Tsimtsumim - constrictions

צמצמים


 In the beginning, there was no existence except His presence; the Creator was  alone, occupying all space with His light. His light, without end, borders or  limit, filled everything. He was not bestowing His influence because there was  no one to receive it. When He willed to create; He started to influence. His  light being of such holiness and intensity, it is not possible for any being to  exist in its proximity.

The “Tsimtsum" is the first act of Ein Sof (Infinite) in the creation. It is the  retraction of His light from a certain space and encircling it, so as to reduce  its intensity and allow created beings to exist. After this contraction, a ray  of His light entered this empty space and formed the first Sephirot.


By these boundaries, He revealed the concepts of rigor and limit needed by the  created beings, and gave a space for all the created to exist.


חלל הפנוי - vacant space


In CHABAD philosophy, Tsimtzum is understood 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 thus tzimtzum is not only seen as being a real process but is also seen as a doctrine that every person is able, and indeed required, to understand and meditate upon.

In the Chabad view, the function of the Tzimtzum was "to conceal from created beings the activating force within them, enabling them to exist as tangible entities, instead of being utterly nullified within their source". The tzimtzum produced the required "vacated space" . This space is circular and contains all possibilities of existence for separated  entities, given that they are now distanced from the intensity of His light.


Reshimu - imprint


When His light retracted to form this round space, a trace of it called Reshimu  - imprint remained inside. This lower intensity light allowed a space of  existence (Makom) for all the created worlds and beings.
The roots of all future existence and events are in the Reshimu. Nothing can  come into existence without having its root in this imprint.  The combination of the Reshimu - imprint of the original light and the Kav – ray  of His direct light, will be the origin of all future worlds and existence.


Kav - ray


This ray of His direct light called "Kav" emerged from Ein Sof (Infinite) and entered on one side of the vacant space, where there was still an imprint of the  original light. The Kav, which represents the masculine and the imprint, the  feminine, will now together give existence to the worlds and the various systems  of Sephirot with which He will govern these worlds.