We will now elucidate the four levels as they apply to every soul.
When a soul is drawn from Ein Sof, blessed be He, and enters the world of Atzilut, it is in the soul’s first level. There it is not yet called neshama, as the term neshama indicates that there is some divergence from the Emanator, blessed be He. This state of divergence reflects how the soul has left the level of Ein Sof and has reached a state in which it is revealed as a separate entity unto itself. Prior to this separation, when the soul does not yet possess the form of a vessel, there is nothing to identify it as distinct from His essence so that it may merit its own name. It has already been established that in the first level of development of a vessel, it is not recognized as a vessel at all but rather is entirely subsumed by the light.