QUESTION:
I’ve noticed that in the different series that the Rav has given on the human soul, the Rav often uses 4 main terminologies a lot when describing the soul: tenuah (movement), kochot (abilities), middos (character traits) and hargashah (feelings). What do each of these terms imply and how do they relate to each other?
ANSWER:
Tenuah (movement) is the root of every creation, because the very idea of Creation was that Hashem created a movement [within His non-moving, undifferentiated reality], so movement is the very essence of each creation. Kochot (abilities) are the potential faculties of the soul which a person needs to activate and utilize. Actualizing the potential forces of the soul is the root of all the movements of one’s avodah. Middos (character traits) are one’s limitations – what he can or cannot do. Hargashah (feeling) is the accompanying feeling that results from every movement in the soul. Every koach (ability) in the soul exists as a potential force in the soul that lays dormant, and when a koach becomes utilized, there is tenuah (movement) in the soul, which results in a certain feeling or emotion that accompanies it.
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