Just as the Master of the Universe with His infinite ability created physical entities which our eyes see, He also desired and created other creations superior to all these which our physical senses neither feel nor perceive. Just as He allotted those physical entities [which our senses are able to discern] a set of specific laws and limitations, so too He allotted to these superior beings a different set of properties which are most suited to their particular status and purpose. All this He has done according to the dictates of His wisdom. Those entities which are bound by a specific set of known limitations which comprise natural law and which possess characteristics which our senses are able to grasp are called physical [creations]. Those which are free of such constraints are called spiritual. The boundaries and laws of these spiritual creations were designed to fit and reflect their particular purpose, as we shall explain.
It should be noted that it is not just in the realm of the physical that there are various species, and depending upon the characteristics of any particular species, a discrete set of laws govern. The same is true of the spiritual entities. That is, [first] there are different kinds, although all of them belong to the category of the spiritual. [Second] in accordance with the various kinds which were created, there are diverse laws which apply to each kind. Nonetheless, a general rule runs through this whole category: their true reality and their properties are not comprehensible to us. [This is because of their intangible, metaphysical makeup. One must realize that the spiritual world is actually an invisible world.] We only know of their existence and something about them from the Torah. This knowledge has been passed down to us through our prophets and Sages of blessed memory through the Oral Law.
The varieties in this category are divided into three group:
One) Transcendental Forces,
Two) Angels, and
Three) Souls
Two) The Angels are spiritual beings which were created to serve as the agents of the Creator in all that He wishes. Each one is appointed and assigned to a specific area by Divine Will. The angels fall into various hierarchical levels. Each level has its particular set of laws and limitations. These are based upon what best fits that level as programmed by Divine Wisdom.
****The angels are all servants of Hashem and serve as the executors of His Will. All the things which happen in the world are discharged through them, both the good and the bad. From this perspective, they are divided into two groups: the group of good and the group of evil angels. Good angels are those appointed to produce positive benefits for the world; they bring about both physical and spiritual good. Evil angels are those charged with executing evil; they do so in both the physical and spiritual realm. Those appointed to "channel down" evil are also called "Angels of Harm" and mazikim [literally "damaging agents"].*******
Three) Souls are spiritual entities which are destined to enter into physical bodies and to be attached and fused with them in a major fusion. These souls are governed by individual laws which differ as a function of their status and the particular state in which they are found. By state we mean that souls pass through various states, for they have an existence outside of the human body and an existence within it.
Souls exist outside of the body in one of two kinds [of states]:
one) existence before they enter the body. [What we have been taught by the Oral Law of Torah which was passed down through the chain of our prophets and great sages is this: All souls were created during the six days of creation. This includes both the souls which have already entered the bodies of human beings and those too which await such entry throughout the period that the world will exist. The to-be-implanted souls are stored in a repository in the upper world where they reside in a particular sphere and state and await the time when they will be sent down to the lower world to be fused with a particular human body. There are various levels among all of these souls - some are greater than are others. Moreover, varying abilities and characteristics are assigned to the souls. This accounts for the broad range of difference found among men in the areas of their chosen endeavors, their intrinsic talents, and their varying degrees of intellect. Which soul is assigned to which body is dependent on many factors. Some of the factors involved are known to us and some are known only to Divine wisdom.]
two) existence after exiting the human body. [This refers to the state of the soul after death.]
In any given state, souls are bound by specific limitations and prone to varied and diverse occurrences which are most suitable for their immediate particular state.
****Still another category of created beings exists which lies in between the physical and spiritual. It possesses only some of the limitations of the physical world and its matter. The name of this variety is demons (sheidim).
They possess some of the properties of corporeal bodies but are not exactly like our corporeality. They also possess some characteristics of the spiritual world but also are not identical to those belonging to the world of spiritual beings. This category, too, includes various levels and varieties; the laws and limitation which govern them are based on their particular status.
[Some readers who lack a rich Torah background may find it difficult to accept the notion that such spiritual beings share our world, and they may be tempted to classify it as "old wives-tales" or fairyland stuff. But, hear this: There is an abundance of incontrovertible proof affirmed by men of scientific statue and others belonging to other intellectual disciplines that spiritual beings do exist in our world. The annals of the Royal British Psychic Society, for one, (among thousands of other prestigious and reliable published findings) bulge with documented cases which substantiate the existence of such destructive beings as poltergeists and all sorts of other spiritual entities. People whose knowledge of the origin and nature of the real world stems from Torah do now require such proofs. For them, the Torah, which describes the existence of such creatures, is sufficient; the Torah constitutes the Creator's own signed blueprint of the world and requires no additional backup. Only those who as yet are distant from the broad expanse and depths of Torah require the crutch of scientific opinion to delimit their beliefs. While our Torah fully respects the wisdom of pure, unbiased, scientific knowledge, that acceptance holds true only when we are dealing with tangible areas of the physical world. Opinions in these areas carry considerable weight in halacha (Jewish law). However, when it concerns such issues as the meaning of life, knowledge which relates to the intangible spiritual realms of the universe, the essence of man and his soul, or a philosophy of life and a system of ethics or morality, here scientific opinion carries little "clout." In these areas a scientist may speak more foolishly and illogically than do simple laymen, provided the laymen's thinking is based on healthy common sense. The reason for the paradoxical gap between the scientific community's thinking and the lay community's thinking - at least that portion of it which seeks some overall meaning in life and seeks the true purpose of life - stems from a most common human frailty, the tendency of the heart to manipulate and twist the mind to suit the drives and desires of the flesh. Why the scientist who is endowed with a fine mind suffers from this weakness more than does the layman requires a lengthy explanation. We will deal with that question in a future volume of Torah concepts, (b'ezras Hashem).]
There is nothing here in our lower world - whether a fixed entity or passing phenomenon - which does not have some type of corresponding factor in the upper world among the Transcendental Forces. Similarly, there is nothing here in our lower world over which there are not appointed agents who belong to the category of the angels. These angels administrate and modify matters and events according to the Decree of the Master of the Universe. What these Higher Entities accomplish in the lower physical world is called Influence. All Influences which originate in the Higher Entities and focus upon the needs of the lower world pass through the stars. Consequently, the stars are the closest source of influence on the lower world. However, all influences passing through the stars are limited to that which was transmitted to them from above.
The Master of the Universe gave to all of these spiritual entities the license to act and affect various segments of our lower physical world. Their influence is not constrained by natural law and is activated by specific and known means in our lower world. These specific means were provided and designated by the Creator to serve as causes for such effects. (This will be explained in the coming paragraphs.)
Not one of these spiritual forces has the power to do all that it might wish to do. Each one is subject to limitation and boundaries. It is only within the framework of the constraints and limitations and solely through those particular, assigned means that the spiritual forces can carry out the tasks which are delegated to them.
In the realm of upper world influences [of utilizing or tapping the functions of these spiritual forces] some means are open to us and some are forbidden to us. These options are defined within the Sefer Yetzirah ["The Book of Formation," which is a permissible area] and the use of sorcery [which belongs to the forbidden, (maaseh keshafim)].
[The RamChal focuses here on the unconventional option of "utilizing or tapping the spiritual forces of the upper world" and notes that these can be used to serve us either by permitted or forbidden means. What the RamChal intends by this is that these spiritual forces can also be used in an extraordinary and irregular fashion. That is, the normal and conventional way to invoke the spiritual forces is through the performance of the Torah and mitzvohs or the violation of the Torah and mitzvohs. Such a positive or negative approach is part of a structure, ongoing, lifelong process which produces a continuous flow of good or bad consequences. However, the spiritual forces can also be invoked in extraordinary and irregular ways.
The irregular way to influence these forces of the upper world in a "blitz" fashion and to produce an immediate and radical result would be by utilizing the Sefer Yetzirah or sorcery. This, of course, is not the conventional and desired course which the Creator has chosen for the average man to use. The recourse to the Sefer Yetzirah is a prerogative reserved for the great and holy men of stature to use in unusual and extenuating circumstances. Great and holy men may resort to these extraordinary means in emergencies to help an individual or group. On the prohibited side, too, is the option of the roshoh, the base man, to utilize sorcery for personal benefit or to unleash evil consequences upon others. Man is equally free to attain potent results in the world by either enlisting the entity of holiness and purity or by enlisting the forces of evil and pollution. The "equal opportunity" follows from the creator's open-ended design of His world. Man can choose to affect his own life and that of the world as a whole through the use of the forces of evil or holiness.
The universe was brought into existence primarily because the Creator desired to create man so that he might have the opportunity to become close to Him and thereby enjoy true goodness. This purpose was incorporated into the world by providing man with the option of choosing to follow one of two courses: the road of good or the road of evil. Man was endowed with the ability to choose whichever of the two roads he desires. When he chooses the good through his understanding and desire and rejects the wrong, then this true and everlasting good will be given him.
All other creations in our universe were created only because Highest Divine Wisdom saw a need for them to exist in order to fashion a complete universe. In such a universe, man would find himself in the aforementioned circumstances, making it possible for him to serve G-d and thereby achieve genuine good. What specific need there is for the world to contain the multitude of various creations is not known to us. However, what has been handed down to us from our Sages z"l is that the main element of the universe is man. It is specifically for him that all of these creations were brought forth into the world, and the essential purpose of man's creation was solely that he might attain genuine, everlasting good.
The true essence of good and evil is as follows. The Creator established in the world Holiness and Spiritual Pollution. The definition of kedushah (holiness) is the state of being close to the Creator. Tumah (spiritual pollution) is the state of being distant from Him. Kedushah is an emanation, an influence which the Creator channels down to one who is worthy of it and which rests upon him in the form of holiness. Tumah is a state of distancing: the Creator distances Himself from a man or an object, and by withdrawing, He conceals Himself from him.
****For this particular purpose the Creator created certain spiritual forces, forces from which darkness and spiritual pollution emanate [and are channeled down to our world.] Wherever this spiritual uncleanness enters, the kedushah retreats, and at the same time the light of the Creator becomes concealed. These are called "the forces of tumah."
The Creator invested man's actions with the power to draw from the sources of the upper world and to bring down (a) the light of the Creator's emanation of holiness (kedushah) and the light of His goodness, or (b) pollution and uncleanness. The Creator designated a set of actions through which kedushah is transmitted and commanded man to engage in them continually; these are the general body of mitzvohs. He also earmarked a set of actions through which pollution is drawn down, and He commanded man to abstain from them; these comprise the general body of Torah prohibitions.
.....
The Creator is the one who watches over all, judges all, and issues all decrees. The angels serve as His agents. Each one is responsible for carrying out his particular assignment, i.e., each one is (a) responsible for the transitional shifts of man which are to take place within a specific set of boundaries, or (b) rewarding or punishing man in ways which parallel his activities, as has been previously explained.
You must realize that the Master of the Universe truly knows all, nothing is concealed from Him, and no knowledge of events is in any way new to Him. Yet, it is not upon this basis that He administers His world and His judicial system. He established a particular system of justice which He desired. The system is similar to the system which is seen in mortal kingdoms. That is, He judges all things in courts of celestial angels. In these courts, witnesses testify about the events, prosecutors demand judgment, and defense attorneys plead the defendant's case. All of these functions are carried out by angels. Some testify about the happenings in the world, others prosecute, and still others defend. The final verdict is then reached in keeping with a true and just judgment.