Introduction to the Soul

The Eternal God formed the human from the dust of the earth. God blew into his nostrils the breath nishmat of life, and man became a living nefesh.

(3) The Eternal said, “My ruach shall not abide in humans forever, since they too are flesh; let the days allowed them be one hundred and twenty years.”—

(2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a ruach of God sweeping over the water—

(10) And if anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who reside among them partakes of any blood, I will set My face against the person who partakes of the blood, and I will cut them off from among their kin. (11) For the nefesh of the flesh is in the blood, and I have assigned it to you for making expiation for your lives upon the altar; it is the blood, as life, that effects expiation.

Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached my nefesh;

My nefesh is attached to You; Your right hand supports me.

(1) So appreciate your vigour in the days of your youth, before those days of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; (2) before sun and light and moon and stars grow dark, and the clouds come back again after the rain: (3) When the guards of the house become shaky, And the men of valour are bent, And the maids that grind, grown few, are idle, And the ladies that peer through the windows grow dim, (4) And the doors to the street are shut— With the noise of the hand mill growing fainter, And the song of the bird growing feebler, And all the strains of music dying down; (5) When one is afraid of heights And there is terror on the road.— For the almond tree may blossom, The grasshopper be burdened, And the caper bush may bud again; But man sets out for his eternal abode, With mourners all around in the street.— (6) Before the silver cord snaps And the golden bowl crashes, The jar is shattered at the spring, And the jug is smashed at the cistern. (7) And the dust returns to the ground As it was, And the ruach returns to God Who bestowed it. (8) Utter futility—said Koheleth— All is futile!

Rav Shimi bar Ukva, and some say Mar Ukva, would regularly study before Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, and would arrange the aggada before Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.
Once, Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said to him: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Bless the Eternal, my soul, and all that is within me bless the Divine Holy name”?
Rav Shimi bar Ukva said to Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: Come and see that the attribute of the Holy Blessed One, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood i.e. human beings. The attribute of flesh and blood is such that one shapes a form on the wall for all to see, yet cannot instill it with a spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. While the Holy Blessed One is not so, as God shapes one form within another form, and instills it with spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. And this is the explanation of what Hannah said with regard to the birth of Samuel: “There is none holy like the Eternal, for there is none like You, and there is no Rock like our God” (I Samuel 2:2). What is the meaning of there is no rock [tzur] like our God? There is no artist [tzayyar] like our God.

Rav Shimi bar Ukva, said to Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: I meant to say to you as follows: Corresponding to whom did David say these five instance of “Bless the Eternal, O my soul”? He answered him: He said them about none other than the Holy Blessed One and corresponding to the soul. Just as the Holy Blessed One fills the entire world, so too the soul fills the entire body.
Just as the Holy Blessed One sees but is not seen, so too does the soul see, but is not seen.
Just as the Holy Blessed One sustains the entire world, so too the soul sustains the entire body.
Just as the Holy Blessed One is pure, so too is the soul pure.
Just as the Holy Blessed One resides in a chamber within a chamber so too the soul resides in a chamber within a chamber.
Therefore, that which has these five characteristics, the soul, should come and praise the One Who has these five characteristics.

The souls of the righteous are found in heaven, as it is written: “And the soul of my master shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Eternal, your God” (I Samuel 25:29). Spirits and souls that are to be created are found there, as it is written: “For the spirit that enwraps itself is from Me, and the souls that I have made” (Isaiah 57:16)...

Antoninos, the Roman emperor, said to Rabbi: The body and the soul are able to exempt themselves from judgment. How so? The body says: The soul sinned, as from the day of my death when it departed from me, I am cast like a silent stone in the grave. And the soul says: The body sinned, as from the day that I departed from it, I am flying in the air like a bird. Rabbi said to him: I will tell you a parable. To what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to a king of flesh and blood who had a fine orchard, and in it there were fine first fruits, and he stationed two guards in it, one lame, who was unable to walk, and one blind. The lame person said to the blind person: I see fine first fruits of in the orchard; come and place me upon your shoulders and we will bring the fruit to eat them. The lame person rode upon the shoulders of the blind person and they brought the fruit and ate them. Sometime later the owner of the orchard came to the orchard. He said to the guards: The fine first fruits, where are they? The lame person said: Do I have any legs with which to walk? The blind person said: Do I have any eyes with which to see? What did the owner do? He placed the lame person upon the shoulders of the blind person, and he judged them as one. So too, the Holy Blessed One brings the soul on the day of judgment and casts it back into the body and judges them as one, as it is stated: “[God] calls to the heavens above and to the earth that [God] may judge [God's] people” (Psalms 50:4). “[God] calls to the heavens above”; this is the soul. “And to the earth that [God] may judge [God's] people”; this is the body.

As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The Holy Blessed One gives a person an additional soul on Shabbat eve, and at the conclusion of Shabbat removes it from him, as it is stated: “God ceased from work and was refreshed [vayinafash]” (Exodus 31:17). Because of ceasing from work, woe [vai] for the additional soul [nefesh] that is lost.

(9) 9. The breath of life: It has five names: nefesh, neshamah, hayyah, ruah, yehidah. ... Thus it is written, If God set God's heart upon a person, and gathers unto the Divine-self the ruach and neshama, all flesh shall perish together, and the person shall return unto the dust (Job 34:14). R. Joshua b. R. Nehemiah and the Rabbis discussed this. R. Joshua b. R. Nehemiah interpreted it: 'If God set God's heart upon a person,' the person's spirit is already in God's hand; 'And if God gather his soul unto him', which means, into the person's body, then all people had already perished! But when a person is sleeping the soul warms the body so that it should not waste and die... R. Bisni, R. Aha, and R. Yohanan in R. Meir's name said: The neshamah (soul) fills the body, and when a person sleeps it ascends and draws life for them from above. R. Levi said in R. Chanina's name: It repeatedly ascends. For every breath which a person takes he must give praise to the Holy Blessed One. What is the reason? Let every soul praise the Eternal (Ps. cl, 6), which means every breath.

I give thanks to You living and everlasting Sovereign for You have restored my soul with mercy. Great is Your faithfulness.

My God! the soul which You bestowed in me is pure; You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me and You preserve it within me. You will eventually take it from me, and restore it in me in the time to come. So long as the soul is within me I give thanks to You, Eternal my God, and God of my ancestors, Ruler of all creatures, Master of all souls. Blessed are You, Eternal, Who restores souls to dead bodies.