QUESTION:
Since the “neshamah” (Divine soul of a Jew) is very far from one’s is it possible for a person to feel a closeness with Hashem after gaining a more basic level of self-awareness? Or is this not possible until a person reaches the “neshamah” level of the soul?
ANSWER:
: It surely is possible. We have described a path in which we build our way upwards, beginning from the bottom levels and working our way upwards [see Rosh Chodesh Avodah_09_ Kislev_ Sleep and Dreams). It is definitely possible for a person to feel “sparks” of higher levels even before he is there, because the light of the higher levels sometimes shines itself onto the lower levels. However, we will not be able to understand the sparks of the higher levels until we have actually entered more inward.
Every person contains a spark of the neshamah, which enables him to feel a deep closeness to Hashem at times, even before he has risen to the higher levels of his existence. There are several ways of how it is experienced. Sometimes it happens when a person has a deep feeling of simple faith in Hashem (peshitus/temimus), sometimes it is experienced through a deep experience of davening, sometimes it is felt through talking to Hashem, sometimes it can come from feeling a deep love for Hashem.
But it still does not mean that the person’s actual soul level is there. There is a ‘crack’ in the soul which enables us to connect deeply to Hashem through those places, as we mentioned earlier, due to the light of the redemption which is closer to us now, which enables the light of the neshamah to be more easily accessed. That is why it is easier these days for a person to feel deep experiences in his soul, long before he has entered within.
However, as we said earlier, it doesn’t mean that person is actually there at that level. It is just that sometimes, the light of the neshamah penetrates into the lower layers of the soul and enables a person to connect to it easily. Thus, generally speaking, we must work our way upwards, starting from the lower levels of our soul. That is why when we work on our middos, we begin working with the lower levels and we work our way upwards, as opposed to beginning from a higher plane. We need to start from the bottom upwards. First we need to recognize the lowest parts of our soul and work our way upwards. We work to ‘build’ ourselves in this organized manner.
It is certainly possible for one to begin with the “neshamah” level, but it is a dangerous to do so. There are some people who begin with this path because they cannot deal with their weaknesses, and if they were to begin analyzing their weaknesses, they would do nothing to improve themselves, so they instead begin to enter the “Neshamah” level as an alternative. For such people, there is no realistic alternative, so they feel no other option other than to begin with the “Neshamah” level. Others are inclined to begin with Neshamah because there’s a strong portal available in their souls that enables them to reach their Neshamah, and they would have a hard time descending to the lower levels of the soul and working from there. Others want to begin with Neshamah simply because they want to see success right away and they wouldn’t want to deal with the failures of their weaknesses that are present in the lower layers of their soul. So it is possible for a person to begin with the Neshamah level, but in all of these cases, it is always risky to do so.
The path which we must mainly use to traverse in our avodas Hashem is to work in a step-by-step manner, beginning from the lower layers of our soul. This was the main path which our great leaders traversed throughout the generations. There were always exceptions to this who began to work on themselves from the higher plane [of Neshamah], but they were still taking a risk, and it is usually dangerous for us to take that unusual route.
QUESTION 2: When I begin this avodah of calming myself to enter deeper within, I try various ways of trying to calm myself. I am doing so in order to connect to Hashem. I think of pesukim (verses) that mention Hashem, and I think about the “Ein Sof” (the Infinite) of Hashem, and this calms me, and I truly feel that I am more connected to Hashem when I do this. Is this a true feeling that is coming from my neshamah, since I am feeling a deep feeling? Or is it just something that calms me and there is a lot more for me to feel….?
ANSWER: I do not know personally who is asking this question, so I cannot give a complete answer to this question. But generally speaking, any feeling which feels deep to you contains some truth to it, for there is a ‘crack’ in the soul that enables you to experience the light of the neshamah somewhat. But it is only experienced temporarily and it doesn’t mean that you are at that level. It is possible for a person to live in that higher state on more permanent basis, but if a person has not purified the lower layers of his soul, he is taking a very dangerous path by attempting to live in this higher state. It is fine to connect to this higher place in yourself from time to time, but then you must make sure to return to your lower levels and continue fixing yourself there.
When one is working his way upwards, beginning from the lower levels of the soul, and he is not yet feeling a deep connection with Hashem, it is very hard for most people to patiently work on themselves, when they are not getting a feeling of more connection to Hashem. This is especially the case with our generation. That is why every person needs to connect to Hashem from the place where he is currently found in, and along with this, he needs to work his way upwards. Each person can connect to his inner point of the soul, on his own level.
The truth is that sometimes a person is only imagining that he is becoming closer to Hashem, and sometimes it is a real feeling. However, even if it’s being imagined, he is still being spurred on to become closer to Hashem and to enter deeper into himself; and if only all people could imagine in this way. But, we cannot build our path in Avodas Hashem based upon this point. It is fine to feel a deep closeness with Hashem if this will calm you and then you immediately return to reality and you work on yourself; as long as you understand that you have merely entered into a ‘crack’ in your soul which lets you experience a higher level. But you must immediately return afterwards to the actual level that your soul is found on, and to continue to work on yourself from there.
Every person contains a spark of the neshamah, which enables him to feel a deep closeness to Hashem at times, even before he has risen to the higher levels of his existence. There are several ways of how it is experienced. Sometimes it happens when a person has a deep feeling of simple faith in Hashem (peshitus/temimus), sometimes it is experienced through a deep experience of davening, sometimes it is felt through talking to Hashem, sometimes it can come from feeling a deep love for Hashem.
But it still does not mean that the person’s actual soul level is there. There is a ‘crack’ in the soul which enables us to connect deeply to Hashem through those places, as we mentioned earlier, due to the light of the redemption which is closer to us now, which enables the light of the neshamah to be more easily accessed. That is why it is easier these days for a person to feel deep experiences in his soul, long before he has entered within.
However, as we said earlier, it doesn’t mean that person is actually there at that level. It is just that sometimes, the light of the neshamah penetrates into the lower layers of the soul and enables a person to connect to it easily. Thus, generally speaking, we must work our way upwards, starting from the lower levels of our soul. That is why when we work on our middos, we begin working with the lower levels and we work our way upwards, as opposed to beginning from a higher plane. We need to start from the bottom upwards. First we need to recognize the lowest parts of our soul and work our way upwards. We work to ‘build’ ourselves in this organized manner.
It is certainly possible for one to begin with the “neshamah” level, but it is a dangerous to do so. There are some people who begin with this path because they cannot deal with their weaknesses, and if they were to begin analyzing their weaknesses, they would do nothing to improve themselves, so they instead begin to enter the “Neshamah” level as an alternative. For such people, there is no realistic alternative, so they feel no other option other than to begin with the “Neshamah” level. Others are inclined to begin with Neshamah because there’s a strong portal available in their souls that enables them to reach their Neshamah, and they would have a hard time descending to the lower levels of the soul and working from there. Others want to begin with Neshamah simply because they want to see success right away and they wouldn’t want to deal with the failures of their weaknesses that are present in the lower layers of their soul. So it is possible for a person to begin with the Neshamah level, but in all of these cases, it is always risky to do so.
The path which we must mainly use to traverse in our avodas Hashem is to work in a step-by-step manner, beginning from the lower layers of our soul. This was the main path which our great leaders traversed throughout the generations. There were always exceptions to this who began to work on themselves from the higher plane [of Neshamah], but they were still taking a risk, and it is usually dangerous for us to take that unusual route.
QUESTION 2: When I begin this avodah of calming myself to enter deeper within, I try various ways of trying to calm myself. I am doing so in order to connect to Hashem. I think of pesukim (verses) that mention Hashem, and I think about the “Ein Sof” (the Infinite) of Hashem, and this calms me, and I truly feel that I am more connected to Hashem when I do this. Is this a true feeling that is coming from my neshamah, since I am feeling a deep feeling? Or is it just something that calms me and there is a lot more for me to feel….?
ANSWER: I do not know personally who is asking this question, so I cannot give a complete answer to this question. But generally speaking, any feeling which feels deep to you contains some truth to it, for there is a ‘crack’ in the soul that enables you to experience the light of the neshamah somewhat. But it is only experienced temporarily and it doesn’t mean that you are at that level. It is possible for a person to live in that higher state on more permanent basis, but if a person has not purified the lower layers of his soul, he is taking a very dangerous path by attempting to live in this higher state. It is fine to connect to this higher place in yourself from time to time, but then you must make sure to return to your lower levels and continue fixing yourself there.
When one is working his way upwards, beginning from the lower levels of the soul, and he is not yet feeling a deep connection with Hashem, it is very hard for most people to patiently work on themselves, when they are not getting a feeling of more connection to Hashem. This is especially the case with our generation. That is why every person needs to connect to Hashem from the place where he is currently found in, and along with this, he needs to work his way upwards. Each person can connect to his inner point of the soul, on his own level.
The truth is that sometimes a person is only imagining that he is becoming closer to Hashem, and sometimes it is a real feeling. However, even if it’s being imagined, he is still being spurred on to become closer to Hashem and to enter deeper into himself; and if only all people could imagine in this way. But, we cannot build our path in Avodas Hashem based upon this point. It is fine to feel a deep closeness with Hashem if this will calm you and then you immediately return to reality and you work on yourself; as long as you understand that you have merely entered into a ‘crack’ in your soul which lets you experience a higher level. But you must immediately return afterwards to the actual level that your soul is found on, and to continue to work on yourself from there.
Categories
