창세기 2:7의 Musar

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 sages also describe G–d as having gathered a little dust from every part of the globe so that wherever man would die, the local earth would not reject his remains since he contained part of it (Rashi Genesis 2,7). Both statements are accurate and point us in the same direction. It is well known that Adam incorporated within him all subsequent generations of mankind, for their very existence was through him. Our sages described all subsequent mankind as being related to Adam either through his head, his eyes, his hair, etc. [In present-day parlance this means that all of our genes were at one time part of the genes of Adam.] Even in death man is not totally severed from his connection with original man: the earth Adam was made of was holy soil, from the site of the earth of the altar mentioned. That piece of earth in turn contained earth from all parts of the globe, seeing that this site is the site from which the whole earth receives its sustenance. Had Adam not sinned he would have lived forever. Since he sinned, however, and was expelled from the garden of Eden because G–d did not want him to eat from the tree of life and live forever, he was bound to die sometime.

There is yet another obvious reason for the demeaning nature of this bitter sin: It is known that man's great superiority over all living creatures is G-d's having superadded to him a "speaking soul," as it is written (Bereishith 2:7): "And He blew into his nostrils a soul of life and man became a living soul," which Onkelos translates "a speaking soul." And this [(superiority)] is so only if he enhances [the world] with the faculty of speech which the Holy One Blessed be He gave him. Not so, if he employs his speech for evil, in which instance he is worse than the beasts of the earth, which, in any event, cause no harm [by their muteness]. And that is why Scripture emphasizes: "Who is the man who wants life, etc." For otherwise, [i.e., without speech], he is not a man. And this defect [i.e., abuse of speech] is most glaring if he is a Torah scholar, in which instance he is like a great palace with a tannery gutter built into it (as we find in Derech Eretz 1).

In פרשת מטות the Torah deals with laws designed to perfect our souls, our spiritual development. The laws dealing with vows contain the warning to honor all our utterances, ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה "he must carry out all that crosses his lips" (Numbers 30,4). This is addressed to the soul, because the power of speech derives from the attribute of wisdom which itself is an outgrowth of the soul. Speech is only an externalized version of one's thoughts, something that elevates man above all other living creatures. Man is called a מדבר, "a talking creature." This is why he must not "profane" his word, "לא יחל דברו." We also find that Onkelos renders Genesis 2,7: ויהי האדם לנפש חיה as "man became a talking spirit." You are already aware that man has been designed along the superior lines of a higher world, that each one of his limbs is a branch of a "tree" in the Celestial Regions, and that the mouth he has been equipped with is meant only to enable him to proclaim the greatness of the Lord and to tell His praises. It is a vessel to be used only for the service of the Lord. This is what David meant when he said in Psalms 145,21: "My mouth shall utter the praise of the Lord."

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.

Originally, man's body and soul were so close to one another that they could almost be considered one. This relationship paralleled the relationship between אדם העליון and G–d Himself in the Celestial Regions. Man was therefore considered a קרבן, and placed in גן עדן, the most refined place in the physical universe. He was meant to live indefinitely. When the Torah describes man as becoming נפש חיה, in Genesis 2,7, the meaning is that his soul comprised all other souls in the universe, as our sages have described this.

Man is the ultimate purpose of the universe. This is something that all our commentators have been at pains to prove. It is the reason we say in our prayers on Rosh Hashanah זה היום תחלת מעשיך, "This day (the date on which Adam was created) is the beginning of Your works." The author of Kley Chemdah says that this is the meaning of Psalms 66,3: אמרו לאלקים מה נורא מעשיך, "Say to G–d how awesome are Your deeds." Significantly, the Psalmist does not speak about מה נוראים G–d's works in the plural, but sums them all up as a single deed נורא although the word מעשיך "Your deeds" is in the plural. What the Psalmist means is that all of G–d's deeds had but one aim, אדם, Man. This is why Man is a combination of terrestrial and celestial elements. Rashi explains this in his commentary on Genesis 2,7. This established a permanent linkage between terrestrial and Celestial creatures. It helped remove jealousy between the creatures of the "upper" world and the creatures of the "lower" world (Rashi ibid.). There remains a complaint [by the Celestial Forces] inasmuch as only man is at home on earth. This subject bears further investigation.

The purpose of creation, is, as far as man is concerned, for the sake of the Torah, i.e. he is to perform the positive and negative commandments contained in Torah. He has to avoid transgressing negative commandments. His task vis-a-vis Torah can be summarised as לעבדה ולשמרה, just as Adam's task in Eden had been the same thing. All this is hinted at in Genesis 1,26, when G–d said: "נעשה אדם, instead of אעשה אדם." The word נעשה, alludes to the נעשה ונשמע the Jewish people proclaimed at Sinai prior to receiving the Torah. That moment in time was their finest hour, as we explained when discussing the appropriate verse. Once Adam had sinned, "Man's" rehabilitation did not commence until the giving of the Torah and the building of the Tabernacle. This is because the Tabernacle was built in a way that made it a universe in miniature, i.e. a microcosm. It reflected the universe, since it too had been created for the sake of Man. Adam had distanced himself and his place was now taken by Aaron, who had been brought close. G–d instructed Moses in Exodus 28,1: "ואתה הקרב אליך את אהרון." I have elaborated on this theme in Torat Kohanim i.e. the book of Leviticus. I also explained how the Tabernacle was the universe in miniature. Aaron is equivalent to "Adam" i.e. Man, for whose sake the universe had been created, so that he could receive the Torah. It is this which is hinted at at the beginning of the book of Numbers, אוהל מועד=ציור העולם. The Levites, who are close to Aaron, may be viewed as if they were branches of "Adam," and it is a fact that only Israel is described in the Torah as אדם.

כהן-לוים-ישראלים, in descending order, are similar to נשמה-רוח-נפש. The Torah describes "Adam" on three levels, Genesis 2,7, ויהי אדם לנפש חיה. In Genesis 6,3, we find רוח האדם. Finally, in Genesis 2,7, we find him also as נשמת האדם. Kabbalists have described this parallel relationship and have claimed that this is the source for our reciting one hundred benedictions daily. The Israelite, who represents the נפש level, gives ten percent of his harvest to the Levite, who represents the רוח level. The Levite in turn, gives ten percent of what he has received to the Priest, who represents the נשמה level. This means the Priest is entitled to the "number" one (one out of a hundred). The author of Shaarey Orah as well as the author of Tolaat Yaakov have elaborated on the significance of these various numbers in the alphabet. We find the whole Jewish people referred to as נפש (singular), when Jacob and his family moved to Egypt (Genesis 46,27).

The deeper meaning, סוד, of the relationship between צלם and דמות, image and form, is the relationship between soul and body. The attachment of the Essence of G–d, the אין סוף, -to אצילות, the emanation closest to the אין סוף, -is similar to the attachment of our soul to our body. This is a comparison of a general nature, something we described as דרך כלל. The more detailed explanation of this, which I have given in my treatise תולדות אדם, describes the soul נשמה, as something Divine, originating in the upper regions of the Heavens. I have discussed also the sources of our other spiritual forces such as נפש and רוח in that treatise. Generally, we find those three spiritual forces as being mentioned in the Bible, though on rare occasions the Bible also uses two more names for our spiritual forces, חיה and יחידה. In my treatise תולדות אדם I have also discussed the meaning of such verses as ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, "Man became a living creature" (Genesis 2,7), as well as the verse היא היתה לאם כל חי, "She has become the mother of all living human beings" (Genesis 3,20), and הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו, "Here man has become like one of Us" (Genesis 3,22). The last verse alludes to the deeper meaning of the spiritual force called יחידה. In that connection we have also discussed the significance of דמות, the body. We have explained there that G–d created man with seven facets, the head to correspond to the upper three of the emanations כתר, חכמה, בינה, the two arms corresponding to the emanations, חסד, גבורה. The torso corresponds to the emanation תפארת, the "covenant" with the sexual organ draws the torso towards the emanation יסוד, whereas the two thighs corresponds to the emanations נצח, הוד. Man cleaves to his wife (Genesis 2,24) by means of the "covenant" with his sexual organ. The latter function of the body corresponds to the emanation מלכות. In the treatise בית ישראל, which follows the treatise תולדות אדם, I have dealt with the mystique contained in the various names for other parts of the body.

If we want to explain the verse according to its simple meaning, we can accept the commentary of the Ran: Since Moses was the "father" of all subsequent prophets and his accomplishments as a prophet were far above the laws of nature, as vividly described in Deut. 34,11 how can we understand that he was afflicted with a physical blemish such as a stutter? He could not even control ordinary nature! How could a person underprivileged by nature rise to become a master of nature?! There is hardly a greater blemish than if someone cannot express his thoughts due to a physical handicap! Man's entire advantage over the animal kingdom is the ability not only to formulate thoughts but to express them! Moreover, we know from a number of sources in the Talmud such as Nedarim 38, and Maimonides, that G–d does not grant the gift of prophecy to people who do not possess physical prowess, wealth, wisdom as well as the virtue of humility and that Moses possessed all of these attributes. How then could Moses be plagued by such a deformity? In Sotah 12, where the verse in Exodus 2,6 in which Pharaoh's daughter finds a crying lad, i.e. Moses, is discussed, we find the description of Moses both as a ילד, young child, and as a נער, a description normally reserved for a boy entering his teens, not for a three months old baby. Rabbi Yehudah explains this to mean that Moses had a voice as strong as that of a נער, though he himself was a ילד. Rabbi Nechemyah questions this by saying that this would be considered as a physical deformity, and that is obviously not satisfactory! What he means is that if a minor blemish is inconceivable in Moses, how could a major blemish such as his difficulty to express himself be acceptable! When the Torah describes the creation of man in Genesis 2,7, we are told ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, which Onkelos translates as man becoming a talking spirit.

The soul is created from the place of the Holy Spirit, as it is said, "And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7). And it is hewn out from a place of purity, and it is created from the supernal radiance, from the Throne of Glory. And in the realm above, in the place of the Holy of Holies, there is no falsehood. There everything is truth, as it is said, "But the Lord God is the true God" (Jer. 10:10). I have found written, "I am that I am" ^** Hebrew: Eheyeh asher Eheyeh. (Ex. 3:14). And it is also written, "And the Lord God is the true ^**** Hebrew: emet. God, He is the living God and everlasting king" (Jer. 10:10).

The next item that Rabbi Bachyah listed in his comparison between the acts of creation when the universe came into being and the construction of the Tabernacle was the creation of the luminaries during the six days of creation and the construction of the candlestick in the Tabernacle. The hidden parts of the soul are alluded to here. A person observing the Sabbath properly prepares himself spiritually before joining his wife in order to fulfil the commandment of "be fruitful and multiply." His soul is elevated and influenced by the symbolism represented by the cherubs on the Holy Ark. I have explained elsewhere why the cherubs appeared like man and wife joining, and how the mystical element of the union between husband and wife is related to the זכור aspect of the Sabbath legislation, the performance of the positive commandment of Sabbath observance. When speaking about the negative commandments of the Sabbath, the שמור aspect, we also find two, respectively four categories. The visible aspect of the performance or non-performance of such negative commandments by the soul is the דבור, the articulation of the thought. Certain kinds of speech are forbidden on the Sabbath. One is not supposed to discuss mundane matters relating to one's business, etc. Rabbenu Bachyah alluded to this when he referried to the creation of man. i.e. a talking spirit. When speech is employed constructively it is called דבור and makes a positive impact in the Celestial Regions. When speech is not employed constructively it is called הבל פה, "vain mouthings," reminding us of הבל הבלים of Solomon in Kohelet. The Midrash mentioned the appointment of Aaron as High Priest during the construction of the Tabernacle as the activity which corresponded to the creation of man during the six days of creation. Aaron knew when to speak, (Exodus 4,14,) and he knew when to keep silent (Leviticus 10,3).

Murder committed deliberately, however, מעט מזבחי תקחנו למות, "you will execute him promptly, says G–d (21,14). Even Adam had been created from ה-אדמה, i.e. the altar (מזבח אדמה תעשה לי). Rashi explains on Genesis 2,7, that the dust referred to here is the site of the eventual altar in the Holy Temple, so that the eventual function of the altar, namely to atone for man's sins, should also be able to atone for Adam's error. Since nowadays the evil urge does not manifest itself in the guise of the serpent, murderers do not enjoy a stay of execution.

Briefly, the matter is as follows: The last mentioned three parts of the soul stem from the three emanations below בינה, the origin of "two-faced" man being rooted in the emanations תפארת and מלגות respectively, i.e. the conditions applicable to the material world. חיה and יחידה, however, originate in the "senior" emanations חכמה and בינה, which contain the key to עולם הבא. There are only a select few who attain such a high level of spirituality that they may glimpse their עולם הבא already in this life. Those who do also possess the two parts of the soul we have called חיה and יחידה. The souls of Adam and Eve belong to this latter category, and I have explained the verses 2,7) ,ויהי האדם לנפש חיה) and (3,20) וחוה היתה אם כל חי, in my aforementioned treatise.

Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, author of the Akeidat Yitzchak deals with this problem in chapter 57 of his book, after taking the Kuzari to task for presenting us with a parable in which the משל is not at all like the נמשל. The human body needs physical food for survival, something which is not true of the Jewish people i.e. an abstract concept. Rabbi Arama concludes that, of course, the שכינה does not "need" the sacrifices. He believes that it is the motivation that prompts one to eat food which determines if such food can be converted into "soul-food." If we eat in order to be able to serve G–d better as the result of the food we consume, the spiritual level of the individual Jew, (or even the Jewish nation in the case of communal sacrifices), is enhanced. As a result our affinity with the שכינה is strengthened. He refers to chapter six in his book in which he explains that the highest level our soul achieves is not the level at which it was when we were born, but rather that the level of "soul," intangible spiritual force- we possess is either נפש, רוח or נשמה, depending on how much effort we put into developing our personality. The Torah has said concerning this in Genesis 2,7: ויהי האדם לנפש חיה, "Man started out with only the נפש part of his soul as long as he had not developed his personality."

The kind of food needed to sustain a soul of a level over and above the minimum level נפש, is different from the kind of food needed to sustain a body. When Moses spent three times forty days on Mount Sinai without physical food or drink, he certainly sustained his נשמה by spiritual nourishment instead.

We have explained this portion from the vantage point of sanctifying one's body and one's financial dealings. But the choicest part of sanctifying one's body is sanctifying the mouth. For this is what distinguishes a person from other living creatures, such that he is called a speaking being: It is written (Genesis 2:7), "and man became a living being" - and Onkelos (the classic Aramaic translation of the Torah) renders this as, "man (Adam) became a talking spirit." From this stems the duty of a person to fulfill everything that comes out of his mouth, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 23:24) "You must keep what has come out of your lips." And even though this is mentioned in connection with vows, that is as an additional warning [not to default on vows]. Regardless, it is also stated about everything. For our external speech flows from our inner speech, and that is the speech that God and the angels use. And it is this speech that God uses when speaking with us, as it is stated [in many places], "And God spoke, etc." - and [there,] it is written, "saying," to be a warning to us that our inner speech come from our souls which is a portion of God above. Hence, all of a person's toil should be towards his mouth. Woe to him and to his soul of the one who defiles himself with foul language or lies or that which is similar to them. Rather, care must be taken in avoiding evil and guarding the mouth even in mundane conversation. Truly one should only open one's mouth in praise and thanksgiving to God, with the voice of Torah [study] and of prayer. And then, 'the voice will be the voice of Jacob,' and the external speech will flow from the inner [speech]. But the generation of the flood, as well as the generation of the [Tower of Babel], did not stand by their inner speech. Hence anyone who does not stand by his word must accept upon himself [the curse of (Bava Metzia 44a),] "He Who exacted payment from the people of the generation of the flood, and from the generation of [the Tower of Babel], will exact payment [from whoever does not stand by his statement]."

When discussing such repairs, תקונים, we must appreciate that the first step in such repairs is the element of סור מרע, "abandon evil," followed by the element of עשה טוב, "do good." The סור מרע element consists of the removal of the pollutants residual within us through the serpent's influence. This infection is one which spread further and further throughout all generations. Because of this, all the people born nowadays originate in what Rabbi Akavyah has called the טפה סרוחה, the smelly drop of semen. When the residue of that smelly drop is removed, Torah can be received in its entirety. Torah represents the element עשה טוב, do good. Torah is the very reverse of pollution. This is the reason the Talmud Sukkah 52b advises that "if the מנוול, i.e. the evil urge, attacks you, drag him to the house of Torah study." After you have done this, G–d's Torah can also be called תורת האדם, the Torah of man. The name אדם for man, the species, stems from the word אדמה in the sense of something very superior; [such as Genesis 2, 7, where man is described as having been formed out of אדמה, which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai understood as the emanation בינה. Ed.] Man was entitled to that appellation as long as he had not sinned. Man will again be entitled to that name when the Messiah has come and the repair to the world caused by Adam's sin has been completed. The entire process of repair occurs in stages. The four people that have been called by the name אדם, are Adam, David, the Messiah and the people of Israel. [we have mentioned that Israel is a collective term for a single composite concept comprised of many units. Ed.]

When Rav spoke about the righteous "sitting," he referred to their mode of life in this world Even in this world their physical enjoyments, i.e. נהנין, came from the brilliance of G–d's Presence; they made use of the comforts of this world only in order to better appreciate the brilliance of G–d's Presence. Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi's testimony meant that he had used all the comforts of this world only in order to further his Torah study and his spiritual advancement. When the Torah (Exodus 24,11) speaks about the אצילי בני ישראל, the spiritually most highly placed Israelites eating and drinking and enjoying a vision of G–d, this is an allusion to the motivation which should be present when we eat and drink while in this world. A similar allusion is found in Psalms 40,9: ותורתך בתוך מעי, "Your Torah is within my entrails." The correct way to live in this world is spelled out in Proverbs 21,23: שומר פיו ולשונו שומר מצרות נפשו, "He who guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles." Onkelos already explained (Genesis 2,7) that what makes a person into a human being is the power of speech. It follows that we have to sanctify ourselves through the manner in which we use this power of speech.