The Neshama is called “the second Soul”. It is a part of G-d above Mamosh. 1) This is qualified by two ideas: A Chassidic form: חלק אלוקה ממעל ממש, as it was blown (rather than spoken) by Hashem into our nostrils. A Kabbalistic form: we come from מחשבה and חכמה like all children (have their...

This class explained one idea only: the dichotomy in the words חלק אלוק ממעל ממש. A) חלק אלוק ממעל: there is nothing more lofty and spiritual than a Neshama. B) ממש: There is nothing that can descend as low as a Yiddisher Neshama. The combination of the highest high and the lowest low tells what...

This class explores the ויפח, the allusion to Hashem creating the נשמה by blowing. The idea is explained in the topic of גבורה; which means two things: 1) It takes גבורה to unify opposites; in this case, a נשמה and a physical body. 2) Only while in the body does the true גבורה of the...

The second proof of the נשמה’s lofty origin is from the מאמר חז”ל: ישראל עלו במחשבה. This is a Kabbalistic “Proof” linking Neshamos to Chochma and through Chochma to the very Essence of G-dliness. The use of Kabbalah within Chassidus gives it “form” and a framework for understanding it intellectually.

Linking ישראל עלו במחשבה to the רמב”ם. What the RaMbaM understands about Hashem: that He is one with his wisdom and all of His faculties, allows us to understand how He can know what is happening in a changing world without changing Himself. הוא היודע הוא הידוע והוא המדע עצמה or הוא וחכמתו אחד. This...

1) A thought on Tisha BiAv, Teshuva and Moshiach. 2) Neshamos are G-dly, but independent, as they come from the Keilim. The פסוק נר הוי’ נשמת אדם that compares Neshamos to a Candle and the two ways of understanding this. 3) Though all Neshamos are one with Hashem and come from His Chochma, as the...

The answer; we all start out the same but change as we develop. The real issue is the divine כונה which affects this diversification. The example of the fetus.

One becoming many: It starts with the One Soul of אדם הראשון, which then becomes 7, then 600,000, then each of those (general Souls) has 600,000 sparks. But even after they descend and change they’re still essentially the same: one with their source until חכמה עילאה.

The Mitzvah of ולדבקבה בו… בתלמידי חכמים is enlightened and clarified based on this notion of relatedness of souls and their hierarchy. Only Chassidus allows understanding this Mitzvah correctly and literally.

1) More on Neshama Klali (Rebbe, Tzadik) and Chassidus. 2) What parents contribute to their children: The Neshama comes from Hashem, but 1) the expression of the Neshama in the body, and the light drawn to the Neshama from above depends on the Levush that the parents give their children.