002. - TANYA CHAPTER 2 - תניא פרק ב

The second soul in Israel is actually a part of God above, as it says, a "Chelek Eloka Mimal"—a portion of God from above. This is as it is written, "And He blew into his nostrils the soul of life," and as we say in the morning blessings, "You have blown it into me." The Alter Rebbe emphasizes that this is not just a metaphor or exaggeration, but that it is meant literally: the second soul is truly a part of God.

The Zohar says, "One who blows, blows from within himself." This means that when someone blows, they are expelling something from their innermost being, from their inner vitality. So, when the Torah uses the language of blowing to describe how God gives the soul, it is to indicate that the soul comes from God's innermost essence, not just from an external level.

By way of example, the souls of Israel are said to have arisen in God's thought. This is as it is written, "My firstborn son, Israel," and "You are children to Hashem your God." These verses show that the Jewish people are called God's children, indicating a special closeness and connection, like that of a child to a parent, which is deeper than the connection of other creations.

Just as a son is drawn from the brain of the father, so too, the soul of every Jew is drawn from God's thought and wisdom. God is wise, but not with a knowable wisdom; rather, He and His wisdom are one, as Maimonides writes. This means that the soul comes from the level of Chochmah (wisdom), which is united with God Himself, and that is why the soul is called a part of God.

Now, in the Hagaha (the note), the Alter Rebbe brings that the sages of Kabbalah agreed with Maimonides on this point, as is written in Pardes by the Ramak (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero).

And not only did the Ramak agree, but also according to the teachings of the Arizal, this is established. The secret is that the Infinite Light (Ohr Ein Sof) dresses itself, through many contractions, in the vessels of Chabad (Chochmah, Binah, Daas) of Atzilus.

However, this unity of God and His wisdom is only in Atzilus. Above Atzilus, the Infinite Light is exalted and elevated beyond the level of Chabad. In fact, relative to the Infinite, even Chabad is considered like physical action, as it says, "You made them all with wisdom."

So, above Atzilus, the Infinite is so exalted that even the highest wisdom is considered like mere action. The verse says, "You made them all with wisdom," indicating that even wisdom is like action compared to God's essence.

He is the knowledge, He is the knower, and He is the known. This is something that a person cannot fully comprehend, as the verse says, "Can you find the depths of God?" and "My thoughts are not your thoughts." In other words, God's unity with His wisdom is beyond human understanding.

Even though there are countless levels and differences among souls—such as the greatness of the souls of the Patriarchs and Moses compared to the souls of our generation, which is called the "heels of Mashiach"—all souls ultimately come from the same source. The souls of our generation are like the heels compared to the head, but they all originate from the same root.

And in every generation, there are the heads of the thousands of Israel, whose souls are like the head and brain compared to the souls of the masses and the simple people.

And so it is with souls compared to other souls, because every soul is made up of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. There are differences and levels within each part, but all are included within the soul.

Nevertheless, the root of all nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, from the highest to the lowest—down to those souls that are clothed in the bodies of the simplest people—comes from the supernal mind, which is the supreme wisdom, so to speak.

Just like a son who is drawn from the mind of the father—even the toenails are formed from that same drop, after it spends nine months developing in the mother's womb and descends from level to level to become even the nails. Yet, even after all this, the nails remain wondrously and powerfully connected to their original essence, which was the drop from the father's mind.

Even now, in the son, the nourishment and vitality of the nails comes from the brain in the head.

As it says in the Gemara, the white part, from which the sinews, bones, and nails are formed, comes from the father. And as is written in the Kabbalah, the nails are from the level of the mind of understanding.

And so it is, in the same way, with the root of all nefesh, ruach, and neshamah of the Jewish people above. As the soul descends from level to level through the chain of worlds—Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah—from God's wisdom, as it says, "You made them all with wisdom," so too are the souls of the simple people and those of lesser value created from it.

Yet, even after all these descents, the souls remain wondrously and powerfully connected to their original essence, which is the extension of the supernal wisdom. The nourishment and vitality of the souls of the simple people comes from the souls of the righteous and the sages, the heads of Israel in their generation.

With this, we can understand the saying of our sages on the verse, "To cleave to Him"—that anyone who cleaves to a Torah scholar is considered as if he cleaves to the Divine Presence itself. By connecting to Torah scholars, the souls of the simple people become united with their original essence and root in the supernal wisdom, which is one with God.

But those who sin and rebel against the Torah scholars, their souls receive their nourishment from the "back"—the external aspect—of the souls of the Torah scholars.

Regarding what is written in the Zohar and Zohar Chadash, that the main thing depends on sanctifying oneself at the time of intimacy, as opposed to the children of the simple people, who do not have this sanctity—what does this mean?

This is because there is no nefesh, ruach, or neshamah that does not have a garment from the essence of the father's and mother's soul. All the mitzvos a person does are through this garment, and even the heavenly flow he receives comes through it. If a person sanctifies himself, he draws down a holy garment for his child's soul. Even a great soul needs the sanctity of the father.

But the soul itself—sometimes a very lofty soul comes to be the child of a lowly and degraded person. As the Arizal writes, this is all explained in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Vayera, and in Taamei HaMitzvos, Parshas Bereishis.

In the previous chapter, we discussed the teaching of Rabbi Chaim Vital that every Jew has two souls. The first soul, which we learned about yesterday, comes from the side of Klippa and Sitra Akhra, and is associated with the natural life force and character traits of a person. In this chapter, we begin to discuss the second soul, which comes from the side of holiness, Kiddusha. The Alter Rebbe explains that this second soul is not just holy, but is actually a part of God above—a Chelek Eloka Mimal, as the verse states. This soul originates from a very high spiritual place, specifically from the level of Chabad (Chochmah, Binah, Daas) of Atzilus, which is united with Hashem Himself. This is in contrast to the souls of other created beings, which come from lower levels.

The Torah describes the creation of Adam with the phrase "Vayipach Ba'apav Nishmas Chaim"—God blew into his nostrils a living soul. The Alter Rebbe explains that blowing, as opposed to speaking, comes from a deeper, more internal place. When a person blows, it takes more effort and comes from within, symbolizing that the soul comes from the innermost aspect of Godliness. This is further emphasized in the morning blessings, where we say "Atah Nafachta Bi"—You blew into me, referring to the soul's divine origin.

To illustrate the difference between the Jewish soul and other creations, the Alter Rebbe brings the analogy of thought versus speech. Thought remains internal and connected to the person, while speech is external. Similarly, the souls of Jews come from God's thought, the inner level, while other creations come from God's speech, the external level. This is why Jews are called God's children—"Banim Atem LaHashem"—because just as a child comes from the mind of the father, so too the Jewish soul comes from the Chochmah of Hashem, which is one with Him.

The Alter Rebbe further explains that although all Jewish souls originate from this lofty source, there are many different levels among souls, just as in the body there are different limbs and organs that all develop from the same drop of seed. Some souls are like the head, others like the heel, and even within a generation, there are differences between the leaders and the common people. Despite these differences, all souls remain connected to their original source, just as the toenails are still nourished by the brain through the body.

This connection is maintained through the righteous and the sages of each generation, who serve as the head and provide spiritual nourishment to the rest of the people. The Talmud teaches that one who attaches himself to the sages is considered as if he is attached to the Shechinah, because the life force of the souls of the common people comes through the souls of the sages, who are connected to the source in Chochmah Ilah.

Even those who do not consciously connect to the sages still receive their spiritual nourishment, but in a less direct way, described as receiving from the "back" rather than the "face." The Alter Rebbe addresses the teaching in the Zohar that the sanctity of the parents at the time of conception affects the soul of the child. He explains that while the essence of the soul comes from above and is not affected by the parents, the garments of the soul, which affect the child's ability to serve God, do depend on the parents' sanctity. The soul itself is always holy and comes from the highest source, but the ease with which it can fulfill its mission in this world is influenced by the spiritual state of the parents during conception.

Sometimes, a very lofty soul may be born to parents who are not spiritually elevated, as explained by the Arizal. This is because the soul's essence is independent of the parents, but the garments and circumstances it receives in this world are affected by them. In summary, every Jew possesses a second soul that is literally a part of God above, originating from the highest levels of divinity, and this remains true regardless of the soul's journey and the circumstances of its descent into this world.