(יג) וּמַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר וּבְזֹהַר חָדָשׁ, שֶׁהָעִיקָּר תָּלוּי שֶׁיְּקַדֵּשׁ עַצְמוֹ בִּשְׁעַת תַּשְׁמִישׁ דַּוְוקָא, מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּנֵי עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ כוּ׳, הַיְינוּ, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁאֵין לְךָ נֶפֶשׁ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה שֶׁאֵין לָהּ לְבוּשׁ מִנֶּפֶשׁ דְּעַצְמוּת אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, וְכָל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה – הַכֹּל עַל יְדֵי אוֹתוֹ הַלְּבוּשׁ כוּ׳, וַאֲפִילוּ הַשֶּׁפַע שֶׁנּוֹתְנִים לוֹ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם – הַכֹּל עַל יְדֵי לְבוּשׁ זֶה, וְאִם יְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת עַצְמוֹ – יַמְשִׁיךְ לְבוּשׁ קָדוֹשׁ לְנִשְׁמַת בְּנוֹ, וַאֲפִילוּ הִיא נְשָׁמָה גְדוֹלָה, צְרִיכָה לְקִידּוּשׁ אָבִיו כוּ׳.
(יד) אֲבָל הַנְּשָׁמָה עַצְמָהּ, הִנֵּה לִפְעָמִים נִשְׁמַת אָדָם גָּבוֹהַּ לְאֵין קֵץ, בָּא לִהְיוֹת בְּנוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם נִבְזֶה וְשָׁפָל כוּ׳, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָאֲרִ״י זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה כָּל זֶה בְּ״לִיקּוּטֵי תּוֹרָה״ פָּרָשַׁת וַיֵּרָא וּבְטַעֲמֵי מִצְוֹת פָּרָשַׁת בְּרֵאשִׁית:
(13) As for what is written in the Zohar27 Cf. Zohar II:204b ff.; III:80-82. and in Zohar Chadash,28 Bereishit, p. 11. to the effect that the essential factor is to conduct oneself in a holy manner during sexual union, which is not the case with the children of the ignorant, and so on, it is to be understood as meaning that since there is not a nefesh, ruach, and neshamah which has not a garment of the nefesh of its father’s and mother’s essence, and all the commandments that it fulfills are all influenced by that garment…, and even the benevolence that flows to one from heaven is all given through that garment—hence, through self-sanctification, one will cause to descend for the neshamah of one’s child a holy garment; and however great a soul it may be, it still needs the father’s sanctification….
(14) But as for the soul itself, it sometimes happens that the soul of an infinitely lofty person comes to be the son of a despised and lowly man…. All this has been explained by the Arizal9 in Likkutei Torah on Parashat Vayera and in Taamei Hamitzvot on Parashat Bereishit.