Chasidut к Ийова 31:2

Godly people first emerged into the history of the world with the advent of Jewish souls.¹⁵With Avraham Avinu., who was called, “ha’ivri,” which is the root of the word, “Hebrew.” The Jewish soul is called, “a Godly portion from on high,”¹⁶This verse (Iyov, 31:2), said by Iyov, is classically interpreted as his complaint, saying, perhaps with sarcasm, “look at the portion God has given me for all my good behavior, my house ruined, my children killed, and here I sit scratching my sores on a dunghill.” So it is interesting that in all of the cases I have reviewed in Chassidic writings it takes on the novel positive meaning that the soul of the Jew is a veritable portion of God. This is akin to the verse found near the end of the Torah (Devarim, 32:9), “God’s portion is His people,” which is interpreted to mean that the Jewish soul is connected to God. which rests among the Israelites, was revealed unto them, and prepares them to be a Chariot for the great and lofty revelation of Godliness that they merit through holy efforts. In the introduction to his work Shaarei Kedusha (Gates of Holiness) Rabbi Chaim Vital¹⁷Rav Chaim Vital, one of the greatest Kabbalists and the chief disciple of the Ari”zal, 1542-1620. writes, “When the soul is itself greatly refined, it becomes revealed to man, and it shall lead him in all his ways.” That is to say, it is possible to be a Tsaddik who merits neither prophecy nor divine inspiration (Ruach HaKodesh),¹⁸Prophecy presumably ended around the sixth century BCE, between the time of the destruction of the first temple (586) and its rebuilding under Ezra’s leadership. The Talmud records (Baba Batra, 12b) that after the destruction of the Temple, the power of prophecy was taken from the prophets and given over to children and fools (or madmen).” but indeed manages to achieve the level of feeling and knowing his own soul. This in itself is an admirable level which will lead him on his own way to knowing God.

Generally speaking, the worldly scientists who examine thoughts and feelings of the soul are without Torah. There are things which an Israelite, fervent for the word of God, fears from doing or even casually thinking of doing, Heaven forfend, yet for the worldly scholars of the soul this is not considered bad and even sometimes positive. Therefore, many of them examine and study only lowly, filthy thoughts. Therefore, not only are our thoughts distant from theirs, but our souls are different; for besides the fact that the soul of an Israelite is higher—a piece of God above⁵⁹²See Job 31:2 and Tanya, Chapter 2.—do they not also agree that the soul is activated by one’s thoughts, to the extent that there are many diseases of the nerves whose source is not the material nerves and brain but rather confused and convoluted thoughts and desires which one gets caught in? Since they behold a soul, activated from physicality and thoughts unaffected by thousands of years of Torah, Zohar, and hasidism, they evaluate/judge the man’s soul as an ‘evil spirit’ investing it as full of filthy processes.