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In our life, we do many actions, good ones, and the opposite. When are we in essence? Someone good who happens to do not-good actions sometimes, or someone not-good that sometimes does something good? Furthermore, if our essence is not good, of what value and significance is the fact that we occasionally do good?
Chasidut gives us the answer. Every Jew has two souls inside him. One is the animal soul, which is not necessarily bad, but desires only what it considers beneficial and pleasurable. It is the “egoist” inside us. Like an animal, which is only preoccupied with satisfying its instincts. This is where our inclination towards the not-good comes from, because sins sometimes appear to us beneficial and pleasurable for our “ego”.
Our second soul, which we discussed last week, is our G-dly soul, which is a “part” of G-d. This is why it desires good, G-dly things. It is concerned with something beyond our “ego”. This is where our actions for the good of a fellow person or for G-d come from.
These two souls are inside us, and during our entire life, they fight over who will rule over our body. In other words, which soul with decide what we will do, say, think etc. at every given moment. When we do something good, it is our G-dly soul that is ruling and when we do the opposite, it is our animal soul that is ruling.
The real essence of each Jew is the G-dly soul. This is who we are. But sometimes, we get carried away by the animal soul inside us, and we no things which are the opposite of good.
The purpose of our existence in this world is to try as much as possible to have our G-dly soul rule inside of us, in our thoughts, speech and actions.
Shabbat Shalom,
Arie from the Yeshiva
