Drawing Down Soul Love
בפרשת שמע ישראל ואהבת
In Parshas Shema Yisrael, the Torah commands us, "And you shall love Hashem your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Devarim 6:5).
The piece opens with the Shema and its command to love Hashem with all one's heart, soul, and might.
במדרש מי לי בשמים כו' דבאמת שורש נפשות בנ"י דבקים בהקב"ה ולכן האהבה נשרשת בנפשות בנ"י למעלה
The Midrash expounds the verse, "Whom have I in heaven but You, and besides You I desire nothing on earth?" (Tehillim 73:25); for in truth the root of the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael is bound up in the Holy One, Blessed is He, and therefore the love is rooted in the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael in the upper worlds.
The Sfas Emes brings a Midrash showing that since the deepest root of every Jewish neshamah is attached to the Ribono shel Olam Himself, the love for Hashem is already planted in the soul on high.
אך הנפש יש לה כמה בחינות כמ"ש במד' ה' שמות לנפש
However, the neshamah has several levels, as the Midrash teaches that there are five names for the soul.
He notes that the soul is not a single thing but has multiple levels, citing the Midrash's five names for the soul.
ויחידה היא שורש הנשמות שדבקים באחדות ה'
And the level called yechidah is the very root of the neshamos, which is bound up in the Oneness of Hashem.
The highest level, yechidah, is the soul's root, which remains fused with the absolute Oneness of Hashem.
אבל איש ישראל צריך ליגע עצמו בכל נפשך אפי' בזה הנפש שנדבק לגוף בעוה"ז כמ"ש במד' שחה לעפר נפשנו
But a Yid must exert himself with "all your soul" even with regard to this lower level of nefesh that is bound to the body in this world, as the Midrash expounds the verse, "For our soul is bowed down to the dust" (Tehillim 44:26).
Yet a Yid cannot stop at the lofty root; the avodah is to draw that love down even into the lowest level of nefesh that is tied to the physical body in this world.
מכ"ש בגלות עתה שהנפש נטמעת בגוף והבלי עולם עכ"ז צריכין לעורר האהבה בכל יום לדמות הנפש שלמטה להנפש שלמעלה בשמים
All the more so now, in galus, when the nefesh is submerged within the body and the vanities of the world; even so, we must arouse this love every single day, to make the lower nefesh resemble the upper neshamah that is in the heavens.
This is especially demanding in galus, where the nefesh is sunk into bodily and worldly distractions, so we must reawaken the love daily and align the lower nefesh with the higher neshamah above.
ולכן המצוה דק"ש בבוקר ובערב
And this is why there is the mitzvah of Krias Shema in the morning and in the evening.
For this reason the Torah fixed the mitzvah of saying Shema twice daily, morning and evening.
כשנתעלה הנשמה למעלה וכשיורדת באדם למטה בשחרית ובשבת שיש נשמה יתירה מתעורר האהבה בנפשות בנ"י ביותר כי עיקר האהבה כפי הארת הנשמה באדם:
When the neshamah ascends above, and when it descends into a person below in the morning, and on Shabbos when there is the neshamah yeseirah, the love is aroused within the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael all the more, for the essence of the love is in accordance with the degree to which the neshamah shines within a person.
The neshamah rises at night and returns each morning, and on Shabbos a person receives an extra neshamah, so the love flares up more intensely, since love for Hashem grows in proportion to how brightly the neshamah shines within a person.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the command of "and you shall love Hashem" in Shema flows from the fact that the very root of every Jewish neshamah is bound up in the Holy One, Blessed is He, so the love is already planted in the soul on high. Since the soul has many levels, culminating in the yechidah that is fused with Hashem's absolute Oneness, the avodah of a Yid is to draw that lofty love down even into the lowest level of nefesh that is tethered to the body in this world. This is all the more pressing in galus, when the nefesh is submerged in the body and worldly vanities, requiring a daily arousal of love to make the lower soul resemble its source above. This is why Krias Shema was established morning and evening, tracking the neshamah's nightly ascent and daily return, with an added intensity on Shabbos through the neshamah yeseirah. Ultimately, the strength of one's love for Hashem corresponds precisely to how brightly the neshamah is made to shine within the person.