Kabbalah (Lurianic)

Time is emergent and infinite — it began with the tzimtzum (divine contraction) and will reach its fulfillment in the tikkun (cosmic repair). Time is discrete, reflecting the successive stages of divine emanation through the sefirot. It is cyclical in the sense that creation, breaking (shevirat ha-kelim), and repair constitute a cosmic cycle. Time is uni-directional: history moves from the initial contraction toward messianic restoration.

Space is emergent and finite — it was created through the tzimtzum, God's self-contraction to make room for creation. The vacated space (tehiru) is the primordial arena of the sefirot's emanation. Space is curved and non-local in the sense that the sefirot connect all spatial levels through channels of divine light. Every physical location contains hidden sparks (nitzotzot) awaiting redemption.

Matter is emergent and finite — it consists of the "shells" (kelipot) that resulted from the breaking of the vessels (shevirat ha-kelim). Physical matter is a lower manifestation of divine light trapped in broken forms. Matter is non-conserved because tikkun transforms and elevates matter by liberating the sparks within it. It is non-local because every material fragment contains a piece of the original divine light.

The observer is a soul (neshamah) descended into a body to participate in the cosmic work of tikkun — the repair and restoration of a shattered divine order. Situated in a particular time and place, the observer's immediate knowledge is limited by the breaking of the vessels (shevirat ha-kelim) that scattered divine light into the material world. Yet through prayer, mitzvot, and mystical contemplation, the observer actively gathers and elevates the scattered sparks of holiness, accumulating spiritual knowledge that is permanently retained. The observer is both embodied and ensouled — body and soul together constitute the instrument of cosmic repair. Multiple souls are engaged in this shared task, each responsible for its own unique portion of the tikkun.

Finite and emergent — energy is the Or (divine light) that Ein Sof withdrew during Tzimtzum and that now exists in scattered, diminished form within the kelipot (shells); it is not self-existent but wholly derivative of the divine. Conservation: Variable — the Shevirat ha-Kelim (shattering of the vessels) dispersed divine energy in ways that do not obey simple conservation; Tikkun can restore and even elevate sparks beyond their original state, introducing genuine novelty. Dispersibility: Reversible — the entire Lurianic drama is one of reversibility: the scattered sparks of divine light can be gathered, raised, and returned to their source through human spiritual action, reversing the catastrophic dispersal of the Shevirah.

The divine letters and sefirot are fundamental informational units — reality is encoded through divine language. Creation is an act of informational encoding: God 'speaks' the world into being through combinations of letters. Information is substantival because the letters and sefirot are real structural elements of reality. It is conserved because the divine language is eternal. It is discrete because the letters and sefirot are distinct, countable units. The framework places this as conserved at both scales: the divine letters and sefirot constitute an eternal informational architecture, and the soul (neshamah) is conserved through gilgul (transmigration) and tikkun — every personal spark of the broken vessels is eventually restored.