Refining the heart to rise toward the soul

במד' מה כתיב למעלה ואיש כו' אוב או ידעוני כו' זש"ה והיית רק למעלה מוטב הי' לשאול לשאול באורים ותומים למעלה כו' ע"ש.

In the Midrash: what is written above? "And a man… who has an ov or a yidoni (forms of necromancy)…" This is the meaning of the verse, "And you shall be only above" (Devarim 28:13) — it would have been better to ask, to inquire through the Urim and Tumim above, and so on; see there.

The Midrash contrasts those who turn downward to forbidden spirits with those who seek guidance "above" through holy means — setting up the theme of rising versus descending.

דכ' אורח חיים למעלה למשכיל למען סור משאול מטה.

For it is written, "The path of life is upward for the wise, that he may turn away from the grave below" (Mishlei 15:24).

The wise person's whole orientation is upward — and that very ascent is what saves him from sinking downward.

כי לכל הדברים יש שורש למעלה.

For all things have a root above.

Every object and force in the world has its source in a higher, spiritual root.

ולעומת זה יש סט"א וקליפה מול כל דבר.

And corresponding to this, there is a sitra achra (the "other side") and a klipah (husk) opposite every thing.

For each holy root there exists a counterpart of impurity — a "shell" set up against it.

ובנ"י בכח התורה ומצות יכולין להעלות כ"ד לשורשו.

And Bnei Yisrael, through the power of Torah and mitzvos, can elevate everything to its root.

By means of Torah and mitzvos, Bnei Yisrael draw each thing back up to its holy source.

כי עוה"ז ממוצע וכן האדם הוא שולט בכל הג' עולמות ועולה ויורד.

For this world is an intermediate realm, and likewise man rules over all three worlds and rises and descends.

Man stands at the midpoint of creation; he can ascend through all the upper worlds or sink downward, depending on his choices.

וע"ז נברא האדם כמ"ש ורדו בדגת הים ובעוף השמים ובכל חי' הרומשת.

And for this purpose man was created, as it says, "and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every creature that creeps" (Bereishis 1:28).

Man's purpose is to "rule" — to exercise mastery over every level of creation and elevate it.

דכתי' כל אשר חפץ ה' עשה בשמים ובארץ בימים כו'.

As it is written, "All that Hashem desired He did, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas…" (Tehillim 135:6).

Hashem's will permeates every domain — heavens, earth, and sea — and man is appointed to draw them all to their purpose.

ובבנ"י נתקיים כל זה ביצ"מ וקי"ס נתקיים רדו בדגת הים.

And in Bnei Yisrael all of this was fulfilled: at Yetzias Mitzrayim and Krias Yam Suf, "rule over the fish of the sea" was fulfilled.

The splitting of the sea was Bnei Yisrael's mastery over the realm of "the fish of the sea" — the lowest, watery domain.

וקבלת התורה הוא בעוף השמים ובכבוש א"י וכריתות ז' עממים הוא בחי' הרומשת.

And the receiving of the Torah is "the birds of the heavens," and the conquest of Eretz Yisrael and the cutting off of the seven nations is the aspect of "every creature that creeps."

Matan Torah corresponds to ruling the heavens; conquering the Land corresponds to mastery over the earthbound, "creeping" realm.

וחז"ל אמרו זכה רודה בהן לא זכה נעשה ירוד לפניהם.

And Chazal said: if one merits, he rules over them; if he does not merit, he becomes lowered before them.

The same potential for mastery can invert: failing to elevate creation, a person is dragged down beneath it.

וע"ז כתי' מי יודע רוח בני האדם העולה כו' למעלה ורוח הבהמה.

And concerning this it is written, "Who knows the spirit of man, whether it rises upward… and the spirit of the beast?" (Koheles 3:21).

There are two directions a spirit can take — the human spirit that rises, and the animal spirit that descends.

פי' ז"ל על רשעים שדומין לבהמה.

They explained this as referring to the wicked, who resemble an animal.

The "spirit of the beast" describes wicked people who follow only their lower, bodily drives.

דכתי' מדרכיו ישבע כו' לב ומעליו איש טוב.

As it is written, "From his ways the wayward of heart is sated, and from upon him a good man" (Mishlei 14:14).

The verse hints at two layers in a person: the heart that can be dragged down, and a "good man" that rises above it.

כי הלב יש בו ב' חללים לב חכם לימינו ולב כסיל.

For the heart has two chambers: "the heart of the wise is to his right," and a foolish heart.

The heart is the battleground — it contains both a wise inclination and a foolish one.

ויש באדם ג' בחי' הנ"ל בעצמו. מוח לב כבד. בחי' נר"נ.

And within man himself there are the three aspects mentioned above: brain, heart, and liver — the aspects of nefesh, ruach, neshamah.

Man is a small world containing three tiers — mind, heart, and liver — paralleling the three levels of the soul.

והלב הוא הממוצע.

And the heart is the intermediate one.

The heart sits in the middle, between the elevated mind and the bodily liver.

וצריכין לברר הלב מתערובת טו"ר.

And one must refine the heart from the admixture of good and evil.

Because the heart is mixed, the avodah is to clarify it — to separate the good within it from the evil.

וע"ז אמר הקב"ה ביום אכלך כו' מות תמות.

And concerning this the Holy One, blessed is He, said, "On the day you eat… you shall surely die" (Bereishis 2:17).

The "death" warned of after eating from the tree is connected to this descent of the heart toward the lower, bodily side.

כל השפלה הוא מיתה שע"י החטא נשפל למטה.

Every lowering is a form of death, for through sin one is brought down below.

"Death" here is not only physical — every spiritual descent caused by sin is a kind of dying.

וכל מיתה בא מבחי' הגוף והגשמיות.

And all death comes from the aspect of the body and the physical.

Death and descent originate in the pull of the gashmiyus (physicality) of the body.

אבל רוח אדם יכול לגבור ולעלות אל הנשמה. זה ומעליו איש טוב.

But the spirit of man can prevail and ascend to the neshamah — this is "and from upon him a good man."

The human spirit has the power to rise above the body and cling to the higher neshamah; that ascent is the "good man" within.

כי הסוג לב מתדבק בתאוות הגוף ומשפיל לבו ולכן הרשעים בחייהם קרוים מתים.

For the "wayward heart" attaches itself to the desires of the body and lowers its heart, and therefore the wicked even in their lifetime are called dead.

One who lets his heart cleave to bodily cravings is "dead while alive," for he has surrendered to descent.

ומעליו איש טוב כמ"ש הוי זנב לאריות וא"ת ראש לשועלים.

"And from upon him a good man" — as they said, "Be a tail to lions and not a head to foxes" (Avos 4:15).

The "good man" attaches himself upward to what is greater than him, like a tail to lions, rather than ruling over the low.

לכן צריכין להעלות הלב לבטלו אל המוח.

Therefore one must elevate the heart, to nullify it to the brain.

The avodah is bittul of the heart to the mind — submitting one's emotions to the guidance of the intellect's higher awareness.

וכמו כן בכלל בנ"י יש בחי' כהן לוי ישראל. בחי' נר"נ.

And likewise within the whole of Bnei Yisrael there are the aspects of Kohen, Levi, and Yisrael — the aspects of nefesh, ruach, neshamah.

The same threefold structure appears in the nation: Kohen, Levi, and Yisrael parallel the three levels of soul.

ולכן הכהן לנפש לא יטמא כי כל מדרגה סמוכה למדרגה שלאחרי'.

Therefore "the Kohen shall not become impure for a dead person (nefesh)," for each level is adjacent to the level after it.

The Kohen, the highest level, must keep distance from the lowest (the dead) — yet each rung still connects to the one beside it.

וכתי' לב יודע מרת נפשו כי הרוח סמוך לנפש.

And it is written, "The heart knows the bitterness of its soul (nefesh)" (Mishlei 14:10), for the ruach (heart) is adjacent to the nefesh.

The heart (ruach) borders the nefesh, so it is sensitive to and can be pained by the lower soul's struggles.

אבל הנשמה והמוח הם רחוקים ב' מדרגות מהנפש והכבד.

But the neshamah and the brain are two levels removed from the nefesh and the liver.

The highest level, the neshamah, is too far above the lowest, bodily level to be directly touched by it.

וי"ל הרמז בשמחתו לא יתערב זר כשמתעלה הלב אל המוח והמחשבה.

And one may say that this is the hint in "in his joy no stranger may intrude" (Mishlei 14:10) — when the heart is elevated to the brain and to thought.

When the heart rises and unites with the mind, its joy becomes pure, with no "stranger" — no foreign, lower admixture — intruding.

וכדאיתא בבחי' נר"נ כי הנפש סוכך על הגוף בקבר והרוח מתדבק בנשמה כידוע.

And as is brought regarding the aspects of nefesh, ruach, neshamah: the nefesh hovers over the body in the grave, and the ruach attaches itself to the neshamah, as is known.

After death the lower nefesh remains near the body, while the ruach rises and clings to the neshamah — reflecting the same hierarchy of ascent and descent.

ולכן כתי' תמים תהי' עם ה"א. להיות שליט בג' עולמות היפוך ממעונן ומכשף שהוא רוח הבהמה היורדת למטה:

Therefore it is written, "You shall be wholehearted (tamim) with Hashem your God" (Devarim 18:13) — to be a ruler over the three worlds, the opposite of the soothsayer and the sorcerer, who are the "spirit of the beast" that descends below.

To be tamim with Hashem is to live by the upward path, mastering all three worlds — the very reverse of the sorcerer, who follows the beastly spirit downward.

Summary: All things have a holy root above and an opposing klipah below, and man stands in the middle, able to rise or fall. Through Torah and mitzvos Bnei Yisrael elevate creation to its source. Within the person, the heart (ruach) is the intermediate, mixed level that must be refined and nullified to the mind, so that the human spirit rises to the neshamah rather than sinking into the "beastly spirit" of the sorcerer — fulfilling "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem."