Tzimzum as the Anchor Metaphor in Community Building
February 26th, 2010
This is a copy of an article recently published in Sh’ma Magazine, Journal of Jewish Responsibility that I wrote on our philosophy of community building here at JCP. (Jan 2010, 40/665, pgs 15-16)
“The illusory language of the kabbalistic masters presents a welcome invitation to how we can think about the leadership of community building. In the mystery of Tzimzum, the All Mighty Contraction, we are gifted a window into Creation. This figurative notion of the Constriction created a platform for the Universe – from ayn, yesh (nothing to something) and this idea offers those of us charged with the responsibility of building Jewish community, the anchor metaphor for our inspiration.
We recognize the paradox of tzimzum and the purity of something from nothing. Something must have existed within ayn to enable tzimzum to occur. Yet, even in this paradox, we are given a useful insight into the process of creation.
At the Jewish Community Project in Lower Manhattan, we seek to empower and engage the members of the Project in the process of creation. Five years ago, we started with a blank canvas and conversations. We created an open platform for people to create and to be inspired by the Jewish spark that lived within them, often dormant or yet to be ignited. The purpose was for the leaders to engage in withdrawl, for the purpose of communal empowerment and personal engagement.
To employ the metaphor of tzimzum as community leaders, we release ourselves from the expectations and assumptions of how things MUST or HAVE TO be done and recognize the psychological limitations it places on the courage to create. The uniform and narrow expression of the SAME serves to reduce, not to expand. This mentality can be applied to communal experiences, ritual, worship, and the way we talk about the purpose and value of our work.
While the common understanding may be that unchanging ritual and communal practices enable structure and grounding, it also limits creativity and expansion. The irony is that in the very place we are seeking to transcend the mundane, to achieve higher realms, deepen relationships, we return to the familiar melody, ritual, and practice that seemingly binds ourselves to the ancients in shared practice.
Rather than seek a continual return to what is known, can we push through to new areas? Can we expand the spiritual, intellectual, social, and communal experience by articulating a new understanding of Tzimzum. Contracting is not the same as turning our back to shield ourselves from tradition, it is embracing the Face of Glory as witness to the genuine and free expression of creation.
Related Pages:Letter to the Editor: Cordoba House – Community Center Effort in Lower Manhattan