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Levels of Soul Consciousness
The divine soul is an indivisible essence inseparably
bound to G-d, as the verse states, "For part of G-d is His People" (Deut.
32:9) and as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai states about himself: "My soul is one with
Him, as one flame, cleaving to Him". Nevertheless, as it emanates from the
Infinite One -- the Ein Sof -- eventually to be clothed in the physical
body, the soul descends via the five worlds mentioned above, leaving a root in
each of the worlds, until it is clothed in a physical body. Thus there are five
levels of the soul, or levels of G-d-consciousness, corresponding to the various
planes of reality, or levels of divine revelation/concealment manifested in each
of the worlds.
The soul enclothed within the body is a reflection of
the Divine Form, called the tzelem, or tzelem Elo-him. This
tzelem Elo-him may be described as the spiritual mold of man's physical
form, linking his body and soul. This mold is derived from the configuration of
the sefirot, which structure the worlds through which the soul descends
on its journey down into the body. | | " ...man includes all of Creation within him..." | | |
At the same time that the soul's outer dimension
reflects the configuration of the sefirot, the inner dimension of the
soul reflects the Infinite Light, which illuminates the sefirot. This
reflection is called the demut Elo-him (the image of G-d). Thus man
includes all of Creation within him, from the loftiest spirituality to the most
mundane physicality.
Viewed from the point of view of man's service to G-d,
these levels of soul may be described as five ascending levels of awareness of,
and communion with, G-d. They are called (in ascending order) nefesh,
ruach, neshama, chaya and yechida. Regarding these
levels of soul, the Zohar states that when a person is born, he is given
a nefesh from the world of Asiya, the lowest world, representing
the greatest concealment of G-d. If, through his divine service and proper
action, he makes himself worthy, he is then given ruach on the plane of
Yetzira. With greater effort, he can earn the revelation of neshama,
paralleling the world of Beriya. If he purifies himself greatly, he may
be able to attain the level of chaya paralleling Atzilut, and even
yechida -- the G-d consciousness of the level of Adam Kadmon and
beyond. ("Beyond," because the level of soul called yechida in essence
transcends all the worlds, since it is never separated from G-d. It is described
as being "truly part of G-d above," and as "a spark of the Creator enclothed
within a spark of the created").
nefesh | | " Nefesh... is awareness of the physical body and the physical world" | | |
Nefesh, the lowest level of consciousness, is
awareness of the physical body and the physical world, the world of Asiya
-- the world of Action. However, this awareness of the physical body is not
awareness in a passive sense; it is merely an observation of the facts. On the
contrary, the nefesh is in fact the life-force of the body, and it is
precisely because it is the life-force of the body that the nefesh has an
awareness of the body. This physical awareness is a result of the enmeshing of
the nefesh with the body. Now, although the nefesh is the
life-force of the body, this does not mean that the nefesh creates the
body. The body was and is created by G-d, just like everything else. After G-d
created Adam's body "from the dust of the earth", He blew into Adam the breath
of life (see Bereishit 2:7). This is the nefesh -- the life-force-- that
was blown into the body.
It is this part of the person which dies and goes to
the grave with the body. Just as in the world of Asiyah, malchut
is the dominant sefira-- so too in the nefesh, which corresponds
to the world of Asiya, the attribute of malchut -- action -- is
the dominant characteristic of the soul.
The divine service associated with the level of
nefesh is acknowledgment of, and submission to, the supreme authority of
G-d, particularly in reference to the fulfillment of the commandments. It is
therefore called "accepting the yoke of Heaven" -- kabbalat ol malchut
shamayim.
ruach | | " The primary manifestation of ruach is in the emotions..." | | |
Ruach is the next level of soul -- a higher plane
of consciousness than the rank of nefesh. The world (i.e. level of
revelation of G-dliness) corresponding to ruach is the world of
Yetzira. The primary manifestation of ruach is in the emotions, just
as the primary activity of the six sefirot of Zeir Anpin (from
chesed to yesod) is in the world of Yetzira. In terms of
Divine service this entails arousing the complementary emotions of love and awe
of G-d.
Love and awe of G-d are aroused by contemplating the
divine energy which forms and maintains the world of Yetzira, and by
observing the tremendous self-nullification of the angelic beings which inhabit
it. Although the intellect may be used extensively on this level of soul,
nevertheless, the primary focus of the intellect here is contemplation in
order to arouse the emotions. The Talmudic sages therefore refer to it as
"the toil of the heart", through which one comes to love G-d with all one's
heart. Nevertheless, this is a lower level of love, since it is generated by
contemplating lower levels of G-d's creative energy.
neshama | | " Neshama ... seeks to pierce through to the essential rather than the ephemeral" | | |
The primary activity of the neshama is in the
conceptual grasp of the intellect, as the verse states, "and the soul (nishmat)
form the Almighty gives them understanding" (Job 32:8). The level of neshama
contemplates the manifestation of Divine energy in the world of Beriya.
Just as in the world of Beriya, the primary sefira is bina,
so too in the soul -- the primary activity is understanding. Unlike the world of
Yetzira, the world of form and relationship, the world of Beriya
is nascent divine energy. It is the notion of coming into being from
nothingness, rather than structured, quantified existence. Thus one of the
primary meditations of the neshama is the concept of continuous creation
(the coming-into-being) and sustenance of life and existence
Neshama analyzes underlying principles abstracted
from the categories of thought imposed upon them by the human mind and human
experience. It seeks to pierce through to the essential rather than the
ephemeral. One of the signs that a person is on this level of consciousness is
that when the mind is clearly focused on an appropriate Divine concept, all of
the senses become temporarily nullified. Subsequently, due to the abundance of
spiritual light one experiences at this level, the emotions of love and awe are
automatically aroused--and to a much greater extent than in the previous level,
where effort was expended in arousing the emotions. This is referred to in
Kabbala as "the rapture of the heart" (re'uta d'liba, see Zohar
2, 93b). Here the heart truly desires G-dliness, and love is revealed in its
fullness in the heart. This is referred to in the verse as loving G-d "with all
of your soul". This may therefore be described as communion with G-d as the
Creator of the worlds.
chaya | | " The soul merges into a state of complete nullification of the ego... knowledge of the absolute truth of things" | | |
The aspect of the soul called chaya gazes upon
the Divine energy of the world of Atzilut. Whereas the primary activity of the
level of neshama is to use intellectual comprehension in order to come to
communion with G-d as the Creator of the worlds, the level of chaya
communes with G-d as He transcends the worlds. Here the soul's knowledge is not
in the immanence of Divine attributes which identify the nature of the Divine
energy manifested in Creation, but rather with knowing what G-d is not -- i.e.
how He is not limited or defined by the finite universe. Thus the soul merges
into a state of complete nullification of the ego. There is no self-seeking and
no self-identity outside of G-d. Chaya is called loving G-d "with all
one's being" (Deut. 6:5). This is knowledge of the absolute truth of things.
yechida
Yechida corresponds to the level of soul called
Adam Kadmon. Just as the sublime, pure and transcendent world of Adam
Kadmon, cleaves to and reflects the original Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof),
so too does the level of yechida. This is the essence of the soul which
is naturally and immutable bound to the Holy One. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
declared, "Throughout the days of my connection to this world, I was bound to
the Holy One Blessed Be He with a single knot...at one with Him"; this is the
level of soul revealed at the moment of self-sacrifice or martyrdom for the sake
of G-d, His Torah, or His people.
From the "Fiftieth Gate" edition of the Zohar,
Introduction.
If you are following the Kabbala for Beginners tutorial,
please proceed to the first article in our series on the Worlds,
Worlds 1: Oneness and the Infinite.
If you would like to know what the Kabbala for Beginners Tutorial is all about, click here.
Visitor Comments: 2
Cristian Bala, from Romania, 8/12/2006
I am accustomed to the use andcarla williams, from Ga. Villa Rica, 6/22/2006
bless ya.
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