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We are looking at how souls are essential and can hence contain essential lights. The light as it is unto itself, not how it is on a functional level.
Souls are different from everything else. A soul is essential. It can receive anything without being disrupted. Hence they can receive the G-dly revelation in all its glory – something angels cannot do!
Souls will be able to receive the full revelation of G-d in the time to come.
Even now souls have a revelation of G-dly light, that is beyond the established norm of the lower world.
The rebbe once told the story of a group of chassidim in Russia, who had a deep Fabrengen. They were walking home, in the opressive atmosphere of communist rule. A police officer shouted, 'who goes there?!' They shouted back, 'bitul/nullity goes here!' the point is that one can have a revelation in avodah/service/work that is beyond the limits of the world.
Angels cannot receive a revelation beyond their norm. The soul in the body, can receive more than their norm.
in truth the souls can actually absorb the light of torah which is totally independent of the world. This is like we mentioned this morning, that, 'it is a mitzvah to return the money owed'. It seems just logical – hey, its not yours – you have to return it! But torah comes and says, 'its a G-dly reality that you have to makek the payment!'
in the world the payment is not an ideal – it is a debt. But the truth shines in the souls that it is a G-dly matter.
Thus we say, even if one learns torah for the wrong reasons, or in impurity, the light that is contained in it affects a transformation of the soul.
The souls can handle more light than the norm. for us in the world more light blinds us! Seeing is a functional element and works according to the rules of that function. Souls relate not based on function and hence can handle light beyond function.
Too much weight on the table make it collapse. The soul can exceed predefined norms.
All this is due to the fact that the soul/neshamah is not a reflection, but rather it is an essence.
Thus it can receive all revelations. Even essential lights.
A soul comes into this world, where everything is a ha-arah/reflection – a function of certain activities.
Even life. A man lives. And his body seems to be alive. But is it? It takes effort and it has a limited number of years! It is not real life! Eliyahu the navi/prophet, had complete transformation into a state where the soul transformed the body.
And the things we see. Sometimes we are oblivious to its significance – the soul element in this word is precarious. The soul is concealed in the body. It takes effort to become sensitive to the soul qualities.
It is very significant to say it can receive also essential light. Light as we know it comes from the sun and reflects off objects. There is activity. This light does not allow one to see 'from one end of the world to the other'. This light comes by an activity and you can only see that which is in your line of vision. Essential light is not functional. Essence is the truth itself. If it is true, then the neshamah/soul can see it.
The intellect gets to know things by question and answer. It is a long process. We come some kind of a conclusion based on the process. Then there are essential lights. This means I see it not due to a process, rather, 'if its true, then I know it!'
chochmah is a perceptions, but still sechel. Essential light is emunah/faith. I know it because its true - it is reality itself.
Rambam says, 'the foundation of wisdom is to know that there is a first Being' – I know it before knowledge.
Can anyone explain what life is? Absolutely not! But we can relate to it!
The soul is able to accept and process essential lights, which is way beyond its functional element which is to enliven the body.
This is the meaning of saying the soul is a true thing. The soul is a real thing. Truth itself.
Emunah/faith is that element that you cannot close your eyes to – it is the truth of the soul itself.
A true thing, when tested, shows more of its inner nature. This is seen in Jewish history. In Babylon we withstood every kind of pressure. But in Jerusalem we had idolatry. We can slip, but when the core is touched the essential element wakes and it cannot be broken.
The life of the body is only a subset – it is all on an active level, not on an essential level. The body has to be active to keep its strength. Why is the body called alive if it is not really alive? Because it has certain similarities to real life – it can rejuvenate, heal. This represents something more than the physical state.
Any weakening is due to the body, not due to shortcomings of the soul.
This is life.
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