yesterday’s post on malchutological reverse-kenosis layed some core tenants of shabbatean theology, such as the mystery of oz l’elohim. today I will adress another core tenant of shabbateanism, which is the mystery of tzemach (“sprout”, “life” or “growth”).

in every kadish prayer we chant “v’yatzmach purkeneh” (“and may he grow his salvation”) and in amida prayers we say “matzmiach keren yeshua” (“grower of a horn of salvation/Jesus”). the word tzemach appears through numerous instances in scripture, mainly in context of salvation, divinization and divine growth.
I’ll give few such instances which have unique messianic implications.

the growing of hvy”h elohim by his neshama

in genesis 2:9 it is written: ויצמח יהוה אלהים מן האדמה
which means: YHV”H ELOHI”M yitzmach (“will grow”) from the adama (“earth”), but can also be read: YHV”H yatzmach (“will make-grow”) ELOHI”M from the adama.

we already know that adama is a hint for the mem, the malchut. hence, we can conclude from this passage that the growing of elohi”m (the ekonomic intellect) by yhv”h (the self-productive life) is done through the malchut, which functions as an agent-catalyst of the growing divine reality. the procedure described here is the mystery of ma’aseh bereshit, in which the elohimic partzuf is grown and made-alive through the neshamic making-history of the malchut.

the tzvi as the sprout of hvy”h

in isaiah 4:2 it is written: ביום ההוא יהיה צמח יהוה לצבי
which means: in that day the tzemach of yhv”h will be a tzvi.
from this passage, we may make the conclusion that the tzemach (“growth”) of hvy”h is none other than christ, sha”tz, and in fact – his last name, which is an attribute in its own right. we also know that tzemach equals “nafach” (as in “nafach nefesh chaim”, breathed life) in gematria. we may conclude that mashiach is the vital procedural growth and the affirmation of the divine substance. The incessant ever-affirming world-eternal growth of divine life is the construct of the sha”tzological activity’s inner vicissitudes.
another biblical phrase which is a shabbatean chant is from jeremiah 33:15 which says: בימים ההם ובעת ההיא אצמיח לדוד צמח צדקה
which means: in those days and in this time I will grow for david a sprout (“tzemach”) of law.
this phrase refers to mashiach, who is the sprout of law, the growing word of God, the self-enlivening ongoing act of creation.

in my post abt the shabbatean liturgical year, there is a mention of mo’ed tzemach (“the time of growth”) which is a feast celebrating the growth of the God-man, adonenu malkenu yarom hodo sha”tz. we indeed should perceive the ethos of our movement to be derived from a celebration of life, of growth and of having-become. this is the emet. amen