The Dialectical Divine: Navigating the Tension between Transcendence and Immanence and Relevance for 12 Step Recovery

This article explores how the concept of tzimtzum illuminates the struggle between these seemingly contradictory aspects of the divine—the objective, transcendental “Higher Power” versus the subjective, personal “My-Higher Power”—and how this tension manifests in contemporary religious experience and the implications for the 12 step program of recovery from addiction.