In kabbalah, the divine soul (נפש האלקית; nefesh ha'elokit) is the source of good inclination, or yetzer tov, and Godly desires.
The divine soul is composed of the ten sefirot from the side of holiness, and garbs itself with three garments of holiness, namely Godly thought, speech and action associated with the 613 commandments of the Torah.[1][2] Because its desire is to cleave to Godliness, it is usually in conflict with the nefesh habehamit, whose desire is initially for physical pleasures.[3][4]
Do not let your evil inclination reassure you that your grave will be a place of comfort for you. For against your will were you formed, against your will you were born, against your will you live, against your will you die, and against your will shall you give judgement and accounting before the King Who Reigns Over Kings, the Holy One, Blessed is He.
Regarding this, Bartenura explains[5] that the soul does not desire to leave the pure place where souls reside before coming down to earth. An angel forces it to leave its heavenly abode and enter the mother's womb, after which an angel again forces it to come out and be born.
On the same passage, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, notes that "against your will you live" seems to conflict with "against your will you die." "Against your will you live" makes sense according to Bartenura, because the soul was on a much higher level before it came to this world; at that time it was blissfully cleaving to Godliness. How, then, can it be said that "against your will you die," when the soul returns to God? He resolves it by explaining that the soul was convinced to descend when it was informed of the Divine Intention to "make a dwelling for God in the lower realms."[6] This can only be accomplished by studying Torah and performing mitzvot on earth. Despite being reluctant to leave the Heavens, its most powerful, core and essential desire is actually to cleave to God; and because of that, it also yearns to cleave to and be in accord with the Divine Will. The soul therefore descends, in order to create the "dwelling place in the nether realms" and fulfill the Divine Will. Likewise, it is reluctant to die and leave the world, because the mitzvot can only be fulfilled while enclothed in a physical body.[7]
In the Tanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi stated that the nefesh ha'elokit is "literally a part of God above."[8] This is supported by quoting the morning prayer "Elokai neshamah", which says "the soul You gave me is pure. ...You blew it into me,"[9] then quoting a phrase of the Zohar that "one who blows, blows from within him."[10] This is taken to mean, "from His innermost."[8]
Unique to Jewsedit
The Tanya also notes that this soul is unique to Jews alone. He cites various verses (Exodus 4:22: "My firstborn son, Israel", Deuteronomy 14:1: "You are children to the LORD your God") showing that Jews are considered God's children, and then links it to a mystical statement that "a child is derived from the brain of his father." It then cites Maimonides (Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:10) who says, "He is the Knowledge, and He is the Knower," thus proving that the Jewish Divine soul is derived from the Divine Thought, which is the same as God Himself.[8]
Relation to human anatomyedit
The Tanya states that the nefesh ha'elokit resides primarily in the brain, from which it spreads throughout the body. It is also manifest, albeit to a lesser extent, in the right ventricle of the heart, from which it may take control of the left ventricle of the heart where the nefesh habehamit is primarily manifest.[3]
Allegorical termsedit
Because the nefesh ha'elokit is derived from God Himself, it is commonly referred to as a "prince" or a "princess" in many allegories. The Parable of the Harlot and the Prince from the Zohar (part II, 163a) is one example. Another example is the Parable of the Princess and the Peasant.
^Talmud, Berachot 60b; also p.6, Siddur Tehillas Hashem, et al.
^Lessons in Tanya on Likkutei Amarim ch. 2 notes that while the Tanya cites the Zohar for this phrase, it has since been lost and is missing from newer editions of the Zohar.
Freeman, Tzvi. Me and My Body: a Dialogue." Heaven Exposed..
Weinberg, Yosef. Lessons in Tanya. (This contains the full text of the Tanya translated into English, with English commentary translated from Yiddish. It also includes the original Hebrew text of the Tanya.)
Leibowitz, Aryeh. (2018). The Neshama: A Study of the Human Soul. Feldheim Publishers.
December 07, 2023
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In kabbalah the divine soul נפש האלקית nefesh ha elokit is the source of good inclination or yetzer tov and Godly desires The divine soul is composed of the ten sefirot from the side of holiness and garbs itself with three garments of holiness namely Godly thought speech and action associated with the 613 commandments of the Torah 1 2 Because its desire is to cleave to Godliness it is usually in conflict with the nefesh habehamit whose desire is initially for physical pleasures 3 4 Contents 1 Reluctance of the soul to be born 2 Battle with the animal soul 3 In the Tanya 3 1 Unique to Jews 3 2 Relation to human anatomy 4 Allegorical terms 5 See also 6 References 7 Further readingReluctance of the soul to be born editIn Pirkei Avot 4 22 it is stated Do not let your evil inclination reassure you that your grave will be a place of comfort for you For against your will were you formed against your will you were born against your will you live against your will you die and against your will shall you give judgement and accounting before the King Who Reigns Over Kings the Holy One Blessed is He Regarding this Bartenura explains 5 that the soul does not desire to leave the pure place where souls reside before coming down to earth An angel forces it to leave its heavenly abode and enter the mother s womb after which an angel again forces it to come out and be born On the same passage Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the Lubavitcher Rebbe notes that against your will you live seems to conflict with against your will you die Against your will you live makes sense according to Bartenura because the soul was on a much higher level before it came to this world at that time it was blissfully cleaving to Godliness How then can it be said that against your will you die when the soul returns to God He resolves it by explaining that the soul was convinced to descend when it was informed of the Divine Intention to make a dwelling for God in the lower realms 6 This can only be accomplished by studying Torah and performing mitzvot on earth Despite being reluctant to leave the Heavens its most powerful core and essential desire is actually to cleave to God and because of that it also yearns to cleave to and be in accord with the Divine Will The soul therefore descends in order to create the dwelling place in the nether realms and fulfill the Divine Will Likewise it is reluctant to die and leave the world because the mitzvot can only be fulfilled while enclothed in a physical body 7 Battle with the animal soul editMain article Animal soulIn the Tanya editIn the Tanya Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi stated that the nefesh ha elokit is literally a part of God above 8 This is supported by quoting the morning prayer Elokai neshamah which says the soul You gave me is pure You blew it into me 9 then quoting a phrase of the Zohar that one who blows blows from within him 10 This is taken to mean from His innermost 8 Unique to Jews edit The Tanya also notes that this soul is unique to Jews alone He cites various verses Exodus 4 22 My firstborn son Israel Deuteronomy 14 1 You are children to the LORD your God showing that Jews are considered God s children and then links it to a mystical statement that a child is derived from the brain of his father It then cites Maimonides Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2 10 who says He is the Knowledge and He is the Knower thus proving that the Jewish Divine soul is derived from the Divine Thought which is the same as God Himself 8 Relation to human anatomy edit The Tanya states that the nefesh ha elokit resides primarily in the brain from which it spreads throughout the body It is also manifest albeit to a lesser extent in the right ventricle of the heart from which it may take control of the left ventricle of the heart where the nefesh habehamit is primarily manifest 3 Allegorical terms editBecause the nefesh ha elokit is derived from God Himself it is commonly referred to as a prince or a princess in many allegories The Parable of the Harlot and the Prince from the Zohar part II 163a is one example Another example is the Parable of the Princess and the Peasant See also editAnimal soul Soul Spirit Yetzer haraReferences edit Likkutei Amarim ch 4 Tanya Leibowitz Aryeh 2018 The Neshamah A Study of the Human Soul Feldheim Publishers Chapter 3 The Intellect a b Likkutei Amarim ch 9 Tanya The Neshamah A Study of the Human Soul Chapter 13 Man s Struggle Bartenura to Avot 4 22 Al karchach atah notzar Midrash Tanchuma Naso 16 also Likkutei Amarim ch 36 Tanya Likkutei Sichot vol 4 p 1217 a b c Likkutei Amarim ch 2 Tanya Talmud Berachot 60b also p 6 Siddur Tehillas Hashem et al Lessons in Tanya on Likkutei Amarim ch 2 notes that while the Tanya cites the Zohar for this phrase it has since been lost and is missing from newer editions of the Zohar Further reading editBuilding Block No 6 Nefesh HaBahamis Animal Soul Nefesh HoElokis G dly Soul Freeman Tzvi Me and My Body a Dialogue Heaven Exposed Weinberg Yosef Lessons in Tanya This contains the full text of the Tanya translated into English with English commentary translated from Yiddish It also includes the original Hebrew text of the Tanya Leibowitz Aryeh 2018 The Neshama A Study of the Human Soul Feldheim Publishers Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Divine soul amp oldid 1114185165, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
