Unfortunately, the class isn’t yet posted on torah.org<\/p>\n
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1:3:12<\/p>\n
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The soul enjoys a couple of other advantages in the Soul World which will ultimately benefit it and the body when they\u2019re rejoined [1].<\/p>\n
Since it was decreed that one could only achieve perfection after having experienced death, it follows then that even if someone actually earned it while he was alive (which is in fact the only environment in which one could<\/em> earn it [2]), he\u2019ll have to wait for it.<\/p>\n What that implies is that the soul has to be exposed to sin and wrongfulness to one degree or another while the individual is in this world [3], and to become darkened and dimmed [4] as a result of that exposure. It also implies that the soul can\u2019t express its full inherent luster while the individual is still alive [5], having been tinged that way.<\/p>\n Consequently, the body which could have benefitted and been purified from the soul\u2019s luster can\u2019t experience that in this world. And the soul suffers from the fact that it can\u2019t manifest its luster in life too, since it can\u2019t fulfill its raison d\u2019\u00eatre then, which is to purify the body, given that \u201cthings only achieve perfection when they fulfill their G-d-given purpose\u201d [6]. It\u2019s clear then that both the soul and the body lose a lot in life.<\/p>\n Ramchal\u2019s point, then, is that the soul attains some<\/em> of what it lacked for in life while in The Soul World. It can radiate fully there, and its ability to purify the body is bolstered there, too [7].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Notes:<\/p>\n [1]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the text Ramchal makes two points about the soul at this point: that it \u201crests\u201d in The Soul World — i.e., it remains in a state of suspended animation there; and that it also \u201clooks for the body\u201d there. That is, despite the spiritual advantages it will enjoy in The Soul World described below, at bottom the soul sits motionless awaiting its reunion with the body and wishes it could be with it in The Soul World, too. That comes to underscore the partnership and the love of body and soul rather than the sort of antagonism between them that others would posit.<\/p>\n [2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis world is like a vestibule before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the vestibule, so as to enter into the banquet hall\u201d (Pirkei<\/em> Avot<\/em> 4:16); “‘You are to do (the mitzvahs<\/em>) today, and not postpone them for tomorrow; since (while you can) do them today (in life), tomorrow (i.e., The World to Come, is set aside) for receiving the reward for (having done) them” (Eruvin<\/em> 22a). Also see 1:3:3.<\/p>\n [3] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Which is so abhorrent and foreign to the soul.<\/p>\n [4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I.e., demoted and demeaned.<\/p>\n [5]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I.e., it cannot be itself.<\/p>\n [6]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Along the same lines, Rambam contends that something is termed \u201cgood\u201d only when it fulfills its life purpose (Moreh Nevuchim <\/em>3:13).<\/p>\n [7]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And it can thus \u201cbe more of itself\u201d there. That is, like a bird that had been kept cooped up then set free, the soul\u2019s release from the body enables it to fly, preen, and breathe freely. But the soul will not achieve its full capacity until The World to Come.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (c) 2014 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unfortunately, the class isn’t yet posted on torah.org 1:3:12 The soul enjoys a couple of other advantages in the Soul World which will ultimately benefit it and the body when they\u2019re rejoined [1]. Since it was decreed that … Continue reading