God desired a dwelling place in the lower realms.  With these words our sages describe the divine purpose in creation.

What are the lower realms?  It is common to refer to the spiritual as higher than the material, and to the physical universe as the lowest of God's creations.  But are these designations truly justified?  After all, God not only created all spiritual and physical entites but also the very concepts of spirituality and physicality.  He transcends both realms equally and, at the same time, is equally present in both, for His all-embracing truth knows no limit or categorization. So why should the spiritual be deemed loftier than the physical?

To understand why the physical is indeed lower than the spiritual, we must first examine the meaning of the term olam, the Hebrew word for world.  Olam means concealment.  A world is a framework or context within which things exist; and in order for anything to exist, a concealment must first take place.

The reason for this is that the basic (and only) law of existence is that there is none else besides Him ~ that God is the only true existence and that nothing exists outside of His allpervading reality.  In order for anything else to possess even the slightest semblance of somethingness or selfhood, this truth must be veiled and obscured.  Hence God's creation of worlds - concealments within which things may exist distinct and apart (at least in their own conception) from the all-nullifying reality of God.

God created both higher spiritual creations and lower physical ones.  The difference between them lies not in their essential closeness to or separateness from God, but in the degree of the concealment their worlds provide.  A lesser concealment may allow for things to exist, but these existences will be conscious of their Creator and utterly subservient to Him, acknowledging their total dependence upon Him.  In this there are many gradations and degrees - the greater the concealment in any given world, the more of a self the creations of that world will possess.

In this sense, the physical world is the lowest world of all.  So great is the physical worlds concealment of Godliness, that the selfhood of its inhabitants is absolute: by nature, the physical object or creature strives only for its own preservation and advancement, regarding its own existence as the axis around which all else revolves.  The world of the physical not only dims its divine source but obscures it entirely, even allowing for  creations that deny their own origin and essence.

As you read the above, put some deep thought into it. What is this saying to you?  I tried this.  I answered the questions as I read through this and drew a conclusion.  My thoughts on the above are below:

1. What are the lower realms? :- Earth (man/woman/animals, etc).
2. Are these designations truly justified? :- Yes.  Angels are closer to God, in that they carry out His will.  They stand in His presence without being consumed.
3. Why should the spiritual be deemed loftier than the physical? :- In the spiritual you are closer to a ONENESS with God.  You know, REALLY know, your Creator.
4. Olam: Concealment.  A world is a framework or context within which things exist, a concealment must first take place. :- A wheel within a wheel.
5. Nothing exist without God.  He created all~EVERYTHING.
6. A lesser concealment may allow for things to exist, but these existences will be conscious of their creator and utterly subservient to Him, acknowledging their total dependence upon Him.:- This, to me,  is the angels.  They know God created them, they worship him, they carry out His work; but there is NO freewill.  They can't choose.
7. The greater the concealment in any given world, the more of a self the creations of that world will possess. :- This, to me, equals a free will.  Without choice there isn't love, there isn't relationship.  That's not to say the angels don't love God, they just can't choose to lvoe him. They were created to do so.

        We, as humans, revolve around self.  Some of us don't even see a need for God in our lives.  We have to "die to self/flesh" to live for and know God.  God, I think, removes some of the concealment ~ blinders from our eyes so we can know he is there, know He is God ~ choose to worship & love him.

He circumcises our hearts to remind us we need him, then removes the blinders little by little so we can catch glimpses of him until we can see him face to face (like Moses) without being consumed.

We can choose more concealment.  We have free will.  Some of us would rather try to do it all on our own as if we are God.  We want to be, and ofter times make, ourselves our gods/idols.  This, of course, comes with consequences.  Separation from God instead of unity with Him.

I pray I have said something here that you can hold to.  I hope I have given you just a little nugget to take with you and may God increase that nugget as you seek Him.  I once heard, "We did for something which is of value to us." This statement is so true.

God bless you.