Musar su Ecclesiaste 12:7

Behold it has been explained from the two verses that we mentioned - [as well as] from the words of the Sages, may their memory be blessed - that the soul of the evildoers goes down to the pit. And it has also been stated (Proverbs 15:24), "For an intelligent man the path of life leads upward, in order to avoid the pit below." And it has also been stated (Ecclesiastes 3:21), "Who knows if the spirit of men does rise upward and if a beast’s spirit does sink down into the earth?" The explanation [of this] is who can recognize the righteous ones and the evildoers in this world? For there are are evildoers whose actions are in the dark, and people will not know it about them; and there are righteous ones that fear the Heavens in private, like the matter that is stated (Micah 6:8), "and walk humbly." And he called the soul of an evildoer, the soul of a beast, because it follows its physical desire like a beast. And [this is] like the matter that is stated (Jonah 4:11), "who do not yet know their right hand from their left, and many beasts as well!" But he called the righteous ones, "the spirit of men" - like the matter that is stated (Ezekiel 34:31), "you are men." And the explanation of the wording of the verse is like this: Who knows the spirit of men - which are the righteous ones - which goes above; for there are many righteous people that a person cannot determine in this world that they are truly righteous, and that their souls will arise above, like the matter that is stated (I Samuel 16:7), "man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart." And also since there are many righteous ones whose fear of the Heavens is secret, and their righteousness is not known, and like the matter that is stated, (Micah 6:8), "and walk humbly with your God." "And the beast's spirit, etc." is that there also many evildoers that a man would not recognize from their actions, like the matter that is stated (Isaiah 29:15), "who do their work in dark places and say, 'Who sees us, who takes note of us?'" And they, may their memory be blessed, likewise explained in Midrash Kohelet (Kohelet Rabbah 3:21) that the "spirit of men" is the righteous ones, "and the beast's spirit" is the evildoers. But a person cannot say that he is in doubt whether the soul of a man rise up; for behold it is written (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "and the spirit returns to God who bestowed it." And also how can he doubt whether the spirit of a beast descends below? Is the spirit of a beast not from the earth? So how could it rise? And it is explained in the Torah that the soul of man is supernal. As it is written about the spirit of an animal that it is from the ground, as it is stated (Genesis 1:24), "Let the earth bring forth living spirits according to their specie." But about the spirit of man, it is written (Genesis 2:7), "and He blew into his nostrils a living soul." Therefore the soul of man rises above with the death of the body; since all things return to their source, like the matter that is stated (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "And the dust returns to the ground as it was, and the spirit returns to God who bestowed it." And it is stated about the soul of the righteous one (Zechariah 3:7), "and I will permit you to move about among these ones standing." Its explanation is among the angels that are standing and enduring - as it is stated (Psalms 148:6), "And He made them stand forever." And it is [also] stated (Daniel 7:16), "approached one of the standing." And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 152b), "The souls of the righteous are hidden under the Throne of Glory, as it is stated (I Samuel 25:29), "the life of my lord will be bound up in the bundle of life." And all men of heart will consider this world like a temporary dwelling; so they will only use it for the service of the Creator, may He be blessed, and prepare provisions for their souls. For if a man lives many years - even if he lived twice a thousand years - since there is a number to his years, the number will end, and his end will be as if they had not been. But the world of repayment has no end, like the matter that is stated (Job 16:22), "For a few more years will pass, and I shall go the way of no return." Even more so, since the days of man are like a passing shadow, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 90:10), "The span of our life is seventy years, etc." And it is [also] stated (Psalms 144:4), "his days are like a passing shadow." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Kohelet Rabbah 1:3), "Not like the shadow of a tree or the shadow of a wall, but rather like the shadow of a flying and passing bird." It means to say a person is obligated to compare in his heart, this world to the shadow of a bird that if flying and passes over in a small instant - especially since a man does not know whether he is here today but in the grave tomorrow. And it would come out in his efforts today for tomorrow, that he has taken pains for a world that is not his. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 100b), "Grieve not about tomorrow’s trouble, because you know not what a day may bring."

The fifteenth—Scripture says (Genesis 2:7), “Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth.” Now here it speaks of the creation of the body out of the dust, but it does not speak of the creation of the soul of this created being. But it does say (ibid.) “And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” And we can understand from these words, “and He breathed,” that He took it from His own self and did not create it, but that He caused a portion of his glory to emanate and gave it to man, just as He caused an emanation to come from the spirit which was upon Moses, our teacher, peace unto him, and gave it to the seventy elders. Thus we know, that the soul is from Heaven, and the body is from earth. It is to Heaven that the soul will ascend if it is pure. Thus said King Solomon, peace unto him, (Ecclesiastes 12:7), “And the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.” And the word “returneth” indicates that it will return to the place whence it had come and where it was prior to this, just as the dust returns to the source whence it came.

Now even an animal has life and spirit, for an animal has desires and gets angry just as man does. But man has a superior soul that speaks and that can distinguish between truth and falsity. And when the body dies then the life of lust and the life of the spirit die and there is left the form of the superior soul which is wisdom and which does not die when the body dies. As it is said, "And the spirit shall return to God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7). This means the spirit of wisdom. And when a man sins then the essence of his life and the essence of his spirit die, as it is written, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). And Moses, our teacher, the man of God, said, "That soul will I destroy from among his people" (Lev. 23:30). From this you can understand that we call by the word nefesh or "life" that which dies. After the death of the wicked man, the wise soul is hurled as though from a sling far away from salvation because it listened to the spirit and the life. But the righteous person in whom the soul was uppermost and was stronger than spirit or life — that soul is found beneath the Throne of Glory. But the fool who hearkened to the spirit and to the life, his soul will be utterly cut off. And the wise man who listened to the supernal soul that was breathed into him from the Throne of Glory — his soul will merit the great good which is treasured up.