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The Legend - major new statement, point or idea - key point of the chapter - illustration; paranthetical remark; proving or explanatory comment on the antecedent - reference - logical following, continuation, explanation or reference - justification or proof - juxtaposition of complementary (mutual substitute) or co-existing satements - contrasting of mutually exclusive or contradictory, opposite, incompatible alternatives - connection, with connector A from the previous p age withinh the same chapter A being the antecedent A - connection, with connector A on the next page withinh the same chapter being the successor A ch. 6 - connection, with connector A from chapter 6 being the antecedent A - connection, with connector A in chapter 6 being the successor ch. 6 1 Chapter 1. Structure and Logic. "Be righteous, and be not "And be not wicked; and even if the whole Niddah, wicked in Avot , world tells you that you are 30b your own ch.2.13 righteous, regard yourself as if estimation." you were wicked." A ch.13 If a man considers himself to be wicked he willbe grieved in heart and depressed, and will not be able to serve G-d joyfully and with a content heart; while if he is not perturbed by this, it may lead him to irreverence. "Lord of the universe, Thou It is not preordained Bava hast created righteous men Niddah, A whether a man will be Batra , 16a and Thou hast created 16b ch.14 righteous or wicked. wicked men,..." A There are five types of man: ch.27 righteous man who prospers righteous man who suffers Berachot , wicked man who prospers 7a wicked man who suffers intermediate man The "righteous man who prospers" is the perfect tzaddik ; the "righteous man who suffers" is the imperfect tzaddik . while the The righteous ... and the intermediate are motivated wicked by Berachot , men are by their good their evil 61b "Righteous man who suffers" is Zohar II, motivated by nature, nature, one whose evil nature is 117b both. subservient to his good nature. "And my Rabba declared, Psalms, heart is a "I, for example, At what stage a person can be considered a ch.9 void within am a Benoni." Benoni , if he is deemed completely wicked me." when he : commits sins violates a minor prohibition of the Rabbis A That is, it is void has opportunity to forewarn another of an evil nature. against sinning and does not do so neglects any positive law which he is able Whoever has not to fulfill attained this degree, has not ascended to the rank of tzaddik . One whose Benoni can deeds and Yevamot , ch.2 This is only not mean misdeeds are Niddah, ch.1 figurative "The Almighty saw that one whose equally balanced Shevuot , 39b use of term that the righteous were Yoma, deeds are is callled Benoni , Sanhedrin , 99a in regard to few, so He planted them 38b half virtuous while one whose Num. 15:31 reward and in every generation,..." and half virtues outweigh punishment. sinful. his sins is called a Tzaddik . Benoni is not guilty even of the For "The tzaddik A A sin of neglecting to study the is the foundation ch. 25 ch. 2 Torah. of the world." Bava Metzia , It is known that Rabbah never Prov. 86a 10:25 ceased stuying the Torah. 2 A "The souls which I Every Jew, whether Etz Chaim, Isa. 57:16 have made," alluding righteous or wicked, has Portal 50, ch. 2 to two souls. two souls. There is one soul B A that originates in ch. 2 ch.9 kelipah and sitra achra . The souls of the It is clothed in the From it stem all the evil From this soul stem also nations of the world blood of a human characteristics deriving the good characteristics emanate from the being, giving live to from the four evil A which are to be found in other, unclean the body. elements (fire, water, ch. 6 the innate nature of all kelipot which air, and earth) which are Israel, such as mercy contain no good contained in it. and benevolence. whatever. "For the life of These are: anger and pride, For in the case of Israel, the flesh is in which emanate from the A this soul of the kelipah is the blood." element of Fire, the nature of ch. 7 derived from kelipat which is to rise upwards; the nogah . appetite for pleasures - from the element of Water, for water makes to grow all kind All the good that Etz Chaim, of enjoyment; frivolity and the nations do, is Portal 49, done from selfish ch.3 Lev. 17:11 scoffing, boasting and idle motives. talk from the element of Air; Kelipat nogah also contains and sloth and melancholy - good, as it originates in the from the element of Earth. esoteric "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil". "The kindness of Bava Batra the nations is 10b Zohar I, 12b sin." 3 Chapter 2. Structure and Logic B ch. 1 The second soul of a Jew is truly a part of G-d above. "And He breathed Gen. 2:7 into his nostrils the breath of life." The soul of each There are myriads of Israelite is derived different gradations of Berachot "Thou didst breathe from G-d's thought souls and likewise 60b the soul into me." and wisdom. nefashot . A ch. 1 He and His A "He who exhales, exhales from wisdom are ch. 4 within him", that is to say from his one. inwardness and his innermost. The souls of the In every Hilchot Yesodei "He is the Patriarchs and generation there ha-Torah 2:10 Knowledge of Moses our are the leaders and Knower" Teacher are of the Jews, Every soul above the souls whose souls are Zohar I, 206a, consists of of our own in the category And the sages of the Kabbalah etc. nefesh , generations who of "head" and Shaar Mehut have agreed with him that the ruach and live in the period "brain" in VeHanhagah , Light of the En Sof clothes neshamah . preceding the comparison with ch. 13 through numerous contractions coming of the those of the Zohar II, 204b within the vessels ChaBaD of Messiah... masses. Atzilut, but no higher than that. A ch. 3 The essential There is not a nefesh , The root of every factor is to conduct ruach and neshamah nefesh , ruach and oneself in a holy which has not a neshamah ... all derive A manner during garment of the nefesh from the Supreme ch. 41 sexual union. of its father's and Mind ( Chochmah mother's essence. Ila'ah ). Through self- Nefesh , ruach and sanctification All commandments All of them remain neshamah of the one will cause to the neshamah bound and united with ignorant and unworthy descend for the fulfils are all essential unity with come into being ... neshamah of influenced by this their original essence through the descent one's child a garment. and unity, Chochmah of the worlds... holy garment. Ila'ah . degree by degree. However great a soul it may be, it still needs the father's sanctification. As for the soul The nurture and life of the nefesh , ruach and itself, it sometimes neshamah of the ignorant are drawn from the This is not the happens that the nefesh , ruach and neshamah of the heads of case with the soul of an infinitely Israel in their generation. children of lofty person comes ignorant. to be the son of a A despised and lowly ch. 6 man. "He who cleaves unto a scholar is deemed by the For those who wilfully Through attachment to the Torah as if he had sin and rebel against the scholars, the nefesh , ruach become attached sages, the nurture of and neshamah of the to the very their nefesh , ruach and ignorant are bound up and Shechinah ." neshamah comes from united with their original behind the back. essence and their root in Ketuvot the Supernal Wisdom. 111b 4 Chapter 3. Structure and Logic A ch. 2 A Each distinction and grade of nefesh , ruach and neshamah consists of ten faculties, ch. 6 corresponding to the Supernal Ten Sefirot , from which they have descended. They are subdivided into three "mothers" and seven "multiples". Similarly, the human souls divided into sechel (intellect) and middot (emotional attributes). The intellect includes chochmah , binah and da'at (ChaBaD), whilst the middot are love of G- d, dread and awe of Him, glorification of Him, and so forth. ChaBaD are called "mothers" and source of middot , for the latter are "offspring" of the former. A Da'at implies The intellect of the rational soul, which is the ch.18 faculty that conceives any thing, is given the Zohar III attachment and 28a, 34a union. appellation of chochmah , the "potentiality" of A "what is". ch.19 When one brings this power from the potential into actual... to understand thing "And Adam truly and profoundly as it evolves from the concept which he has conceived in his knew ( yada ) intellect, this is called binah . One binds his mind with Eve." a very firm and strong bond to, and firmly fixes his thought on, the Chochma and binah are the very "father" and "mother" which give birth to love of Gen. 4:1 greatness of the blessed G-d, and awe and dread of Him. En Sof. When the intellect in the rational soul deeply contemplates and immerses itself exceedingly in the greatness of G-d, how He fills all Even one who is wise and worlds and encompasses all worlds, and in the presence of Whom A understanding of the everything is considered as nothing - there will be born and aroused ch.
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