Boruch Hashem

The 600,000

Neshamos
Insights into the root souls of the Jewish people

BASED ON THE TEACHINGS OF

THE REBBEIM OF CHABAD

" " "

Compiled and adapted by Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Preface Kabbalah and Chassidus offer profound insights into the nature of the Jewish soul and how each soul is interconnected with all the others. This booklet compiles a minute taste of these endlessly rich teachings, drawn from the teachings of the Rebbeim of Chassidus Chabad. This essay was made possible by the sponsorship of and family. I wish to thank him for his generosity, and I am sure that the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus will bring him abundant material and spiritual blessings. The essays I write take a lot of time and effort. If you like this booklet, please contact me to sponsor an essay in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yahrtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah sheleimah, or the like. May this publication be the final good deed in exile, that will bring Moshiach now! Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver rabbioliver@gmail.com 443 602 1068

Table of Contents
P r e f a c e ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Levels of subdivision .................................................................................................................................... 3 A little math .................................................................................................................................................. 5 The connection between Jewish souls and Torah........................................................................................ 6 Subdivisions in Torah and Neshamos............................................................................................................ 8 The source of Jewish souls in the letters of Torah .................................................................................... 10 Practical significance .................................................................................................................................. 12 General souls ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Moshe Rabeinu and his extension .............................................................................................................. 14

Levels of subdivision As Jewish souls exist in a body, and even in their origin above, they exist as discrete entities. However, in their most sublime, pristine origin all Jewish souls exist as one undifferentiated singularity. They are first divided into seven,1 corresponding to seven emotional Sefiros (divine attributessing. Sefirah) in Atzilus, each of which acts as a root-soul for all the Jews in whose souls that particular emotional attribute is primary (e.g., chesed of Atzilus is the origin of souls whose primary quality is chesed, and so on). It is for this reason that the Jewish souls are compared to the seven branches of the Menorah in the Beis HaMikdash, for each branch corresponds to one of

Torah Ohr 32b.

the seven emotional Sefiros from which the souls of that particular emotional trait are derived. Then there is the division into the twelve tribes, which acted as root-souls in their own way. The number twelve corresponds to the six emotional Sefiros (excluding the last, Malchus), as they go from below to above, and from above to below.2 After that, each of the seven emotional attributes itself consists of ten sub-attributes, and this is the next division, into seventy, which was embodied in the seventy souls that descended to Egypt.3 The souls then subdivide further into 600,000. The Torah relates4 that at Mount Sinai, there were 600,000 men present between the ages of twenty and sixty. Kabbalah5 and Chassidus6 explain that these men possessed the souls of the entire Jewish people, for there are altogether 600,000 Jewish souls (and no more). The number 600,000 also stems from the six Sefiros in Atzilus. Every Sefirah contains all ten Sefiros (both the three

Shaar Ruach HaKodesh, gate 7, p. 108. 3 Bereshis 46:27. 4 Shemos 12:37, 38:26, Bamidbar 1:46, 11:21. 5 Zohar 3:273a. 6 Tanya ch. 37, 48a.
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intellectual, and the seven emotional), and so the six contain 60, and then 600, and so on, until they reach 600,000.7 This is the meaning of A generation passes, and a generation comes,8 but there can be no generation with less than 600,000 Jews.9 These are the same souls, but vested in different bodies, and so in this sense the passing generation is in fact the succeeding generation.10 A little math However, these souls are not ordinary souls; they are root souls, and so just as a root produces many offshoots, so do each of these souls subdivide into sparks, which also number 600,000.11 Each of these sparks is a single Neshamah. To do the simple math, thats 360,000,000,000 Neshamos. However, the souleven the root soulconsists of three distinct levels: Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah. So when each of the root souls split up, in turn, into 600,000 sparks, thats
Sefer HaMaamarim 5654, p. 106. Sefer HaMaamarim 5663-5664, p. 311. 8 Koheles 1:4. 9 Koheles Rabbah on Koheles 1:4, Yalkut 2:966. Zohar 3:273a. ibid. 4:216b. 10 Sefer HaBahir 51. 11 Quoted in Tanya Betziruf Marei Mekomos, Likkutei Pirushim, Shinuyei Nuschaos, chs. 29-53, p. 756, in the name of Likkutei Hagahos LeTanya, p. 37. But see Torah Ohr 27d.
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really all three levels of each root soul splitting up. So even in the world of Atzilus, there are altogether 1,080,000,000,000 soul-levels. This number of souls then descends further into each of the three lower worlds, which adds up to a total of 4,320,000,000,000 souls. The connection between Jewish souls and Torah Now, the Jewish soul stems from Torah.12 And so just as there are 600,000 root Jewish souls, so are there 600,000 explanations for every verse in the Written Torah. Likewise, so is it for each of the four sections of Torah, called pardes (lit. orchard)peshat (the plain meaning, which was just mentioned); remez (the allegorical meaning); derush (the homiletical meaning); and sod (the mystical meaning). Each topic in each of these four sections contains 600,000 explanations. Each Jew has Torah teachings on each of these four levels that altogether create his individual soul. This also parallels the souls root in the four higher spiritual worlds: Atzilus, Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. The soul descends from above Atzilus into Atzilus, then down into Beriyah, and so on, until it comes vested in the body of a Jew.
Much of the material below is drawn from the Arizals Shaar HaGilgulim preface 17; Shaar Maamarei Razal, p. 86; Shaar Ruach HaKodesh, gate 7, p. 108.
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The souls descent in each of these successively lower spiritual realms on its journey to reach the physical body involve each of the four sections of Torah, each connected with a particular world, respectively:13 peshatAsiyah; remezYetzirah; derushBeriyah;14 sodAtzilus. It is because the Jews soul stems from Torah that Jewish law requires that he study Torah. The Jews root in Torah also dictates the degree to which he will understand Torah when he strives to, and the topics at which he will have greater success at studying.15 This is the concept of each Jews portion in Torah, which we pray to Hashem to give us.16 We ask Hashem to bring us to find and study the explanations in Torah that are in fact the root of each of our individual Neshamos. And even if we dont merit this now, we are promised that when Moshiach comes, and in Gan Eden, every single Jew will come to study the explanations that create his individual Neshamah. Likewise, we find that every Jew has the ability to innovate specific novelties in Torah that other Jews may not be able to innovate. The reason for this is that the particular
Tanya ?? 14 This is one opinion among the Kabbalists; another opinion maintains that remez is connected with Beriyah, and derush with Yetzirah. 15 Cf. Tanya ch. 4, beginning. 16 Avos 5:20. Nusach HaTefillah.
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novelties that each person innovates correspond to that persons individual portion in Torah. Likewise, every night, while the person is asleep, the Neshamah rises17 to the Heavenly House of Study, and if one so merits, it is taught the explanation that lies at the root of his Neshamah. However, the extent to which this will be revealed to him will depend on his actions that day; certain worthy actions will merit a revelation of one dimension of the Torah-root of his Neshamah, while other worthy actions will merit a revelation of a different and perhaps higher dimension, and so onmeasure for measure.18 This experience refines the Neshamah and raises it to everhigher levels, at which higher and higher levels of understanding are revealed to it. The Neshamah may undergo this experience despite one having no recollection of it upon awakening. Subdivisions in Torah and Neshamos As mentioned, each of the four sections of Torah contains 600,000 interpretations on every aspect of Torah. But if so, how is it that we find many more than 600,000 explanations of many concepts in Torah? The answer19 parallels the
Cf. Tanya ch. 29. 18 Sanhedrin 90a. 19 Toras Menachem 5719, Vol. 2, p. 112. 2018
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above explanation concerning the subdivision of the souls. As explained, the 600,000 Jewish souls are root souls, each of which subdivides into 600,000 individual souls. And so is it with Torah: When we say that there are 600,000 interpretations according to peshat, for instance, this refers to the root interpretations, each of which is in turn subdivided into 600,000. So when it is stated that each Neshamah stems from one of the 600,000 interpretations of Torah, it means that each individual Neshamah (or spark, as Tanya calls it) stems from one of the subdivisions of one of those 600,000 interpretations, and this is the portion in Torah of that Neshamah. And just as there are 600,000 interpretations of Torah for the 600,000 root Jewish souls, so are there also 600,000 root paths in serving Hashem,20 which in turn subdivide further into yet more individual paths in serving Hashem appropriate for each individual Neshamah. In the Preface to Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains that it may be difficult to find personalized guidance suitable for ones own individual path in service of Hashem, and therefore one needs the guidance of a Rebbe in Yechidus.

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Hisvaaduyos 5742, Vol. 4, p. 2018.

The source of Jewish souls in the letters of Torah The Jewish souls origin in Torah is also related to the letters in a Sefer Torah, which also number 600,000. Thus, the name is an acronym for .21 The Neshamah of every single Jew stems from his or her corresponding letter in the Sefer Torah, which originates from the source of his or her soul in Torah above. The Alter Rebbe asks:22 Arent there far fewer letters in the Sefer Torah (to be precise, there are 304,805 letters)? He answers that the number of 600,000 includes the unwritten vowel sounds, each of which indicates a letter. For example, a komatz is an alef, a chirik is a yud, a cholam is a vav, and so on. However, we do not know exactly how to calculate which vowels are counted as letters in order to reach the number of 600,000.23 The Rebbe Rashab explains24 that there are two kinds of letters: Letters of thought and letters of speech. When one thinks, one also uses letters, but these letters are far more abstract and spiritual than letters that come down in the relatively coarse medium of speech.
Megaleh Amukos 186. 22 Likkutei Torah Behar 41b, 43d. 23 See the commentary of the Pnei Yehoshua on Kiddushin 30a for additional solutions. 24 Sefer HaMaamarim 5663-5664, p. 309. Ibid., p. 131. Cf. ibid., p. 368.
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Likewise, the letters of Torah exist on both these levels: The letters of a physical Sefer Torah are comparable to Hashems letters of speech. But at the level of Chochmah of Atzilus, the Torah exists in the form of letters of thought. The Hebrew vowel sounds (nekudos) are not necessarily written, but they allude to letters of thought. Thus, letters of thought include the more rarefied letters that relate to the nekudos. And so on the level that Torah exists in Hashems thought, as it were, there are far more letters altogether, 600,000. And since The Jewish people arose in Hashems thought25; i.e., the Jewish people stem from the level of Torah as it exists in Hashems thought, as it were, therefore the Jewish souls also number 600,000. Moreover, just as thoughts are united with the thinker, so is a Jew united with Hashem by connecting with His thought. To explain, letters of thought are far more united with the soul than letters of speech; thus, although both thought and speech are referred to mere garments of the soul and not its essence, thought is called a united garment, while speech is referred to as a separate garment. Likewise, Three knots are tied to one another: The Jewish people to Torah, and the Torah to Hashem26 because the Jewish soul is rooted in the level of Hashems thought, which is united
25 26

Bereshis Rabba 1:4. Cf. Zohar 3:73a.

with Hashem in a far more complete way than the rest of the creations, which stem from Hashems speech, as it were. Practical significance Since the Jews soul stems from Torah, and The Torah comes from [the Sefirah of] Chochmah,27 which yearns to submit to Hashem, therefore the Neshamah of every Jew naturally yearns to become utterly subsumed in Hashem.28 Also, the Jews source in Torah endows him with the strength to overcome his Bestial Soul. Thus, when the Jew studies Torah, not only will the Bestial Soul not obstruct the Neshamahs efforts to come close to Hashem, but it will agree to it.29 Thus, we find that the Torah is called might and weakening,30 for since it is the root of the Neshamah, it can bolster the Neshamah, and since the Bestial Soul is in conflict with the Neshamah, Torah weakens the Bestial Soul. And just as according to Jewish law, a Sefer Torah is only fit for use when all its letters are complete and unblemished, so is every single Jew, even the Jew on the lowest level, vital to the Jewish people as a whole. Likewise, the Jews inherent
Zohar 2:85a. 28 Sefer HaMaamarim 5652, p. 62. Cf. Tanya ch. 19. 29 Sefer HaMaamarim 5660-5661-5662, p. 415. 30 Yalkut Shimoni Devarim 951: Might refers only to Torah, as it is written, With Him there is might and weakness (Iyov 12:16).
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connection to Torah endows him with the power of selfsacrifice necessary to overcome all the difficulties and challenges of the exile.31 General souls It is possible for one body to house a soul that contains several sparks of souls at once.32 This is a Neshamah kelalis, a general soul, from which many other Neshamos stem. A general soul is not necessarily the same as a root soul. Of course, a root soul is a general soul, in that it comprises many other souls, but not every general soul is also a root soul. Just as a tree separates out into branches, upon which many individual pieces of fruit hang, so do individual souls stem from soul branchesgeneral souls that themselves subdivided from the 600,000 root souls,33 and act as general souls for a certain number of individual souls. This is the explanation of the Talmudic statements that certain individuals were considered shakulequal to many other Jews. Likewise, a king is a general soul for many other souls. Since a general soul contains several sparks of souls, and each spark has its own source in Torah from which one
Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 2, p. 333. 32 Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 19, p. 19, fn. 41. 33 Sefer HaMaamarim 5669, p. 125.
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is able to draw novelties in Torah, the general soul is able to innovate concepts in Torah to the extent of the number of sparks that he contains. Every Jew whose soul is merely a spark has a general soul from whom his soul derives. When one merits to connect with ones personal general soul, that enables one to connect to ones personal root in Torah, and find ones personal portion in Torah and path in serving Hashem.34 Thus, we find that Rav Chaim Vital testified35 of his master, the Arizal: My teacher, of blessed memory, would grasp every single Jew with his wisdom, and see that Jews source in Torah. And he would teach every person [who came to him] those explanations on Torah that were related to his soul. Likewise, a Jew who is himself a general soul may in turn be derived from an even more inclusive soul, with whom he in turn should establish a bond in order to find his own portion in Torah and path in serving Hashem, and in order to guide those souls that are sparks from him. Moshe Rabeinu and his extension Now, the ultimate Neshamah kelalis was that of Moshe Rabeinu, whose soul acted as the root for all the 600,000
34 35

Cf. Zislin, 19 Kislev, p. 8. Shaar Ruach HaKodesh, gate 7, p. 108.

Jewish Neshamos; this is why our sages say that he was considered equal to them all.36 And since those souls continue in future generations, it follows that Moshe Rabeinu contained all the souls of all the Jewish people until the coming of Moshiach.37 The reason for this is that his Neshamah stemmed from a level of Torah that included all 600,000 root interpretations of Torah on all its four levels. Thus, Moshe also understood all the 600,000 interpretations of the Torah on all the levelsas our sages say, Moshe knew all the Torah novelties that were to be revealed by true Torah scholars in future generations.38 Since Moshe encompassed Torah within himself, he was the one to give the Torah to the Jewish people.39 Similarly, in every generation there is a Torah leader who is the extension of Moshe,40 who acts as the Neshamah kelalis for all the Jewish people of his time.41 Likewise, there are Jewish leaders whose souls stem from that of the extension of Moshe who act as branch souls for specific groups of Jewish people.
Mechilta Beshalach 15a. 37 Sefer HaMaamarim 5665, p. 63. 38 Megillah 19b. 39 Hamiluim LMoshe 88b. 40 Tikkunei Zohar 469. 41 Sefer HaMaamarim Basi Legani, Vol. 1, p. 225.
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