What is the difference between chassidic thought and pantheism?

Question:

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman,

I have read many of your articles about soul matters. You often explain that G‑d is somehow "divided" into "sparks," and those "sparks" are present in everything, including non-animated objects such as sand. How can this idea be reconciled with G‑d's absolute unity? And what then is the difference between this way of thought and pantheism?

Answer:

It's very important we distinguish between "G‑d" and "that which is G‑dly" (G‑dliness).

Let me explain G‑dliness: All of the creation is sustained by G‑d's will and wisdom. However, in our world, 99.99% of the time, it is in a very disguised and hidden fashion. Often it comes to the point that one of those beings continually sustained by G‑dly light will deny the very G‑d that sustains it! How this is possible is beyond the scope of what I am writing here. The Kabbalah describes a process of "tzimtzum," contraction of light, in addition to concealment and encoding of the information that light carries--comparable perhaps to the way an email or an image might be encrypted and encoded when sent over the internet.

What is relevant to our issue is that in some instances that concealment does not occur. The signal may be weak, but the source of light shines through nonetheless. These are the instances within creation we call "kedusha" (holiness); instances that point to their Creator and communicate to us His will and wisdom: Torah, mitzvahs, the tzaddikim (saintly individuals), and any person who is carrying out G‑d's will on earth.

The doctrine of hidden sparks simply states that in fact every creation must contain some glimmer of holiness--or else it could simply not exist. Our mission on earth is to reveal that spark within each thing. In many cases we do that by using it for a mitzvah. In other cases, that is not possible and the only way to reveal that spark is by withstanding the challenges this article of Creation may pose. Each spark has its particular path to be revealed which corresponds to the path of the soul that comes to earth to live in a human body and find that spark and reveal it.

For further elucidation on these points, see Fallen Sparks.

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman for Chabad.org