Sources: R. Isaac Luria, Etz Chaim (Tree of Life, ~1572 AD, recorded by R. Chaim Vital); Vital, Sha’ar HaKavanot; R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi, Tanya; R. Chaim of Volozhin, Nefesh HaChaim Book 2.

Tzimtzum (contraction/withdrawal) is the first act in the Lurianic cosmogony — the divine self-limitation that makes creation possible. The theological problem it solves: if God is infinite and fills all existence, where is there space for anything else to exist? Luria’s answer: before creation, God (Ein Sof) contracted/withdrew into Himself, creating a primordial vacated space (the chalal, or tehiru). Into this vacated space God then projected a thin ray of divine light (kav), from which the Sefirot and ultimately creation emerge. Tzimtzum is followed by shevirat hakelim (shattering of the vessels) — the divine light was too intense for the primordial vessels meant to contain it; they shattered, scattering divine sparks (nitzotzot) into the material world, embedding holiness within matter. The human task (tikkun) is to elevate these sparks back to their divine source through Torah, prayer, and mitzvot. The theological controversy: R. Schneur Zalman (Tanya) interprets tzimtzum as metaphorical — God did not literally withdraw; the vacated space is vacated only from the perspective of created beings who cannot perceive the divine presence that remains. R. Chaim of Volozhin insists tzimtzum was real — there is a genuine space where God’s direct presence is not, otherwise creation has no independent existence. This debate maps onto the broader question of panentheism vs. theism that runs through all post-Lurianic Jewish theology. Philosophically, tzimtzum anticipates the modern concept of kenosis in Christian theology (God self-emptying in the Incarnation) and was noticed by Leibniz and Hegel.