Life Of Pi Cabalism Analysis

The Life of Pi and cabalism appear juxtaposed until provided with the proper background information. In The Life of Pi, religion is mentioned quite early in the book. Pi starts off by telling us that he majored in religious studies, and later explains how he practiced three religions at once. But where else does religion come into play? Why is it important? It’s important because, buried at the bottom of the ocean, hidden inside the name of the Tsimtsum, is a religious metaphor for Pi’s expedition. Tsimsum, more commonly spelled as tzimtzum, is a cabalistic term referring to Isaac Luria’s ideas about God and Creation. We can compare several of the events within the novel to the definition and description of Tzimtzum. In doing so, we find that …show more content…
Luria, a rabbi and Jewish mystic from the sixteenth century, believed that God removed his Ein Sof, or infinite light, to reveal an “empty space” existing without his light in which separate, confined worlds could exist. Likewise, in Pi’s journey, the ocean could be considered an “empty space” similar to the one caused by Tzimtzum. Uniform in every direction, extremely vast, and unforgivingly cruel, the sea could be described as feeling cold, lonely, and empty. Within this vast ocean, Pi finds what is considered to be a “botanically impossible” island. This island has trees that grow directly out of the vegetation, highly acidic carnivorous algae, an extraordinarily large population of meerkats, and many other odd features. Such an island should not be considered physically possible, and no one appears to have seen it or heard of it before, with the exception of Pi. Therefore, it could possibly be used to represent the spiritual realms within the empty space. Similarly, the lifeboat that Pi sails in could represent the safety and stability of the physical world, and arriving at the island symbolizes the spiritual and physical worlds