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Growing Spiritually
Gate of Reincarnations: Chapter One, Section 2
Translation by Yitzchok bar Chaim;
explanation by Shabtai Teicher
He does not acquire all of them [all five levels of
soul] at one time, but rather according to his worthiness. At first, he obtains
the lowest of them, which is called " Nefesh." Afterwards, if he so merits, he
then also attains " Ruach." This is explained in several places in the Zohar,
such as in parashat Vayechi, and parashat Teruma, and specifically at the
beginning of parashat Mishpatim (94b): "Come and see: When a person is born, he
is given a Nefesh..."  | | " The sefirot are like a family tree...with multiple generations" | | |
Although a person begins life with only a Nefesh,
he has the potential to ascend to higher levels of soul, according to his merit
(as elucidated below).
...All Nefashot are only from the world of
Asiya; all Ruchot are from the world of Yetzira; and, all
Neshamot are from the world of Beriya. However, the majority of
people do not have all five parts, which are called NR"N, etc., but only
the Nefesh from Asiya.
We have seen at the end of the previous section that
the abbreviation for all five levels of the soul is NRNCh"Y. Since the
uppermost levels of Chaya and Yechida are inaccessible now, they
are often ignored, and the short-form is even more abbreviated to NR"N.
Late in history and distant from Mt. Sinai as we are, most people only have
access to the Nefesh level of their soul, which is why it is so difficult
to relate to God and spirituality.
However, even this Nefesh has many levels, and
this is because Asiya itself also divides into five Partzufim,
called: Arich Anpin, Abba, Imma, Zer Anpin, and Nukveh d'Zer Anpin. The word "partzuf" (plural: "partzufim")
literally means "face". In the Kabbala it also refers to the entire human shape.
In general, there are ten sefirot: keter,
chochma, bina, chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod, and malchut.
However, each one is a localized version of the entire system. In other words,
it is possible to discern within each one of them ten component sefirot,
and within each one of those ten others, etc. (This may be likened to a
photograph taken with a hologram, where any detail may be blown up to reveal all
the basic information that is contained in the whole photograph. All the basic
information of the whole is contained in the detail; and the detail contains all
the basic information found in the whole.)
When we see a number of sefirot joined
together, working together and functioning together as a system, then they are
called a partzuf.
Each partzuf has a unique name, and these
correspond to the names of the sefirot, the names of the soul and the
names of the worlds, as discussed previously (Chapter 1, Section 1).
| Yechidah
Singular |
. |
Keter
Crown |
Arich Anpin
The long face |
|
Chaya
Life force |
Atzilut
Emanation |
Chochma
Wisdom |
Abba
Father |
|
Neshama
Breath |
Beriya
Creation |
Bina
Understanding |
Imma
Mother |
|
Ruach
Wind |
Yetzira
Formation |
Chesed -- Yesod
(details) |
Zeir Anpin
The short (or, near) face |
|
Nefesh
Rested |
Asiya
action |
Malchut
kingdom |
Nukva de'Zer Anpin
The feminine consort of Zeir Anpin (the short
or near face) |
For a more detailed Table of Correspondances: Click here
It should be noted that the sefirot according
to the names of the partzufim resemble a family tree of three generations: grandfather, parents, child and his bride.
Before a person can merit to attain his Ruach
from the world of Yetzira, he must first be complete in all of the five
partzufim of the Nefesh of Asiya.
In other words, though a person begins life with a
Nefesh, it too has higher levels that must be attained through spiritual
growth and rectification. When all the levels of Nefesh are rectified,
then a person is ready to ascend to a higher spiritual level, that of the level
of Ruach. He then repeats the process of growth on this higher spiritual
plane.
That is, he must first master the Nefesh of his
Nefesh, then the Ruach of his Nefesh, the Neshama of
his Nefesh, and so on. Once he has acquired the Yechida of his
Nefesh, then the entire level of Nefesh is said to be "his," and, he
is ready to work on acquiring the levels of Ruach.
To link to the previous article in this series, The Names of the Soul,
click here
To link to the next article in this reincarnation series, Growing Spiritually,
click here
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