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Orchard of Delights
neshamah, chayah, and yechidah (Bereishit Rabbah 14:9). Kabbalah
and Chassidut explain that the five names depict five ascending
soul levels. Nefesh, the lowest soul level, refers to what is commonly
named “the animal soul,” the instinctual, behavioristic drives most
associated with the body that guide human actions. Ruach, or “spirit,”
is related to the emotions; neshamah, the inner soul, is deemed the
seat of the intellect; chayah, “the living one,” refers to the interaction
between consciousness and its super-conscious origin; and yechidah,
“the single, unique one,” relates to the Divine aspect of soul.
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh explains that according to Chassidut
when an individual seeks to go from a state of slavery to one of
freedom, to ascend from one level of spirituality to a higher plane,
the four lower levels of soul need to first experience an “ego death,”
so that the fifth and highest soul level is then free to ascend to the
next level. Only through such a nullification of the lower self can the
Godly essence of the soul be truly redeemed.
££Music and Prophecy
£Music and ProphecyMusic and Prophecy
Crossing the Reed Sea and observing the Egyptians drowning in
the sea marks the end of the Jewish people’s exile in Egypt, the
culmination of years of slavery and oppression (Exodus 15:1-19).
The Midrash teaches that God’s revelation at the sea was so great
that the simplest handmaiden witnessed more than even Ezekiel the
prophet did in his Vision of the Chariot (Mechilta 15:2). The people
spontaneously transformed the Divine revelation they experienced
into joyous song.
According to tradition there are ten archetypal songs sung
throughout history; the Song of the Sea is one of them. Nine have
already been sung and were recorded in the Tanach while the tenth
culminating song is to be sung in the Messianic era. These songs were
sung by men and women, kings and judges, lone individuals and the
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be classified as positive commandments. Thus, all the prohibitions
relating to the second commandment are in essence included in the
first commandment.
Fourthly, Kabbalah also teaches that the Ten Commandments
and God Himself, as it were, are condensed into the opening word
anochi, which the Zohar explains is an acronym for the phrase, “I
have written Myself down and given it to you.” This is not merely 8
another instance of condensation in the Ten Commandments, for this
parallels the epic event wherein God contracted and condensed His
infinite Being to allow creation to come into being; here He condenses
Himself, in a manner of speaking, into the finite Hebrew letters that
can subsequently be learned and transmitted from generation to
generation.
Fifthly, just as the beit, the first letter of the Torah, contains all of
creation in embryonic form, so too the alef, the first letter of “anochi,”
which is the first word in the Ten Commandments, in essence contains
the entire Torah. Furthermore, the beit of “bereishit,” whose numerical
value is two, symbolizes the seeming duality in this world, whereas
the alef of “anochi,” whose numerical value is one, represents the
essential oneness underlying all reality. (See the portion of Vayikra
for more on the meaning of the alef, its significance as the first letter
of the Ten Commandments, and its connection to creation. Also see
the letter alef in The Hebrew Letters by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh.)
Having described the Divine process of contraction as manifest
in creation and the Giving of the Torah we can now ask: How is
this understanding translated into our own lives? Human beings are
created in the image of God; therefore, understanding the dynamics
of creation and the expression of God’s will provides us with tools to
actualize our own potential as well as function on a higher spiritual
level when interacting with the world around us. The fundamental
realization that behind all multiplicity lies an essential unity, behind
the veil of seeming circumstance is God’s Providence, provides us
with the impetus to analyze the myriad bits of information and
stimuli bombarding us daily. It trains us to organize, prioritize, and
seek out essential underlying principles and causes.
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