Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah turns to God Contracted Himself to Create a Space for Us.
The degree of that initial contraction, the Tzimtzum itself, determined the very nature of the space that was created. this way: God, being all-powerful, held within Him infinite possibilities for what that "space" could be. A myriad of potential universes, each with its own character and qualities. But only one of those possibilities was actualized.
So, what determined which possibility became our reality? Kalach Pitchei Chokhmah argues that it was the amount of God's self-limitation. What He chose to "remove" from the equation.
A sculptor with a block of marble. They could carve any number of forms from that stone. But the form that ultimately emerges is determined by what the sculptor removes, by the chips they take away.
Similarly, the text suggests that if God had contracted Himself more, removing even more of His infinite potential, the resulting world would have been smaller, more limited. Yet, the worlds would still have existed. And conversely, if He had contracted Himself less, the world could have been grander, more expansive. But again, existence would still have been.
So, the degree of Tzimtzum, the extent of that initial divine self-limitation, is what shaped the fundamental character of reality as we know it. It's a powerful thought, isn’t it?
What does this mean for us? Perhaps it suggests that even within the apparent limitations of our world, within the boundaries of our own lives, there’s a profound element of choice. A delicate balance between what is revealed and what is concealed. By understanding the concept of Tzimtzum, can we learn something about the nature of reality, and, perhaps, even something about ourselves?