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This series is a continuation and should be read in order. If you are not familiar with previous posts you may have trouble understanding later ones.
And now Chapter 10.15
So, the first level is the ten powers as they are totally included in the soul.
The second level is the aspect of the ten soul powers as they are extended to be ready to come into revelation.
The third level is when, for example, the soul’s essential desire for kindness emerges from the essence fully and comes to be completely ready to actualize its desire for the specific thing that it desired originally. So that the person stands completely ready do actualize his will, only that it still did not happen as a result of some type of opposition or disruption that is preventing him. However, the preparation itself for this action is already complete and it only needs to come into revelation in actuality. Meaning that the kind person already estimated well within himself in a specific manner how to bring that specific thing in to actuality. This being the meaning of estimating within oneself in potential what will have to be in actuality. As per the aforementioned example of the power of movement, that when the power of movement is ready to come into revelation in the movement of a specific thing and likewise the extension of life force from the soul to enliven the body, as this life force is ready to go out of the essence of the soul into revelation within the physical body. This can be seen in a cat that is ready to pounce - the whole jump is already prepared within the cat. That in both of these examples there is included there in a general unity all of the specific life forces (this being the second level). Then afterwards the soul estimates how the revelation of the extension of the spirit of life from the soul will be and it is prepared for what part of the body it is to enliven in actuality. Like if a person were about to reach for the salt at the dinner table, but a moment before the person can even lift a hand someone else takes it. At that point the power of movement come to a specific thing - to reach for the salt and also there was already the estimation within the person of exactly how to make the movement, not using too much force and knocking the shaker over, nor too little dropping it. Yet, when the other person took the shaker, the power of movement will turn into the power of speech and he will ask for the salt - these both come from the same source where they are still totally unified.
In a similar fashion we find these three level in general in the revelation of the life of the soul within the specific organs of the body. So that, for example in the power of sight, the soul first comes into revelation within the brain as the general ability of perception of sight. Then as the soul is enclothed within the specific parts of the eye, the retina sensing the reactions of the cones and rods within the eye that perceive brightness and color. At that point the soul stands ready to form a particular image in accordance within the information that is relayed by the eye to the brain and then to the soul. So that even as the soul is before it is vested within the physical sight of the body there is the general readiness to see, this being composed of the readiness to receive individual stimulus for each color and brightness and then the general ability of forming these into a complete united image.
Similarly there is the example of the earth’s power of vegetation, as it is prepared to grow in actuality. For example, if one were to walk outside and sit in the shade of a particular tree. It must be said that tens of years earlier, when this tree was nothing but a seed, already then the ground contained in potential the ability to grow this particular tree, exactly as it is now with all of its details. For, if this where not the case then where did the tree come from. It can not be said that the tree came from just the seed, for the grown tree is much larger than it and also of a different structure and composition. Not only that, but we must say that the soil’s power of growth is a general power and that it includes within itself the ability of growing not just one tree, nor only a given number of species of fauna, but rather it has the ability to grow any type of plant at all. So that it is understood that one does not need a specific pot of soil to grow a specific plant, but rather this one pot has in the potential to grow anything and exactly how this potential will express itself is only a matter of what seed is planted in the soil. The earth itself, however, not only is it not limited in what type of plant it can grow, it is understood that it does not even contain any plants within itself what so ever. Not only that, but it is specifically because the vegetative power of the ground is completely removed from anything to do with actual plants that it has in its ability the power to grow any plant and an infinite number of plants. For if the earth actually contained within itself a hidden storehouse of plants, which were some how caused to spring up, then eventually the plants would all be used up and there would be limitations as to which soil could grow which plant. Rather, the vegetative power of the ground is an essential aspect of the very nature of earth, that it contains naturally certain elements and minerals, which when dissolved in water can be assembled into a plant, including all of its parts from hard wood to delicate flower to delicious fruit. Also it is understood that this power is not the totality of the earths existence, for it has an existence completely aside from growing plants. For, the actual matter that composes the earth is not a power of growth itself only that amongst its properties it also includes the ability of growth. In addition, it is because the earth itself is completely removed from an existence of any plant that it will not reveal its potential and grow a plant without a seed. The seed being to "hit" its potential into actual revelation.
So from this we can see that there are also these three stages in the process of growth, all before this power comes into actuality growing an actual plant. For, just like the movement before it comes into the physical object being acted upon. Likewise with the spiritual life force before it comes into the physicality of the body. That at that point in all of the examples mentioned above it changes from a spiritual entity to a physical one. This being the physical movement or the physical vitality and similarly with the physical growth of a plant etc. For, the power of growth is actually a spiritual power. For the nature of physical things is to be chaotic and to decompose to disarray and lifelessness. Conversely, the idea of construction and order is a function of the spirit and is, therefore, a sign of life. So too it is understood that there is a great wisdom behind the power of growth, each plant a work of art, a masterpiece and an example of perfection. The physical earth itself obviously is not quite intelligent or creative enough to invent all of these plants, rather there is a certain type of soul that is vested within it from the angels that tells it how to grow, as it says there is no plant below that does not have a Mazal [a type of angle] above, hitting it and telling it to grow, as will be explained later. It is, therefore, understood that in order for this change of essence to take place it is necessary for there first to be some sort of Tzimtzum [lessening] and contraction of this spiritual revelation, focusing and channeling the spiritual potential so that it can come over from the general realm of spirituality to that of physicality (as will be explained all about the idea of the Tzimtzum in Chapter 12). This is why it is necessary for there to be a seed in order for the power of growth to be revealed, because the seed is needed to limit and direct the earths infinite potential. The same is true with any ability, so that for example with the power of movement if it is not limited it can not come into revelation, this is why for example, a person will sometimes freeze up in a moment of extreme fear and panic, because the person wants to run away so badly that he tries to move everywhere at once. This, however is not possible and so until the person is calm enough to decide where to move he will just tense up all of his muscles at once and end up going no where at all. The same is true of speech, that if a person is extremely exited about something and wants to say the entire thought at once, then what little is said will be completely incoherent. For in order to speak in actuality it must be done one word at time and this requires that the person decide how to limit his speech and to choose what word to say first, leaving the others for later.
(End of Chapter 10)
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The material in this series is copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel