The notion that the universe is comprised of four "worlds," or levels of reality, is an ancient one in the Kabbalah, and reflects the understanding that existence is multi-layered, and in a state of dynamic flux. Originally, the four worlds were described from "God's point of view," as levels of manifestation and differentiation, from will to plan to formation to project, or as angelic realms. In later Kabbalah and Hasidism, they came to be described more from the human point of view, as reflecting the experience of spirit, mind, heart, and body. The four worlds are also associated with the "lower" four of the five souls, which derive from the midrash in Bereshit Rabbah 14:9, and are explicated in the Raya Mehemna portion of the Zohar. The fifth level of the soul, yechidah, is less a separate level of the soul than a state in which all manifestation is erased in essential unity. Following the Hasidic paradigm, the four worlds are here presented as they are known experientially, from the human point of view.
..read more>>>...
