In order to visualize what happened after the initial Tzimtzum, Rabbi Chaim Vittal presents the following graphic: Imagine a circle, and the circle is full of the Or Ein Sof. No finite existence may be created within this circle for the Light of the Infinite totally occludes it. The Tzimtzum concealed the Or Ein Sof so that within the circle is left a void within which something finite can be created. The next stage of creation was the introduction into this circle of a beam of pre-Tzimztum light called the Kav. Contained within this Light were all the ingredients for the creation of the various worlds. The difference between a circle and a beam of Light is that the circle has no beginning and no end. Around its circumference one can move ad infinitum. The circle represents the Infinite Light of Sovev Kol Almin (the Light that surrounds all worlds), which is peripheral to all worlds. Hassidism calls it an Or Makkif (a transcendent Light). The Kav on the other hand is a line which has a beginning and an end. The Kav represents the chain of worlds in the post-Tzimtzum state in which there are higher worlds and lower worlds, rather like the various rungs of the ladder. In the higher worlds, the Light is very intense and G‑d’s presence is absolutely manifest. As the Kav progresses, the measure of Light is reduced further and G‑d’s presence becomes more concealed within the Vessels. At the center of the circle is this world. This is the lowest point of the line at which the Light is totally concealed within the physical creation.

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