Chapter 2

The second soul, says the Alter Rebbe, is called the Divine Soul (nefesh haelokit), and it's a portion of Hashem Up high, literally!

The first person to have this soul was the first man, Adam, and afterwards, that soul was transmitted only to the Jews.

The Torah¹ says that Hashem “This soul ”breathed” into Adam. This idea of blowing shows that the soul comes from a very deep place. We can talk for a long time and not get tired, but if we try to blow for a minute, we tire quickly. This happens because blowing draws strength from deep within us.

Despite the fact that everything comes from Hashem, The difference between the soul and the rest of things in the world is that everything was created with the word of Hashem, while the soul was created with the blow of Hashem. This shows that we have a very special connection with Hashem, like a son with his father. This is the second soul that all Jews have.

The Alter Rebbe explains that all the Divine Souls of the Jewish people come from the same place: the Wisdom of Hashem. And he gives an example: just as a son “arises” from his father’s brain, in the same way, the Jewish people are called² “children of Hashem”, because they arise from the “brain” of Hashem.

Of course Hashem It doesn't have a "brain" like ours. We simply say that Hashem He has the same things we do (hands, fingers, body, head, etc.) to try to understand how He works (because we were created in His image and likeness). Hashem), but He is not really like us. He is incomprehensible…

What does it mean that a child "emerges" from the father's brain? The idea is that the brain manages everything that happens in the body; it's like a great conductor, to whom everyone pays attention and whom everyone follows. Therefore, it's perfectly accurate to say that when a man has a child, that child, in one way or another, "emerged" from his brain.

Now, although all souls arise from Hashem, In other words, we all have the same Father, yet we are all different: Why? Because the path by which the soul descends from its source to enter the body when a person is born affects each soul differently.

Later in the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe will explain how the soul descends from its source to the body (a little in chapter 36 and a little in chapter 39). For now, it suffices to understand that just as a baby in its mother's womb begins very small, like a drop of water, and the mother develops that drop over nine months, growing arms, legs, body, head, and other body parts, in the same way, the soul "emerges" from the "brain" of Hashem, And it goes through a developmental process that affects each soul differently; some become arms, others become legs, and so on. So, we all come from the same place, and in that source we are all equal, but when we descend to this world, we all turn out to be different.

With this idea we can understand that all Jews are like one large body, with a head, arms, and legs, and each individual is a part of that large body. The Righteous (tzaddikimThe leaders of each generation are the head of the people, and the rest of the members are united with and receive strength from the head, just as in a person, where all the members are directed by the brain. Therefore, as the Righteous are united with Hashem And we to the Righteous, it turns out that, ultimately, we are all united to Hashem!

In this way the Alter Rebbe explains why our sages³ They say that the way to join Hashem It is through joining the Righteous of the generation.