Levels of the soul

Hi ____,

I forgot to explain the Hebrew terms you asked me about in class on Friday: Leiv (heart), Ruach (wind/spirit) and Nefesh (soul).

I think these terms are best explained by the Jewish mystics, who understand them as part of other dynamic systems. So, I will explain the systems, and how the terms fit in.

Heart vs. Brain

Leiv refers to the actual heart, and like in many cultures, is considered the seat of emotion. This is also where the Animalistic Soul of a person has its “home base.” It influences the body through the blood, as it says in Lev. 17:11 “the soul is in the blood."

Leiv contrasts with Moi’ach, which is the brain. The heart is warm with emotion, while the brain is cold and intellectual. The brain is also more refined, and thus is the “home base” to the Intellectual Soul, and if one has merited, one’s Divine Soul. The heart and mind are constantly in conflict, but the brain has the advantage of an inherently superior position, allowing it to harness the heart’s warmth and energy for higher purposes.

Spirit, soul, etc.

There are four primary terms used by the Jewish mystics and the Scriptures to indicate the soul. They are understood as different stages or levels of the soul:

1. Chayah - life
2. Neshamah - breath
3. Ruach - wind/spirit
4. Nefesh - rest

The classic, Kabbalist’s allegory is that of the glassblower:

1. Chayah (life) is the glassblower. He possesses the potential to blow air into the glass, and is the source of all the later stages. This is termed “the potential of the indefinite.”
2. Neshamah (breath) is the air gathered together inside himself, ready to be blown through the tube. Here is were the creation begins.
3. Ruach (wind) is the breath flowing through the tube to reach the molten glass. The power of the glassblower is in motion, actively forming the molten glass.
4. Nefesh (rest) is the air at it finds its destination within the glass and comes to rest.

Typically, this description is meant to give insight into the Divine process of Creation, but it also applies to the human soul and to human endeavors. For example, a movement begins as a mustering of one’s energy (breath), releasing it (wind), and bringing it to rest (rest). (You might note that in physical respiration, we cycle through breath, wind and rest, and indeed the Kabbalists group these together in a special acronym - NaRaN, Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah. They say that these correspond to the Revealed Worlds.)

Yechidah

Occasionally, the Kabbalists will mention an even greater level of the soul called “Yechidah,” or Singularity. This is a level transcending the creative process, corresponding to one’s essence independent of any external creative process. It is in everything that one does, but is not limited to that.

If I may improvise now regarding the glassblower, Yechidah is the glassblower as a person, independent of glassblowing. He may be one who blows glass, but that is not what he essentially is. Speaking of the Divinity, this is Him as He is beyond His created universe, “surrounding all worlds” as the Kabbalists like to say.

Yechidah is present equally in all the above four stages, but is not limited to them. Because it is everywhere exactly equally, it is unique and indivisible and truly a Singularity.

If I wasn’t clear about anything, please feel free to ask! I’ll try to clarify it.
--
Chaim-Leib