Let’s summarize what we have learned about the human soul so far, and see if we can go a little deeper into this topic.
Again, this series is largely based on the writings of Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato. Today’s segment culls also from the commentary of the Or Hachaim Hakadosh, and from the words of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz.
· The soul and body are combined in a miraculous way, and the spiritual and physical drives they represent are locked in a constant struggle.
· The soul was originally meant to elevate and purify the body by influencing it with its great spiritual power, but Adam Harishon’s sin changed the relationship between the two forces.
· The body could no longer be affected by the soul after the sin, and it instead blocks the soul from fully expressing itself.
· Because of this new reality, death came to the world; from now on the body and the soul would have to separate from each other at some point (resulting in death) so that the body could decompose while the soul got the opportunity to fully express itself in the World of the Souls. Afterwards they could be reunited, at which point the soul would purify the body in the way it was supposed to. This happens in the Resurrection of the Dead, at the End of Days.
Let’s delve a bit more deeply now.
The soul is classically referred to as having three major ‘parts’, and they are the: 1. Nefesh; 2. Ruach; 3. Neshama.
Nefesh: The basic life force of the person; this dimension is also found in animals.
Ruach: This holds the person’s ability to speak.
Neshama: This is the most spiritual part of the soul, and is connected to the roots of the soul, in the Upper Worlds.
Knowing that the soul has several parts helps us to better understand the concepts of sleep and dreaming. We are told that when someone falls asleep, the person’s soul leaves the body, and that this is why we wash our hands in the morning; the soul’s departure and eventual return essentially means he/she is a ‘new person’ after waking up. But if the soul really leaves, one can ask, why don’t we literally just die? Once we know that the soul has several parts, however, we can understand what happens while we sleep: the higher parts of our soul- the neshama and the ruach– do ‘disconnect’ while they access the Upper Worlds. The nefesh, though, which is a person’s life force, stays behind in the body. As such, we do not physically die but still do experience some level of spiritual renewal.*
There are several basic ideas concerning dead people we need to know.
1. A corpse makes a person or object that comes into contact with it impure.
2. According to the kabbalah, the grave of a tzaddik, righteous person, does not cause impurity (note: this opinion is not followed in halacha nowadays).
3. The Hebrew word for a corpse is “chalal”. This word is more commonly used to mean ‘a hole’.
-Where does this impurity come from? It comes from a vacuum that the soul’s departure creates in the person. When someone’s soul exits the body, it leaves a void within the body; where a spiritual energy had once existed only is suddenly empty. This is why a corpse is called a chalal, as the body is now an empty hole, a void. As soon as a person dies, impure forces quickly rush to the body in an attempt to attach themselves to the soul that is leaving. This is because demons were created without proper souls and they crave a connection with one. It is the demons’ contact with the corpse, then, that makes it impure.
Almost everyone has this experience- everyone except for the tzaddik. Why is he different?
Remember how we mentioned that the soul should by nature purify the body, but is instead overpowered by the physical body? Well, on some level, the tzaddik rises above this general rule. The tzaddik, who put so much effort during his lifetime into doing what is required- and even more- has essentially caused his soul to grow and become a stronger force.
Who are you? If someone would ask you to point to yourself, where exactly would you point? To your heart? To your whole body? Actually, your only correct response would be if you could pinpoint the location of your soul– because a person’s whole being- his life force, his personality, intelligence, emotions, even his senses- are all in his soul. The body, as we’ve learned, is really an outer garment of the person.
The tzaddik, we can then say, is someone who truly identifies- not just intellectually, but with his entire existence- with his soul. His life is purely spiritual, so to speak, as his physical needs are addressed only for the purpose of serving his soul. For such a person, the material body has become purified, somewhat like the soul itself. Therefore, we understand now, even death does not change that. Even when the soul leaves, no spiritual vacuum is ever created, and there is no void to be filled by impure forces, nor any loss of holiness to bring about impurity.
The Midrash in Parashat Vezot Heberacha describes in great detail the circumstances leading to Moshe Rabbeinu’s death. Angels descended from the heavens, and set up a bed with special materials upon which Moshe lied down. Eventually, after a fascinating exchange between Moshe and the angels, and even Hashem, Hashem called to the soul, telling it that the time had come for it to leave Moshe’s body, to the most holy place in the universe- God’s Throne. Amazingly… the soul refused. Why would the soul resist? Because although it knew the great reward that was surely in store for it, the soul simply could not imagine that there really was a place more holy than Moshe’s body!
“Where else can I find a body that will never decompose?” it asked.
Hashem told Moshe’s soul that it would merit to be among the highest angels in Heaven, and that it would receive amazing eternal reward- and it still did not move. At that point, Hashem instead took Moshe’s soul- and did so in the way He had taken Aharon’s and Miriam’s: with the mitat neshika…
Next week I hope to get into the concept that a great tzaddik’s body does not decompose- and what Moshe’s soul meant when it mentioned this as a reason not to leave his body. I think this will give us a clearer idea of why Moshe wanted the mitat neshika. I also hope to go into greater detail in understanding the three main parts of the soul.
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*The parts that leave the body gain information and certain spiritual energies from various sources in the Upper Worlds. Now, that information’s quality will vary depending on its exact source. An impure source such as a demon can give the soul false energies which when transmitted to the person who is sleeping result in dreams that are untrue. If the soul is influenced by an angel, though, the person will have a dream that has truth to it, such as a message that is appropriate for this person, or an even an accurate prediction of a future event. (Of course, the soul’s experience is only one factor in what a person dreams. Certainly whatever someone experiences and thinks about during the daytime can influence what he/she dreams of. Additionally, physical and psychological dynamics also play a role. As such, it is difficult to interpret a dream’s meaning.)
Have a great Shabbat!
Elli Schwarcz
Elli Schwarcz is an alumnus of the Toras Moshe, Ner Israel, and Carteret Yeshivos, and has been involved in Jewish outreach for almost 15 years. He is a Hebrew School and English Language Arts teacher, and has a Master’s Degree in Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. Of all his pursuits, Elli most enjoys teaching high-level Jewish thought and Talmud to teenage boys, exposing them to the beauty and wisdom of their heritage while highlighting their own ability to engage in advanced Torah learning. Elli lives in Lakewood, New Jersey, with his wife and children.