What Makes a Jewish Soul

(30) and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.’ And it was so.

(7) Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(18) And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing—for she died—that she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

(28) In the way of righteousness is life, And in the pathway thereof there is no death.

I am grateful to You, Sovereign of all that lives, for returning my soul within me with compassion, You are faithful beyond measure.

My God. The soul which You placed in me is pure. You created it, You formed it, You caused it to enter me. You guard it in me. You will take it from me in the future, and return it to me in time to come. The entire time the soul is within me I am grateful to You, Adonai, my God and God of my Ancestors. Exalted of all creation, Master of Souls.

Just as water quenches one's thirst, so does Torah satisfy the soul; Just as water cleanses the body from impurity, so does Torah cleanse the soul;

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The extra soul is given by the Holy Blessed One to man on Erev Shabbat, and Motzei Shabbat it is taken back.

Resh Lakish said, There are seven [heavens], and these are them: Vilon, Rakia, Sh'chakim, Z'vul, Ma'on, Machon, Aravot.

There are three partners in a person: the Holy One of Blessing, their father, and their mother. Their father supplies the semen of the white substance, out of which are formed the child's bones, sinews, nails, the brain in their head and the white in their eye; their mother supplies the semen of the red substance, out of which is formed their skin, flesh, hair, blood and the black of their eye. And the Holy One of Blessing gives them breath and a soul and a face and seeing and hearing and speaking and walking and understanding and the mind. When one's time of death approach, the Holy One of Blessing removes that part and leaves [the parts] of the father and mother before them.

"Let him without silver come" can also be explained in another way. Let him come to God, for He has silver. It is thus written (Haggai 2:8), "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." What is the meaning of the verse, "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold"? What is this like? A king had two treasuries, one of silver, and one of gold. He placed that of silver to his right, and that of gold to his left. He said [of the silver], "This should be ready, and easy to take out." He keeps his words calm. He is attached to the poor and directs them calmly. It is thus written (Exodus 15:6), "Your right hand, O God, is mighty in power." If he rejoices in his portion, then all is well. If not, then (Exodus 15:6), "Your right hand, O God, crumbles the enemy." He said to them: This is referring to the gold. It is thus written, "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold."

53. Why is [gold] called ZaHaV, because it includes three attributes - male (Zachar), this is the "zayin"; the Soul, this is the letter "heh", corresponding to the five levels of the soul: Ruah, Chaya, Yechida, Nefesh and Neshama. What is the purpose of the "heh"? It is a throne for the "zayin", as it is written (Ecclesiastes 5:7), "For one above the other watches." The "bet" is its sustenance. As it is written, "In the beginning" (Bereshit) [Genesis 1:1].

What are the things that are circular? They are the vowel points in the Torah of Moses, for these are all round. They are to the letters like the soul, which lives in the body of man. It is impossible for [man] to come [into this world] unless [the soul] endures within him. It is impossible for him to speak anything, great or small, without it. In a similar manner, it is impossible to speak a word, great or small, without the vowel points.

Rabbah said: If the righteous wanted, they could create a world. What interferes? Your sins, as it is written (Isaiah 59:2), "Only your sins separate between you and your God." Therefore, if not for your sins, there would not be any differentiation between you and Him. We thus see that Rabba created a man and sent it to Rav Zeira. He spoke to it, but it would not reply. But if not for your sins, it would also have been able to reply. And from what would it have replied? From its soul. Does a man then have a soul to place in it? Yes, as it is written (Genesis 2:7), "And He blew in his nostrils a soul of life." If not for your sins, man would therefore have a "soul of life." [Because of your sins, however] the soul is not pure. This is the difference between you and Him. It is thus written (Psalm 8:6), "And You have made him a little less than God." What is the meaning of "a little"? This is because [man] sins, while the Blessed Holy One does not. Blessed be He and blessed be His Name for ever and ever, He has no sins. But the [Evil] Urge comes from Him. Can we then imagine that it comes from Him? But it originated from Him until David came and killed it. It is thus written (Psalm 109:22), "My heart is hollow within me." David said: Because I was able to overcome it (Psalm 5:5), "Evil will not sojourn with You." How was David able to overcome it? Through his study, since he never stopped [studying] day or night. He therefore attached the Torah on high. For whenever a person studies Torah for its own sake, the Torah attaches itself to the Blessed Holy One. They therefore say, "A person should always study Torah, even not for its sake, since if [he studies it] not for its sake, he will eventually come to [study it] for its sake." What is this Torah that you are discussing? It is the Bride who is adorned and crowned, and who is included in the commandments. It is the Treasury of the Torah. It is the betrothed of the Blessed Holy One, as it is written (Deuteronomy 33:4), "Moses commanded us the Torah, the heritage (Morasha) of the congregation of Jacob." Do not read "heritage" (Morasha) but "betrothed" (Me'urasa). How is his so. When Israel engages in the Torah for its own sake, then it is the betrothed of the Blessed Holy One, then it is the heritage of Israel.

(9) 9. The breath of (nishmath) life. It has five names: nefesh, neshamah, hayyah, ruah, yehidah. Nefesh is the blood: For the blood is the nefesh — E.V. 'life' (Deut. xii, 23). Ruah: this is so called because it ascends and descends: thus it is written, Who knoweth the ruah (E.V. 'spirit') of man whether it goeth upwards, and the ruah of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth (Eccl. in, 21) ? Neshamah is the breath; as people say, His breathing is good. Hayyah (lit. 'living'): because all the limbs are mortal, whereas this is immortal in the body. Yehidah (unique): because all the limbs are duplicated, whereas this is unique in the body. Thus it is written, If He set His heart upon man, if He gather unto Himself mho {his spirit) and nishmatho {his soul), all flesh shall perish together, and man shall return unto the dust (Job xxxiv, 14 f). R. Joshua b. R. Nehemiah and the Rabbis discussed this. R. Joshua b. R. Nehemiah interpreted it: 'If God set His heart upon any man,' his spirit {ruho) is already in His hand; 'And if He gather his soul (nishmatho) unto him' [sc. man], which means, into his body, then all men had already perished; but when man is sleeping the soul {neshamah) warms the body so that it should not waste and die. The Rabbis interpret: If God set His heart upon him,' i.e. upon any man, his spirit {ruho) is already in His hand, 'And if He gather his soul (nishmatho) unto Himself above, then all men had already perished, but that when man sleeps the soul {neshamah) warms man that he should not grow cold and die. R. Bisni, R. Aha, and R. Johanan in R. Meir's name said: The neshamah (soul) fills the body, and when man sleeps it ascends and draws life for him from above. R. Levi said in R. Jianina's name: It repeatedly ascends. For every breath which a man takes he must give praise to the Holy One, blessed be He. What is the reason? Let every neshamah {breathy praise the Lord (Ps. cl, 6), which means, for every breath [let one praise Him],