Chapter 48

In chapter 46 the Alter Rebbe explained a way to attain love Hashem In the form of a reflection, just as water reflects a face, one person's heart reflects another's, and if we think about the love that Hashem He has for us, then we can reflect that love in our own hearts.

Now the Alter Rebbe will give more details about this love that Hashem He has for us, so that we may awaken in our hearts a very strong love for Him.

Our wise men call the energy with which Hashem He creates the universe with the name “The Infinite Light” (or ein sof). They called it that because that name indicates what that energy is: an infinite force.

This world we live in is limited, finite. Even the spiritual worlds are limited; the angels who live there cannot understand "The Infinite Light" of Hashem.

To understand the difference between infinity and finite, imagine this: if we had a crate with an infinite number of apples, and we subtracted one apple from that crate, how many apples would be left in the crate? Infinitely many. Because infinity is a different kind of number. It's not like the numbers we're used to (natural numbers), which are comparable to one another. For example, if we subtract one from 100,000, we get 99,999. Even though 1 is a very small number compared to 100,000, it still has a relationship and comparison with 100,000, to the point that 1 can modify 100,000 and transform it into 99,999.

But with infinity, it's different. There's nothing you can subtract from it, and there's no way to change it. The number 1 and the number 100,000, compared to infinity, are the same—both insignificant. Both small. That's what it means that infinity is another category of number.

Now let's take this idea to Hashem. We will encounter a problem: if the energy with which Hashem The universe is infinite: How does it do it? Hashem How can we create a finite and limited world with infinite energy?

To achieve that, Hashem Use a tool called contraction (tzimtzum). Contraction manages to conceal the infinite energy of Hashem so that it does not illuminate this world with its full force and give rise to this world and all that fills it. In turn, contraction allows only a minuscule reflection of that infinite energy to be revealed, which, being so minuscule, is insignificant compared to “The Infinite Light” (see chapter 40 on the idea of a reflection).

The energy that Hashem It is used to give life to the spiritual worlds, and this material world is as small as comparing the number 1 to infinity. That is why the worlds can withstand it. If Hashem Had God not concealed His "Infinite Light" with contractions, the universe would not have been able to withstand that energy and would have disappeared. It's like looking directly at the sun; it's so powerful that we cannot bear it. And yet the sun is insignificant compared to the "Infinite Light" of God. Hashem. (See towards the end of chapter 21 on this topic).

With this idea, the Alter Rebbe explains the two types of energy with which Hashem It creates and sustains the entire universe.

1) The first is the limited and small energy that is invested within the universe, sustains it and gives it life. That energy is called “Fill all worlds” (memalé col almin).

2) The second is the infinite energy that is not revealed in the universe, because the universe could not withstand it. This energy is called “Surrounding all worlds” (sovev col almin).

What does it mean that there is an energy that fills and one that surrounds worlds? The energy of Hashem that which is revealed in the worlds through which the worlds live and are sustained, we say that it fills the worlds, like the soul that fills the body and gives it life.

But the energy of Hashem That which is hidden in the worlds, because it is infinite and so powerful that it would annul everything if it were revealed, we say that it surrounds the worlds.

An example to understand these two types of energy is imagination. Let's think about a house we've seen from the outside and whose interior we also know. We can say that this house and everything inside it is "inside our head," and our head "surrounds" that house (what we see from the outside), and, in turn, our head "fills" that house (knowing everything inside it), even though, in reality, that physical house is probably not inside our head. It's just a product of our imagination.

The energy of Hashem that surrounds the worlds is the way our imagination perceives the house from outside of it, and the energy of Hashem What fills the worlds is similar to how our imagination fills that house, that is, what we see inside it.

But the thoughts of Hashem are very different from ours, and His thought and His knowledge of all things that exist “surrounds” and “fills” all things in reality (not just in the imagination). That knowledge of Hashem is so powerful and infinite that if it were not limited by contractions (tzimtzumím) would not create the physical and limited world as we know it. Therefore Hashem It hides that infinite capacity through contractions and allows only a limited and minuscule reflection of that energy to be revealed to give life to all the things we know in the world.

We can conclude, then, that the infinite energy of Hashem “It ”surrounds“ all things and His finite energy ”fills” all things.