The Elephant in Me - Part 2 - The Layers

והנפש השנית בישראל היא חלק אלו-ה ממעל ממש

(Tanya Ch. 2)

The essence of every Yid is the beautifully pure Neshama, which is literally a part of Hashem.

The Neshama's only desire is to serve Hashem.

While enclothed in the human body, it disregards hardships from within and without, and restlessly yearns to reconnect itself with its source - Hashem - The Source of all Life.  

When a person is born, a layer of desires and passions is painted on top of this pure soul. This layer is called: The animal soul.

The animal soul keeps us alive, and its desires and passions form our nature, personality and drive. This soul cares only about its self-promotion, gratification and survival. Having been put in charge of us at birth, the animal soul directs our every action, from the very first moment we enter into this world.

***

At a certain point in a person's life, a new layer of nature, habits and desires is introduced. This layer is called: Chinuch.

With guidance from our parents and teachers, we are trained to carve out time and space in our lives for Torah and Mitzvos, and to ignore (and transcend) the urges and desires of the animal soul.

It follows, that the Torah lifestyle we lived as children, which became a part of our life through adulthood, is only second nature to our first nature, the nature of the animal soul. At times, if not always, this second nature comes in direct conflict with the layer of habits and desires of the animal soul. Thus, Torah and Mitzvos, even once habituated, are in conflict with our "true nature" - the nature of the animal soul.

Notwithstanding this conflict, this layer of Chinuch remains intact, as we continue performing the Mitzvos with Kabolas Ol.

Until the Yetzer Hara comes along...

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