The life force that all creatures receive from God enables them to fulfill their unique purposes in the world.
This life force also constitutes the essence of their existence, both spiritual and material, coming into being from absolute nothingness.
This is in contrast to the analogy of the soul vivifying the body, for the latter exists independent of the soul.
The physical body of a person or animal, as well as plant life and even completely inanimate stones and earth, all contain a Godly light and life force that establishes their independent, physical existence, preventing their reverting back to a state of absolute nothingness.
This is the meaning of a “soul” of all things in the most general sense.
This “soul” does not merely express itself in the life force that acts upon and courses through an entity (whether it be through growth or movement, as is the case with animals and plants).
Rather, it is the very essence of the entity, which can come only from the power of constant divine influence flowing through it.
The existence of something in the world is not a given, not nature.
It is an ongoing marvel, the result of a process of continuous creation that vivifies and sustains everything anew each moment.
This leads to the conclusion that the infinite source of life pulses constantly even within an inanimate object that seems to have no life at all.
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz