וכל
הצמצומים הם בחינת הסתר פנים, להסתיר ולהעלים האור והחיות הנמשך מדבורו
יתברך, שלא יתגלה בבחינת גילוי רב שלא יוכלו התחתונים לקבל
All the contractions constitute a “veiling of the [Divine] Countenance”; that is, they veil and conceal the “face,” i.e., the essential aspects of
the light and life-force that are derived from G‑d’s Word, so that it
should not reveal itself with an intense radiance which the lower worlds
would be incapable of receiving.
ולכן גם כן נדמה להם אור וחיות הדבור של מקום ברוך הוא המלובש בהם, כאלו הוא דבר מובדל ממהותו ועצמותו יתברך
Therefore too, because it is thus obscured through tzimtzum, the light and life-force of G‑d’s Word that is clothed in them appears to them as if it is something separate from G‑d Himself,
רק שנמשך ממנו יתברך כמו דבור של אדם מנפשו
and as though it only issues from Him, just as the speech of a human being issues from him but then becomes separated from him.
This
false perception of the G‑dly life-force as something separate from G‑d
is possible only because the life-force is hidden from creation by
means of the tzimtzumim.
אך לגבי הקב״ה אין שום צמצום והסתר והעלם מסתיר ומעלים לפניו, וכחשכה כאורה
Yet, in regard to G‑d, no concealment or veil hides or obscures anything from Him; to Him,
1 “‘darkness’
(concealment) and ‘light’
(revelation) are alike,”
כדכתיב: גם חשך לא יחשיך ממך וגו׳
as it is written:
2 “Even the darkness does not obscure [anything] from You.”
This may also be interpreted: “Even the darkness does not obscure because it derives from You”; i.e., the veil of tzimtzum
is itself of divine origin, and therefore it cannot obscure G‑dliness.
For as the Alter Rebbe goes on to say, only a foreign body can
constitute an obstruction; one cannot hide from his own self.
משום שאין הצמצומים והלבושים דבר נפרד ממנו יתברך, חס ושלום, אלא כהדין קמצא, דלבושיה מיניה וביה
For the
tzimtzumim and the “veils” are not things distinct from Him, heaven forfend,
since nothing is separate from G‑d, but are
3 “like the turtle
(or: ’snail‘), whose garment
i.e., its shell is part of its body”;
so too, the very “shell” — the process of tzimtzum — that hides G‑dliness is itself G‑dly.
כמו שכתוב: כי ה׳ הוא האלקים, וכמו שכתוב במקום אחר
Thus it is written:
4 “G‑d — He is the Lord,” as is explained elsewhere.
5
In Hebrew: “Yud-hei-vav-hei — He is Elokim.” The Four-Letter Name of G‑d denotes Divine revelation and transcendence, while the Name Elokim refers to G‑d’s power of self-concealment by which he vests Himself in creation. The equation points out that they are one; Elokim is G‑dly just as is the level of G‑dliness signified by the other Name. Thus, Elokim does not act as a veil obscuring G‑d, since it is essentially one with Yud-hei-vav-hei, the power of revelation.
ולכן קמיה כולא כלא חשיב ממש
Therefore, in His presence, all else is of absolutely no account.
Since G‑d is not affected by the tzimtzumim
which make it possible for a created being to feel separate from Him,
He perceives all the creations brought into being by His Word as being
still within their source — Himself. There they are in a state of
absolute nullification. From His perspective they are still
nonentities, and the fact of their creation in no way detracts from His
absolute unity — He is One alone after Creation just as He was before
Creation.
——— ● ———
