The Soul of the Matter

 https://mishpacha.com/the-soul-of-the-matter/

 “In actuality,” says Rav Leuchter, “Nefesh HaChaim was only printed after Rav Chaim’s passing by his son, Reb Itzele, and he chose to omit those parts of his father’s manuscript that opposed chassidus, out of respect for the Tzemach Tzedek, with whom he worked in partnership for the benefit of Eastern European Jewry. That’s why, after Sha’ar Gimmel and before Sha’ar Daled, there are eight chapters that seem to be hanging in the middle and are not numbered. Apparently, these were originally part of a separate sha’ar, and Reb Itzele Volozhiner omitted parts of it.”