From Einstein to the Arizal

We were a small group of kollel avreichim who once a week after morning seder used to meet in the small Vizhnitz caravan on Rechov Darchei Ish in Beitar to learn kabbalah. Trying to get our feet wet a bit in the secrets of the Torah, we had just begun learning the sefer “Otzros Chaim” from Rav Chaim Vital, the main student of the Arizal. The sefer Otzros Chaim is considered the ‘key’ to the writings of the Ari as one who is familiar with its contents should have the tools to study the other sections of the Kisvei Ari as well.

Well, one of the members of our group was someone named Yaakov. Yaakov was a baal teshuva who before learning in yeshiva had studied science at the Weitzman institute. His unique perspective greatly enhanced our class.

At the beginning of the sefer, the Ari discusses one of the most important topics in kabbalah: the tzimtzum. At the heart of the world, lies a deep but really very simple question: If Hashem is infinite, then how does the world exist? The teaching of the tzimtzum helps us work around this difficulty by explaining that, yes, even after Hashem created the world, He remains infinite (which ultimately means “Ein Od Milvado” as if something is truly infinite then there is no room for anything else). However, as the Nefesh Hachaim explains in the third gate of his work, the word ‘tzimtzum’ does not mean ‘removal’ chas veshalom but rather it means “to hide”. In other words, in order to make room for a finite world, Hakadosh Baruch Hu hid his infinite presence so that the finite could emerge from his infinity. With this understanding, Hashem remains........

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