kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

, the divine soul (; ''nefesh ha'elokit'') is the source of good inclination, or '' yetzer tov'', and Godly desires. The divine soul is composed of the ten

sefirot Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and ...

from the side of holiness, and garbs itself with three garments of holiness, namely Godly thought, speech and action associated with the

613 commandments The Jewish tradition that there are 613 commandments ( he, תרי״ג מצוות, taryag mitzvot) or mitzvot in the Torah (also known as the Law of Moses) is first recorded in the 3rd century AD, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that i ...

of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. Because its desire is to cleave to Godliness, it is usually in conflict with the ''

nefesh habehamit In kabbalah, the animal soul (; ''nefesh habehamit'') is one of the two souls of a Jew. It is the soul that gives life to the physical body, as stated in Tanya, and is the source of animalistic desires as well as innate Jewish characteristics such ...

'', whose desire is initially for physical pleasures.Likkutei Amarim ch. 9, Tanya

Reluctance of the soul to be born

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethics, ethical teachings and Maxim ...

4:22 it is stated: Regarding this, Bartenura explains that the soul does not desire to leave the pure place where souls reside before coming down to earth. An angel forces it to leave its heavenly abode and enter the mother's womb, after which an angel again forces it to come out and be born. On the same passage, Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, notes that "against your will you live" seems to conflict with "against your will you die." "Against your will you live" makes sense according to Bartenura, because the soul was on a much higher level before it came to this world; at that time it was blissfully cleaving to Godliness. How, then, can it be said that "against your will you die," when the soul returns to God? He resolves it by explaining that the soul was convinced to descend when it was informed of the Divine Intention to "make a dwelling for God in the lower realms." This can only be accomplished by studying

and performing

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

on earth. Despite being reluctant to leave the Heavens, its most powerful, core and essential desire is actually to cleave to God; and because of that, it also yearns to cleave to and be in accord with the Divine Will. The soul therefore descends, in order to create the "dwelling place in the nether realms" and fulfill the Divine Will. Likewise, it is reluctant to die and leave the world, because the

can only be fulfilled while enclothed in a physical body.

Battle with the animal soul

In the Tanya

In the

Tanya Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...

, Rabbi

Shneur Zalman of Liadi Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jews, Li ...

stated that the ''nefesh ha'elokit'' is "literally a part of God above."Likkutei Amarim ch. 2, Tanya This is supported by quoting the morning prayer "Elokai neshamah", which says "the soul You gave me is pure. ...You blew it into me," then quoting a phrase of the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

that "one who blows, blows from within him."''Lessons in Tanya'' on Likkutei Amarim ch. 2 notes that while the Tanya cites the Zohar for this phrase, it has since been lost and is missing from newer editions of the Zohar. This is taken to mean, "from His innermost."

Unique to Jews

The Tanya also notes that this soul is unique to Jews alone. He cites various verses (Exodus 4:22: "My firstborn son, Israel", Deuteronomy 14:1: "You are children to the your God") showing that Jews are considered God's children, and then links it to a mystical statement that "a child is derived from the brain of his father." It then cites

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

(Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:10) who says, "He is the Knowledge, and He is the Knower," thus proving that the Jewish Divine soul is derived from the Divine Thought, which is the same as God Himself.

Relation to human anatomy

The Tanya states that the ''nefesh ha'elokit'' resides primarily in the brain, from which it spreads throughout the body. It is also manifest, albeit to a lesser extent, in the right ventricle of the heart, from which it may take control of the left ventricle of the heart where the ''

'' is primarily manifest.

Allegorical terms

Because the ''nefesh ha'elokit'' is derived from God Himself, it is commonly referred to as a "prince" or a "princess" in many allegories. The Parable of the Harlot and the Prince from the

(part II, 163a) is one example. Another example is th
Parable of the Princess and the Peasant

Reluctance of the soul to be born

Battle with the animal soul

In the Tanya

Unique to Jews

Relation to human anatomy

Allegorical terms

See also

References

Further reading