The Exchange

The soul is compared to a wellspring. As it is written about the soul, “A garden wellspring, a well of living waters...” (Song of Songs 4:15).  The soul is just like well waters, which are at first salty. Yet by passing through the narrowly confined veins of the earth, they become “living waters”. So too the soul, by descending into the narrow confines of the body and the animal soul, draws down...living waters into the upper paradise.

~ Lubavitcher Rebbe, Discourse “I Came to My Garden” 5718

To recap, it seems from what I read that a soul residing in paradise descends to the earthly world to undergo a purification, let go of her salt, and to become sweetened; as this salt has interfered with a fuller revelation of her inner sweetness. Furthermore, via this process she draws down more spiritual light and pleasure into the whole of paradise itself; thereby, enhancing the delight of all souls residing there.

An interesting idea dawned on me as I read these words. Though I will share it, I am admitting that it’s speculative and I hope that people who are my spiritual seniors will eventually confirm this idea one way or another. However, if I never publicize it, how will they ever see it?

 As I read this excerpt, I wondered how is there any bitterness at all up there, whether in a soul or in the general environs of paradise? Then I remembered reading in Rabbi Yehudah Fatayah’s commentary to Etz Chaim that when the shards and sparks fell, from what would later be referred to as the world of emanations, some baby was thrown out with the bath waters. In other words, some material which belonged in the world of emanations fell into the lower worlds, including our own world at the very bottom of all worlds. So, when we elevate shards and sparks, we are only elevating that which should not have joined the fall and is therefore, rightfully a portion of the world of emanations. (I don’t remember where Rabbi Fatayah made this comment. But, I do remember seeing it.)

This makes sense and helps explain why there will still be a physical world during (at least, the initial stages of) the messianic era (see Maimonides), despite the view that all the sparks will be elevated by then. This is because the only things drained from the physical world was what did not belong there and was not essential to its stability. Quite to the contrary, its presence disrupted the stability.

Now if the breakage and fall of the shards and sparks was so messy, then is it not possible that just like some of the material which belongs to the world of emanations fell below that some of the material which belongs below remained above or at least in a realm above its destination (meaning, that it did not fall far down enough)?  If you pour out a glass of oil, does not some residue remain? Besides, in the balance of existence usually what happens on one side of an equation has a parallel happening on the other side of the equation as well.

Perhaps, these “stragglers” which remained above, despite belonging below, account for the saltiness, the bitter elements, contained in the environs above in general and in their residing souls in particular. Our world then functions as a marketplace, where exchanges happen. We bring down the spiritual material connected to our souls which rightfully belong below. That’s the purification of our souls discussed in Mussar, the sweetening of our souls discussed in Chassidut and the repair of our various soul levels discussed in Lurianic Kabbalah. Then in exchange, we elevate material connected to our souls which really belong above - whether to the world of emanations or even to some lesser level which is still considered above relative to the physical world.

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