Ascent Through the Worlds: The Infinite Journey of the Jewish Soul

by Ram ben Ze’ev

The Torah of Truth is an inexhaustible fountain. Every generation draws new understanding from the holy teachings revealed to us through the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and the Oral Torah.

In the hidden teachings of Torat haSod (תורת הסוד, the inner Torah), as revealed in the Holy Zohar and expanded upon by the Arizal and later the Tanya, we are taught that the entire structure of Creation is composed of concealment and revelation — concealment of the Infinite Light of the Blessed One, and revelation according to the capacity of each created being to receive that Light.

Traditionally, we speak of four primary worlds — Atzilut (אצילות, Emanation), Beriah (בריאה, Creation), Yetzirah (יצירה, Formation), and Asiyah (עשיה, Action). The sefirot (ספירות, Divine emanations) are the means through which Divine energy flows, and within each world these sefirot manifest according to that world’s level of concealment.

Above these worlds is the level of Keter (כתר, Crown), which is not a separate world but a meta-level, the source of Divine Will that initiates the entire process of emanation.

Yet between these primary levels — and within them — there are myriad hidden gradations.

The Holy Zohar alludes to heichalot (היכלות, palaces), chambers, pathways, gardens, and countless subtle realms that reflect finer and finer distinctions of spiritual refinement and capacity to perceive G-D’s Light. These are not merely metaphors, but real modes of consciousness and existence.

It is here that I wish to propose a perspective that emerges naturally from Torat haSod, yet has perhaps not been fully developed in traditional expositions.

Just as in my earlier article, Bereshit: The Creation of Sacred Space, Not Time, I suggested that bereshit is not merely a temporal beginning but a creation of sacred space in which the Presence of G-D could be revealed in degrees — so too we can understand the spiritual ascent of the soul as a journey through sacred space, not simply through linear levels.

The common teaching is that when the soul departs this physical world, it ascends to the level it merited through its deeds, study of Torah, performance of mitzvot, and refinement of middot (traits). The Tanya teaches that every mitzvah draws down Divine Light into the soul and the world, while sins cause further concealment. Thus the state of the soul determines where it can “reside” after departing the body.

But if we understand that between each major world there are countless worlds — spiritual realms of more or less concealment — we begin to see that the soul’s journey is not merely a stepwise ascent but a continuous progression through an infinite hierarchy of realms. Each realm represents a finer tuning of spiritual capacity: to what degree the soul is batel (בטל, nullified) to G-D’s will, to what degree it perceives G-D’s presence without distortion.

These worlds are not sequential in time — they exist simultaneously. Even now, a soul may, through profound mitzvah, learning Torah, and prayer with pure intention, ascend temporarily to much higher realms — even as the body remains here in Malchut (מלכות, Kingship) of Asiyah. The Tanya explains this in Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah when it speaks of the soul’s garments becoming more transparent to Divine Light.

Thus, when a soul departs the body, it does not simply "jump" to one fixed world, but continues this journey — ascending through layer upon layer of progressive revelation of G-D’s Light, assuming its deeds and refinement permit continued ascent. If some blemish or lack remains, the soul may pause at a certain level, may descend again, or may return to this world to rectify unfinished work.

In this view, the ascent of the soul is not just about proximity — for G-D is equally present in all worlds — but about the degree of concealment. The closer a soul comes to a state of pure bitul (nullification), the more it is able to experience the revealed Presence of the Infinite Light.

This also offers insight into why we say that after death, a soul may yet return to complete the mitzvot it did not perform. For if each mitzvah constructs vessels within the soul that allow it to bear greater Light, then without those vessels, it cannot continue the ascent through these subtle worlds of increasing revelation.

From this, we may learn an important modern-day application: spiritual refinement is not a matter of achieving one great leap, but of constant, conscious ascent — world within world, chamber within chamber. Each small act of chesed (kindness), each word of Torah, each moment of restraint, moves the soul upward along this infinite continuum.

Likewise, we should not become discouraged by temporary failures. The path upward is dynamic — a soul can regress and yet ascend again, for the holy spark is never extinguished.

Finally, this understanding invites us to approach our mitzvot not only as obligations but as gateways into greater spiritual realms. With each act of sanctity, we refine our vessels, draw G-D’s Light into this world, and prepare our soul for its infinite journey.

In this way, may we, with G-D’s help, ascend level after level, world within world, until the time when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-D as the waters cover the sea, speedily and in our days.

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Bill White (Ram ben Ze'ev) is CEO of WireNews Limited, Mayside Partners Limited, MEADHANAN Agency, Kestrel Assets Limited, SpudsToGo Limited and Executive Director of Hebrew Synagogue