Tanya Illuminated

Key Words to know for this chapter

Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah: The Hebrew language commonly uses three different words to refer to the soul. Sometimes, they are used to specify three different aspects of the soul.

You may have heard of two other terms that refer to the soul as it transcends the body altogether: Chayah and Yechidah. However, these are not mentioned explicitly in Tanya.

In Tanya, the term neshamah most often refers to the divine soul, whereas nefesh unqualified could refer to either soul or both.

In Hebrew, all nouns are “he” or “she.” There is no neuter form in the Hebrew language – no “it.” All nouns used for the soul are feminine – and there’s meaning in that. We’ve chosen, therefore, to refer to the soul in most cases as “she.”

The Five Dimensions of the Soul. Transcendent Dimensions: Yechida (Singular) — Essence-core of the soul, as she is one with G-d; Chaya (Living) — Raw, Innate Desire, Faith. The Conscious and Perceptive Dimensions: Neshama (Breath) — Mind; Ruach (Spirit) — Emotions; Nefesh (Self-directed being) — Biological life.

Introduction

The Second Soul

If you feel you’ve been left hanging at the end of chapter one, it’s probably because that’s exactly where you are supposed to be. The bar seems to be set very high and, so far, all you’ve got inside yourself to tackle the challenge is a beast that’s barely better than anything else in this selfish world.

Not to fear. In this chapter you discover your divine soul. With a part of G‑d within you, no bar is too high, no challenge is formidable.

Except, perhaps, the challenge of understanding what is a divine soul.

Prior to Tanya, most educated Jews believed that the soul was synonymous with intelligence: a person with a small mind had, quite obviously, a small soul. A great-minded person had, by definition, a great soul. They thought of the divine soul as a sort of pure intellect, just as they thought of G‑d as the great mind of the cosmos.

Others protested that this was not a Jewish way of thinking. Intellect, they said, is not G‑d but merely one of His creations and your intelligence is not your soul. What then is this soul? That they could not say. But then, neither can we say what is G‑d.

In this chapter, Rabbi Schneur Zalman straddles both these views. The divine soul, he explains, originates in G‑d’s wisdom, the fountainhead from which all things emerge into existence. G‑d and His wisdom are one. Think of that divine wisdom as G‑d observing Himself originating everything out of the void. Your divine soul, coming from that place, enters into the world with the inalienable intuition that there is really nothing but G‑d.

How does she know? Not through any reasoning or observation, but simply because this is who she is – that divine wisdom itself, appearing in our world as a particular soul of a particular person.

This flattens the playing field. The simple Jew, along with the great sage and tzadik, all represent that same divine origin. Indeed, we discover that we all form one complete whole. The distinctions between us are not in how close we are to G‑d, but in what way and to what degree that closeness shines within us.

This description is both mystifying and enabling at once. It allows us to ponder this second, divine soul, to understand how she works and what healing she may need. At the same time, it leaves us in awe and wonder, knowing that we host within us a wisdom and knowledge entirely beyond the human experience. Indeed, an iteration of the mind of G‑d.

For more, read So You’ve Got a Chunk of G‑d Inside You

פרק ב'

Chapter Two

The Divine Soul

וְנֶפֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִית בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, הִיא חֵלֶק אֱלוֹהַּ מִמַּעַל מַמָּשׁ,

The second soul in a Jew is “a part of G‑d from beyond” in actual fact.

“Part” here means not a particular part of G‑d, which is absurd, but a particular iteration of a sample of Him. This second soul knows G‑d from her very essence.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים",

The Torah describes how G‑d created all things, including Adam, by simply speaking them into existence. But when it came to giving Adam a soul, rather than speaking, “He exhaled into his nostrils the breath of life.”

וְ"אַתָּה נָפַחְתָּ בִּי",

This is true not only of Adam but of this second soul of every Jew, as we say in our morning blessings, “My G‑d, the soul that You have placed within me is pure. You have created it. You have formed it. You have exhaled it into me.”

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר, מַאן דְּנָפַח מִתּוֹכֵיהּ נָפַח, פֵּירוּשׁ, מִתּוֹכִיּוּתוֹ וּמִפְּנִימִיּוּתוֹ, שֶׁתּוֹכִיּוּת וּפְנִימִיּוּת הַחַיּוּת שֶׁבָּאָדָם מוֹצִיא בִּנְפִיחָתוֹ בְּכֹחַ:

The Zohar explains this metaphor of exhaling. “When you exhale,” it says, “you exhale from within yourself.” Meaning, from your innermost. When you exhale forcefully, you exert your innermost life energy.

G‑d injected His innermost life energy into Adam. And the same with every Jew.

Child and Thought

כָּךְ, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל,

The same idea of G‑d placing His innermost within us lies behind another Torah metaphor:

נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל עָלוּ בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה, כְּדִכְתִיב: "בְּנִי בְכוֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל", "בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם"

The sages say that “Israel arose in thought.” They mean by this that we are His children, as it says, “My child, my firstborn, Israel,” and, “You are children of G‑d, your G‑d.”

פֵּירוּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהַבֵּן נִמְשָׁךְ מִמּוֹחַ הָאָב,

What is the connection between “arising in thought” and being a child of G‑d? Because a child is extracted from the brain of the father, his most essential, innermost faculty.

כָּךְ כִּבְיָכוֹל נִשְׁמַת כָּל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל נִמְשְׁכָה מִמַּחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ,

So too, anthropomorphically speaking, the soul of every Jew is extracted from G‑d’s innermost life energy, His quintessential faculty of thought and wisdom. She is not just one of G‑d’s thoughts, but something of G‑d’s mind that thinks those thoughts.

Divine Wisdom as G‑d’s Imprint

In what way does G‑d’s wisdom represent His innermost? Certainly, G‑d is not defined or described by His wisdom. He is beyond any description at all.

דְּאִיהוּ חַכִּים וְלָא בְחָכְמָה יְדִיעָא, אֶלָּא הוּא וְחָכְמָתוֹ אֶחָד,

The answer is that “G‑d is wise, but not with a knowable wisdom.” Rather, He and His wisdom are one.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמְבַּ"ם, שֶׁהוּא הַמַּדָּע וְהוּא הַיּוֹדֵעַ כוּ',

Rambam explains this unity, saying, “He is the Mind that knows and He is the Knower that knows with that Mind (and He is the knowledge that is being known).” G‑d is His wisdom, while simultaneously, He is G‑d, the one who is knowing through this wisdom.

וְדָבָר זֶה אֵין בִּיכוֹלֶת הָאָדָם לַהֲבִינוֹ עַל בּוּרְיוֹ כוּ', כְּדִכְתִיב: "הַחֵקֶר אֱלוֹהַּ תִּמְצָא", וּכְתִיב: "כִּי לֹא מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵיכֶם וְגוֹ'".

That’s why, as Rambam notes, a lucid grasp of this divine intellect is beyond human reach – because it is one with G‑d, and understanding G‑d is beyond our reach, as it says, “If you will seek G‑d with your intellect, will you find Him?” Just the same, you can’t understand His mind, “for My thoughts are not your thoughts…as the heavens are beyond the earth…”

So the divine mind truly does represent G‑d Himself, as it is one with Him. The divine soul begins as a sample of this divine mind, and is therefore a part of G‑d’s ungraspable innermost.

הגההMarginal note

וְהוֹדוּ לוֹ חַכְמֵי הַקַּבָּלָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּפַּרְדֵּס מֵהָרַמַ"ק. וְגַם לְפִי קַבָּלַת הָאֲרִ"י זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה יַצִּיבָא מִילְּתָא, בְּסוֹד הִתְלַבְּשׁוּת אוֹר־אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, ﬠַל־יְדֵי צִמְצוּמִים רַבִּים, בְּכֵלִים דְּחָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּﬠַת דַּאֲצִילוּת, אַךְ לֹא לְמַﬠְלָה מֵהָאֲצִילוּת, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר, שֶׁאֵין־סוֹף־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מְרוֹמָם וּמִתְנַשֵּׂא רוֹמְמוּת אֵין קֵץ, לְמַﬠְלָה מַּﬠְלָה מִמַּהוּת וּבְחִינַת חָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּﬠַת, ﬠַד שֶׁמַּהוּת וּבְחִינַת חָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּﬠַת נֶחְשֶׁבֶת כַּﬠֲשִׂיָּיה גוּפָנִיִּית אֶצְלוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "כּוּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה ﬠָשִׂיתָ":

Near the opening of this chapter, in the section “Divine Wisdom as G‑d’s Imprint,” Rabbi Schneur Zalman explained that the divine soul is a part of G‑d because it arises in G‑d’s wisdom and “He and His wisdom are one.” He cited Rambam’s dictum that “G‑d is the Mind that knows and He is the Knower that knows with that mind.”

True, you might say, the wisdom we are speaking of is G‑d’s wisdom, a wisdom that is tied up with Him in a way that entirely transcends human understanding. But G‑d is much more than wisdom. Ultimately, the question remains: Is the soul rooted in G‑d’s wisdom or in G‑d Himself?

Indeed, Rabbi Yehudah Loewe, commonly known as the Maharal of Prague, considered this statement of Rambam anathematic to Jewish belief.

“We do not call G‑d ‘the Intellect, blessed be He,’” he wrote, “but ‘the Holy One, blessed be He,’ meaning that He entirely transcends any definition.” To the Maharal, intellect was simply another creation, just as heaven and earth. It was a utensil that G‑d uses, or an activity that G‑d does. It may be a very special wisdom, far beyond any wisdom we can imagine. But it is not G‑d.

“And if you should ask,” he wrote, “how will I know Him if I do not know what He is? The answer will be: You know you are alive, and you know there must be something that makes you alive. You call it a soul, but neither you nor anyone else knows what it is. All the more so with G‑d. We know we exist, and we know there must be a cause to existence, and we call that G‑d. We know that He is, but there is no way to say what He is.”

Here, in a marginal note, Rabbi Schneur Zalman clarifies his statement and his understanding of Rambam. Yes, G‑d is far beyond wisdom, as Maharal states. But He is nevertheless found within His wisdom, all of Him.

To explain, he cites the teachings of two master Kabbalists of Safed, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and the Arizal (R. Yitzchak Luria). The Kabbalah speaks of G‑d’s attributes of wisdom, understanding, and knowing, as well as His kindness, might, compassion, etc., as ten sefirot. Each sefirah has two elements to it: its light and its containment, an idea that was perhaps the precursor of our modern paradigm of energy and matter.

For example, when we say that “G‑d knows,” the knowing is a kind of containment for G‑d’s infinite light, limiting that light to the modality of knowing. When we say that “G‑d understands,” we mean that His infinite light is invested and engaged within the containment of the specific modality of understanding. Divine wisdom is G‑d’s infinite light.

If we would ask Maharal, he might assert that, yes, of course G‑d’s light is invested within the act of knowing. But this device called knowing is not G‑d – it is a creation of G‑d.

However, to the two master Kabbalists that Rabbi Schneur Zalman cites, the same G‑d who is energizing these modalities is the same G‑d who is restraining that energy into these particular forms (as Rabbi Schneur Zalman explains at length in the second book of Tanya).

If so, on the one hand they agree with Maharal that G‑d Himself is not defined by any of these modalities they call sefirot. Nevertheless, neither are they something other than Him.

In G‑d’s kindness is all of Him. When you call upon G‑d’s compassion, you are addressing all of Him. That is the simple meaning of the words of our prayers and of the Psalms when we say that G‑d is kind, mighty, and compassionate. We don’t say G‑d uses kindness or acts with kindness. We say that He is kind. Because He invests Himself within this mode of kindness, all of Himself.

This is especially true with chochmah, divine wisdom, the first of the sefirot and entry point for G‑d’s infinite light into the realm of particulars. Everything about this modality of wisdom is nothing else but Him, as explained later in Tanya.

Now we can read Rambam’s words in a new light: Not that G‑d is mind, but that He chooses to know through the modality of mind.

וְהוֹדוּ לוֹ חַכְמֵי הַקַּבָּלָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּפַּרְדֵּס מֵהָרַמַ"ק. וְגַם לְפִי קַבָּלַת הָאֲרִ"י זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה יַצִּיבָא מִילְּתָא,

The Kabbalists are in agreement with Rambam on this, as Rabbi Moshe Cordovero explains in his book Pardes Rimonim. It accords even with the teachings of the Arizal, who understands the Infinite Light of G‑d as yet further removed.

בְּסוֹד הִתְלַבְּשׁוּת אוֹר־אֵין־סוֹף בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, ﬠַל־יְדֵי צִמְצוּמִים רַבִּים, בְּכֵלִים דְּחָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּﬠַת דַּאֲצִילוּת,

These Kabbalists describe how the Infinite Light, through many degrees of restraint, is invested within the receptacles of wisdom, understanding, and knowing of the world of emanation. In that investment, the Infinite Light and the receptacle of divine wisdom become completely one, like body and soul.

אַךְ לֹא לְמַﬠְלָה מֵהָאֲצִילוּת,

It cannot be said, however, when speaking within any context beyond the world of emanation.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר, שֶׁאֵין־סוֹף־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מְרוֹמָם וּמִתְנַשֵּׂא רוֹמְמוּת אֵין קֵץ, לְמַﬠְלָה מַּﬠְלָה מִמַּהוּת וּבְחִינַת חָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּﬠַת, ﬠַד שֶׁמַּהוּת וּבְחִינַת חָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּﬠַת נֶחְשֶׁבֶת כַּﬠֲשִׂיָּיה גוּפָנִיִּית אֶצְלוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ,

As discussed elsewhere, the Infinite One transcends higher and higher without end, way beyond the very essence of anything like wisdom, understanding, and knowing, to such a degree that, relative to Him, the very essence of anything like wisdom, understanding, and knowing are like a physical activity.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "כּוּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה ﬠָשִׂיתָ":

As it says about G‑d’s creations, “You did all of them with wisdom.” Wisdom, for the Infinite One, is an action that He does.

Higher and Lower Souls

וְאַף שֶׁיֵּשׁ רִבְבוֹת מִינֵי חִלּוּקֵי מַדְרֵגוֹת בַּנְּשָׁמוֹת, גָּבוֹהַּ מֵעַל גָּבוֹהַּ לְאֵין קֵץ,

Yet we find that not all souls are equal. There are tens of thousands of different sorts of levels of souls, each extending higher and higher without end. If all souls are of one divine origin, and that origin is a perfect oneness, how is it that there are different levels of souls?

כְּמוֹ גּוֹדֶל מַעֲלַת נִשְׁמוֹת הָאָבוֹת וּמֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ עֲלֵיהֶם־הַשָּׁלוֹם, עַל נִשְׁמוֹת דּוֹרוֹתֵינוּ אֵלֶּה דְּעִקְבֵי מְשִׁיחָא, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת עֲקֵבַיִים מַמָּשׁ לְגַבֵּי הַמּוֹחַ וְהָרֹאשׁ;

Compare, for example, the great level of the souls of the forefathers and Moses to the level of the souls of our generation. The entirety of all Jewish souls over the ages are a kind of body, in which our souls today are “on the heels of Mashiach.” We are the heels relative to those souls that are the head and brain of our people.

וְכֵן בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר יֵשׁ רָאשֵׁי אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנִּשְׁמוֹתֵיהֶם הֵם בְּחִינַת רֹאשׁ וּמוֹחַ לְגַבֵּי נִשְׁמוֹת הֶהָמוֹן וְעַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ;

The same is true when comparing souls within any one generation. In every generation, there are those who are called “the heads of the myriads of Israel.” Their souls are like the head and brain relative to the souls of the masses and the common people.

וְכֵן נְפָשׁוֹת לְגַבֵּי נְפָשׁוֹת, כִּי כָּל נֶפֶשׁ כְּלוּלָה מִנֶּפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה.

This distinction persists at every level of the soul. Every soul is comprised of a nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. Even when it comes to the lowest aspect, the nefesh, the level that is expressed exclusively in physical action, some are higher and some lower.

מִכָּל מָקוֹם, שֹׁרֶשׁ כָּל הַנֶּפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה כּוּלָּם, מֵרֹאשׁ כָּל הַמַּדְרֵיגוֹת עַד סוֹף כָּל דַּרְגִין, הַמְלוּבָּשׁ בְּגוּף עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְקַל שֶׁבְּקַלִים, נִמְשָׁךְ מִמּוֹחַ הָעֶלְיוֹן, שֶׁהִיא חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה כִּבְיָכוֹל.

Yet, despite all these distinctions, every nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of every single soul, from the highest of levels to the lowest, to those souls invested in the bodies of the common people, even the most base and materialistic Jew, are all rooted in the same divine source, that which we call the higher mind, meaning, divine wisdom.

Organic Growth of a Child

כִּמְשַׁל הַבֵּן הַנִּמְשָׁךְ מִמּוֹחַ הָאָב,

To understand this, let’s return to the metaphor of a child, who emerges from the father’s brain.

שֶׁאֲפִילוּ צִפָּרְנֵי רַגְלָיו נִתְהַוּוּ מִטִּפָּה זוֹ מַמָּשׁ, עַל יְדֵי שְׁהִיָּיתָהּ תִּשְׁעָה חֳדָשִׁים בְּבֶטֶן הָאֵם,

Through a nine-month gestation in the mother’s womb, every detail of the child down to the toenails emerges from just that one initial sampling.

וְיָרְדָה מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה, לְהִשְׁתַּנּוֹת וּלְהִתְהַוּוֹת מִמֶּנָּה צִפָּרְנַיִם.

It steps through many phases of diminishing complexity into yet more specific and simpler cells in gradual metamorphosis until it reaches the seemingly lifeless stage of toenails.

וְעִם כָּל זֶה, עוֹדֶנָּה קְשׁוּרָה וּמְיוּחֶדֶת בְּיִחוּד נִפְלָא וְעָצוּם בְּמַהוּתָהּ וְעַצְמוּתָהּ הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁהָיְתָה טִפַּת מוֹחַ הָאָב;

Yet even then, it remains connected and actually one in a wondrous and powerful bond with its original essence and being – just as when it was an instance of the father’s brain.

וְגַם עַכְשָׁיו בַּבֵּן, יְנִיקַת הַצִּפָּרְנַיִם וְחַיּוּתָם נִמְשֶׁכֶת מֵהַמּוֹחַ שֶׁבָּרֹאשׁ;

This connection is not only expressed in the genesis of each cell of the fetus. Even when this child emerges as his own being, this core identity endures in every part of him, down to his fingernails. That’s because the essential vitality of the fingernails and their experience of life comes to them from the child’s brain, where the original sample of the father’s brain remains unaltered.

כִּדְאִיתָא בַּגְּמָרָא [נִדָּה שָׁם]: "לוֹבֶן, שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ גִּידִים וַעֲצָמוֹת וְצִפָּרְנַיִם"

Indeed, the Talmud (in the passage from Nidah cited in chapter 1) confirms that toenails do not emerge from some extraneous cause. It states, “From the white semen of the father comes the sinews, bones, and nails of the child.” From this we see that even the fingernails, as lifeless as they may appear, extend from the same source as the rest of the body.

[וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּעֵץ חַיִּים שַׁעַר הַחַשְׁמַל, בְּסוֹד לְבוּשִׁים שֶׁל אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן בְּגַן עֵדֶן, שֶׁהָיוּ צִפָּרְנַיִם מִבְּחִינַת מוֹחַ תְּבוּנָה].

(This is also reflected on a kabbalistic level. Several midrashic sources say that Adam, while in the Garden of Eden, was originally clothed with a shiny layer of the same material as fingernails. The inner meaning is provided in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaChashmal, where it is explained that this was a kind of containment originating in the cosmic mind. Once again, the origin of the most extraneous, seemingly lifeless part of the body is in the brain.)

The Metamorphosis of the Jewish Whole

וְכָכָה מַמָּשׁ, כִּבְיָכוֹל, בְּשֹׁרֶשׁ כָּל הַנֶּפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁל כְּלָלוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעְלָה,

Now apply the same model – although in an entirely abstract sense – to the origin of every nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the entire Jewish People:

בִּירִידָתוֹ מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה עַל יְדֵי הִשְׁתַּלְשְׁלוּת הָעוֹלָמוֹת אֲצִילוּת־בְּרִיאָה־יְצִירָה־עֲשִׂיָּה מֵחָכְמָתוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, כְּדִכְתִיב: "כּוּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ", נִתְהַוּוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ וּפְחוּתֵי הָעֵרֶךְ.

The origin of all souls begins above as a raw pristine sample of G‑d’s wisdom, which is one with Him. It then descends level to level through the chain of spiritual worlds – through the worlds of emanation, creation, formation, and action – as they emerge out of His wisdom, as it says, “You made all of them with wisdom.” It is through this process of descent that the entire spectrum of souls emerges, creating even the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the common people and those of lesser stature.

וְעִם כָּל זֶה, עוֹדֶינָה קְשׁוּרוֹת וּמְיוּחָדוֹת בְּיִחוּד נִפְלָא וְעָצוּם בְּמַהוּתָן וְעַצְמוּתָן הָרִאשׁוֹן, שֶׁהִיא הַמְשָׁכַת חָכְמָה עִילָּאָה,

Yet, despite this metamorphosis and descent, these souls retain a wondrous, intense bond that unites them with their original essence and being – a sampling of the higher wisdom.

כִּי יְנִיקַת וְחַיּוּת נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ, הוּא מִנֶּפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁל הַצַּדִּיקִים וְהַחֲכָמִים רָאשֵׁי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁבְּדוֹרָם:

They remain connected to their origin because the core vitality and life-energy of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of every one of these simple people is from the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the tzadikim and the sages, the heads of the Jewish People in their generation, just as every cell, even those of the child’s toenails, is fostered by the child’s brain.

Metamorphosis, Diversity, and Unity — a comparison of a child's biological development with a soul's spiritual descent, across four stages. Original Identity — A Child: a signal from the father's brain; A Soul: G-d's wisdom, one with Him. Integrity in Descent — A Child: gestation during nine months of pregnancy, generating specifically tasked and simpler cells from that original signal/cell; A Soul: descent through the chain of spiritual worlds, generating a spectrum of souls along a descending hierarchy from a sample of that wisdom. Integrity in Diversity — A Child: complete body with diversity of cells, from brain neurons to toenails, all the while retaining integrity to their origin; A Soul: complete body of the Jewish people with diversity of souls, from the heads and sages down to the simplest of Jews, all preserving the imprint of their origin in the divine wisdom. Integrity in Lifeline — A Child: all receive their essential life-energy from the brain in the head, which contains the original spark of the father uncompromised; A Soul: all are connected by a lifeline to the tzadik and sage, through whom they find their connection to G-d's wisdom.

Bonding Through the Sages

וּבָזֶה יוּבַן מַאֲמַר רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה

With this analogy, a teaching of our sages takes on new meaning:

עַל פָּסוּק: "וּלְדָבְקָה בוֹ" –

The Torah instructs us to “bond with Him” – with G‑d. The sages ask, “How is it possible to bond with G‑d?”

שֶׁכָּל הַדָּבֵק בְּתַלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ נִדְבַּק בַּשְּׁכִינָה מַמָּשׁ,

They explain that when someone bonds with a Torah sage, the Torah considers that person to be indeed bound up with G‑d.

כִּי עַל יְדֵי דְּבִיקָה בְּתַלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים, קְשׁוּרוֹת נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ וּמְיוּחָדוֹת בְּמַהוּתָן הָרִאשׁוֹן וְשָׁרְשָׁם שֶׁבְּחָכְמָה עִילָּאָה, שֶׁהוּא יִתְבָּרֵךְ וְחָכְמָתוֹ אֶחָד, וְהוּא הַמַּדָּע כוּ'.

Now that we have a picture of the organic network of the souls, this teaching is understood in an entirely new light. Bonding with the Torah sages enables the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the simple people to connect with their own core divine identity, uniting them with their primal essence originating in the higher wisdom. And since “He and His wisdom are one,” for “He is the Mind that knows…,” in that union with His wisdom they are bound up with G‑d.

If the sages and tzadikim were entities other than you, bonding with them would imply abandoning your unique self. Understanding that we are all essentially one soul changes all that. When you bond with the tzadikim and the Torah sages, you discover your true self as you are a divine soul, one with G‑d.

[וְהַפּוֹשְׁעִים וּמוֹרְדִים בְּתַלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים – יְנִיקַת נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁלָּהֶם מִבְּחִינַת אֲחוֹרַיִים שֶׁל נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וְנִשְׁמַת תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים].

(As for those who deliberately rebel against the Torah sages, they necessarily remain bonded to them, as that is integral to their existence as a Jew. It is only that the essential life-energy of their nefesh, ruach, and neshamah enters subliminally through the backside of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the Torah sages.)

The Effect of the Parents

וּמַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר וּבְזֹהַר חָדָשׁ, שֶׁהָעִיקָּר תָּלוּי שֶׁיְּקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמוֹ בִּשְׁעַת תַּשְׁמִישׁ דַּוְוקָא, מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּנֵי עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ כוּ',

Even the circumstances of the soul’s entry into life have no effect on the soul’s essential quality. True, there is a teaching of the Zohar and Zohar Chadash that the most important thing for a soul is that the parents sanctify themselves at the time of their union. They speak negatively of “the children of the common people who don’t do this.”

הַיְינוּ, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁאֵין לְךָ נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁאֵין לָהּ לְבוּשׁ מִנֶּפֶשׁ דְּעַצְמוּת אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ,

But that’s not talking about the soul herself; it’s speaking about her clothing. Because there is no nefesh, ruach, or neshamah that doesn’t have clothing. That clothing comes from the nefesh of the father and mother’s core-essence.

וְכָל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה – הַכֹּל עַל יְדֵי אוֹתוֹ הַלְּבוּשׁ כוּ', וַאֲפִילוּ הַשֶּׁפַע שֶׁנּוֹתְנִים לוֹ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם – הַכֹּל עַל יְדֵי לְבוּשׁ זֶה,

Every mitzvah that she does is through the interface of this clothing. Even the flow of life given from above has to come through this clothing.

וְאִם יְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת עַצְמוֹ – יַמְשִׁיךְ לְבוּשׁ קָדוֹשׁ לְנִשְׁמַת בְּנוֹ, וַאֲפִילוּ הִיא נְשָׁמָה גְדוֹלָה, צְרִיכָה לְקִידּוּשׁ אָבִיו כוּ'.

If the parents sanctify themselves at the time of union, they will elicit sanctified clothing for their child’s soul. The quality of this clothing is crucial for the soul. Even if she is a great soul, she will still require the sanctification of the father and mother at the time of their union.

אֲבָל הַנְּשָׁמָה עַצְמָהּ, הִנֵּה לִפְעָמִים נִשְׁמַת אָדָם גָּבוֹהַּ לְאֵין קֵץ, בָּא לִהְיוֹת בְּנוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם נִבְזֶה וְשָׁפָל כוּ',

But the quality of the soul itself is not affected by the parents. Indeed, sometimes the soul of an inestimably great human being comes to be the child of a despicable and lowly person.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָאֲרִ"י זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה כָּל זֶה בְּ"לִיקּוּטֵי תּוֹרָה" פָּרָשַׁת וַיֵּרָא וּבְטַעֲמֵי מִצְוֹת פָּרָשַׁת בְּרֵאשִׁית:

All the above is written by the Arizal in his Likutei Torah, Parshat Vayera, and in Ta’amei Mitzvot, Parshat Bereishit.

Notes

Job 31:2.
Genesis 2:7.
Siddur, Morning Blessings; Talmud, Berachot 60a.
This passage is not present in the extant edition of the Zohar, but is similarly cited in the name of our sages in Emek Hamelech, 127c. It appears as a previously known concept in the introduction to Shefa Tal; Yosher Levav, vol. 1, 4:2. See also Nachmanides on Genesis 2:7; R. Bachya ben Asher on Exodus 20:7; Sefer HaPeleiah (also known as Sefer HaKaneh), s.v. “Sha’al Moshe l’Metatron.”
Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 1:4.
Exodus 4:22.
Deuteronomy 14:1.
Introduction to Tikunei Zohar, 17b.
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:10; Hilchot Teshuvah 5:5; end of Shemonah Perakim, Rambam’s introduction to his commentary on Avot. See Moreh Nevuchim, vol. 1, p. 68; vol. 3, pp. 20–21. An alternative translation: “He is the subject that is being known, and He is the Mind that is knowing, (and He is the knowledge that results from that knowing).” Igrot Kodesh – Admur Moharayatz, vol. 4, pp. 260ff.
Job 11:7.
Isaiah 55:8.
Talmud, Sotah 49b.
See The Rebbe, R. Menachem M. Schneerson, Igrot Kodesh, vol. 2, p. 300.
Nidah 31a. The Talmud also lists the aspects of the child that emerge from the mother’s ovary.
Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 14; Targum Yonatan, Genesis 3:7; Zohar II, 28b.
Etz Chaim, portal 41, sec. 1.
Psalms 104:24.
Deuteronomy 30:20.
Talmud, Ketubot 111b. See Rashi on Deuteronomy 11:22; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 6:2.
Zohar I, 112a; III, 49b; Zohar Chadash, 11a.
Writings of the students of the Arizal that present his teachings, in particular those of Rabbi Chaim Vital, are traditionally called “the writings of the Arizal.” We also say, “as the Arizal writes…” even though he did not write it himself. From the Arizal himself, we have only a few pages of text.
Entry for the mitzvah “Be fruitful and multiply.”
Introduction to Gevurot Hashem.
Chapter 35.
On all this, see Shoresh Mitzvat HaTefillah, in Derech Mitzvotecha, p. 115.
Sha’ar Atzmut V’Keilim, ch. 4. See chs. 1–3 as well.
See Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud V’Haemunah, ch. 9.
Psalms 104:24.