Elevate Your Soul: How Our Actions Influence Higher Spheres
Looking for ways to elevate your soul? In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we rarely think about how our actions affect spiritual worlds. But according to Hasidic teachings, each of our thoughts, words, and deeds leaves a trace in the higher spheres. Let’s explore how this happens and why it matters for each of us.
The World of Angels and the World of Humans: What’s the Difference?
Imagine two types of service: the first like a robot perfectly executing its programmed instructions, the second like a human struggling with desires and consciously choosing the right path. Which is more valuable for those seeking to elevate your soul?
Angels, called “chayot” (animals) and “behemot” (cattle) in Kabbalah, are like such robots. Their fear and love of the Divine are embedded in their nature. They cannot choose evil; they’re simply created that way. Therefore, their place is in the World of Yetzirah, the World of Formation.
Righteous people, however, are humans who could have chosen evil but consciously chose good. They conquered their base desires through the power of intellect and love for God. Their place is in the World of Beriah, the World of Creation, which is higher than the world of angels.
Different Levels to Elevate Your Soul Through Service
In spiritual work, there are several levels to elevate your soul:
- Service by habit – when a person fulfills commandments simply because they were taught to do so since childhood
- Service with natural love and fear – when a person experiences innate emotions toward God
- Service with conscious love and fear – when a person through contemplation reaches a deep understanding of the Creator’s greatness
- Complete self-nullification – the highest level, achieved only by great righteous individuals
Interestingly, even one who serves only with natural love in their heart is already higher than angels! Why? Because they overcome their evil inclination, their egoistic desires. Angels don’t struggle with themselves – they simply do what is natural to them.
Where Do Our Prayers and Commandments Go?
When we mechanically perform a commandment or recite a prayer without feeling, without awakening love or fear of God, our actions remain in the lower world. As stated in “Tikkunei Zohar”: “Without fear and love [such service] does not fly upward.”
However, if we invest in our actions at least natural feelings of love and awe (even if not intellectually conscious), then our prayers and commandments rise to the World of Yetzirah. And if we achieve conscious love and fear, based on understanding the Creator’s greatness, they rise even higher – to the World of Beriah.
How Your Soul Elevates After Life
After life, the soul is directed to the world that corresponds to its level of service:
- Souls of those who served with intellectual love and fear dwell in the Higher Garden of Eden, in the World of Beriah
- Souls with natural love and fear are in the World of Yetzirah but can ascend to the World of Beriah on Sabbaths and New Moons
- Souls of great righteous individuals who achieved complete self-nullification rise to the World of Atzilut
Interestingly, although the souls themselves are in their corresponding worlds, the fruits of their service in the form of Torah and commandments rise even higher – they unite with the Infinite Light (Ein Sof) through the sefirot of the respective worlds.
What Is True Reward When You Elevate Your Soul?
Unlike a salary, which is not connected to the work itself, the reward for a commandment is the commandment itself. How can we understand this?
When a soul in higher worlds enjoys the “radiance of the Shechinah” (Divine presence), it is actually enjoying the light from its own commandments and prayers that it performed during life! This light is the result of the connection of its actions with the Divine light.
Even if the soul in paradise could perceive not just a reflection but the very essence of the commandment, it would not endure – it would dissolve in the intensity of this light. That’s why it is said: “Better one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come.”
Practical Ways to Elevate Your Soul Daily
- Awaken love and fear – even if you don’t feel emotions in your heart, try to awaken them at least in your mind
- Perform commandments consciously – understand what you’re doing and why
- Learn to contemplate the Creator’s greatness – this is the path to intellectual love and fear
- Fight your egoism – the value of human service is precisely in this struggle
- Don’t despair – even if you did something without proper motivation, repentance fixes everything
Even if you prayed without proper focus and then repeated the prayer with kavanah (concentration), your previous prayer also rises. If from all your prayers throughout the year, you can assemble at least one complete prayer with kavanah, that’s enough to elevate all your prayers for the year!
Conclusion
Each of our actions, every thought and word has immense significance in spiritual worlds. Even if we don’t see the result here and now, our Torah and commandments connect with the Infinite Light and create a “wardrobe” for our soul in higher worlds.
By striving to elevate your soul through improved quality of service, awakening love and awe for the Divine within ourselves, we not only rise to higher levels but also bring more Divine light into this world.
This article is based on Chapter 39 of the book “Likutei Amarim — Tanya” by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of the Chabad movement and one of the greatest Hasidic thinkers.
Afterword: The text of this article has not been approved by any sage, Torah scholar, or rabbi and is merely a simplified adaptation of the sacred text for general understanding. For comprehension of true wisdom and a deeper understanding of the original text, you should refer to the sources.
