Overview
This passage explores the spiritual anatomy of the human soul and its correspondence to the Divine Sefirot—the ten emanations through which God interacts with the world. It emphasizes how human faculties mirror the Divine structure and how speech, particularly in Torah study and Mitzvah’s, activates higher spiritual processes.
Key Concepts and Structure
- The Soul Mirrors the Sefirot
- The human soul is composed of ten faculties, paralleling the ten Sefirot:
- Chochmah, Binah, Da’at (Chabad) – represent intellectual faculties.
- Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, etc. – represent emotional attributes (Middot).
- These correspond to:
- Abba and Imma (Father and Mother) – representing Chochmah and Binah.
- Ze’ir Anpin – the configuration of the six emotional Sefirot.
- The Divine Breath in Man
- All soul faculties originate from “רוח פיו” – the Divine breath, as in the verse: “And He blew into his nostrils…”.
- This breath is not metaphorical—it signifies a direct and intimate Divine infusion.
- Human Speech and Divine Speech
- The power of speech in the human soul parallels the Divine faculty of Malchut, also called the Shechinah.
- When a person speaks words of Torah, it awakens the Divine speech above, uniting the Shechinah with its source.
- The Importance of Verbal Expression
- Therefore, silent contemplation (hirhur) is insufficient for fulfilling obligations like:
- Kriyat Shema
- Birkat HaMazon
- Torah study
- These require actual speech, as it activates the corresponding Divine speech.
Takeaway
This teaching reveals the profound spiritual power of human faculties, especially speech. By aligning our thoughts, emotions, and words with holiness—particularly through Torah and Mitzvah’s—we mirror and activate the Divine structure. Speech becomes a sacred act, capable of uniting the Shechinah with its source and drawing Divine light into the world.
