10227 —שיטת הגר"א שהצמצום כפשוטו – המקור לכך

[5731]

In what is printed [the Gra's commentary on Sifra DiTzniusa, the one source you mention], and even more explicitly in the Alter Rebbe's letter printed in Beis Rebbe, chapter 12; see there.

In my humble opinion, it [the Gra's view] is quite clear; see there.

Apparently, at the time of the controversy (during his [the Gra's] lifetime), they persecuted "the sect" [the Chassidim] over this too [the teaching that the tzimtzum is not literal], and it was about this that the Alter Rebbe's letter printed in Beis Rebbe, mentioned above, was written.

The same applies to accepting the Kabbalah of the Arizal (see the letter mentioned above): it appears that Rabbi Chaim [of Volozhin, unlike his teacher the Gra,] accepted it in its entirety.

Publisher's notes:

A reply to someone who had seen in the Rebbe's writings (see above, vol. 3, letter 551, and the sources noted there) that the Gra holds that the tzimtzum (the "contraction" of G‑d's infinite light that preceded creation) is literal, while his disciple Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin holds that it is not literal. He asked: the only source for the Gra's view is his commentary on Sifra DiTzniusa, yet his position is not so clear there.

"בהנדפס" ("in what is printed"): that is, the only source.

"במכ'" ("in the letter"): the Alter Rebbe's Igros Kodesh, vol. 1, letter 34 (p. 88, section beginning "ובפרט").

Summary

Asked whether the Gra's view that the tzimtzum is literal rests only on his unclear commentary on Sifra DiTzniusa, the Rebbe answers that it is stated there, and even more explicitly in the Alter Rebbe's letter in Beis Rebbe, written in the time of the controversy with the opponents of Chassidus. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, by contrast, accepted the Arizal's Kabbalah in its entirety.