Tzimtzum

Tzimtzum, often tzimtzum (Hebrew צמצום, literally, concentration 'or' contraction ') is, according to the Kabbalah, in the tradition of Isaac Luria's self- contraction of God from his own center. The result is a mystical cavity through which the existence of the universe is made possible at all. The Zohar did not know the concept of tzimtzum.

Contraction

Especially in the limitation of God is His power as Creator. In the beginning everything was met by the simple light of the En Sof. This contracted in the middle of his light. This resulted in an absolutely uniform empty space, a spherical ball in the middle of infinity. Without the tzimtzum there would have been no room for creation. After the Maggid Devaraw God is as a limitation, that is, as tzimtzum, present in this world. He created the world through this limitation. At the same time this self- limitation is the wisdom of God. With the tzimtzum the En Sof has restricted in the middle of his light to let an empty cavity left. This was done

" [ ... ] To generate the aspect of the vessels. For by one tzimtzum of light and its reduction, the possibility for the emergence and manifestation of the vessel was created. Because if the light shall abound, the vessel is dissolved because of its low power, take the strong and great light. It requires first a tzimtzum and a reduction of the light, and thereby the existence of the vessel revealed. "

The infinite light is contracted to create an empty space, which is surrounded by the vessels ( kəlīm ) of the ten Sephiroth, and are gradually penetrated by the infinite light. Since the inner six vessels, however, the power of the Infinite Light not withstanding, they break ( Schwirat ha - Kelim ), but remain as " shards " ( qlīpōt ) and cause of evil preserved in the world. Therefore five " forms" ( parṣūfīm ) are created as a container for the Sefirot in this empty space in a second act of creation.

Nothing and wisdom

In addition, the tzimtzum is sometimes interpreted as the creative nothing of divine unity. Nothingness is the wisdom and wisdom is the tzimtzum. God created the world out of tzimtzum, or nothing. This nothing is so not the opposite of being. Rather, it is prominent in tzimtzum deity. This nothing is so day by day the life force of the world. The tzimtzum on the divine side corresponds to the side of the people letting go of the material world. The deity descends into the void and the person rises in an act of unity with the divine wisdom ( high-mA ) of the nothing up in terms of a mystical union. The aim is to contemplative nihilation of the material and the human self-consciousness.

Others

A cosmological alternative model ( Big Bounce ) also starts from a in the initial state infinite and perfectly uniform universe, in a resolution adopted as spontaneous contraction, up to an extremely small, almost point -like space compressed ( Planck scale ). When the energy density reached a certain threshold, stopped the contraction and resulted in this model by a quantum- physically based way rebound effect ( bounce ) to the expansion ("Big Bang "), which has the universe today with its mass can occur.