Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

particular, were necessary in order to create separate beings. 
Elohim
stands 
for the general contraction and the aspect of time: “
YHVH 
reigned, 
YHVH
reigns, [and 
YHVH
will reign],”
42
whereas 
Adonai 
stands for the particular 
40
See note 34 above. 
41
T2, 4:78b-79a. 
42
See note 29 above. 

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38 
contraction, for […] the aspect of Lord [
adon
] refers to the Blessed One only 
with respect to separate beings, and therefore this contraction is particular.
43
The Tetragrammaton and 
Elohim
are compared to the sun and the shield that covers 
it, protecting the world below and preventing it from being burned by the intensity of 
the sun’s light. The purpose of this allegory is to describe the contraction [
tsimtsum
] 
of the divine in the process of creation, whereby the names 
Elohim 
and 
Adonai
restrain the unbound divine light originating in the Tetragrammaton, so as to enable 
the creation of individual beings.
44
The divine light mediated through these lower 
divine names provides the created beings with life while at the same time allowing 
them to preserve their individual existence. They are not at risk of dissolving in the 
divine light because it reaches them in diminished form rather than in full force.
Rashaz identifies the Tetragrammaton with God’s supra-temporal dimension, 
pointing to the past, present and future forms of the verb “to be” comprised in it.
45
This step allows him to employ the concept of the divine contraction in the discourse 
on God and temporality. On the whole, there are two dimensions of the contraction – 
general and particular. On the one hand, the particular contraction gives rise to the 
existence of individual beings, presumably because it adjusts the radiance of the 
divine light to each and every one of them. The particular contraction is also 
associated with the name 
Adonai 
(the Lord — a euphemism traditionally used in 
liturgy as a substitute for the four-letter divine name), as the idea of lordship reflects 
both God’s supremacy and the gap separating Him from the particular beings.
46
On 
the other hand, the general contraction, linked to the name 
Elohim,
diminishes the 
divine light in order to create the temporal framework in which these beings would 
43
MAHZ 
‘Inyanim
, 265 [Appendix 16]. 
44
Rashaz explains the role of the Tetragrammaton in the process of creation 
ex-nihilo
[
yesh me-ayin
] 
by referring to its etymology, where YHVH is understood as the imperfect form of the verb “to cause 
to exist.” See for example T2, 4:79a: “The meaning of the name 
HVYH
is ‘that which brings 
everything into existence [
mehaveh et ha-kol
] 
ex-nihilo
. The letter 
yud 
[modifies the verb] indicating 
that the action is present and continuous” [Appendix 17]. 
45
See note 24 above.
46
This idea will be further discussed below in relation to the 
sefirah
of 
Malkhut
. 

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39 
exist, and this in turn corresponds to the interpretation of the name 
Elohim
as 
nature.
47
As in the earlier example of 
‘olam, shanah, nefesh
, so here, the discourse on 
divine names shows time to be a created entity that conditions all individual worldly 
beings. Temporality is created from the concealment of God’s four-letter name by 
the name 
Elohim
- an idea that draws on the common occurrence of these two names 
together in the Bible. The creation of individual beings comes as a result of the 
contraction of the Tetragrammaton’s life force into the name 
Adonai
, an idea which 
is based on the ritual replacement of the ineffable four-letter name of God with its 
liturgical euphemism.
It is worth noting that the distinction between the roles of the two 
contractions of the Tetragrammaton, by