Bringing the divine soul down into the physical world to invest itself within a human body derives from the internal aspect, the source, of speech. This is the “breath” of the Supreme One, indicated in the latter hey mentioned above. “He breathed into his nostrils a soul of life and man became a living soul,”1Genesis 2:7. and “He who blows….”2“…blows from within.” See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 2 (above).
Let us return to a verse cited earlier. “For part of G–d is His people; Jacob is the cord of His inheritance.”3Deuteronomy 32:10. Jacob is compared to a rope, the upper end bound above and the lower end below.
The simple meaning of the verse “He breathed” is to show us that just as, for example, if one blows in some direction and there is any separation or obstruction there, then the exhaled breath will not reach that place at all—so precisely, if anything separates and obstructs between man’s body and the “breath” of the Supreme One.
The truth is though that nothing material or spiritual is a barrier before Him, for “Do I not fill heaven and earth!”4Jeremiah 23:24. “All the world is full of His glory.”5Isaiah 6:3. “There is no place devoid of Him.”6Tikkunei Zohar 51. “In the heavens above and on the earth below there is none else.”7Deuteronomy 4:39. Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 6 (above) explains this rendition, rather than “there is no other.” “He fills all worlds….”8Zohar III:255a.
But Isaiah declares, “Only your sins separate you from your G–d.”9Isaiah 59:2. The reason is that sins oppose the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, Who gives life to all,10Nehemiah 9:6. as in the verse, “Whatever G–d wills, He did in heaven and earth.”11Psalms 135:6. (It has been noted above12Chapter 4. that the Will is the source of the benevolence issuing from the Name of Havaya and is represented in the “thorn” atop the letter yud.)
This is the significance of excision, the consequence of certain grave sins. The “cord,”13I.e., the soul—or as the verse has it—Jacob. drawn from the final hey in the Name of Havaya, blessed be He, is severed and cut off. In the [Torah] portion of Emor it is written, “That soul shall be cut off from before Me, I am the L–rd.”14Leviticus 22:3. The soul is cut off from before Me.
Other sins that do not incur excision do cause at least a defect in the soul, a “defect” being similar to the “defect” or nick that invalidates a blade for ritual slaughter.
Returning to the analogy of the cord—a thick rope woven of 613 thin strands parallels the Scriptural “cord,” the downward flow from G–d mentioned above, comprising 613 mitzvot. When man violates one of them, G–d forbid, a thin strand is severed….
But even if one has incurred excision or death, there yet remains an impression within him of his divine soul, and through this he may live until fifty or sixty years and no more. (The statement attributed to the Arizal,15See above, ch. 2, note 9. that a transcendent level of life-force enters him…is irrelevant to the life of the physical body16Likkutei Torah, Devarim 62c; 83b. and applies until fifty years, or to the contemporary period, as will be noted.)
וְהִנֵּה, הַמְשָׁכַת וִירִידַת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֱלֹקִית לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ בְּגוּף הָאָדָם, נִמְשְׁכָה מִבְּחִינַת פְּנִימִיּוּת וּמְקוֹר הַדִּיבּוּר, הוּא הֶבֶל הָעֶלְיוֹן, הַמְרוּמָּז בְּאוֹת הֵ״א תַּתָּאָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים, וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה״, וּ״מַאן דְּנָפַח וְכוּ׳״.
Bringing the divine soul down into the physical world to invest itself within a human body derives from the internal aspect, the source, of speech. This is the “breath” of the Supreme One, indicated in the latter hey mentioned above. “He breathed into his nostrils a soul of life and man became a living soul,”1Genesis 2:7. and “He who blows….”2“…blows from within.” See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 2 (above).
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״כִּי חֵלֶק ה׳ עַמּוֹ, יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ״, פֵּירוּשׁ, כְּמוֹ חֶבֶל, עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, שֶׁרֹאשׁוֹ אֶחָד קָשׁוּר לְמַעְלָה וְקָצֵהוּ לְמַטָּה.
Let us return to a verse cited earlier. “For part of G–d is His people; Jacob is the cord of His inheritance.”3Deuteronomy 32:10. Jacob is compared to a rope, the upper end bound above and the lower end below.
כִּי הִנֵּה, פְּשַׁט הַכָּתוּב מַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב ״וַיִּפַּח״, הוּא לְהוֹרוֹת לָנוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁעַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל כְּשֶׁהָאָדָם נוֹפֵחַ לְאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם, אִם יֵשׁ אֵיזֶה דָבָר חוֹצֵץ וּמַפְסִיק בֵּינְתַיִים אֵין הֶבֶל הַנּוֹפֵחַ עוֹלֶה וּמַגִּיעַ כְּלָל לְאוֹתוֹ מָקוֹם, כָּכָה מַמָּשׁ, אִם יֵשׁ דָּבָר חוֹצֵץ וּמַפְסִיק בֵּין גּוּף הָאָדָם לִבְחִינַת הֶבֶל הָעֶלְיוֹן.
The simple meaning of the verse “He breathed” is to show us that just as, for example, if one blows in some direction and there is any separation or obstruction there, then the exhaled breath will not reach that place at all—so precisely, if anything separates and obstructs between man’s body and the “breath” of the Supreme One.
אַךְ בֶּאֱמֶת, אֵין שׁוּם דָּבָר גַּשְׁמִי וְרוּחָנִי חוֹצֵץ לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרֵךְ, כִּי ״הֲלֹא אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא״, וּ״מְלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ״, וְ״לֵית אֲתַר פָּנוּי מִינֵּיהּ״, ״בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת אֵין עוֹד״, וְ״אִיהוּ מְמַלֵּא כָּל עָלְמִין וְכוּ׳״.
The truth is though that nothing material or spiritual is a barrier before Him, for “Do I not fill heaven and earth!”4Jeremiah 23:24. “All the world is full of His glory.”5Isaiah 6:3. “There is no place devoid of Him.”6Tikkunei Zohar 51. “In the heavens above and on the earth below there is none else.”7Deuteronomy 4:39. Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 6 (above) explains this rendition, rather than “there is no other.” “He fills all worlds….”8Zohar III:255a.
אֶלָּא כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בִּישַׁעְיָה: ״כִּי אִם עֲווֹנוֹתֵיכֶם הָיוּ מַבְדִּילִים בֵּינֵיכֶם לְבֵין אֱלֹקֵיכֶם״. וְהַטַּעַם, לְפִי שֶׁהֵם נֶגֶד רָצוֹן הָעֶלְיוֹן בָּרוּךְ־הוּא הַמְחַיֶּה אֶת הַכֹּל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״כֹּל אֲשֶׁר חָפֵץ ה׳ עָשָׂה בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ״ (וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר לְעֵיל, שֶׁהוּא מְקוֹר הַשְׁפָּעַת שֵׁם הַוָיָ׳, וְנִרְמָז בְּקוֹצוֹ שֶׁל יוּ״ד).
But Isaiah declares, “Only your sins separate you from your G–d.”9Isaiah 59:2. The reason is that sins oppose the will of the Supreme One, blessed is He, Who gives life to all,10Nehemiah 9:6. as in the verse, “Whatever G–d wills, He did in heaven and earth.”11Psalms 135:6. (It has been noted above12Chapter 4. that the Will is the source of the benevolence issuing from the Name of Havaya and is represented in the “thorn” atop the letter yud.)
וְזֶהוּ עִנְיַן הַכָּרֵת, שֶׁנִּכְרָת וְנִפְסָק חֶבֶל הַהַמְשָׁכָה מִשֵּׁם הַוָיָ׳ בָּרוּךְ־הוּא, שֶׁנִּמְשְׁכָה מֵהֵ״א תַּתָּאָה כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּפָרָשַׁת אֱמוֹר: ״וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִיא מִלְּפָנַי, אֲנִי ה׳״ – ״מִלְּפָנַי״ דַּיְיקָא.
This is the significance of excision, the consequence of certain grave sins. The “cord,”13I.e., the soul—or as the verse has it—Jacob. drawn from the final hey in the Name of Havaya, blessed be He, is severed and cut off. In the [Torah] portion of Emor it is written, “That soul shall be cut off from before Me, I am the L–rd.”14Leviticus 22:3. The soul is cut off from before Me.
וּבִשְׁאָר עֲבֵירוֹת שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶן כָּרֵת – עַל כָּל פָּנִים הֵן פּוֹגְמִין הַנֶּפֶשׁ, כַּנּוֹדָע; וּפְגַם, הוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן פְּגִימַת הַסַּכִּין.
Other sins that do not incur excision do cause at least a defect in the soul, a “defect” being similar to the “defect” or nick that invalidates a blade for ritual slaughter.
וְהוּא עַל דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל, מֵחֶבֶל עָב שָׁזוּר מִתַּרְיַ״ג חֲבָלִים דַּקִּים, כָּכָה חֶבֶל הַהַמְשָׁכָה הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל – כָּלוּל מִתַּרְיַ״ג מִצְוֹת, וּכְשֶׁעוֹבֵר חַס וְשָׁלוֹם עַל אַחַת מֵהֵנָּה – נִפְסָק חֶבֶל הַדַּק וְכוּ׳.
Returning to the analogy of the cord—a thick rope woven of 613 thin strands parallels the Scriptural “cord,” the downward flow from G–d mentioned above, comprising 613 mitzvot. When man violates one of them, G–d forbid, a thin strand is severed….
אַךְ גַּם בְּחַיָּיב כָּרֵת וּמִיתָה נִשְׁאָר עֲדַיִין בּוֹ הָרְשִׁימוּ מִנַּפְשׁוֹ הָאֱלֹקִית, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יָכוֹל לִחְיוֹת עַד נ׳ אוֹ ס׳ שָׁנָה וְלֹא יוֹתֵר (וּמַה שֶּׁכָּתוּב בְּשֵׁם הָאֲרִיזַ״ל שֶׁנִּכְנְסָה בּוֹ בְּחִינַת הַמַּקִּיף וְכוּ׳ – אֵינוֹ עִנְיָן לְחַיֵּי גַּשְׁמִיּוּת הַגּוּף, וּמַיְירִי עַד נ׳ שָׁנָה, אוֹ בִּזְמַן הַזֶּה – כְּדִלְקַמָּן):
But even if one has incurred excision or death, there yet remains an impression within him of his divine soul, and through this he may live until fifty or sixty years and no more. (The statement attributed to the Arizal,15See above, ch. 2, note 9. that a transcendent level of life-force enters him…is irrelevant to the life of the physical body16Likkutei Torah, Devarim 62c; 83b. and applies until fifty years, or to the contemporary period, as will be noted.)