All the above levels are levels of the natural, animal soul, in that it too must be sublimated to G-d. This is called, “One who serves G-d with his body”, as compared to “One who serves G-d with his soul”. This is because the Divine soul is literally a G-dly force, since that is its very nature. Moreover, all the five levels of the Divine soul are in a constant state of Divine arousal, which is not related to physical arousal at all. In contrast, the above mentioned levels are levels of the physical arousal of the animal soul, which is physical.
Although it is caused by G-dly contemplation, the activation of the emotions and arousal of the animal soul is not the result of actual G-dliness. Rather, the emotions are completely physical in nature. This is because the animal soul is physical. In contrast, by nature, the Divine soul is a G-dly being. Therefore its arousal is not physical at all. Nonetheless, it too may be invested in the physical brain and heart to spread forth and radiate within them. This too is on five levels. However, before we explain the five levels of arousal which stem from the Divine soul, we must first clearly understand the difference between the Divine soul and the animal soul.
(Clearly, the ultimate purpose is the arousal and revelation of the Divine soul. However, this is not to say that the arousal of the animal soul is not important. As mentioned earlier, one who has aroused his animal soul with love and fear of G-d, is certainly on the correct path, and is fulfilling the verse “with all your heart”. Nonetheless, the actual unification and cleaving to G-d and the revelation of G-dliness in one’s heart comes about specifically from the Divine soul.)
In order to understand the difference between the Divine soul and the animal soul, we must note a clearly observable phenomenon. It is observable that when a Jew hears concepts of G-dliness (i.e. Chassidus), his intellect becomes greatly aroused by it. This effect is not merely because of the depth of the concepts, for there are many concepts and fields of study which are deep and broad. Furthermore, we clearly observe that some will become more aroused upon hearing the very same teachings of Chassidus than others. (This is to say that some will actually become aroused while others will simply be forced to acknowledge the truth of Chassidus. However, it will not necessarily affect them personally.)
Now at first glance, it could be said that one person has invested himself to a greater degree into the study of Chassidus, putting greater effort into it, thus reaping greater results, while the other has not. However, in truth, this is not so, for it is possible that a person could toil in the service of the mind and heart and have the fear of G-d embedded in his heart, and yet not have a “talent” for Chassidus. (This matter is clear to all those who have toiled and faced this challenge in their Divine service.) Now, if this is the case, it cannot be said that Chassidus is solely dependant on toil. Rather, this comes from the G-dly power of his Divine soul, whose excitement is a G-dly excitement. This means that his Divine soul becomes aroused specifically by the G-dliness invested in the concept. Therefore, when he hears a G-dly concept of Chassidus, his Divine soul becomes aroused by the G-dliness invested in it. This is because the Yechidah level of his soul is completely G-dly and bound to G-d. It, therefore, is drawn out and shines forth when he hears the words of the living G-d, i.e. Chassidus. (This explains why he is aroused specifically by Chassidus as opposed to mundane matters or concepts.)
However, there are various degrees of arousal depending on how the light of the Yechidah becomes invested within the lower levels of the soul (Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah). Some people will have a certain level of Divine excitement because only their Nefesh is in a revealed state and the Yechidah is invested within it. Others will have a greater degree of Divine excitement because their Ruach is in a revealed state and the Yechidah is invested within it. This is because here, the Yechidah shines through a higher, more refined garment. Therefore there is a greater degree of revelation. (This explains why two people who have learned and comprehended the very same concept will have different degrees of arousal. This is because of the various degrees of revelation depending on the different sources of their souls. Someone who has a Neshamah from the world of Briyah, for instance, will have a much greater arousal and revelation than someone who has a Nefesh from the world of Asiyah. This is true even if the one who has a Neshamah from Briyah has not developed his intellect to the same degree as the one who has a Nefesh from Asiyah.)
Let us now understand the difference between the arousal of the Divine soul and the arousal of the animal soul. The main difference is as follows: Although the Divine soul is aroused through comprehension too, nonetheless, its arousal comes about specifically because of the G-dliness invested in the comprehension, rather than the comprehension itself. This is because the Divine soul grasps the G-dliness itself. However, since it is not at all comparable to the Divine soul, the animal soul is aroused mainly through tangible, concrete comprehension. Even though the animal soul too becomes aroused from the G-dliness of the comprehension, (for we see that he would not become excited from other mundane concepts or matters) nonetheless, this arousal is not the result of the G-dliness itself. Rather, it comes through the “garments” of explanations and comprehensions which conceal the essential G-dly light itself. This is called the garment of Nogah, as explained in Part One.
The reason the animal soul can only access G-dliness through the garment of Nogah and not through the essential light of G-dliness, is because the source of the animal soul is Nogah. (This is to say that its source is from the external garments, in contrast to the Divine soul whose source is the essential light of G-d.) Furthermore, the garment of Nogah, which is the source of the animal soul, is made up of an admixture of good and evil. (As explained in Part One the “allegory” or garment of the Chashmal can be either concealing or revealing. Furthermore, the allegory brings out the concept in the way of “somethingness”. This somethingness is the source of evil. It is for this reason that anything which has its source in Nogah may be utilized for either good or evil. For example, the souls of true converts to Judaism have their source in Nogah. Because of this they are drawn to Judaism and may convert, thus entering the domain of the holy. On the other hand, since they have free choice, they are not compelled by their nature to do so and may choose to stay in the domain of the unholy.) As explained, it is the “somethingness” of the comprehension of Divine concepts that the animal soul adheres to and becomes aroused by. In contrast, the Divine soul receives and becomes aroused by the “nothingness” of the concept, i.e. by the G-dliness in it.
In order to understand the essential difference between the excitement of the Divine soul and the excitement of the animal soul, we must first explain another phenomenon. It is possible for two people to hear and comprehend the same G-dly concept and have totally different reactions to it. One person may be aroused by the great expansiveness of his teacher’s explanations. This is to say that his excitement comes in reaction to the breadth and length of the explanations. Because of this his arousal comes only after he receives the explanations. On the other hand, another person may become aroused immediately from the G-dliness of the concept. Because he is sensitive to the essential G-dly light invested within it, (which includes the entire concept), he will be able to bring out the entire explanation himself, even before he hears it all. This is because he connects to the inner G-dly intention of the teacher’s words. He grasps the inner essential G-dliness of the concept. As a result, the length, breadth and depth of the explanation come automatically into his mind.
(Now, some may delude themselves to believe that they do not have the expansion of the length, breadth and depth of the concept because since they are aroused by the inner essential G-dliness, they experience a Divine arousal which is above grasp and comprehension. However, actually, this is not G-dly excitement at all, but rather false delusions that come from the power of their imagination. They delude themselves to think that they experience that which is beyond comprehension. Actually, they fall into one of the above mentioned categories of people who are suffering from false imaginations and delusions. Not only is their experience not “above” comprehension, it is below it. This will be explained later.)
The gauge for knowing if he is having true G-dly excitement is if he is analyzing and clarifying all the details of the explanation, all the particulars of the “therefore”, and is delving ever deeper into the depth of the concept (Omek Hamoosag) which arises from all the details of the explanations and allegories. It is specifically from this that he will come to the length, width and depth of understanding one thing from another, with a great breadth, more than double and quadruple the information given to him by his teacher or which he learned from books. (This is because he has grasped the very essence and G-dliness of the concept itself – the Omek Hamoosag, and has toiled to plumb its depths, which brings about new insights from the heyulie stateinto tangible revelation.)
In contrast, for the first person, who only grasps the external explanations, without the inner heyulie essence and G-dliness, the concepts remain as they are in his mind. He will not experience an explosion of insight and understanding of greater and greater depths into the concept. Rather, he will remain with the external explanations as they were given to him. Moreover, these explanations will not be “alive” for him and will therefore become abbreviated in his mind. He will only remember bits and pieces or only the “main points”, but will forget the entire length and breadth of the explanations. After some time he may even come to forget this as well. Even what he does remember, will only be in a completely external way. Even if he does remember the general explanation, because he has reviewed it many times, it, nonetheless, will be lifeless and devoid of G-dliness. He will remember it in the same way he remembers other mundane matters of the world. This is because he has not felt the G-dly light and vitality invested in the concept at all.
(Now, there are those who err and become excited by the “therefore” of the concept. They mistakenly believe that they have already grasped the actual G-dliness of the concept. Because of this, they reject the full explanation of the concept and cannot bear to hear it. This too is a grave error for they have not grasped the essential G-dliness at all. Rather, this excitement comes about from the nature embedded in the Divine soul of every Jew, to become aroused by matters of G-dliness, even without reason. This comes from the lowest level of the lowest level of the Divine soul (the Nefesh) as will be explained shortly.)
Now, the actual sensitivity and feeling for the G-dliness of the concept, is a sensitivity to the Chassidus of the concept. In other words, this is the essential heyulie of the Omek Hamoosag (The essential depth of the concept). This is the very essence of the concept from which all the explanations are born. It is analogous to the essence of a beverage, for example. From this small quantity of essence many drinks may be prepared. This is called the “simple matter (Chomer Pashoot) or heyulie matter. This aspect of the “depth of the concept” was explained earlier in the explanation of the Omek Hamoosag (The essential depth of the concept). Furthermore, there can be different levels of depths, as mentioned before, so that one person may grasp a “shallow” depth and have a certain level of grasp and revelation, while another person may have a grasp on an entirely different level of depth.
A person may even reach into the greatest of depths, the Omek Rom (The Depth of the Heights). Such a person will have full awareness of G-dliness. This is the level of a true Tzaddik. (In other words, not only has he attached his “river” to the “spring”, but to the very “aquifer” itself. He is, therefore, capable of drawing from there.) This grasp of the G-dliness of the concept is called the “sense of the Chassidus” (Choosh HaChassidus). (It must be further pointed out that the “Chassidus” of the concept exists in every field and level of Torah, even in the revealed levels of Torah. Furthermore, it is the very essence of all existence. However, since it is more readily revealed and available in some matters of Torah than in others, the beginner should stick to the explanations of the Order of Creation (Seder Hishtalshelut), which constitute the underpinnings of all existence. If he does this, and contemplates them to understand their depth, the G-dliness of other areas of Torah will automatically become apparent.)
The sign for whether or not a person has grasped the G-dliness of the concept is if all the details of his understanding of it are drawn to one general point and all the particulars unify in this one essential point. (This is the aspect of Truth, in which the beginning middle and end are all bound up with each other, as explained in Part One.) Another sign for this is if through his grasp of these teachings he understands deep and hidden matters, such as having deep insights in Torah, the hidden reasons for the commandments, or the profound meanings of the holy words of the prayers. This is a sign that he is aware of the G-dly aspect of the concept, which is the Chassidus of the concept, as the sages stated that, “He who learns Torah Lishmah (Selflessly, for its own sake), merits many things and becomes like an overflowing spring”.
This is because through learning Torah Lishmah, the Infinite Light invested in the Torah shines forth. In contrast, one who does not learn Torah Lishmah only grasps the external explanations themselves, rather than the G-dly light invested in them. His comprehension is therefore limited. This is analogous to a river which is connected to the spring, as opposed to a river which is not. The one which is connected will always have fresh water drawn into it. In contrast, the river which is disconnected will become parched and dry. Likewise, the awareness of the G-dliness of the Torah is similar to a river which is connected to the spring. It will never dry up. On the contrary there will always be a constant flow of new living waters.
From the above, we understand the vast difference between the excitement that comes about from the explanation of the concept as opposed to the excitement which comes about from the G-dliness invested in it. Likewise, there is a vast difference between the arousal of the Divine soul as opposed to the excitement of the animal soul. However, the excitement and comprehension of the animal soul is a “garment” for the excitement of the Divine soul, and covers and conceals it. So too, the desire and pleasure of the animal soul (when properly aligned with G-dliness through the above mentioned five levels) is a “garment” for the desire and pleasure of the Divine soul. (However, the difference between them is like the difference between the physical pleasure of comprehending a physical phenomenon and the pleasure of the souls in Gan Eden (Spiritual Paradise). Of course, there is no comparison between the two.
The main reason for this is that the source of the Divine soul is in the “Lights” (Orot), whereas the source of the animal soul is in the external shells (Kelipot). Therefore, the animal soul can only access divinity through a Mashach (A screen) as explained in Part One. In contrast, the Divine soul accesses G-dliness directly. Nonetheless, all ten powers of the Divine soul become invested within the ten powers of the animal soul. This is to say that the pleasure of the Divine soul becomes invested in the pleasure of the animal soul, the desire of the Divine soul becomes invested in the desire of the animal soul, the intellect in the intellect and the emotions in the emotions etc. Therefore, the Binah of the Divine soul is invested in the comprehension of the natural animal soul (The Binah of the animal soul).
This being the case, in the excitement and arousal of the animal soul through Divine contemplation and comprehension, is invested the excitement of the Divine soul from its Binah. However as explained before, the difference between them is like the difference between the light of the ray of G-dliness itself and the light as it is seen through a Masach (Screen). Nonetheless, from the above it is apparent that the physical and tangible comprehension of the animal soul brings revelation to the Divine soul and that they are literally intertwined and interdependent. Therefore, the sublimation of one’s self to the G-dly “nothingness” will, literally, be commensurate to his comprehension and understanding in a way of “somethingness”. If he is missing the one, it is a sign that he is missing the other as well. In other words, if he “comprehends” but has a lacking in his sublimation to G-d, this is a clear sign that he is lacking in comprehension as well and that he has not truly grasped anything at all.
The opposite is also true, if he does not have the comprehension but “feels” that he is sublimated to G-d, he is deluding himself and he has real no sublimation to G-d at all. Only when there is true comprehension on the part of the animal soul (in the manner explained above, to the very essence of the concept through deep contemplation and study), can there be a revelation of the true sublimation of the G-dly soul to it’s source in G-d, as well. Because the two are interdependent, the one cannot be found without the other.
From the above we understand that the excitement of the Divine soul is beyond comparison to the excitement of the comprehension of the animal soul. This is because the nature of the Divine soul is that it is literally a G-dly and spiritual being. The excitement of the animal soul is completely physical by nature, whereas the excitement of the Divine soul, is spiritual and Divine. The animal soul becomes aroused by physical matters because it, itself, is physical. On the other hand, the Divine soul becomes excited from matters of G-dliness, because that is its source. Every aspect of the Divine soul is only spiritual by nature. Therefore, the Divine soul certainly takes no pleasure from the physical matters of this world and is totally removed from them.
(Similarly, it is very difficult for the animal soul to become aroused regarding matters of G-dliness. It requires great toil and effort. Actually, the only reason it is possible for the animal soul to be aroused in matters of G-dliness at all, is because it is derived from Kelipat Nogah (The shining shell) which has some good (G-dliness) in it, as explained in Part One.) We see that there is a vast difference between the arousal of the Divine soul and the animal soul. (As explained above, the Divine soul is invested within the animal soul like a garment. Actually, the only reason these two opposites can relate to each other altogether is because G-d desires it. By nature they are incompatible. The only reason the Divine soul is invested within the animal is to purify and uplift it.)
