{"id":115,"date":"2018-08-28T23:03:11","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T23:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/?p=115"},"modified":"2018-08-28T23:03:11","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T23:03:11","slug":"nephesh-hachaim-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/2018\/08\/28\/nephesh-hachaim-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Nephesh Hachaim 1:7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nephesh Hachaim <\/em>1:7<\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

R\u2019 Chaim will now clarify the issue originally brought up in Chapter 5 about our being the animating force behind and the \u201csoul\u201d of countless worlds.<\/p>\n

In fact, he reiterates, we can\u2019t compare our control of those worlds to the sort of control that the soul has over the body it\u2019s attached to, as that\u2019s impossible 1<\/sup>. For while our bodies are directly animated by our soul 2<\/sup>, as we said in Chapter 6, R\u2019 Chaim\u2019s point here is that the celestial forces, worlds, and the very Chariot itself 3 <\/sup>are animated — and either brought to a state of rectification or destruction (G-d forbid!) — by the effect of our actions<\/em>.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

And our actions have that ability, first, because we\u2019re a compendium of the innumerable and interconnected forces and worlds that cascaded downward from the uppermost reaches down to the material world 5<\/sup>; and second, because of the high, interior, and sublime source of our souls, which implies that it incorporates them all 6<\/sup>. Both phenomena contribute to the control that our actions have over the universe 7<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

In fact, our having been granted free will is rooted in our ability to incline ourselves and the universe in the direction of either goodness or wrongfulness. And thanks to that, even if we\u2019d already inclined everything toward wrongfulness and destruction because of our misdeeds, G-d forbid, we\u2019d nonetheless be able to rectify that all after the fact 8<\/sup>, and we\u2019re able to undo the harm thanks to our being the repository of all of those worlds 9<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

In fact, R\u2019 Chaim makes the point, it\u2019s our free will that enables us to direct G-d\u2019s own actions, if one could say as much! For G-d is termed our \u201cshadow\u201d (see Psalms 121:5), and so just as one\u2019s shadow\u2019s movements follows his or her own movements step for step, our actions have the same effect upon G-d\u2019s actions 10<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

And this was reflected by the configuration of the Cherubim <\/em>11 <\/sup>in the Beit Hamikdash<\/em>, which either faced each other 12 <\/sup>or didn\u2019t 13<\/sup>, depending on circumstances we\u2019ll soon explore.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n

1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>I.e., it\u2019s impossible to claim that our minds <\/em>or our wills <\/em>have the sort of inner, first-hand, and immediate effect over the worlds that our will to walk just then would have over our feet, for example. See 1:6.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>I.e., by our mind or will (see note 1 above).<\/p>\n

3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>This refers to the celestial Chariot cited in the first chapter of Ezekiel whose mystical implications were discussed in the Heichalot<\/em> and other ancient texts.<\/p>\n

4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>Alone. I.e., by the mitzvot we perform (which lead to rectification) and the sins we lapse into (which lead to destruction).<\/p>\n

The fact that our physical actions rather than our innermost wills affect the worlds clearly signifies that we have a less intimate, less proximate relationship with the celestial worlds than we\u2019d have thought. But that\u2019s not to belittle the effect of our actions, as we\u2019ll soon see.<\/p>\n

Note also that \u201cactions\u201d here also refers to our \u201cactions, speech, and thoughts\u201d cited in 1:3 above. See 1:12 below on our actions, 1:13 on our speech, and 1:14 on our thoughts.<\/p>\n

5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>See 1:6 above.<\/p>\n

6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>See 1:5 above.<\/p>\n

7<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Our being the repository of various worlds touches on the material<\/em> aspects of those mitzvah-based actions, while the high and deep roots of our souls are intimately related to the sublime spiritual<\/em> aspects of the mitzvot.<\/p>\n

8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>Through teshuva. <\/em><\/p>\n

See Hilchot Teshuva <\/em>3:4 and Kiddushin <\/em>40 for a discussion about our ability to help rectify the world, and Rosh Hashanah <\/em>18a about our being able to recast what would have been destroyed otherwise.<\/p>\n

9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>That is, our being the repository of all worlds enables us to move ourselves and those worlds in any direction we\u2019d care to take them.<\/p>\n

10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>I.e., upon His actions when it comes the bolstering or destroying the worlds.<\/p>\n

R\u2019 Chaim cites an unknown Midrash (which is also cited is Sh\u2019nei Luchot Habrit<\/em>, Toldot Adam<\/em>, Hasha\u2019ar Hagadol <\/em>306) in the text here that quotes G-d as having said, \u201cI will act toward you as you act toward Me\u201d. And he cites the Zohar (2:184b) which reiterates the idea that the heavens reflect our actions down below.<\/p>\n

Just consider the profound implications of the idea that G-d Himself \u201ccopies\u201d our actions!<\/p>\n

11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>See Exodus 25:18-22.<\/p>\n

12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>See Exodus 25:20.<\/p>\n

13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>See 2 Chronicles 3:13.<\/p>\n

(c) 2018 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman’s new annotated translation of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to the Zohar\u201d is available as \u201cThe Kabbalah of Self\u201d on Kindle here<\/a>. His annotated translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> and his annotated translation of Rabbeinu Yonah\u2019s “The Gates of Repentance” is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes torah.org entitled \u201cSpiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d that can be subscribed to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nephesh Hachaim 1:7 1. R\u2019 Chaim will now clarify the issue originally brought up in Chapter 5 about our being the animating force behind and the \u201csoul\u201d of countless worlds. In fact, he reiterates, we can\u2019t compare our control of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,7,8,2,3,6,1,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hashkapha","category-kabbalah","category-mussar","category-nephesh-hachaim","category-reb-chaim-of-volozhin","category-torah","category-uncategorized","category-volozhin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8YhFQ-1R","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}