It can be said that any essence or entity (including a soul)
consists of the substance of which it is made together with the
"light" or "spirit" with which that substance is imbued and which
sustains that entity's existence. It is this light or spirit, for
instance, that distinguishes between a living person and a corpse.
A corpse, on the other hand, has its own existence and, depending
on the level of its decay, has its own quality of light. This is
similarly true of the dust to which it will eventually be reduced.
Besides its technical meaning in the hierarchy of the five levels,
"soul" is also the generic term for the "inner part" or "light" or
"heart" or "center of gravity" of any entity. This usage is
particularly appropriate since the technical term "soul" (Neshama)
is the middle one or the "heart" of the hierarchy we'll now
examine.
There are many types of nomenclature for the five levels or aspects
of "soul" depending on the context but the main one is:
5. Yechida (unity/individuality)*
4. Chaya (eternal life)*
3. Neshama (soul)
2. Ruach (spirit)
1. Nefesh (animus)*
*This interpretation/translation should be taken tentatively.
Similarly, there are five levels or aspects of substance or
receptacle to which these various levels of "souls" pertain. The
principal nomenclature for our present context is:
1. Keter --- \
2. Chochma head
3. Bina ---- /
4. Ze'ir Anpin - torso
5. Malchut - lower limbs
The elucidation of these terms is beyond the scope of this essay
but is not at all necessary to our purpose here. I will only say
that they correspond to the human form. The key point to grasp (and
this I cannot emphasize enough) is that the five "lights" or
"souls," in the first list, are recited from bottom to top while
the five substances or receptacles, in the second list, are recited
from top to bottom (from head to toe). The sense of this is that
the lights are meant to descend into the receptacles to which they
correspond and, in their descent, the bottom lights first engage
the top receptacles which are least compatible with them. Thus the
numbers indicate the order of engagement.
If you wish to assimilate this more easily, I suggest you number
the fingertips of your right hand, using a fine felt marker,
starting with #5 on your right thumb and ending with #1 on your
right pinky. Then mark #1 on your left thumb ending with #5 on your
left pinky. Your right hand will now represent the "descending"
lights and your left hand the "receiving" receptacles. Then, with
palms facing you, hold your right hand above your left hand and
allow your right pinky to descend to your left thumb and then to
each of the other fingers, in turn, until both hands are aligned
with thumbs opposite thumbs and pinkies opposite pinkies. The ideal
correspondence representing cosmic perfection could thus be
designated by,
1 - 5
2 - 4
3 - 3
4 - 2
5 - 1
whereby the coarsest receptacles (through conscious, creative work
and rectified essence-desire) have drawn the lowest lights to them
enabling the highest lights to descend to the finest receptacles.
This ideal cosmic configuration is the supreme state of
intelligence or "Mochin" corresponding to manifest divinity. No
human even approaching this has ever existed. For instance, it is
said that Moses was the most accomplished of incarnations but that
even he only reached the state of Neshama (soul) as his center of
gravity. While it is said that Moses possessed a measure of Chaya,
it was clearly not enough for his corporal immortality. This state
could be represented as:
--- 5
--- 4
1 - 3
2 - 2
3 - 1
4 -
5 -
Judaism is well aware of claims for higher states but considers
these fanciful, misleading and counterproductive. The following
designates my estimate of my own spiritual development:
--- 5
--- 4
--- 3
--- 2
1 - 1
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 -
This illustration signifies the coarsest light inhabiting the
finest receptacle. My spiritual center of gravity would thus have
to be designated as merely "Nefesh" which is sometimes referred to
as "Nefesh-Ruach" since some degree of spirit is present in all
living humans. This suggests that the coarsest light - the light
least adapted to true thought - has descended only to somewhere in
my head. Yet it cannot be denied that I have some measure of the
other functions (feeling, motor, instinctive, etc.) common to all
humans.
The point to grasp is that these functions, to the extent that I am
pure, are mere reflections of their true potential - veiled light
- just as common desire is a pale reflection of true will. To the
extent that I am impure, these functions will be distorted
reflections just as willfulness is a distorted reflection of true
will. Thus the "empty" aspects of a being are inhabited by
restricted lights the nature and quality of which vary with his
state at any given moment. The restriction of light is expressed
through its being veiled or veiled and fragmented. Veiled light is
an expression of our lack of development. Fragmented light is an
expression of our impurity. Obscurity, confusion and suffering are
the result.
Project Mind Foundation
