tzimtzum
Primordial World
This painting is based on Primordial Worlds that are described in the Lurianic Kabbalah. Notice the four letters of the Holy Name YHWH in the four corners. Also notice the Hebrew letters that represent the various spellings of this Name (as I explain in the explanation for the picture A Tapestry of Holy Names) are in the four corners of the light rectangle.
Engrave Yah
In the Kabbalah, the Hebrew Letters Yod (י) and Heh (ה) represent Chochmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding).
The Seed of Creation
The white in this picture represents Ein Sof - the Infinite and Eternal Light of the God. The dark sphere represents the seed of Creation, the place formed by the Tzimtzum (the contraction of the Ein Sof) that contains all Worlds. The Tzimtzum is an act of Gevurah (Strength), a withdrawing of the Infinite Light in order to create a finite realm. It is thus associated with the Five Gevurot - the five Hebrew letters that change their form when they appear at the end of a word - Mem ם, Nun ן, Tzadi ץ, Peh ף and K
The Big Bang
Albert Einstein said that Science without Religion is lame, and Religion without science is blind. The kabbalists have always seen the two as complementary. The cosmology of Kabbalah and of Modern Science can also be seen as complementary perspectives. That is why I used complementary colors in this picture.
