In this section the Rav will explain in greater detail what the second level of soul is, and he will describe an advantage of the first level over the second.

The second level consists of the sparks of the soul that remained with Adam after the sin, and which he bequeathed to Cain and Abel when they were born. They are considered to be new to some extent, but not completely. When they are rectified they will be more elevated than all the other souls that fell from Adam since they had the ability to remain in Adam, and they did not fall into the kelipot. It was during the actual lifetime of Adam that he bequeathed them to his sons…

When his sons Cain and Abel inherited them, it was not considered an actual gilgul as if they came from a first body that died. It was during the actual lifetime of Adam that he bequeathed them to his sons when they were born. Therefore, all the sparks that are included in Cain and Abel are considered as if they are still part of Adam himself, as if they did not fall from him.

When these sparks came as part of Adam, they did not come to rectify themselves. Even though they were a part of him, they did not belong to him. Thus, they are considered as if they never came.

Not all the sparks that were included in Adam fell from him, as we learned previously. Some of these soul-sparks remained within him, and he needed them for his own existence. However, others that remained within him were not needed for his own tikun, and they were transmitted to his sons, Cain and Abel. It is these that constitute the second level discussed here. Since they were not needed by Adam himself, and they also did not fall with the other old souls, they are to be considered as "somewhat new", an intermediate category between the new souls (first level) and the old souls (third level).

Also, when they later came included within Cain and Abel during the lifetime of Adam, it is also not to be considered a true incarnation. They did not come for themselves (again) because they had yet to be divided into individual sparks in their own bodies. Rather, they were only included in the bodies of Cain and Abel, which was not to be considered a true incarnation.

They were included in Cain and Abel, apparently, because the latter were still the roots of the entire human race that was to follow. However, they were not participants in the gilgul. They were just being stored there awaiting distribution.

Hence, only when one of these sparks is afterwards apportioned to a body is it considered a first incarnation in the world. It is a new incarnation to some extent, but not entirely, because they did already come in Adam, Cain,and Abel. If one of these almost-new souls sins, he will have to die and reincarnate…

If such a person sins and causes a blemish and dies and reincarnates, then it will be called an old gilgul.

If one of these almost new souls sins, like other old souls, when he completes Nefesh from Asiya, he will have to die and reincarnate in order to get Ruach, etc..

During the first time in the world it is called a somewhat new soul, as we have explained. It can achieve the Nefesh of Asiya, the Ruach of Yetzira, the Neshama of Beriya, and the Nefesh of Atzilut.

In this respect they are like new souls. If they have not yet become blemished, then they can grow all the way to Nefesh of Atzilut.

However, it cannot achieve more than this, which is a difference between these second level souls and the first level souls, which can attain all the way to the Neshama of the Neshama of Atzilut.

The first level souls can complete until Chaya of Atzilut, but the second level souls can complete only until Nefesh of Atzilut. Still, that is very much relative to old souls.

The reason for this difference is that when Adam sinned, he lost the "Supernal Radiance" [Zehira Ila'ah, as mentioned in the Zohar, Kedoshim 83a], which is the levels of RNCh"Y of the world of Atzilut.

The "Supernal Radiance" is the soul of Adam from the level of Atzilut. When he sinned the higher levels of the "Supernal Radiance" disappeared by ascending above. The only level that was left to him was the Nefesh of Atzilut.

They are called the "Supernal Radiance" and rather than fall into the kelipot, which are only in the three worlds of BY"A, they were taken up to their places. Thus, from all the levels of Atzilut called "Supernal Radiance", only the Nefesh of Atzilut remained. Whenever there is sin, then the higher lights ascend and depart in order not to be taken up in the sin and sullied…

This description is exactly the same as the description of one of the details of the Shattering of the Vessels. In that place also, when the vessels broke, the higher lights ascended back to where they had come from. At the same time the sparks, equivalent here to the lower lights, descended together with the broken vessels into the realm of the kelipot.

The Rav explains, furthermore, that whenever there is sin, then the higher lights ascend and depart in order not to be sullied.

Thus, when these sparks that were included in Cain and Abel come into the world now for the first time, they can only achieve through their deeds up to the level of the Nefesh of Atzilut and no more.

However, completely new souls can grow from the Nefesh of Asiya to the heights of Atzilut called "Supernal Radiance". This is an advantage of the first level over the second level.

[Commentary by Shabtai Teicher.]