Tanya In Simple English – Chapter 3

Core Point: The soul has 3 Intellectual and seven emotional levels.  
In the G-dly soul:
“Chochmah” conceives of G-d’s greatness,
“Binah” contemplates it,
“Daas” unifies one’s desire to the intellectual discovery, resulting in a great reverence and love for G-d.

Key Terminology:

“Chochmah” (Insight)
“Binah” (Contemplating)
“Daas” (Emotional attachment to insight)
“Chessed” (love)
“Gevurah” (fear/awe/respect) 

“Memaleh Koil Almin” (G-d “fills,” is the energy of everything)
“Sovev Koil Almin,” G-d is infinitely higher than everything

The 10 Soul Levels

Each one of these three levels of Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshoma are comprised of 10 levels.

These ten levels correspond to the 10 Sefiros (levels) Above, which the soul descends from (the soul’s 10 levels, actually are its offshoot.)

These 10 levels subdivide into two:

The first three are called the mothers, and the latter seven are the offspring/children.

The first three are “Chochmah,” “Binah” and “Daas” – and the latter are “the seven days of creation” (for each day, one of these seven emotions was expressed.)
 
“Chessed” (Lindness),
“Gevurah” (Strength/Restraint/Discipline),
“Tifferes” (Harmony /Balance)
(“Netzach” – Victory/Perseverance,
“Hod” – Sensitivity, Beauty,
“Yessoid” – Morality,
“Malchus” – Dignity / Receiver.)

Intellect and Emotions

Similarly the soul of every person is divided into these two elements of Intellect and Emotions.

The intellect includes:
“Chochmah” (the seminal insight of wisdom)
“Binah” (the digestion and understanding of the insight)
and “Daas” (the integration and emotional attachment to the insight.)

The Divine Soul’s Emotions

The emotions of the Divine soul are “Love for G-d,” “fear (of sinning against G-d”) “reverence,” “the desire to honor G-d” etc. (persevere for G-d, humility to G-d, fulfilling His will etc.)

The Divine Soul’s Chaba”d – Intellect

The Chaba”d (acronym for “Chochmah, Binah, Daas”) is called the mothers… and the source of the emotions, for the emotions come from the Chaba”d.

The explanation of the matter is as follows:

(To preface we also have a third soul – in the first chapter we discussed the animal soul, in the second, the G-dly, but in the third chapter the Rebbe teaches we also have a third soul – an objective mind (something not found in animals.))

Chochmah and Binah

The intellect in “The Intellectual Soul” – which is the part in us that contemplates anything (especially objectively) is called Chochmah.

Chochmah is made up of two Hebrew words, “Coach-Mah” (“the potential for intellect” – the ability to think / come up with new concepts.)

Now when you actually consider the idea that you are thinking about in order to fully understand it and plumb its depths (digesting, dissecting & analyzing) this is called Binah.

So Chochmah and Binah are the “father” and “mother” that give birth to the emotions of love, fear and reverence of G-d.

(Chochmah being the father (the seminal idea) and Binah being the mother (the depth, analyzation, contemplation etc.))

The “Meditation”

The reason for this is that as the intellect of The Intellectual Soul deeply considers the greatness of G-d – how He is the source of everything! (Everything that exists continually receives, like a screen from its computer its existence from G-d. (This is explained at great length in the second book of Tanya “Shaar Hayichud Ve-ha-emunah.”) So every single thing that exists including time, space, the universe and everything within, including you, exists only because at this very moment G-d creates it, literally bringing it from the natural state of non-existence into existence exactly like everything on your computer screen at this moment is being created by the computer.) This is called “Memaleh Call Almin – G-d Fills All Worlds.”

Furthermore He is infinitely beyond every detail (as they all are merely infitismely insignificant offshoots of His infinite creative ability, called “Sovev-Koil-Almim – G-d Surrounds All Worlds.”)

Furthermore compared to G-d everything that exists (including His infinite Creative capacity) is like nothing. (It is not even like a single ray that comes from an infinite sun…) So compared to God, everything is like non-existence!

The Divine Soul’s Fear…

From this contemplation, a sense of the greatness of G-d is born in one’s mind and thoughts – causing one to both feel awe and humility before the greatness of G-d that has no limit. Furthermore this causes a fear in one’s heart (to not violate His wishes.)

The Divine Soul’s Love

Then the heart will fire up with a great love, like flames of fire, with great desire, longing, and yearning – “Soul thirst” – for the great infinite greatness of the Holy-G-d.  

This is a “Clois-Hanefesh” that the soul longs to merge into G-d, as it states, “Longing… My soul longs etc.”

And it says, “My soul thirsts for G-d etc.” and it says, “My soul thirsts etc. for you.” 

Now this love (thirst) is from the element of fire in the G-dly soul (as the naturalists write, and similarly it’s written in Eitz-Chayim that the element of fire is in the heart.)

And the source of water and dampness is from the mind (as is written in Eitz Chayim, Gateway 50, that “this is the level of Chochmah, which is called the water of the G-dly soul.”)  

Other Divine Emotions

All other emotions are branches of fear and love, and their derivatives (offshoots) as written about elsewhere.

Daas

Now Daas – intimate knowledge – comes from the terminology “Adam Yoda knew Chava.”  (“To feel is to know.”) This is the terminology of connection and attachment.  Namely that one attaches one’s mind with a very strong and powerful bond, deeply concentrating on the greatness of the infinite G-d – without detaching one’s thoughts (thereby fanning this idea into a full-blown emotional reaction).

For even if a person is knowledgeable and wise intellectually as to the greatness of G-d, however if he does not deeply attach his mind, and strongly connect and continually contemplate it, it will not birth a true fear and love for G-d in his heart/soul, rather a fleeting emotion. (Something that is true, is something that lasts permanently not a fleeting fantasy.)

 
This is why Daas is the element that causes emotions to remain, and furthermore is their life-source (to the extent you have Daas is the extent that you have the emotion.)
It includes the two primary emotions of Chessed (love) and Gevurah (fear) and all of their derivatives.

{Inn Summary:

A. The G-dly soul has intellect and emotions.

B. The intellect is the contemplation of G-d’s infinite greatness (“Memaleh” “Sovev” “And In Comparison All Is Non-existence.”)

C. For a contemplation to become a lasting love and reverence and fear of G-d, one (during prayer) must deeply attach oneself, concentrate, meditate, cogitate – this is called Daas.