The Souls Of Israel

Rabbi Chanina ben Chakhinai says: One who stays awake at night, and one who walks on the road alone, and one who turns his heart to idleness, behold, such a person is liable for his life (Avot, chapter 3). For there are heretics who say that the world is a necessary existence, and according to their evil, corrupt opinion it seems to them that there are proofs and demonstrations for this, God forbid, from the way of the world. But in truth their mouths utter vanity, for in truth the world and all that fills it is a possible existence, for only the Name, blessed be He, alone is a necessary existence; but all the worlds with everything in them are a possible existence, for He, blessed be He, created them out of nothing, and in His ability, His power, and His possibility, blessed be He, it lay either to create them or not to create them. Therefore certainly all the world and all that fills it is a possible existence. But from where is drawn the error by which one is able to err, God forbid, that the world is a necessary existence, God forbid? Know that this is drawn from the fact that in truth now, since the souls of Israel have already been emanated and drawn forth, now certainly the world is in the aspect of a necessary existence. For all the world and all that fills it, all of it was created only for the sake of Israel, as is known, and Israel rule over the world; and therefore certainly now, after the souls of Israel have been emanated and created, He, blessed be He, is as it were compelled to create and to sustain the world, for it was on this condition that He emanated the souls of Israel, in order to create all the worlds for their sake. But the souls of Israel themselves, when they were emanated, they themselves together with all the worlds that depend upon them, all of it was a possible existence, for it lay in His possibility to emanate them and create them or not to create them. But immediately when the Holy One, blessed be He, willed to emanate the souls of Israel, then the whole world became in the aspect of a necessary existence; for since the souls of Israel had been emanated, then, as it were, He is compelled to bring the world into existence, for it was on this condition that their souls were emanated, that all the worlds should be created for their sake and that they should rule over all. Understand this well. And from this is derived and drawn the error of the heretics who say that the world is, God forbid, a necessary existence. But in truth only the Name, blessed be He, alone is a necessary existence, while all things are a possible existence, as above.