More on subdivisions in Torah and Neshamos

More on subdivisions in Torah and Neshamos
Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver


(This article is a continuation to this article and this article.)


As mentioned earlier, 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 answer[1] parallels the 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,[2] 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 one’s own personalized guidance suitable for one’s own individual path in service of Hashem, and therefore one needs the guidance of a Rebbe in Yechidus. I will explain this concept further in a future post, G–d-willing.


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[1] Toras Menachem 5719, Vol. 2, p. 112.
[2] Hisva’aduyos 5742, Vol. 4, p. 2018.


This post was dedicated by Shmuli Markel and family (Shmuel Leib ben Esther and Sarochel bas Chaye Nechomoh), and by Yisroel Meir Raphael and family.



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