ל' תשרי – אגרת הקודש פרק כ"ה

Now, the human soul—נפש האדם—is something that everyone knows is made up of ten faculties, which correspond to the י"ס—the ten Sefiros. These are Chochmah, Binah, Daas—wisdom, understanding, and knowledge—followed by the seven emotional traits, which are Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferes, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchus. So, the soul is not just a simple entity; it is a complex structure that mirrors the ten Sefiros above.

This means that within every person, there are these ten powers or faculties, and each one reflects a corresponding Sefirah in the spiritual worlds. The intellectual powers in the soul are a reflection of the intellectual Sefiros, and the emotional powers are a reflection of the emotional Sefiros. This is a fundamental idea in Chassidus: the structure of the soul parallels the structure of the Divine Sefiros.

Even though all of these faculties ultimately come from the רוח פיו ית'—the "breath of His mouth," as it says in the verse, "ויפח באפיו כו'" ("He breathed into his nostrils," Bereishis 2:7), meaning that the soul comes from Hashem's own breath, from the highest source, nevertheless, there is a process by which these powers are drawn down into the soul.

So, while the soul originates from the highest level, from Hashem Himself, it is still structured in a way that each part of the soul corresponds to a specific Sefirah. The fact that it all comes from Hashem's breath doesn't mean that the soul is just a simple point; rather, it is a detailed and organized entity, with each faculty having its own root and parallel above.

However, when we look at the soul in detail—דרך פרט—the Chochmah, Binah, and Daas within a person's soul are a dugma, an example or reflection, of the Chochmah, Binah, and Daas in the ten Sefiros, which are called או"א—father and mother.

This means that the intellectual faculties in the soul are not just random; they are a direct parallel to the Divine intellect, the way Hashem's wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are expressed in the Sefiros. The soul's Chochmah, Binah, and Daas are a microcosm of the Divine Chochmah, Binah, and Daas.

Similarly, the emotional traits—the love, fear, and so on—that are in a person's soul are a dugma, a reflection, of the middos—the emotional Sefiros in the ten Sefiros, which are called ז"א—Zeir Anpin, the "small face," referring to the six emotional Sefiros.

So, just as the intellect in the soul mirrors the Divine intellect, the emotions in the soul mirror the Divine emotions. The love and awe that a person feels are a reflection of the Divine attributes of Chesed and Gevurah, and so on. This is the structure of the soul: intellect and emotion, each corresponding to its source above.

And the power of speech—כח הדבור—that is in a person's soul is a dugma, a reflection, of the speech above, which is called מלכות—Malchus—and שכינה—the Shechinah.

This means that just as in the spiritual worlds, the Sefirah of Malchus is the source of speech and is identified with the Shechinah, so too, in the human soul, the faculty of speech corresponds to this Divine attribute. Our ability to speak is not just a physical function; it is rooted in the highest spiritual source, in Malchus and the Shechinah above.

Therefore, when a person speaks words of Torah—מדבר ד"ת—he arouses the speech above, causing a unification of the Shechinah. In other words, when we use our power of speech for holy purposes, such as learning Torah, we are actually drawing down and connecting to the Divine speech, to Malchus and the Shechinah.

This is why speech is so significant in Torah and mitzvos. Our words have the power to awaken the corresponding spiritual reality above. When we speak Torah, we are not just expressing ideas; we are causing a spiritual effect, uniting the Shechinah and drawing down holiness into the world.

And for this reason—משום הכי—the halacha is that when it comes to reciting the Shema, Birchas HaMazon (Grace after Meals), and words of Torah, one does not fulfill his obligation with thought alone, without speech—לא יצא בהרהור בלא דבור.

In other words, just thinking the words is not enough; you have to actually say them. This is because the act of speaking is what brings about the spiritual effect above, drawing down the Divine speech and uniting the Shechinah. So, the requirement to verbalize these mitzvos is not just a technicality; it is rooted in the deep connection between our speech and the speech of above.