THE BODY CAN COMPLEMENT THE SOUL
A superficial view of body and soul and their relationship to each other would lead one to view them as eternal opponents. Yet, once one delves deeper one can see how the body can help the cause of the soul.
The Body Clothes the Divine Soul116I heard most of this segment from the Stitchiner Rebbe. See further Mish-betzos Zahav, Shavuos 5751, pg. 194.
The inner wisdom of Torah teaches that the relationship between the physical body and the Divine soul is like that of a garment; the body clothes the soul. In mystical terminology, oros, “lights,” is the term for soul-like forces,117Mystics use the term “light” to describe the soul and other spiritual enti-ties. Light is one of the least physical of items in our material world. It cannot be grasped and held, thus it represents the spiritual, non-tangible, entities. Light also provides a clear field of vision and is a universal symbol of purity. Further-more, it spreads out quickly just as spirituality causes a person to spread himself out and do acts that bring honor to God. Additionally, light was the first creation and thus it represents the source of existence. Rabbi Yechiel Bar Lev suggested that light represents an extremely strong degree of connection to root. If you cut a branch off a tree, the branch will no longer grow but it will not disappear; it continues to exist. However, if you sunder a ray of light from its root, for example by closing a window, thus separating the rays from the sun, the room will become dark because light detached from its root ceases to exist. Light represents the spiritual dimension since we must be totally connected to the root and if we are not connected to the Divine we cannot exist. See further Yedid Nefesh pgs. 35-36. while keilim, “clothes” or “vessels,” is the term for body-like entities.
Consider a lamp in your living room as an example of oros and keilim. Light in the elemental form is soul-like. It is the or, “light.” Essential light is clothed in the keli, “vessel,” of the light bulb. Light itself—pure, absolute, and unlimited in any way—would be so bright that no one would benefit from it. In a light bulb, light is restrained so that it can be appreciated. This is the function of all keilim. They limit the oros to enable benefit.
The light bulb is an or, a soul-like light, relative to the lamp shade, its keli—vessel. The light bulb on its own would be too bright for anyone to benefit, the shade around it reduces the glare so that its rays are soft and helpful. Body is light to clothes as its vessel. The clothes conceal the body so that it is not seen in its naturalness.
The soul is light to the body as vessel. The soul on its own is like pure unlimited light. It is overwhelming. Just as a light fixture limits absolute radiance and cloaks it in a manageable form, the body obscures the light of the soul.118Another pair of terms that describe this relationship is chomer and tzurah. Chomer literally means “matter,” and it is body-like or vessel-like. Tzurah liter-ally means “form,” and it is the soul or light to matter. Within man the soul is the tzurah, and the body is the chomer. See further Yedid Nefesh 1:5. Body as vessel to soul as light seems to mean that the two are opposing forces since concealing is the opposite of revealing.
The soul is the source of life; it is what gives life. The body receives life from the soul. The body is a receiver to soul as a giver. Here again, body and soul are opposites for taking is the opposite of giving, just as dimming is the opposite of illuminating. A deeper look will reveal that the definition of body and soul as light and vessel is the reason why study of the body can teach about the soul.
We can delve deeper. A vessel need not always dim the light. Sometimes the vessel becomes pure and radiant. Then the vessel itself becomes light-like. For instance, a lampshade can become translucent so that the light bulb shines through it without being dimmed at all. In such cases the lampshade is indistinguishable from the bulb, and one might say that the lampshade produces light, for it loses its identity to the light bulb. The body is the vessel of the soul, yet once the body is purified it will not oppose the soul nor will it hide the soul.119“The body should reflect the neshamah perfectly; [it] should serve the soul in perfect loyalty. Never should the body stray after its own desires. It should be a vessel, a tool which obeys its control dimension totally selflessly. It should be like a vehicle driven only from within, its very existence justified only as a loyal servant. At the Creation, the body of Adam was just that. It was an ethereal, luminescent structure which revealed the spiritual content” (Living Inspired, pg. 118). “The garments of the world, the covering of Adam before he sinned were of or, ‘light.’ After the sin, the covering became skin. The root or has the silent aleph—it is light, spiritual, all revelation. The root [for the Hebrew word for skin] spells not only “skin” but “blind” too—the covering which revealed has become a covering which obstructs” (Living Inspired, pg. 120). When one purifies his body he is, in some measure, returning to the state of Adam before the sin.
Even prior to the absolute purification of the body, the body can help you grow spiritually.120The body clothes the soul. “Clothes hide but also reveal—although the wearer is hidden by his clothes, his dignity is revealed by his clothes. Royal robes cover the king, but they reveal his royalty. [Oteh or ke-salma, “God wears light like a garment”—nature hides God, but accurately reveals His presence!]” (Living Inspired, pg. 120). Thus the body obscures the soul and reveals the soul. Every keli can become an or, and the ability to become a light is constantly latent within it. Thus a study of the vessel that discovers its latent abilities will teach about the light’s characteristics.
Lessons of the Body
Lust is the body’s strongest impulse. At the same time, lust is a mask of a Heavenly and soulful force, chesed, the desire to spread out and connect with others.121In Lev. 20:17, the Torah states, Ve-ish asher yikkach es achoso bas aviv o vas immo... chesed hu ve-nichresu le-einei benei ammam, “A man who marries his sister, daughter of his father, or daughter of his mother... it is chesed, and they will be cut off before their nation. ” The Baal Shem Tov explained that the verse included the word chesed to teach that lowly lustful desires are a misapplication of the Heavenly drive for chesed. The verse is bemoaning the disgrace saying, “Lust? How could you do that, to misapply chesed, the most radiant and important of character traits?” Lust is when I seek to connect with them for my own selfish pleasure. Chesed is the elevated form of this urge; the desire to connect with others in order to give and to help them and an urge to attach oneself to God. Lust as the most virulent bodily desire teaches that generous giving is the most powerful urge of the soul. The body’s lust drive is enormously powerful; that should teach us how deeply the soul desires chesed.
Perhaps the following thought might help one overcome improper drives: The animal soul is ascendant when lust is actualized. If one acts according to the dictates of selfish desires one is little better than the beasts of the wild. On the other hand, the Heavenly soul shines through the body when one displays selfless giving. When experiencing lust temptation, the body is reflecting a fallen urge of the soul. It is a moment to engage in chesed—selfless giving to other humans and to the cause of holiness.122Raising lust is a very high level of service of the Almighty. When overcome with such feelings contemplation that at its root it is a desire for divinity and turning those passions towards feeling love towards Him or His children is a difficult task. Chasidim demanded it of themselves.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that God created human emotions to teach man how to serve his Master. The Besht explicitly said, “Man must believe that when an evil lust falls into his heart it was sent to him from God, for the time has come for him to serve God with love of Holiness. Heaven is hinting to him, ‘Turn love to the love of God.’ Once the heart is already in a state of desire it is easier to reach love of Divinity. Similarly, when a great fright falls upon man, he should know with certitude that this fear was sent from Heaven to tell him, ‘Now is the time to arouse your own innate fear of God.’ So it is with all the emotions” (Divrei Shalom, Purim, pg. 38; see also Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Parashas Eikev).
The reason for the centrality of lust and generosity is that chesed, the Divine and elevated form of this drive, was the foundation of the world; as scripture states, olam chesed yibbaneh, “The world was built on chesed” (Ps. 89:3). God’s creation was an act of total love, and he placed chesed as the foundation of a Heavenly personality.123See Pachad Yitzchak on Rosh Hashanah for his discussions of chesed, and see the Kuntres Ha-Chesed in Michtav Me-Eliyahu.
Even the physical form of the body can teach lessons about the nefesh Elokis, the Godly soul. Look at the body; from the form of the body, and the various functions its parts fulfill, you may learn about the nature of the soul. For instance, the tongue is the vessel for speech. The tongue has unique characteristics. It does not have a bone. It can easily be burnt and damaged. This is a lesson about the soul. Soulful speech is soft and delicate. Soulful rebuke is delivered to others through a context of love and in an oblique manner that does not offend.124See further Mishbetzos Zahav, Parashas Noach. The tongue has two uses: it enjoys taste that no one else will enjoy, and it reveals to others insights through oral communication. This teaches that some ideas, such as lessons of the revealed Torah should be shared, while other concepts, such as the secrets of how God created the universe are to be hidden and each individual should enjoy them by himself (see further Pachad Yitzchak on Rosh Hashanah, Ma’amar 1).
The Maharal explains that the reason why the human body is naturally straight and we do not walk on all fours with our head to the earth is that God wanted to send a message to man through the human form. “Because God’s presence is not visible in this world, it is easy for people to come to sin. God compensated for this physical blind-spot with the spiritual ability to perceive and fear God. Our erect human posture directs our gaze upwards to the Heavens. There we observe God’s presence... and we are less inclined to sin” (Maharal of Prague on Pirkei Avos, pg. 81; see further Derech Chaim, end of the commentary to Mishnah 2:1).
Another lesson about the soul can be found in the sum of components that comprise the human body. The body has 248 primary limbs and 365 sinews.125The Mishnah in Ohalos 1:8 delineates the limbs and sinews. The limbs are the major bones of the body; the sinews are what hold muscles to bone and contain blood within their channels. Bones are white while sinews (that are filled with blood) are red. Thus there are 248 white parts of the body and 365 red parts of the body. The soul has matching segments.
There are 248 “white lights” and 365 “red lights” in the soul. Each soul “light” (part of the soul) is Godly holiness clothed in one of the physical parts of the body. The soul-part is what gives life to that portion of the body. The white lights are clothed in the limbs, in the white bones, and the red lights are sheathed within the sinews.126Shefa Tal, pg. 2. See further Chasidic Masters, pg. 22 s.v. “One must.”
Jewish observance is divided into two parts: mitzvos aseh, command- ments that require a particular act from the Jew, and mitzvos lo ta’aseh, enjoinders prohibiting behaviors. The Torah contains 248 mitzvos aseh and 365 mitzvos lo ta’aseh. Performance of the mitzvos aseh draws life to the limbs from the “white” of the soul, while observing the prohibitions of mitzvos lo ta’aseh brings added strength and purity from the “red” of the soul. Thus each Mitzvah parallels a soul and a body part. The more Mitzvos one performs, the purer the body becomes, and that much more spiritual vigor may flow into it.127Rabbi Tzadok Ha-Cohen of Lublin explains that for every physical illness of a Jew there is a spiritual cause. Return to God, teshuvah, erases the spiritual sin and effects physical healing (Takkanas Ha-Shavin, Note 1). Perhaps the idea in the text is the explanation of his lesson. Since each Mitzvah parallels a part of the body, lack of observance of a Mitzvah causes physical weakness and illness to the part of the body that corresponds to that Mitzvah. Return to God recti-fies the spiritual soul-light and therefore brings about physical healing.
In mysticism, the different colors along the spectrum symbolize different Divine attributes.128See further Meditation and Kabbalah, pgs. 179-183. The color white symbolizes chesed, unbridled generosity and love. The color red represents din, “harsh justice.” Mitzvos aseh require us to take actions; we must extend ourselves to express our love for God. What we do is the basis of who we are; thus our deeds provide added life to the white bones, the body part that frames a person’s form and shape. Mitzvos lo ta’aseh are injunctions, forbidding acts that are injurious to our spiritual well-being. Observance of these laws entails constriction, pulling oneself in, and refraining from what our sensory urges seek. Scrupulous adherence to the commands of Mitzvos lo ta’aseh is thus an exhibition of din—fear and justice—setting boundaries and rigorously maintaining them.129Our forefather Abraham was the ultimate paradigm of chesed, Heavenly giving and love. Abraham even sought to perform kindness with idolators and the sinners of Sodom (see Parashas Vayeira). Since mitzvos aseh are expression of giving, extending oneself for God’s sake, Abraham is the personification of mitzvos aseh. The gematria of Avraham (1+2+200+5+40) is 248, which is the number of mitzvos aseh.
Isaac was the paradigm of din (sometimes called gevurah), setting limits and constriction. Isaac’s greatest moment was when he allowed himself to be bound on the altar, an act of remarkable discipline and withdrawal. Isaac is the personification of mitzvos lo ta’aseh. As a result, when God first appeared to him and gave Isaac a Mitzvah to live in the Land of Israel, it was phrased as a prohibition, “Do not go down to Egypt, stay in this land…” (Gen. 25:2). (Emunas Etecha, Lech Lecha, 5759.) The goal of Mitzvos lo ta’aseh is to preserve the spiritual well-being of the person; thus they parallel sinews that tie the muscles to the bones and maintain the person.130The nefesh part of the soul is the part that has 613 “pieces” that correspond to the various body parts. See also Maharal in Tiferes Yisrael, Chapter Four. Rabbi Chaim Vital in Sha’arei Kedushah, Sha’ar 1. Da’as Tefillah, pgs. 97-98, Razei Ha-Bosem, pg. 154.
Death divides the soul from its physical body, and the soul then enters another dimension, the World-to-Come. A soul always needs some sort of vessel to contain it. Since death rids us of a body, what will clothe our soul in the next dimension? The answer is the Mitzvos that we performed. Since each Mitzvah parallels a soul part, if we fulfill all of the Mitzvos in the next world they will clothe us fully in a Heavenly body-like cloak.131Every Jew can fulfill all the Mitzvos, even though some commands only apply to priests and others were limited to the Land of Israel. A simple Israelite outside the Holy Land can study the Torah’s discussion of the Mitzvos of priest-hood or of the Land of Israel. Intellectual thought of these commandments and discussing their laws are partial fulfillments of these Mitzvos. Another way for each individual to fulfill all 613 obligations is through love. If a Jew binds him-self with great attachment to all the Jews within the nation, the Mitzvos that the priests perform will accrue merit for him as well.
The Heavenly Body of a Tzaddik
A tzaddik utilizes his body for the sake of his soul. He internalizes many of the lessons of holiness that the body teaches. He fulfills all the Mitzvos. As a result of his many good deeds he brings a new spirit to his person. While in this world, he already has some qualities of the next world. His body is constantly being purified through the Mitzvos that he performs and it becomes a vessel like the translucent lampshade. It does not oppose the soul; rather it reflects God’s glory to all. When seeing such an individual, you immediately sense his soul and its message, for it shines right through the body.
We have a fundamental nature to see what is essential and not what is secondary. If you shake the gloved hand of a friend, you would not characterize it as “touching Jake’s glove.” Rather you would describe the event as, “I shook Jake’s hand.” Since the glove pales in importance to the hand it covers. Similarly, the body is merely the clothing of the soul. It should pale in importance to the soul. Where there is a conflict between the will of the body (the nefesh ha-bahamis) and that of the soul (the nefesh Elokis), the needs of the soul should come first, and in truth when we think of ourselves we should immediately think of our essence, our soul and not the clothes, the body.132The gematria of the word ahavah, “love,” is 13, the same as for the word echad, “one.” Total love demands singular devotion. One can only truly fully love one spouse or ideal. If so, how did the Torah demand love for fellow Jews once we were already commanded to love God our Lord? If the heart is filled with love for God where will there be room for love of fellow men? The answer is that the Torah demands love to one subject, God. If one sees souls and not bodies, then one sees the Divine in others and that Divinity is what is beloved. If one loves someone he loves that person’s children who are extensions of the beloved. “You are children to God,” according to the Torah, therefore, love of God demands love for the Jewish soul that emerges from Him (Yismach Mosheh).
The gematria of the Biblical verse for love of fellow Jews, Ve-ahavta le-re’acha ka-mocha ani Hashem, equals the verse, Ve-ahavta es Hashem Elokecha, “Love the Lord your God,” for it is all one devotion. The Zohar teaches that God, Torah, and Israel are one. In truth, God clothed himself in the thoughts and words of Torah, and Jewish souls are pieces of the Divine as well; thus Torah, Israel and God are linked in an intrinsic manner, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740-1810) explained a Scriptural ambiguity with this principle:
“As God commanded Moses, He counted them [the Jews] in the Sinai desert” (Num. 1:19): One can ask, it should have written, “He counted them in the Sinai desert as God commanded Moses”? Behold, God gave the Torah to the Jewish people, and the souls of Jews are the essence of the Torah, for there are 600,000 Jewish souls and 600,000 letters in the Torah scroll. In fact, the name Yisrael is an acronym for yesh shishim ribbo osiyos la-torah, “there are 600,000 letters to the Torah.” Therefore, Jews are the Torah, for each Jew is a different letter in the Torah. When Moses counted the Jews he was learning Torah. This is why the verse changed its usual formulation to hint, “As God commanded Moses He counted the people,” like the Torah that God commanded Moses was the [experience of] counting of the nation (Kedushas Levi, Parashas Bemidbar, s.v. ka-asher).
A classic Chasidic tale tells of Rabbi Moshe Leib Sassov’s devotional midnight prayers. (The Tikkun Chatzos prayers were instituted by the Kabbalists to be recited at midnight in mourning for the loss of the Temple in Jerusalem.) One wintry day Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Zhiditchover decided that he had to witness his teacher’s devotions, so he hid himself under R. Moshe Leib’s bed to observe how R. Moshe Leib recited Tikkun Chatzos.
Shortly before midnight R. Moshe Leib awoke and dressed in the clothes of a Ukrainian peasant and left his house; Rabbi Zvi Hirsch surreptitiously fol-lowed. He walked out into the forest and chopped down a tree, he then carried this tree to a small shack at the edge of the town. He entered the shack, and turning to the poor Jewish widow who was shivering in the cold, he offered to sell her the extra log that he had on his back. The widow related how cold she was but she could not afford to pay for timber. Rabbi Moshe Leib responded that she could pay him at some other time, “Just go to the village square and ask for Ivan the Ukrainian. They will get me, and you will then be able to pay.” While chopping the wood and warming the widow’s home, Rabbi Moshe Leib recited Tikkun Chatzos.
Rabbi Moshe Leib was a transcendent tzaddik. He saw Divinity everywhere. His act of connecting to a fellow Jew through charity was an act of connecting to a soul, to a piece of God. Prayer is also a process of attachment to the Divine. Rabbi Moshe Leib linked his attachment to God through words of Psalms with attachment to Divinity of helping souls, for in truth souls are a piece of the Divine as well. The tzaddik reaches this level; he only sees souls; all he sees is the nefesh Elokis—the Divine within others.133See further Mishbetzos Zahav, Shabbos Ha-Gadol 5753. The Stitchiner Rebbe explains there that Moses saw right through the external body, and always saw the spiritual, Heavenly soul when he interacted with others.
Lesson Seven will draw a rough sketch of the process the tsaddik engages in to transform his body.