The Theology of Chabad
The problem of divine withdrawal inspires an alternate view of the universe.
In Chabad thought the extremely radical solution is that, from the point of view of ultimate reality, there is no universe. The universe and the creatures who inhabit the universe only appear to enjoy existence. From our point of view, the world is indeed real, but not from God's point of view, as the Chabad thinkers put it. The meaning of Tzimtzum is not that it results in a real world, only that God allows the apparent existence of that which is other than He. The all-pervasive divine light is screened from view and this screening is what Tzimtzum denotes.
The Chabad thinkers stop short of saying that the world is an illusion, as in some varieties of Far Eastern thought, since such a view would tend to deny the reality of the practical laws and observances of the Torah which only have meaning in a real world. Instead, the distinction is drawn between the universe from God's point of view and the universe from our point of view, a concept difficult to grasp, and one which renders opaque the meaning of "real." The Chabad view is basically one of acosmism ("there is no universe") or panentheism ("all is in God").
Shneur Zalman gives the illustration of the sun and its rays. We see the sun's rays because we are so far distant from the sun but there are no rays in the sun itself. Similarly, creatures are sufficiently remote, in a non-spatial sense, from God to enable them to perceive the material world as real and as apart from Him but through which His glory is manifested. It follows that the nearer humans are to God in spirit, the closer they approximate to the mystical ideal of annihilation of selfhood. The more humans perceive the ultimate reality that is God, the less they become aware of themselves and the world of the senses. Chabad teachers like to tell of Shneur Zalman being asked what he saw when he lay on his deathbed. "I see only the divine light that pervades all that there is," was his reply.
The Divine Map
Chabad contemplation involves a survey in the mind of the whole complicated process described in the Kabbalistic scheme, the gradual unfolding and screening of the divine reaching from Ein Sof to the Sefirot, from the Sefirot to the lower world on high, and from these to our material world. All the complex details of the process as described in the Lurianic Kabbalah are to be followed in the mind with a view to grasping the divine unity, that in all the multiplicity of being there is only the One. When the Sefirotic map is perceived in the mind in descending order, from Ein Sof through all the worlds, this is termed "the higher unification." When the map is drawn in the mind in the opposite direction, in ascending order, from the material universe through to the Ein Sof, it is termed "the lower unification."
The Chabad contemplatives try to achieve both unifications especially when they recite the Shema, their minds undertaking the long and hazardous journey up on high and back again. The more zealous of the Chabad devotees have been known to spend a whole hour and more lost in contemplation while reciting the first verse of the Shema.
Did you like this article? MyJewishLearning is a not-for-profit organization.