The aspect of the spirit (Ruach) level of the G-dly soul, on the other hand, is the matter of the activation of the emotions, which are much lower than intellect. Nonetheless, this is essential to the activation of the soul with a spirit of great arousal. This is a special power in the soul which is called Ruach (Spirit) and is the spirit of arousal and excitement about something G-dly. Here too, there are many distinct levels, each of which is different from the other, as in the verses[1], “All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes, but HaShem examines the hearts” and[2] “All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes, but HaShem examines the spirits”. This means that the spirit of each person is distinct from that of his fellow, just as the mind of each person is distinct from that of his fellow.
Likewise, the nature of a soul can be that one’s spirit does not become very aroused from what excites the spirit of his friend, such as the spirit of the arousal of love of HaShem born of the contemplation of HaShem or the arousal of love born of the realization of HaShem’s love of Israel; that He is our true Father and our very life. It can also be born of the realization of HaShem’s great wonders and His numerous tremendous mercies toward us, with miracles and wonders in matters of health, sustenance and salvation from all manner of accusations.
The root of it is because it is like a G-dly supernal spirit (Ruach) that awakens love of HaShem in every Jew, or it can be the awakening of repentance (Teshuvah) with broken-heartedness, as in the verse[3], “Until a spirit (Ruach) from on high will be poured upon us”. (In other words, sometimes, a person can suddenly be vested with a spirit of arousal from above, such as in the verse[4], “A spirit (Ruach) vested Amasai etc.”)
This may be understood from the excitement of the angels about the Supernal Goodness, in which they praise and glorify their Creator with songs and accolades all day long, as in the verse[5], “The Ophanim angels and the holy Chayot angels uplift [their voices] with a tumultuous roar etc.” Certainly, this excitement is in an aspect of Ruach, which is the spirit of arousal, until they say “Holy” and “Blessed” with great arousal, each according to his level.
For example, the face of the lion to the right, with an excitement and arousal of love of HaShem and the face of the ox to the left, with an excitement and arousal of great awe of HaShem. This being the case, the essential being (whatness) of the angels is the aspect of spirit, as in the verse[6], “He makes His angels spirits, His servants of flaming fire”. Even in regard to the Ophanim angels it states[7], “For the spirit (Ruach) of the Chaya angel was in the Ophanim angels” (and as Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman wrote, the angels are composed of spirit and fire.) Thus, they consist of a multitude of distinct levels, one above the other in the manner of their arousal.
The same principle applies to the spirit of man. There are a multitude of possible kinds of excitement of the soul resulting from the contemplation of HaShem’s goodness and kindness. An example is the excitement brought about in Pesukei D’Zimra from the realization of HaShem’s greatness and wonders etc.
(Actually, the entire book of Psalms falls into this category. As known, Dovid was accustomed to always extol HaShem with song, melody and praise, vocally and on musical instruments. All this was in an aspect of Ruach, similar to the angels. Because of this the spiritual level of Dovid was specifically the level of the Holy Spirit-Ruach HaKodesh, as known.) The singing of the Levites in the tabernacle (Mishkan) and the Holy Temple was also in this manner, for though their song resulted from the arousal of the spirit according to the inner intention of the intellect, nonetheless, the arousal itself was outside of the essential intellect of the mind. This is because the activation of the mind is higher than the activation of love and fear aroused in the spirit of the heart, because the activation of the mind is called, “Intellectual love and fear” rather than the “Emotional love and fear” of the heart.
Still and all, the intellectual activation of the comprehension of the mind begets the activation of emotional love and fear within the spirit of the heart, each person according to his level, as in the verse, “HaShem examines the spirits”[8]. This is similar to the fact that there are many distinct levels of comprehension on the Neshamah level of the soul, which is called, the “Neshamah of the Almighty”, for as known, the abode of the Neshamah is in the brain whereas the Ruach is in the heart. This is sufficient for the understanding.
(This is as it states[9] that Zeir Anpin resides in the world of Yetzirah, which is the aspect of Ruach, as in the verse[10], “The spirit of man etc.” In other words, this comes about through descents and contractions (Tzimtzumim) from the aspect of the emotions of the Infinite One to thought in the world of Briyah and speech in the world of Yetzirah (Just as Imma-Binah resides in the Throne-Briyah, within the neshamot of Briyah.) Yetzirah, on the other hand, is the world of the angels which are called spirits (Ruchot) and the essence of their being is the arousal of song and praise etc., each according to his level, in accord to his first level and root within the emotions of Zeir Anpin, which is called Ruach (spirit), in that it radiates in the world of Yetzirah in a very diminished state relative to the intellect of the world of Briyah. This is as written[11], “The face of a man etc.”
