Chapter Fifty:

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

__________________________________________________

50.

"Nonetheless know that the five lights of Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida that were received from the world of Asiyah is only a Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida of Nefesh-Light, and hasn’t anything of Ruach-Light or beyond. Because Ruach-Light only exists in the world of Yetzirah, Neshama-Light only exists in the world of Briah, Chayah-Light only exists in the world of Atzilut, and Yechida-Light only exists in the world of Adam Kadmon."

"Still and all, as we’d indicated before, everything that exists on a comprehensive level exists one a particular level as well, and even in its remotest detail."
-- Rabbi Ashlag alluded to a core aspect of this principle (enunciated in the expression, “the beginning is lodged in the end and the end is lodged in the beginning”, Sefer Yetzirah 1:7) in Ch’s 9 and 15. He spoke directly of the idea above in broad terms in Ch. 42, in terms of all the worlds being “interwoven”, and said outright in Ch. 43 that “everything found in existence in general can also be found in each and every world, as well as in each and every one of each world’s tiniest fragments”.
-- His point is that we needn’t be overly concerned for the fact that the
five received lights spoken of above are an aspect of Nefesh-Light alone, for all the worlds are interwoven hence what’s true of one is likewise true of them all.

"Thus all five levels of Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida exist in the world of Asiyah as well, as we explained. It’s just that they’re only a *Nephesh* level of (the whole cluster of) Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida (for all practical purposes)."

"Along the very same lines there’s also a *Ruach* level Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida (cluster) in the world of Yetzirah; a *Neshama* level Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida of Neshama in Briah; a *Chaya* level Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida of Chayah in Atzilut; and a *Yechida* level Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida in Adam Kadmon. The discrepancies between them is the same as the ones we'd indicated between the Nephesh-, Ruach-, Neshama-, Chaya-, and Yechida- levels of Asiyah."

(c) 2006 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

Chapter Forty-Nine:

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

__________________________________________________

49.

1.

-- We’re slowly approaching our end-point now with some final insights into just how we grow from harboring souls to bestowing ones.

"Then, once you earn this great light which is termed 'Neshama-Light', ... "
-- That is, once a “point from the light of holy-Chayah” referred to at the end of the last chapter, “extends outwards” and precipitates the appearance of a “partzuf of Neshama” ...

" ... (which is) the partzuf in which each of the 613 organs radiates fully and separately like an independent partzuf, ... "
-- You then earn a human-like partzuf that has command over each of its elements, unlike a mineral one, which has no command over its elements, ostensibly; a vegetable one, which has only some; and an animal one, which has a decidedly larger amount of command over its elements but hardly as much as this human-like one.

" ... then the means to observe each mitzvah with its true intention is provided you. For each organ of the partzuf of Neshama uncovers the path of each mitzvah relevant to that organ."
-- For once you achieve that state and your self is opened-up as never before, organ by organ, you’d have advanced to the point where you can fulfill mitzvot for their own ends alone rather than for selfish designs.

"And then, thanks to the great power of those lights, you’re able to go on to purify the verbal aspect of your ratzon l’kabel and to transform it into a willingness to bestow. And the point of Chayah-Light which is engarbed in your 248 spiritual organs and 365 spiritual tendons is then able to bolster itself correspondingly."

2.


"Indeed, when the point of Neshama-Light (eventually) becomes an entire partzuf (unto itself) it ascends upward and is engarbed in the sephirah of Chochma in the spiritual world of Asiyah, which is an unfathomably subtle vessel. It then extends a great and mighty light from the Infinite that’s termed Chayah-Light (referred to above) or the 'Neshama of Neshama'."
-- As was explained in Ch. 41, there are five supernal lights which correspond to the five levels of the soul that are termed Nephesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. Rabbi Ashlag has expanded upon Nephesh, Ruach, and Neshama so far. The "Neshama of Neshama" cited here corresponds to the Chaya which is the arcane root -- or “soul” -- of the more empirical, lower soul levels of Nephesh, Ruach, and Neshama. (We won’t be referring to the Chaya’s own “soul”, however, because as we also learned there, it’s utterly beyond our ken.)

"Then all the details of Asiyah -- all its mineralness, vegetableness, and animalness that correspond to the sephirah of Chochma -- help it take in the Chochma-light in full, along the lines we explained in regard to Nephesh-Light (see Ch’s 46-47). It’s then also termed 'Holy Verbalness' because it corresponds to the pure level of human verbalness."

3.

"The stature of that light vis a vis its G-dliness is equal to that of (the level of) verbalness in physical mineralness, vegetableness, animalness, and verbalness. That means to say that it develops an awareness of others."
-- The ability to not only move about at random and at will but to likewise move out of one’s own being, so to speak, and to thus be able empathize with others is what enables us to sense others’ needs and to bestow rather than just take-in.

"As such, this light’s level of spiritual mineralness, vegetableness, and animalness is on par with the material verbalness of material mineralness, vegetableness, and animalness."

"And the level of light of the Infinite engarbed in this partzuf is termed 'Yechidah-Light'."
-- Let’s now review how we’ve progessed from Nephesh-Light to Yechidah-Light.
-- We learned in Ch. 41 that, “the light of Yechida shines in Adam Kadmon” which is the highest realm, “the light of Chaya shines in Atzilut, the light of Neshama shines in Briah, the light of Ruach shines in Yetzirah, and the light of Nephesh shines in Asiyah”, in descending order. Our task was to reverse that process and to ascend upward from Nephesh-Light.
-- Nephesh-light corresponds to the pure mineralness of the ratzon l’kabel” (Ch. 45). We’re born with it. When “we struggle to observe Torah and Mitzvot with proper intentions” we manage to acquire a degree of Ruach-Light and to go on to develop the Neshama-Light that’s engarbed in it by “engaging in the secrets of the Torah and in the reasons behind the mitzvot” (Ch. 48).
-- Then as we saw in section 2 above “when the point of Neshama-Light becomes an entire partzuf it then ascends upward” and “extends a great and mighty light from the Infinite that’s termed Chayah-Light” which then leads to our developing a Yechidah-Light.

(c) 2006 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"