LEVELS OF G-DLINESS

LEVELS OF G-DLINESS The Jewish soul has several levels whch are trelative to assimilating the love of G-d within that soul and its level of G-dliness.

Neshamah=soul level- this love cannot be created but man can only enable it to be revealed by refining himself to an extraordinary degree .This kind of love is not attainable by all.

The second soul level is through earnest meditation,the love of G-d in the heart of the Jew.This love on this level is contemplative (Zohar 19. Part III, 67a, 68a.) to the extent of his intellect and beyond >With the former, the level of contemplation is within positive knowledge.The negative knowledge "even beyond" is beyond the range of his intellect and not subject to limitations of emanated worlds and beings. It is a quasi state of comprehension.

which is superior to the level of Ruach (the soul-level at which one’s divine
service focusses on one’s emotional attributes) and Nefesh (the soul-level at
which one fulfills the mitzvot out of an acceptance of the Heavenly
Yoke),
כמו שכתוב בראשית חכמה, שער האהבה
as explained in Reishit Chochmah,
Shaar HaAhavah.
There the author explains how the above level of love is
specifically related to the soul-level of Neshamah.
In sum, it is clear that
this love cannot be “created” by man. He can only enable it to be revealed
within him by refining himself — but to such an extraordinary degree that it is
not attainable by all.
והשנית היא אהבה שכל אדם יוכל להגיע אליה, כשיתבונן היטב
בעומקא דלבא
The second [level] is a love which every man can attain when he
meditates earnestly, so that its echo resounds in the depths of his
heart,
בדברים המעוררים את האהבה לה׳ בלב כל ישראל
on matters that arouse
the love of G‑d in the heart of every Jew,
הן דרך כלל: כי הוא חיינו ממש,
וכאשר האדם אוהב את נפשו וחייו, כן יאהב את ה׳, כאשר יתבונן וישים אל לבו כי ה׳ הוא
נפשו האמיתית וחייו ממש
whether [he meditates] in a general way — how He is
our very life,18
and just as one loves his soul and his life, so will he love G‑d when he
meditates and reflects in his heart that G‑d is his true soul and actual
life,
כמו שכתוב בזהר על פסוק: נפשי אויתיך וגו׳
as the Zohar19
comments on the verse,20
“[You are] my soul: I desire you,”
The Zohar explains that since G‑d is the
Jew’s soul and thus his true life, the Jew loves and desires Him.21
והן
דרך פרט, כשיבין וישכיל בגדולתו של מלך מלכי המלכים, הקב״ה, דרך פרטית
or
whether [he meditates] in a particular way,22
when he will understand and comprehend in detail the greatness of the King of
kings, the Holy One, blessed be He,
For example, he may reflect on the manner
in which G‑d fills all worlds and encompasses all worlds, and on how all
creatures are as naught before Him.
כאשר יוכל שאת בשכלו, ומה שלמעלה
משכלו
to the extent that his intellect can grasp, and even beyond.
These
two phrases refer respectively to concepts that are within the reach of
“positive knowledge,” and to truths that lie beyond it and are perceptible only
through “negative knowledge”; i.e., though one may not understand such a thing
itself, he may understand how it is not subject to the restrictions of a lesser
order.
In terms of comprehending G‑dliness this means to say, that one will
at least understand that those levels of G‑dliness that are beyond the range of
his intellect are not subject to the limitations inherent within created and
emanated worlds and beings. This “negative knowledge” — in the Alter Rebbe’s
words, “even beyond” — is also considered to be a quasi state of comprehension.

18.
Note of the Rebbe: “As explained above, ch. 44 [of Part I].”
19.
Part III, 67a, 68a.
20.
Yeshayahu 26:9.
21.
The Rebbe notes that the Alter Rebbe terms this a “general way” in meditation, because its subject — life and the love of life — is by nature universal, with no great differences in the degree of love or in the details of the meditation.
22.
Note of the Rebbe: “As explained above, ch. 46 [of Part I].”