Chapter 1

Core Point

Every Jew Contains Two Souls                                            

Core Terminology: “Tzaddik” (righteous – good – holy )
“Rasha” (wicked – evil – bad)
“Benoini” (to be explained through the next 14 chapters)
“Yetzer Tov” (The G-dly Soul – generating positive advice and directions.)
“Yetzer Hara” (desire/s for that which is forbidden.)

The Oath

It was taught (in the end of the third chapter of the Talmudic book Nidah) (that a soul prior to it coming down to earth) is caused to take an Oath (in heaven), “I will be a Tzaddik (righteous) and I will not be a Rasha (wicked), and even if the whole world will tell me, I am a Tzaddik, I will consider myself as wicked.”

Self-Evaluation

Now this is problematic – for in (Pirkei Avos, Chapter 2) it states, that a person shouldn’t consider themselves as wicked. Furthermore (its basic common-sense) for if a person considers themselves as bad   they will feel down… and thereby not be able to serve God (as we are meant to) “with joy and gladness.”

Conversely, if a person never feels down (from being wicked and sinning) they may come to anarchy, G-d-forbid.

The 5 Types Of People

So the explanation is as follows:

The Gemarah categorizes all people into five types:

A Tzaddik (Holy Person) and all is good.

A Tzaddik and not all is good.

A wicked person (Rasha) and all is good.

A wicked person and it is bad.

And a Benioni (in-between the two states.)

The Gemarah clarifies: “’A tzaddik who all is good’ refers to a complete Tzaddik; and a Tzaddik, and it is not all good, is an incomplete Tzaddik.”

Now in Rayeh Mehemna (a part of Kabbalah) Parshas Mishpatim, it explains, that “A Tzaddik who not all is good” refers to the fact that the evil within him is sublimated to the good etc. (in other words, the evil doesn’t have actual expression in his thoughts, speech, and action – sort of, subconsciously buried beneath all the good.)

Now in the Gemarah, at the end of Chapter 9 of Brochois, it states, that the difference between the Tzaddik, Rasha and Benoini is that the Tzaddik is one whose Yetzer-Tov (good side) rules him etc.;
the Rasha (wicked) is ruled by the Yetzer Hara (bad-side);
and the Benoini by both sides etc.
Rabba then exclaimed, “For example ‘I am a Benoini.’”
So Abbayeh said to him, “The Master allows no one life etc.” (for “if you… such a great and holy man are a Benoini, it means the rest of us are Reshayim… and it states that “Reshayim, even while living are considered dead.”)

Free-Choice

Now in order to better understand all of the above…

And in addition, let us understand what Iyov said (quoted in Baba Basra, Chapter 1) “Master of the Universe, You have created Tzaddikim and You have created Reshayim etc.” however (elsewhere it states) “G-d explicitly does not decide if someone shall be a Tzaddik or Rasha” (rather that is left to one’s free-choice…)

Understanding-Benoini

In addition, let us understand the exact category of the Benoini,  certainly it cannot refer to one who is 50/50 (good and evil…) for if this is the case, how could Rabbah make such a gross error about himself? as it is known, that “His mouth never ceased studying Torah,” to the extent that the angel of death had no control over him (as he was so holy.)
 
So if a Benoini is one who has fifty percent sins, how could he think that he was a Benoini?

Another question as to “exactly who is this Benoini,” for we know that if a person sins, they are then called “wicked” [conversely if they repent, they are called a complete Tzaddik!]
Now this sin, refers even to one who transgresses one of the instructions of the sages, as it states in the second chapter of Yevomot, and the first chapter of Niddah.

Furthermore (not only someone who sins is called a Rasha) but even one who could have prevented a sin by protesting… and didn’t, is called a Rasha (as it states in the sixth chapter of Shavous.)

So how much more so would we consider one who did not do a Mitzvah that he could have performed a Rasha– for example, anyone who could have used his time studying Torah, but didn’t… as the sages quote the verse about such a person, “He defiles the words of God etc.” “His soul should be surely cut off etc.”

This being the case, it means a Benioni (who is not a Rasha) obviously doesn’t even transgress the sin of wasting time (by not using it for Torah study…which is very rare) therefore Rabba could imagine that he was a Benoini… (in conclusion, it is obvious that a Benoini has no sins.)

Terminology

Now the reason that the general reference to a Benoini is 50/50 sins vs. merits – whereas one who has mainly merits is called a Tzaddik, is because it is a borrowed description (for their true categories.)

The reason for this terminology is, we are dealing with how this person is judged (on Rosh-Hashanah) and when it comes to being judged, the court case (Above) follows the preponderance of good… – hence one who has mainly good-deeds, is called a “Tzaddik,” as this refers to the fact (that in the heavenly system) such a person is blessed (exonerated.)

A True Tzaddik

However when we are actually describing what a Tzaddik and Benoini is our sages teach, “The Tzaddik is controlled by his Yetzer Tov…” as it states, “My heart is hollow within me.”  

In other words, the Tzaddik does not have a Yetzer Hara (evil-desire/s) as he has killed it (as King David did though fasting.) 

However anyone who has not reached such an exalted state (as will be explained… that it is reached by perhaps one or two in a generation) though his good outweighs his evil – he in no way can be considered a Tzaddik at all.

 
And hence our sages said in the Medrash,  “God foresaw that there would be very few Tzaddikim, so He spread them through the many generations (or in each generation there is one…) etc.” like it states, “The Tzaddik is the foundation of the earth.”:

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Our Two Souls

Let us explain this matter based on what Rabbi Chayim Vital writes in Shaar Hakedusha (and in Eitz Chayim, Gate 50 Chapter 2) “Every single Jew, be he or she a Tzaddik or a Rasha, has two souls – one soul stems from the Kelipah, and “other side” (the dark side) and it comes into the blood of a person in order to enliven the body, as it states, “For the soul of flesh (namely a person) is in the blood.””

The Animal Soul

From this spirit come all bad emotional dispositions stemming from the four negative elements within it.

1. Namely anger and arrogance from the element of fire.

For fire ascends (and the reason one is both angry or arrogant, is due to their ego (for anger derives from the incensed-ego (at being slighted – as the humble ego doesn’t get slighted) and of-course arrogance is a overblown ego…)

• Now the desire for feeling pleasure (which we have) comes from the element of water – for water is the cause of multiple pleasures (like food etc.) to grow.
• Now “fun”, comedy, (“entertainment,”) boasting, and chitchat, come from the element of air. (Like air all of these are devoid of any substance.)
• And laziness and sadness come from the element of earth (both like earth have a lethargic downward trend.)

Positive In Animal Soul

Now also the inherent good character traits, which are innate to all Jews, such as compassion and kindness, also come from the Animal Soul. As by a Jew this soul from Kelipa comes from the Kelipa called Noga (“translucent,”) which contains within it also good – and it is from the “Secret of the Tree of Knowledge” – a composite of good and evil.

(In other words this soul which gives us life coming from Kelipa Noga (a more innocuous form of evil, so while it is selfishly motivated towards the above four desires, it also contains altruistic compassion and ideals).

Whereas the soul of the nations of the world come from the other dark Kelipos, that don’t contain any good in them at all, as it states in Eitz Chayim, Gate 49 Chapter 3, that all the good done by the nations is done merely for selfish reasons… as it states in the Talmud, on the verse “The kindness of nations is sin” – that all the charity and kindness done by idol worshipers, is only done for their self-aggrandization etc.

(It is important to note that Gentiles may also have a soul from Kelipos Noga and as the world approaches Moshiach it becomes ever more refined and the Rebbe encouraged all Gentiles to add in goodness and kindness and the Seven Universal Laws of Noah which bring merit and redemption to them.)

{In Summary:

1. Our Soul Is Charged To Be Good and Not Evil.
2. We need to understand if we should think of ourselves as good or evil?
3. There are three levels “Tzaddik” (Righteous) “Wicked” (Rasha) and “Benoini” (Tzaddik and Rasha have two levels each.)
4. The Benoini doesn’t sin.
5. The Tzaddik has killed his Yetzer Hara (Evil demon like the satan – serpent, which desires to poison us, confuse us, and get us to stray from what is right to wrong.)
6. Every Jew is born with two souls.
7. The basic is called the soul of life – or animal soul.
8. This soul has four desires: 1. Arrogance (hence also) Anger 2. Pleasure 3. Fun, Chatting, Boasting, Comedy 4. Laziness and Sadness (when things don’t work out.)
9. By a Jew and good people this soul also has compassion and goodness.}