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Pressurized Escape

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As she stands above, before her descent, the soul steps higher each day. And that is a prison, because the soul is G‑dly, and G‑dly means infinite, and for a G‑dly being, stepping higher each day is standing still.

But the soul is blind to her own prison. So she must descend below, and there she will experience the ultimate confines of a body and of the animal—and she will transform that animal to yearn with a divine yearning.

Only then will she learn to leap, to break out of all boundaries, to escape the prison of being.

Based on letters and talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi M. M. Schneerson
From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. To order Rabbi Freeman’s book, Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, click here.
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Discussion (11)
July 31, 2012
the soul
Thank you Rabbi for the answer you gave to Passaic" and thank you to Izzy who answered my question.

Can you please extend this discussion further with regard the soul. because when you read that the soul wants to heal the world..and that the soul can't ascend to a greater height in the the spritual world....please EXPLAIN further.
I am trying to travel a spiritual journey which is full of bumps..I'm on it and off it and constatnly looking for greater clarity.

Books to read that will help...

But THANK YOU for your words. They so often leave me with a feeling of upliftment and give me a smile...so THANK YOU.
ingride lewis
kfar saba, israel
July 29, 2012
Wow. Amazing. Thank you! So our purpose is not to escape the body - rather descend within (experience the pain and joy), rectify and attain a new release for the pure neshama to be elevated even higher-and this is the escape-so to speak Phenomenal.
Anonymous
Passaic
July 29, 2012
Re: question
This is one of those questions you can wait for years for someone to finally ask. Thank you! The Arizal taught that the soul (neshamah) herself needs no repair, and only descends to this world to repair this world, especially the body and the psyche of the person in which she is infused. And yet, he too spoke of the heights to which the soul can ascend through her descent to this world. So we have to say that repair and ascent are two different things. We have to say that the purpose of this world is to be repaired by the soul and thereby become something it could never become if it were never broken, yet the purpose of the soul's descent is to ascend to a height that she could never attain while remaining above. What is that ascent? The Rebbe described it in many ways. This Daily Dose presents one way.
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
July 29, 2012
question

Hi Rabbi Freeman,

I thought we are in this world to experience deveikus to Hashem, and elevate the physical to spiritual, by taking the spiritual that Hashem gifts us with and allowing it to flow through and uplift,

so, when you write:

Only then will she learn to leap, to break out of all boundaries, to escape the prison of being.

Do you mean- that we should rise to a space above even "being"- and if so, how do you recommend doing that without leaving our body behind?

please advise,

thank you,
Anonymous
passaic, NJ
July 26, 2012
great !

I hope that it is as you have written. So let it be done.

Hopeful aspirations and active pursuit makes a ton of sense, common and religious.
Anonymous
July 26, 2012
Response to Ingride lewis, Kfar Saba, Israel
Let me clarify what I think the Rabbi is saying:

The soul, prior to its descent into the physical world/body, rises higher and higher each day in its perception and sense of G-D’s light.

However, beyond G-D’s light and revelation there is G-D Himself.

The soul however is “blinded” so to speak by the amazing revelations it experiences that it can’t get beyond the revelation to reach for G-D Himself.

This all changes when it descends into this world. When it sees the animal soul totally transform itself (after the G-Dly soul teaches it) to appreciate G-D – it then recognizes that it too can transform completely and reach for G-D Himself!
izzy
nmb
July 26, 2012
Daily Dose...the Soul
If the soul is moving upward how can it be standing still.
I did not understand all of this metaphor.

Can you please explain further.
Ingride lewis
Kfar Saba, Israel
July 26, 2012
the body strives for truth. is the soul in prison?
The body is now praying and seeing the world with Hashem concealed in it, so the soul is happy?

Or the soul is happy because the body understand her?

It is interesting to think of what the soul is? and what the soul does when it breaks out?

One reads bringing warmth everywhere makes the soul happy whereas anger might drive it to prison. IN my family going through tough times of rehabilitating one cannot always be smiling and bringing happy.How does the body be warm while doing Gevurah for ex which is withdrawal of kindness to achieve beauty?

I probably am confused about balancing my own soul in relationship with other people? I do not always detect the bad and good.

Maybe the goal is not to always to make my own soul happy because the body needs truth? The body cannot let a relative take their things for example so to sacrifice my soul needs for the other person's soul may be a dilemna? Confronting the other who I love is tough for my soul?
Anonymous
ma, mA
December 1, 2009
"that"
And "that" is a prison....?!
May I enquire on the following
The sentence begins "And that"
Is "that"
being the prison
Or
Is "that"
the prison of desire that is to ascend(return)
Whereas
the Divine soul simply "is"
Beneficience in material it expands
Jonathan Bergman
london, uk
November 30, 2009
"prison of being"
I conceptualize the words, but I'm insecure towards my own understanding - please elaborate on these words. They have touched a part of me that is rarely touched and I am most certain that I need greater insight to such understandings...
Anonymous
yacolt, wA
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