The Tension in Creation

There are two major forces within Creation which create an eternal tension. On the one hand is the infinite will of Hashem which is limitless. The other, is the process of constriction (Tzimtzum) which places boundaries on the expansion of His will.

Our Sages teach us that Hashem initially wished to create the world with the force of Din (limitation, constriction), but He saw that the world could not exist in that manner and utilized his trait of רחמים (Rachamim, lit. mercy) which balanced the limitations of Tzimtzum with the boundless Godly will to allow the world to exist.

This balance can exist because these two seemingly opposing forces are really working in concert. The limitations on God's goodness exist only to actualize that goodness. They are not there to negate His goodness. Creation cannot stand before infinite good and it is only the limitations that enable us to receive His good.

It is like the ozone layer and other parts of the atmosphere which make the sunlight safe (or at least safer) for mankind. In their absence the sun's rays would be overwhelmingly damaging to us. The limitations on the sun's rays are what give us the ability to benefit from the sun. The same is true for the limitations on the manifestations of God's goodness.

Hashem Needs You

Despite the fact that Hashem is perfect and needs nothing from Creation, He created the illusion that He needs our assistance. Hashem created the world in an imperfect manner and left it up to man to perfect His Creation. The arena is which this perfecting is done is referred to in Kabblah as מלכות (Malchus, monarchy), the tenth and final Sefirah.

That which is done in Malchus is for Hashem's sake.

Malchus is different than the traits represented by the other Sefiros. A person can be a Chacham (wise) without there being someone lacking in wisdom. A person can be a גבור (strong) without there being someone who is weak. These are traits which are inherent within a person that have no relationship to anything external.  Being a monarch, by contrast, can only be true if there is someone over whom to rule who accepts that rule. There can be more than one wise or strong person, but there can be only one king.

It is only with the cognizance that one is serving within Malchus, that one makes Hashem into the monarch.

Tzimtzum: II

We have mentioned previously that the process of Tzimtzum (constriction) by which Hashem hid himself within the world (עולם = hidden) was in order for man to makes Hashem's honor manifest in the world.

Why did Hashem wish to empower man to bring His honor into the world? Why didn't Hashem just do it Himself?

This was done in order to empower man to become more God-like. The hallmark of God is that He is a giver and never a receiver. By creating this paradigm, Hashem was creating the illusion, but one which appears real within our world, that man is a giver as well, making man God-like.

600,000 Names

In my Tuesday night Kabbalah Discussion Group we have discussed the concept that is taught by the Ramban that the entire Torah is the names of Hashem. We understood this to mean that the name of Hashem in any context is never understood to mean the real or true name of Hashem, but rather it is an expression of how we perceive and experience God's will and presence revealed to us. The Torah is, by definition, completely an expression of His will. As such, it is entirely a record of His names.

One of the participants mentioned tonight that he heard in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that in Messianic times the Torah will become one name of Hashem. What does this mean? Does it mean that suddenly the Torah will turn into one long word, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious style?

I suggested the intent of the Baal Shem Tov is that in our current pre-Messianic consciousness we perceive the manifestations of Hashem as being piecemeal, as we do not have the capacity to see Hashem as being truly One. We see each word or concept in the Torah as a separate name or revelation as we cannot perceive the total unity behind it all. By contrast, in the Messianic era we will have the Unity
consciousnesswhich will enable us to perceive the entirety of the Torah as one unified expression of the will of Hashem - as one name.