the void would collapse.

[Ezekiel]

Much of the teachings are far beyond my grasp, but here's a situation where one of the biggest mysteries dropped right into physical perception via a CMYK analog.

From left field.

Say, no wonder... that player in left field is Y.

Same as the one letter in E-G-Y-P-T that doesn't get along with any of the others. It simply doesn't not rhyme.

If you follow Egypt's etym. trail, you can see that the glyph in the middle is similarly shaped. It's the hands raised in the air with a vertical line underneath to signify that it's an ideograph. In this case representing the very power/life force (ka) of Egypt's creator god Ptah.

Even the name Ptah is spelled the same in Hebrew as the word for an opening, doorway [פתח]. It's the root from which "key" derives.

I mention this because the "Y" glyph is also the image of the meaning of the name Judah: to praise, of casting the hands up into the air.

Which of course loops right back to the very identity of the Jews -- the question-asking people, as Moses in Exo 3:3.

Pharaoh showed Moses the door.

"There's the door!"

Then, when all of the Ys left Egypt, it was lights out for EGPT just on the simple principle of the word.

The Dark Side never learns!

[monkeyshine]

Interesting. The meru foundation (meru.org) did a lot of work on the Hebrew alphabet. Stan Tennen the founder passed a year ago, but over his decades he produced a lot of thought provoking content for those of the mindset to investigate such thoughts. The content is still online.

Some of the things they did was to create 3D “ribbons” of Hebrew letters. Then you shine a light through the letters at various angles, it would project onto the wall and reveal all new designs. Some of which would of course look like double helix DNA strands and the like. And much more. One would have to be well versed to truly analyze and make connections like the one you posted about the Y in Egypt but that is, imo, the point. The more you learn the more is revealed to you as long as you remain truly open to seeing revelations.

In short, each letter would project new meaning into the world depending on how you looked at it. Or as the sages would say “there are 70 faces to the Torah”. You could spend a lifetime and not see them all. But one could try.

[dadgum]

PING interesting

[Ezekiel]

You reminded me of another teaching that crosses over into the concept, as well as with what I posted to monkeyshine above:

“It is the sound of my beloved knocking” – by means of Moses when he said: “Moses said: So said the Lord: At about midnight, I will emerge in the midst of Egypt” (Exodus 11:4). “Open for me” – Rabbi Yasa said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: My children, open for Me one opening of repentance like the eye of the needle, and I will open for you openings that wagons and carriages enter through it.

https://www.sefaria.org/Shir_HaShirim_Rabbah.5.2.2?lang=bi

4. And Moses said, Thus said the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
5. And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts:

***

As long as the topic of the infinite light and the freedom from hard mind bondage is afoot, you two might wish to take a look back over at the "about midnight" in verse 4:

כַּחֲצֹת הַלַּיְלָה

You might already be aware that this is an ancient point of much commentary -- why this "about midnight" when David knew when it was exactly midnight. Not to divert, but just to note that there's a focus on this particular phrase for the timing of the Exodus.

Now what it says is "about the middle of the night", ergo midnight.

That's what I'm getting at -- "the night", and what's in the middle of it:

הלילה

"The night" is not just a palindrome, the "Y" is in the middle, the Pintele Yid. And it's flanked by lameds, so there's inherently more to the visual...

The purpose of doing this was to create a universe, that itself would “mirror” what was outside the void,..

I don't have an uploaded graphic handy, but perhaps you can visualize the word as a mirror on that yud point, flipping the second lamed and hei.

What happens it that

1) this forms the image of the Jewish heart with the Yid inside (well yeah, it's a Jewish heart). This page has the lamed-heart explained.

2) the traditional teaching is that the letter hei is formed by a yud + dalet. By way of the mirror, what is on each side of the lamed-heart in "the night" looks like this:

די💗יד

(I know, the dalet should be flipped too but there's no letter for that. I did the key thing, to flip the dalet - yud order on the second (mirrored) hei.

Now you can see the hands [יד] on each side, thumbs in, like cute little Ary the Lion whose face is heart-shaped, playing Moses:

Dayenu (Passover song)

*DAY*enu... דיי-נו. "Our Day" so to speak*, just like the letters roll out in either direction:

די💗יד

And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die...

EGYPT up and died without a Jewish heart. "Died" דייד

It's all highly integrated.. an art *and* a science [מַדָּע], the science of "Y" [מַדּוּעַ] (Exo 3:3)

When you see a Y in the road, take it!

*You can find this דיי Day spelled right out in the last letters of the first three days of Creation, the same time and place as this mysterious first light of Creation under discussion.

yom echaD ד
yom shenI י
yom shlishI י

[Ezekiel]

Thanks for the reminder. I haven't been to the Meru site in years. More that's beyond me.

I always appreciate different perspectives. If I can't understand them I can always save them for later and return back. It keeps me from mystical strange stuff, because I'm naturally leery of that which is missing a simple meaning/ solid ground.

The Sefirot is a schematic diagram of character traits and their relationships to each other, so that's a simple platform to build understanding from.

Besides, I often pick up on details that aren't the main focus of a particular topic.

Quantum Torah is always fun!

Here's a case where he's using the half shekel for his example. The article is good, but the real treasure trove is all over that half shekel. It's one of those deep dive places that is its own mirrored but simple meaning.

(That's another topic right up there in secrets of the universe made simple.)

[Ezekiel]

If anyone is interested, at the top of my FR page is Joseph's view from his office.

Perhaps it will inspire folks to become protégés of Thinky, who -- like Kilroy with his big nose -- really gets around. He *always* gets there first, even appearing in strange places no one should have been able to access, yet..

🤔

It's a miracle.

Observations are simply that. I notice a lot details that are often deemed "Numerology!", but whatever. What is seen cannot be unseen.

I never know when or where the pieces might come in handy. It's a cosmic jigzaw puzzle.

Like with Ary the Lion as Moses in the previous post, "the night" [הלילה] of the Exodus is where -- at about midnight -- the night turns into back into Day via the letters. The night has got the Yidden [ייד], it's got the mighty hands [יד], it's got the heart [לל] and the soul [י]...

all for the joy of discovery, for the kid at heart. Here are some further visuals (Thanks, Ary!):

ה-ליל-ה
די-ל-י-ל-יד
די-ל🔐ל-יד
די-💗-יד
🫲❤️‍🔥🫱
🫲🦁🫱

For those who may not be familiar with the pronunciations of the letter combos in transliterations -- two yuds together are used to represent a long a vowel, and also a long i. Thus the Day/die/dye of Dayenu [דיינו] is also a Day as in "day" [דיי], "date" [דייט]. Even as the date of D-Day, being "בליינד דיי".

Naturally this duality pings the pun-o-meter on the very meaning of "dayenu", which has been an oddity in the translation-world since forever anyway. As you can see, the concept of "our day" (day-enu דיינו) has big meaning in this immediate context. The whole world has heard of this very special day of Jewish emancipation.

The same day was Pun-ish Day for all of EG-Y-PT.

"Don't make me come down there." ~ God

Besides, there's always a song that everybody already knows:

RUBY & THE ROMANTICS - Our Day Will Come

When Joseph said "Hei is seed for you", he wasn't kidding around. It's the same letter that turned Abram into Abraham. Want to count the stars with it? It's not complicated:

14.5. And he brought him (Abram) outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars [הכוכבים], if you are able to count them; and he said to him, So shall your seed be:

It makes plain sense. Can-Do ankh-key in-Jew-new-ID sees

5 stars!

The Top Gun, the best of the best of the best!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kids. They see the darndest things, climbing every mountain.

Well, I'll just toss this out there...

On account of the "cyan, magenta, yellow, and key" subtractive color model reducing down to "tzimtzum", I thought I would check the numeric value of the phrase itself (I never know what I might find):

"ציאן, מג'נטה, צהוב, ומפתח"

= 895

This got my instant attention because it's also the verse sum of a whole mountain of verses (72!), for there being so many (69!) that say,

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:"

וידבּר יהוה אל־משׁה לּאמר׃

The first verse of this type is Exo 6:10.

1x, it's the same words with the subject-object switch (Num 27:15):

"And Moses spoke to the Lord, saying:"

וידבּר משׁה אל־יהוה לאמר׃

Then 2x, the 895 verse sum is found in the Psalms (59:16, 115:13).

Plus there's a whole mountain of coordinating information on my 895 list, as well as for its mirror (598).

In fact, it's full circle time, because 598 *is* about midnight:

כחצת הלילה

Adults... learn to ignore.

Remember Uncle Joey? "Get used to these bars, kid."

ha-kokavim [הכוכבים]: 5-98

Of, course, then there's that *literal* star that comes out of Ya'akov... but who's looking there.

[Phinneous]

FR cannot handle the secrets, Zeke!

[Ezekiel]

Look at the bright side..

The Temple plays both kinds of music, Country *and* Western:

Merle Haggard - Today I Started Loving You Again (Live)

The Messiah at the Gates of Rome

Eclipse = transcend, like how "Time and Date" tells it:

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

Not to worry, the night turns into back into Day.

~ EZ

[Zionist Conspirator]

Now do Shevirat HaKelim ("the shattering of the vessels").

[Ezekiel]

Now do Shevirat HaKelim ("the shattering of the vessels").

Where ya been? 🤠

I've got some on that topic over here:

Why the Hovercraft's Time Might Have Finally Arrived

***

But what hasn't been posted here (until this little mention) is that I've been literally living that parable for almost two years, due to an inoperable injury. It's all very specific with what it is, when, where it occurred (the place where I was, and where the injury hit), and the words the specialist used to describe the imaging and injury to me (e.g. lit. "shattered").

Like with what has befallen me over the course of my life (due to my own fault or not), that I've understood the good reasons for them much later, there's going to be a good reason revealed for this issue as well.

Injuries can "change" a person's trajectory in life, or determination, and/or perceptions, to what was meant to be from the beginning.

Here's something wild and wonderful:

Glen Campbell - William Tell Overture (smokin' instrumental)

Wave or particle? [?גל או חלקיק] = 288

It's. All. Orchestrated.

😉

Hmmm, come to think of it that word (חלקיק) had just passed my way last night when I was reading this page:

248 Particles

Before we begin let us share a beautiful observation. In the past, long before this theory was introduced, we ourselves thought that the number of elementary particles in the universe should be 248. Why is this? Because, by Divine Providence, in modern Hebrew the word for an elementary particle is חלקיק , whose numerical value is 248. This word is based on the Hebrew word for “part” (חלק ), to which the two-letter suffix יק , which indicates extreme smallness are added, meaning together “a very small part.” This word was chosen by Divine Providence, and the committee for modern Hebrew language who selected this word for “elementary particle,” did not do so on the basis of its numerical value. This is a beautiful example of something that comes directly from God.

248 Elementary Particles and the Image of God

It's always something, innit though?

[dadgum]

❤️

[Ezekiel]

https://www.starherald.net/constellations-summer-triangle

No one has yet to ask me about this, but in case you might be interested in seeing a star that literally comes out of Ya'akov..

This is not an interpretation. It is simply an observable fact. It's not like a group project where I'm 'encouraged' to fall into lockstep with the collective, the place where "ignore that" is a righteous edict.

The 'star prophecy' in Numbers 24:17 is a pretty hot topic of late on account of the 12P/Pons-Brooks comet and its strange tail, and that it could be visible in the daytime during the April total solar eclipse. (It's not one thing or another, but rather everything together -- a collective, just not in the way people tend to think.)

Anyway, maybe you know this already, but the name "Jacob" is four letters [יעקב], which -- when spelled out as their individual letter names -- looks like this:

יוד עין קוף בית

Then a well-known star jumped right out:

יוד עין קוף בית

(The middle letter ן is the form of the letter nun when appearing at the end of a word. The normal shape is נ.)

Located in the Milky Way (aka Jakobsweg*), Deneb [דנב] is

a Cygni
the tail of the swan
the top star of the Northern Cross asterism
a vertex of the Summer Triangle (compare to the nabla symbol)

In Chinese lore, Deneb represents the Magpie Bridge.

In Christianity, Deneb marks the position of the sign.

17. I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not near; there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall strike the corners of Moab, and destroy all the sons of Seth:

MEET DENEB, THE BRIGHT BUT DISTANT STAR

See what I mean? Never enough popcorn.

It goes on. These posts barely skim over all that I don't have the time to post. Think of an iceberg... given the cold shoulder.

*In Germany the modern Milch Strasse is the translation of our best-known title; while it has long been, and popularly is even now, Jakobs Strasse and Jakobs Weg, Jacob's Road; as the Belt of Orion is his Staff lying alongside the road. And it has been still further associated with that patriarch as his Ladder.

https://www.constellationsofwords.com/the-milky-way/

That's from Richard Hinkley Allen's "Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning", originally published in 1899, but the Jakobsweg name is noted here:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Milky_Way_Galaxy?uselang=de

***

The Seekers - Speak To The Sky

Blessings to you and yours.

[Ezekiel]

FR cannot handle the secrets, Zeke!

Nu, what about you?

Now, if the Jewish world can accept that King David prophetically composed Psalm 22 for lonely Queen Esther, for her to have a little something to sing and pray while completely isolated from her people...

It means that King David -- a mere mortal -- had somehow reached beyond ordinary time, by riding on a whole other wavelength of perception entirely.

And of course, for Abraham's God to be the Creator of all time, means that there's no competition. He can do with time what He wants, which from an earthy perspective may flip the natural order to its seeming opposite. Clockwise, or counterclockwise. All the same, really. It depends if the view is from above, or from below.

One day I got to thinking about Joseph, and the spiritual concept that "it all depends on the mother". How did Joseph end up being the big dreamer of the family? Even such that he had been dispatched [from above] in order to engineer (reverse-engineer) a great deliverance?

Mothers, and their lullabies. They come so naturally. Rachel was prevented from singing a single lullaby to Benjamin, but to Joseph... she could sing her heart out:

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh, why can't I?

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh, why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

I've been inspired by the little flock of bluebirds that have been visiting daily for the past several months, even though this place is supposedly outside of their winter range.

Then sure enough, I found this, without even looking for it...

Background of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 1939

The music was written by Harold Arlen, a cantor's son. His real name was Hyman Arluck and his parents were from Lithuania.

Together, Hochberg and Arluck wrote "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which was voted the 20th century's number one song by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In writing it, the two men reached deep into their immigrant Jewish consciousness - framed by the pogroms of the past and the looming Holocaust about to happen - and wrote an unforgettable melody set to near prophetic words

Read the lyrics in their Jewish context and suddenly the words are no longer about wizards and Oz, but about Jewish survival...

Judy Garland Somewhere Over the Rainbow (1939) with Lyrics, story of song (Batya)

Rachel had named her second son Benoni. But then for some reason... Benoni disappeared from Earthly existence right along with his mother. That's 3576 years worth of lullabies..

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

[x]

Life in Depression-era America was no picnic. That’s reflected in the song as much or more than pogroms or the Holocaust.

[ShadowAce]

The purpose of doing this was to create a universe, that itself would “mirror” what was outside the void, so that God could find out if there was anything “not God”. Once it had achieved this purpose it would cease to exist and the void would collapse.

Then we know this theory is wrong and anti-biblical.

God is omniscient. There is no "finding out" about anything.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The purpose of the exercise is God divining if there is “anything that is not God”. This was the initial reason to create the absence of God, zimzum, a contraction, within God, then to use the beams of light, or lightning style bolt, to create the self creating mirror within.

“Is there anything not God?”, is the flip side of the most accurate statement God could make, “I Am that I Am”.

[ShadowAce]

Again—God is omniscient. He knows everything. There is no “finding out” by God. He already knows.