The Soul - Body Relationship
Axiom:
- Man אדם is the ultimate purpose of everything God created
- Everything was created for the sake of Man and his task of perfecting the world
(including all the creative forces, all the laws that govern the world and everything that exists within it)
THEREFORE - Only by a clear understanding of Man can one grasp the inner meaning of everything created in the world
תחית המתים Resurrection of the Dead as an Introduction (not proving it)
Assumptions:
1. God created Man as a combination of body and soul גוף ונשמה to work together to keep the Torah and Mitzvos
2. THEREFORE, it is fitting that each receive its eternal reward
Introduction – The Body & Soul combination in 3 distinct phases פרטי החבור
1. בהתחברם – their initial joining during life in this world
2. בהפרדם – their separation from time of death
3. בחבור גמור – reconnected completely at time of Resurrection of the dead.
He could have created them as one single entity יצירה, why didn’t He?
ANSWER:
1. Man earns his greatest reward by correcting his deficiencies and perfecting himself., therefore he must be created with imperfections and the ability to perfect them.
THEREFORE
2. God created the human body “coarse חמר עב” and “dark חשוך” (see Section 78), which is the cause of all base desires making it prone to all negative things that happen to it (ie illness, suffering and death).
3. God also made the awesome pure soul הנשמה הטהורה. He brought it down, diminished it and “breathed” it into the body,
INORDER TO to elevate the body by purifying it and making it holy לטהרו ולקדשו.
(Note: the ultimate purpose of the soul entering the body is NOT to live this life).
Note: In his lifetime, Moshe purified his physicality and darkness to the exalted level of the ministering angels, as the entire Jewish people aw the skin of his face radiated with brilliant light (see Shemos 34:29-35)
Answer:
1. The increased elevation and revelation of God’s glory is achieved whenever His creations are perfected.
(Generally this is achieved when things are used properly)
2. As a result, reward is granted measure for measure..
חטא אדם הרשאון Adam’s sin caused death to come upon all living creatures (even the few completely righteous).
The Soul is incapable of purifying the body in this lifetime.
Once the body returns to the earth and decomposes, the “contamination” זהמא injected into Chava by the snake completely disappears (is removed).
When the body is rebuilt at the time of Resurrection, the soul will reenter the body with the full power (it earned during the initial unification) and the illumination that the soul enjoyed in Gan Eden as its reward. – illuminating the body with this brilliant light, purifying it completely and curing it of all the initial negativity.
- Man’s task in this world עולם הזה is to perfect himself and the world.
- In this world, man’s body is coarse, dark and full of deficiencies.
- The soul’s task is to fill the body with light and holiness to make it pure and radiant.
- This cannot fully be achieve until the body decomposes and the זהמא putrification injected by the Snake is removed.
- Only after the soul is reunited with the body can the full illumination/purification/perfection be achieved.
- And then, after this, together they receive their eternal and perfect reward.
THE LEVEL OF POWER THE SOUL HAS TO EXIST WITHIN OUR BODIES
- The Soul is intrinsically exalted, its essence and its source are extremely exalted; the Body is coarse and lowly.
- God reduces the souls illumination and limits its power, leaving only the amount appropriate for the body in this world.
- It remains confined and imprisoned for this period of time, in order for it to be challenged and tested. – allowing it to earn it own spiritual elevation rising higher and higher.
- The statutes and laws חק ומשפט of the Torah to be fulfilled and observed לעבדה ולשמרה -are the means through which the soul can elevate the body and not be seduced by the negative pull of physicality.
- When the soul reenters the body at תחית המתים the Resurrection, it must radiate with maximum ability to purify the body completely.
- Had the soul been permitted to illuminate the body to its full extent during the first stage, the body’s deficiencies would have been perfected in an instance
- The יצר הרע Natural Inclination – the most essential of all deficiencies, created for purpose of “free choice”/בחירה” and “reward and punishment”/שכר ועונש – would not have any power over Man.
- The Soul benefits through the process of of perfecting the body at the time of the Resurrection, causing it to ascend higher and higher levels (p161, also see p 207 about 8 lines down). Even while confined in the body, it benfits by being elevated in accordance with its deeds.
Since Man is the ultimate purpose of everything God created, it is essential to understand Man’s nature in terms of:
- His composition מציאות, physical and spiritual (complex combination of highly elevated soul and lowly body)
- His actions מעשיו, since his deeds can elevate the world or fill it with darkness.
- The fruit of his actions פרי מעשיו, meaning the merit he acquires in this world enables him to bask in the radiance of God’s presence in the World to Come.
