The resolution of the above question isאַךְ הָעִנְיָן הוּא,
that through our Divine service as alluded to in the verse, “And you shall serve G‑d, your L-rd,”דְּעַל יְדֵי הָעֲבוֹדָה דְּ"וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֶת הוי' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם"
we transform darkness into light.מְהַפְּכִים חֲשׁוֹכָא לִנְהוֹרָא,
This is implied in the verse,1 “It illuminated the night,”כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב "וַיָּאֶר אֶת הַלָּיְלָה",
i.e., that the darkness of the night itself shone.שֶׁהַחֹשֶׁךְ בְּעַצְמוֹ מֵאִיר,
In a similar way, the tzimtzum itself will become a medium for light.וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁהַצִּמְצוּם גּוּפָא יִהְיֶה כְּלִי לָאוֹר,
Ultimately, not only will the tzimtzum not conceal G‑d’s light,שֶׁלֹּא זוֹ בִּלְבָד שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַעֲלִים,
it will actually serve as a source of revelation.אֶלָּא אַדְּרַבָּה שֶׁמְּגַלֶּה כוּ',
In this way there will be a revelation of the infinite dimension of Or Ein Sof within the framework of limited existence that had been brought into being by the tzimtzum.וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה יִהְיֶה גִּלּוּי אוֹר אֵין סוֹף הַבְּלִי גְּבוּל גַּם בְּהַמְּצִיאוּת שֶׁנִּתְהַוָּה עַל יְדֵי הַצִּמְצוּם.
The uniqueness of the transformation of the tzimtzum can be explained by contrasting the revelations that took place at the Giving of the Torah with those that will occur in the Ultimate Future.וּבֵאוּר הָעִנְיָן יוּבַן עַל פִּי הַהֶפְרֵשׁ בֵּין הַגִּלּוּיִים דְּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה לְהַגִּלּוּיִים דְּלֶעָתִיד
At the Giving of the Torah, the revelation came from Above and radiated downward,שֶׁבְּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה הָיָה הַגִּלּוּי מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה,
as indicated by the verse:2 “G‑d descended on Mount Sinai.”כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב "וַיֵּרֶד הוי' עַל הַר סִינַי",
In the Ultimate Future, by contrast, the revelation will come as a result of man’s Divine service, refining material existence and elevating it from its low level.וְלֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא יִהְיֶה מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה.
True, regarding the Ultimate Future it is written, “The glory of G‑d will be revealed,”וְאַף שֶׁלֶּעָתִיד כְּתִיב "וְנִגְלָה כְּבוֹד הוי'",
indicating that the revelation will also radiate from Above downward.בַּדֶּרֶךְ מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה,
There is, however, no contradiction, for in truth, in the Ultimate Future both motifs will be expressed.הִנֵּה הָאֱמֶת הוּא שֶׁלֶּעָתִיד יִהְיֶה
Not only will there be a revelation from Above, there will be an ascent from below as well.לֹא רַק מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה אֶלָּא גַּם מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה.
To explain: At the Giving of the Torah, the revelation was only from Above. It did not result from man’s Divine service of refining himself and his surrounding environment.וְהָעִנְיָן בָּזֶה, שֶׁהִנֵּה, בְּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה הָיָה הַגִּלּוּי רַק מִלְּמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה,
For during the Egyptian exile, the Jewish people had sunk into the 49 Gates of Impurityשֶׁהֲרֵי בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּמִצְרַיִם הָיוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מְשֻׁקָּעִים כוּ',
and their redemption was made possible only because “the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them.”3אֶלָּא שֶׁנִּגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּגְאָלָם,
Thus, the redemption came about because G‑d’s Essence radiated downward, reaching and affecting the lowest levels.
Therefore, immediately following the Exodus the Jewish people were given the service of Counting the Omerוְלָכֵן נִתְּנָה לָהֶם הָעֲבוֹדָה דִּסְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר
so that they could refine themselves.בִּכְדֵי לְזַכֵּךְ אֶת עַצְמָם,
Although the mitzvah of Counting the Omer was actually commanded at a later date, the Jews’ anxious expectation of the Giving of the Torah inspired them to carry out the spiritual counterpart of that mitzvah: personal refinement.
Despite the fact that they carried out this service before having been explicitly commanded to, the Giving of the Torah is nevertheless considered an expression of the motif of revelation from Above and not that of ascent from below, because (a) as the maamar proceeds to state, the Jews’ self-refinement was not complete; and (b) it was inspired by the revelations of the Exodus and by the promise of the revelations of the Giving of the Torah. It thus did not come about on their own initiative.
Even then, despite their efforts, their impurity did not cease until the Giving of the Torah.4וְגַם אָז לֹא פָּסְקָה זֻהֲמָתָם עַד מַתַּן תּוֹרָה.
Moreover, even the cessation of their impurity at the Giving of the Torahוְגַם מַה שֶׁבְּמַתַּן תּוֹרָה פָּסְקָה זֻהֲמָתָם
came about as a result of a revelation from Above.הָיָה זוֹ בְּדֶרֶךְ מִלְּמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה,
Consequently, the revelations impacted their souls and not their bodies,וְהַגִּלּוּי הָיָה רַק בְּהַנְּשָׁמָה וְלֹא בְּהַגּוּף,
as reflected in our Sages’ statement5 that after hearing each of the Ten Commandments, their souls expired, and G‑d then revived them with the dew to be used in the Resurrection of the Dead.6כְּמַאֲמָר רַזַ"ל עַל כָּל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר פָּרְחָה נִשְׁמָתָם,
Thus, the revelation was to their souls specifically.נִשְׁמָתָם דַּיְיקָא,
Moreover, not only were their bodies unable to accept this revelation,וְגַם
it was too overpowering even for their souls, and could not be revealed within them in a settled manner,בְּהַנְּשָׁמָה לֹא הָיָה הַגִּלּוּי בְּהִתְיַשְּׁבוּת,
as indicated by the fact that their souls expired.7דְּלָכֵן פָּרְחָה נִשְׁמָתָם.
In the Ultimate Future, by contrast, the revelations will come also as a result of ascent from below, man’s refinement of his body and this material world, specifically, throughout the era of exile.אָמְנָם לֶעָתִיד יִהְיֶה גַּם בְּדֶרֶךְ מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה,
Thus, both motifs, revelation that radiates from Above downward and ascent from below, will be expressed at that time.וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁיִּהְיוּ ב' הָעִנְיָנִים, מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה וּמִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה,
As reflected in our Sages’ interpretation8 of theprophecy:9 “I will make your windows of gemstones,”כְּמַאֲמָרָם זַ"ל "וְשַׂמְתִּי כַּדְכֹד שִׁמְשֹׁתַיִךְ"
The Talmud relates: “One10 interprets this as referring to onyx, and one, to jasper.11חַד אָמַר שֹׁהַם וְחַד אָמַר יָשְׁפֶה
Onyx is a black jewel, indicative of receiving energy drawn down from Above. Jasper is a sparkling gem, indicating how a stone itself radiates light. This parallels the motif of ascent from below.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will satisfy both views. “Let it be both like this and like that,” i.e., the windows will be formed from both together. Implied is that the revelations of the Ultimate Future will possess both positive qualities.וְאָמַר קֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לֶהֱוֵי כְּדֵין וּכְדֵין.
To explain: Each of these motifs – revelation that radiates from Above downward and ascent from below – possesses a positive quality that is lacking in the other.דְּהִנֵּה, יֵשׁ מַעֲלָה בְּכָל אֶחָד מִב' הָאֳפָנִים דְּמִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה וּמִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה,
When the revelation radiates from Above downward,דְּכַאֲשֶׁר הַגִּלּוּי הוּא מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה,
it is G‑d’s Essence – or at the very least, the essence of His light – that is being drawn down.אֲזַי הַגִּלּוּי הוּא הַמְשָׁכַת הָעַצְמוּת אוֹ עַל כָּל פָּנִים הָאוֹר עַצְמִי,
Such lofty levels cannot be drawn down by man’s Divine service; they are entirely beyond his reach. As such, there is a drawback that
such a revelation cannot rest neither within man nor within the world in a settled manner.אֲבָל גִּלּוּי זֶה אֵינוֹ בְּהִתְיַשְּׁבוּת,
In order for a higher light to rest within a lower plane in a settled manner, it must undergo the process referred to as hislabshus, “enclothing itself.” As that term implies, both the light and the k’li must adjust themselves to fit each other, just as a person’s clothes are tailored to fit his body. In the motif of revelation from Above, the higher light is revealed as is, without constraining or contracting itself to fit the limits of the lower plane. Since the lower plane has not undergone the appropriate refinement to make itself a fit k’li to contain the higher light, that light cannot rest within it in a settled manner.
This is because the revelation comes from Above,כֵּיוָן שֶׁהַגִּלּוּי הוּא מִצַּד הַמַּעֲלָה
and the lower plane has not been prepared to serve as a k’li for it.וְאֵין הַמַּטָּה כְּלִי לָזֶה.
When, by contrast, the revelation comes as a result of an ascent from below,וְכַאֲשֶׁר הַגִּלּוּי הוּא בְּדֶרֶךְ מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה,
i.e., as a result of man’s efforts to refine himself and our material world through the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos, and through prayer,
the light is then able to rest within the world in a settled manner. This is possible because the world has been refined and made into a k’li for the light.אֲזַי הָאוֹר הוּא בְּהִתְיַשְּׁבוּת,
Nevertheless, all that shines there is merely a ray of G‑d’s light, not the essence of that light. Since the light is drawn down through man’s efforts in refining the material plane, that light is proportionate to those efforts and therefore limited in nature.12אֲבָל הוּא רַק הֶאָרָה בִּלְבָד.
To illustrate the above using a kabbalistic concept: The names of G‑d, Havayah (י-ה-ו-ה) and A-donai (א-דני), both consist of four letters and are considered parallel to one another. Nevertheless, the name Havayah refers to the G‑dly light that transcends the limits of created existence13 while the name A-donai refers to the G‑dly light that defines those limits.
Kabbalah speaks of the integration (shiluv) of these names within each other, in which the letters of both names are written in an alternating pattern: א-י-ד-ה-נ-ו-י-ה or י-א-ה-ד-ו-נ-ה-י. Both of these patterns indicate an integration of the transcendent light of Havayah with the limited light of A-donai. The difference between the two patterns isוְזֶהוּ גַּם כְּלָלוּת הַהֶפְרֵשׁ בֵּין שִׁלּוּב שֵׁם הוי' בְּשֵׁם אַדְנוּת לְשִׁלּוּב שֵׁם אַדְנוּת בְּשֵׁם הוי',
that the first letter determines the mode of revelation that dominates.14שֶׁהַשִּׁלּוּב הוּא בְּאֹפֶן שֶׁהָאוֹת הָרִאשׁוֹן גּוֹבֵר,
When Havayah is integrated into A-donai, the first of the patterns illustrated previously,וְלָכֵן, בְּשִׁלּוּב הוי' בְּאַדְנוּת
the first letter, the alef of A-donai, is what sets the tone.גּוֹבֵר אוֹת הָרִאשׁוֹן דְּאַדְנוּת,
Hence, in this pattern the limited revelation of A-donai is the mode of revelation that dominates,וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁהָעִקָּר הוּא שֵׁם אַדְנוּת,
it is only that influence is also drawn into it from the name Havayah.אֶלָּא שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּזֶה גַּם הַמְשָׁכַת הוי',
This revelation, however, reflects only a ray of the name Havayah.שֶׁגִּלּוּי זֶה הוּא הֶאָרָה בִּלְבָד מִשֵּׁם הוי',
The name Havayah does not shine with all its intensity in this instance; its revelation is adjusted to “fit” the limited framework that is brought into being by G‑d’s name A-donai. This parallels the revelation drawn down from Above through man’s Divine service, which corresponds to that service and which is thus limited accordingly.
Since it comes as a result of ascent from below, it ismeasured out in accordance with the limits of the created beings.וּבָא בְּדֶרֶךְ מִלְּמַטָּה לְמַעְלָה.
The integration of the name A-donai into the name Havayah, the second of the patterns illustrated previously, in which the yud of Havayah is the first letter, represents the opposite motif.וּבְשִׁלּוּב אַדְנוּת בַּהוי' הוּא לְהֵפֶךְ,
In this instance, the revelation of the name Havayah is the mode that dominates.שֶׁהָעִקָּר הוּא גִּלּוּי שֵׁם הוי',
The lower plane into which it shines, represented by the name A-donai, is incorporated and subsumed within it.וְהַמַּטָּה שֶׁמִּצַּד שֵׁם אַדְנוּת הוּא בְּהִתְכַּלְּלוּת,
This reflects the mode of revelation from Above downward.וְזֶהוּ בְּדֶרֶךְ מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה.
In this mode, the revelation reaches the lower plane but is not internalized within it, because it essentially transcends that lower plane.
In the Ultimate Future, the positive qualities of both modes will be expressed,אָמְנָם לֶעָתִיד יִהְיוּ ב' הַמַּעֲלוֹת,
as G‑d says, “Let it be both like this and like that” i.e., thatכְּדֵין וּכְדֵין,
G‑d’s light will rest within our world in a settled manner, which comes as a result of an ascent from below.שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הָאוֹר בְּהִתְיַשְּׁבוּת,
and yet the essence of G‑d’s light will be revealed, which comes as a result of revelation from Above.וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם יִהְיֶה גִּלּוּי עֶצֶם הָאוֹר.
This will be accomplished through the totality of man’s Divine service from the beginning of time onward, and more particularly, in the era of exile,15וְעִנְיָן זֶה נַעֲשֶׂה עַל יְדֵי כְּלָלוּת הָעֲבוֹדָה
which entails transforming the tzimtzum so that it become a k’li – both a vessel to contain, and a medium to radiate – for this light.לַהֲפֹךְ אֶת הַצִּמְצוּם עַצְמוֹ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה כְּלִי לָאוֹר,
In this way, the infinite dimension of G‑d’s light will be able to rest within the world in a settled manner.שֶׁעַל יְדֵי זֶה יִהְיֶה גַּם אוֹר הַבְּלִי גְּבוּל בְּהִתְיַשְּׁבוּת.
A further point of clarification is necessary: Man’s Divine service of refining the world must be carried out through the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos. Since the Torah is essential G‑dliness as it is adapted to fit the structure of the world, it redefines the world, enabling it to receive G‑d’s essential light.16 This additional concept is necessary for the resolution of the question, for otherwise, man’s efforts of refinement could only draw down a limited light, a light proportionate to those efforts. The Torah, by contrast, infuses essential G‑dliness into the world, making the world a medium to receive the light that had shone prior to the tzimtzum.

Summary

The ultimate resolution of the above question is that through our Divine service that is alluded to in the verse “And you shall serve G‑d, your L-rd,” we transform darkness into light. In a similar way, the tzimtzum itself will become a medium for light. Ultimately, not only will the tzimtzum not conceal G‑d’s light, it will serve as a source of revelation. In this way there will be a revelation of the infinite dimension of Or Ein Sof within the framework of limited existence that had been brought into being by the tzimtzum.
The uniqueness of the transformation of the tzimtzum can be explained by contrasting the revelations that took place at the Giving of the Torah with those to take place in the Ultimate Future. At the Giving of the Torah the revelation came solely from Above, radiating downward. In the Ultimate Future, by contrast, not only will there be a revelation from Above, there will be an ascent from below as well; revelation will come as a result of man’s Divine service of refining material existence.
Since the revelation at the Giving of the Torah was from Above and did not result from man’s Divine service, it impacted only the souls of the Jewish people and not their bodies, as reflected in our Sages’ statement that after hearing each of the Ten Commandments, their souls expired. In the Ultimate Future, by contrast, the revelations will also come as a result of ascent from below, man’s refinement of the world. Thus, both motifs, revelation from Above and ascent from below, will be expressed.
To explain: Each of these motifs – revelation from Above and ascent from below – possess a positive quality that is lacking in the other. When the revelation comes from Above, G‑d’s Essence – or at the very least, the essence of His light – is being drawn down. Such lofty levels cannot be drawn down by man’s Divine service; they are entirely beyond his reach. As a result, there is a drawback: such a revelation cannot rest within man nor within the world in a settled manner. Since this light fundamentally transcends the world’s level, and since the lower plane has not undergone the appropriate refinement required to make itself a fit k’li to contain the higher light, that light cannot rest within it in a settled manner.
When, by contrast, the revelation comes as a result of an ascent from below, i.e., by virtue of man’s efforts to refine himself and our material world through the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos and through the service of prayer, this light can rest within the world in a settled manner. This is possible because the world has been refined and made into a k’li for the light. Nevertheless, all that shines there is a mere ray of G‑d’s light, not the essence of His light.
In the Ultimate Future, the positive qualities of both modes of revelation will be expressed: G‑d’s light will rest within our world in a settled manner, and yet the essence of G‑d’s light will be revealed. This will be made possible by man’s Divine service on this earthly plane, which involves transforming the tzimtzum into a k’li to contain and radiate this light.