{"id":189,"date":"2020-01-19T21:44:27","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T21:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/?p=189"},"modified":"2020-01-19T21:44:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-19T21:44:27","slug":"nephesh-hachaim-112","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/2020\/01\/19\/nephesh-hachaim-112\/","title":{"rendered":"Nephesh Hachaim 1:12"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nephesh<\/em> Hachaim<\/em>\n1:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0R. Chaim already spoke 1<\/sup> of the fact that we could only link celestial worlds, rectify this one, and interconnect with those upper worlds after we\u2019d come to this world as souls encased in bodies 2 <\/sup>in order to rectify the physical world. And that we do that by three things: our actions, speech, and thoughts. He\u2019ll focus here on our actions 3<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our actions aren\u2019t only to be judged for their qualities, but also for the impact they have on the rectification of the world 4<\/sup>, for what they bring about, and for the effect they have on all the upper capacities and worlds 5<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Chaim\nillustrates this by citing a point he made earlier on 6<\/sup> that as soon as it\noccurs to someone to perform a mitzvah 7<\/sup> something of a \u201ctrace\u201d of\nthat mitzvah is implanted in his supernal source, which then goes about strengthening\nand implanting various worlds and capacities 8<\/sup>,which then\nprompt and draw down upon him an enveloping light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so we see the\neffects our actions have in the heavens if all of this comes about by our mere intention<\/em> to do a mitzvah, R. Chaim\nimplies! In any event, this process then enables that person to complete the\nmitzvah, which then helps the mitzvah\u2019s intrinsic holiness and light to return\nto his supernal source 9<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Chaim then offers\nhere that that same phenomenon affects the quality of our Afterlife 10<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once one passes away, his soul ascends upward to \u201cdelight and be replete in the supernal lights, capacities and holy realms\u201d there, as R. Chaim words it 11<\/sup>. And that will all have been augmented and bolstered by his good deeds. That shows again how impactful our actions are \u2013 both here and in the Afterlife!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, don\u2019t think that one\u2019s Afterlife situation was already set in place, and that one simply settles into the site he earned by his good deeds once he passes away, R. Chaim contends 12<\/sup>. In fact, each one of us actively constructs, bolsters, and goes about rectifying a World to Come situation right here and now in his lifetime 13<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That also explains the fact, R. Chaim offers, that it\u2019s our good deeds that are our heavenly reward, which is \u201cenlarged, augmented, and rectified\u201d by those deeds 14<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\u2019s experience\nof Gehennom<\/em>, on the other hand, R.\nChaim adds, is the obverse of that. The very sins that one commits in his\nlifetime are his Afterlife punishment 15<\/sup>. For as soon as one sins a blemish\nand a certain degree of destruction leaves a trace in his supernal source which\nemboldens and strengthens the un-G-dly capacities 16<\/sup>. And the spirit\nof impurity embraces 17 <\/sup>him in his lifetime, the moment he sins, and\nonly leaves him when he stops committing that sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so one is\nliterally within and surrounded by Gehennom<\/em>\nin his lifetime when he sins 18<\/sup> — even though he doesn\u2019t sense that\nand won\u2019t be aware of it until he passes away, when he will literally<\/em> be caught in the trap he set for\nhimself within the impure capacities that he created by his sins, and because he\nestablished and emboldened the impure forces in his supernal source 19<\/sup>.\nAt bottom then, it\u2019s we ourselves who intensify our own Gehennom<\/em> experience 20<\/sup> given that it\u2019s we who deepen,\nwiden, and expand it by our sins 21<\/sup>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact in the one\ninstance in which the Men of the Great Assembly were able to take hold of the yetzer<\/em> harah<\/em>, the flames of Gehennom<\/em>\nwere temporarily extinguished 22<\/sup>.while as soon as people started\nsinning again Gehennom\u2019s<\/em> flames were\nreignited, proving that Gehennom<\/em> only\nburns by dint of the fire that the yetzer<\/em>\nharah<\/em> sets off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus we see that it\u2019s\nour deeds themselves \u2013 good or bad \u2013 that are our compensation, as we\u2019d said\nabove 23<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so our sages\u2019\nwarning that we dare not assume that G-d disregards sins 24<\/sup> is\ncurious, given that a mere kind-hearted human being disregards things done\nagainst him from time to time, so why shouldn\u2019t G-d 25<\/sup>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the\nexplanation lies in the fact that G-d neither \u201cpunishes\u201d someone nor acts out\nof \u201crevenge\u201d against him even when that appears to be so 26<\/sup>. Rather,\nit\u2019s the sin itself that\u2019s functioning as its own punishment. For, G-d\nestablished a natural order of things from the inception that depends on the\neffect of man\u2019s deeds upon things. And our actions impact upon our celestial\nroots and sources. So we must then accept the \u201csentence\u201d that has been deemed necessary\nbecause of the particular impurities that we strengthened with our deeds, and which\nthe retribution we suffered in Gehennom<\/em>\nwill thus have rectified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same\nrectifications can also come about through repentance, though. For the act of\nrepentance ascends upward to its source in the supernal Realm of Repentance,\nwhich is forever illuminated and free 27<\/sup>, and from which beams down\nmore and more holiness and original lights that extinguish all impurity, and\nrestore the world to its original state as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, R. Chaim\nconcludes, there\u2019s simply no reason for us to think that G-d disregards bad deeds,\ngiven that all of our deeds \u201care written down in a book\u201d 28<\/sup> which impact\nupon the upper realms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Chaim is\nimplying, then, that if all of this is true when it comes to our physical\nactions 29<\/sup>, it\u2019s all the more so true of our speech and thoughts,\nwhich are even farther reaching 30<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1                  <\/sup>See 1:10:3\nabove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2                  <\/sup>Yet see Torah<\/em> Ohr<\/em> of R. Schneur Zalman (Parshat<\/em>\nBeshalach<\/em>) and Maggid<\/em> Divarav<\/em> l\u2019Yaakov<\/em> 197.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As R. Chaim\nindicates in the text, our souls are comprised of three elements, in ascending\norder: a Nephesh<\/em>, Ruach<\/em>, and a Neshama<\/em>. (The latter two will be discussed below in 1:14-15.) There\nare two higher elements (Chaya<\/em> and Yechida<\/em>) as well, but they won\u2019t be\ndiscussed at all, seemingly because they\u2019re beyond our ken and irrelevant to\nour worldly experience.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3                  <\/sup>1:13 will\ndiscuss speech and 1:14 will discuss thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4                  <\/sup>R. Chaim\ncites Psalms 33:15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5                  <\/sup>R. Chaim\ncites Ecclesiastes 12:14 and Job 34:11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6                  <\/sup>In his own footnote\nto 1:6 above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7                  <\/sup>Curiously, R. Chaim also\nmakes the point here that one\u2019s thoughts (and intentions) would need to be\n\u201cpure\u201d, which he doesn\u2019t make in 1:6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8                  <\/sup>R. Chaim cites\nIsaiah 51:16 and Berachot<\/em> 64a (see\n1:3 above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9                  <\/sup>In short, the very\nlight that was created by your having intended to do something good then\nenables you to accomplish it, and it eventually serves as your reward in the\nAfterlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10               <\/sup>Notice that the Afterlife\nwill only be discussed here. That\u2019s because an Afterlife depends on there being\na combination of body and soul which is the subject of this chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11               <\/sup>Understand that no\ntermss can capture the boundless experience depicted here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See our note 5 to\n1:4 above about the supernal lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12               <\/sup>R. Chaim bases\nthis understanding of the Afterlife experience on the statement in Sanhedrin<\/em> 98a. He argues here that one\nconstructs his own portion in his lifetime with each good deed he performs. (Yet,\nsee Yalkut<\/em> Shimoni<\/em>, Tehillim<\/em> 635).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Afterlife experience\nbeing depicted here is traditionally termed Gan<\/em>\nEden<\/em>, i.e., Heaven, as opposed to Gehennom<\/em>, Hell (which will be discussed\nshortly), Like R. Chaim, some define the \u201cWorld to Come\u201d as the Afterlife\nexperience (see Hilchot<\/em> Teshuvah<\/em> 3:5), yet others define the\nworld to Come as the post-Messianic experience (see the commentary of Bartenura<\/em> to Sanhedrin<\/em> 98a), The latter would assumedly contend that that<\/em> realm will have indeed been created\nbeforehand irrespective of our actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13               <\/sup>Yet, see Avodat<\/em> Yisrael<\/em>, Avot<\/em> Ch. 1, and Mesillat<\/em> Yesharim<\/em> Ch. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some add that one\nclings onto G-d as a result of this (see Ma\u2019or<\/em>\nEinayim<\/em>, Vaeirah<\/em>, and Kedushat<\/em> Levi<\/em>, Eikev), while others approach the\nidea like R. Chaim (see Toldot<\/em> Yaakov<\/em> Yoseph<\/em>, Chayai<\/em> Sara<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R. Chaim then provides\na footnote of his own here. His point in it is that while the celestial lights,\nincreased holiness, and the delight that one experiences because of his\ngoodness are all eternal, the defilement and forces of destruction he created\nand bolstered on the other hand by his sins will all eventually pass away and\nbe destroyed — once that person will have experienced his punishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s because,\nR. Chaim asserts, the forces of destruction only derive a certain amount of energy\nfrom our sins. So as soon as one suffers the consequences of those sins, the\nenergy allotted to them is stopped off and undone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point is that\nwhile the good produced and experienced by those who do good is eternal, the\nharm produced by those who do wrong is short-lived. This illustrates the idea\nwhich R. Chaim started this footnote off with that Heaven\u2019s mercy is far\ngreater than its vengeance (see Yoma<\/em>\n76a). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

14               <\/sup>Yet see Ba\u2019al<\/em> Shem<\/em> Tov<\/em> al<\/em> Hatorah<\/em>,\nAmud<\/em> Hatefilla<\/em> 62, and Degel<\/em> Machaneh<\/em> Ephraim<\/em>, Shemini.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

15               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites Proverbs\n5:22, Jeremiah 2:19, and Ezekiel 26:2.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

16               <\/sup>See Eitz<\/em> Chaim<\/em>,\nSha\u2019ar<\/em> Haklipot<\/em> Ch. 3 where a remedy for this is discussed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

17               <\/sup>Notice the\nreintroduction of the notion of something embracing\n<\/em>orencompassing something else —\nthe way bodies encompass souls (notice that the beginning of the chapter\u2019s text\nspeaks of the soul being encased<\/em> in a body), the\nway G-d\u2019s being encompasses the universe, and the way the upper worlds\nencompass lower ones (as discussed in note 4 to 1:5 above. Along the same\nlines, see note 7C there which discusses being encompassed by the Garden of\nEden, note 7D about being encompassed by holiness, and note 7E about being\nencompassed by Gehennom<\/em>).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               All\nof this perhaps goes to further explain why R. Chaim concentrates in this\nchapter on the importance of our being a combination of (an emcompassing) body\nand (an encompassed) soul. And why it\u2019s that fact alone that enables us to\nrectify the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites\nEzekiel 26:2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19               <\/sup>This is apparently\na great act of Divine mercy given that we are in Gehennom<\/em> then, paying the price of our sins, yet we don\u2019t know or\nfeel it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites Eruvin<\/em> 19a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites\nIsaiah 50:11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites Yoma\n69b and Zohar 2:150b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites Job\n34:11 and refers to Zohar 3:177a, Pirkei<\/em>\nAvot<\/em> 4:2, and Ecclesiastes 12:14. Yet\n, see Ba\u2019al<\/em> Shem<\/em> Tov<\/em> al<\/em> Hatorah<\/em>,\nKedoshim<\/em> 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24               <\/sup>See Baba<\/em> Kamah<\/em> 50a. R. Chaim also cites T.Y. Shekalim<\/em> 5:1, Beraishit<\/em> Rabba<\/em> 67:4, Tanchuma<\/em> 26, and Midrash<\/em> Tehillim<\/em> 10:3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>I.e., disregard things that go against His better judgment or wishes? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently R. Chaim\u2019s point here is that assuming that G-d sometimes overlooks sins presumes that He intercedes in the administration of justice because of His own personal predilections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

26               <\/sup>R. Chaim cites\nProverbs 13:21. See 2:8 below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27               <\/sup>I.e., of sins, as\nwell as anxiety, guilt, fear and the like (see Gra<\/em> to Sifra<\/em> D\u2019tzniusa<\/em> 34a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

28               <\/sup>From Pirkei<\/em> Avot<\/em> 1:1, as R. Chaim cites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

29               <\/sup>Which are\nconnected to the lowest of the three levels of our soul, the Nephesh<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30               <\/sup>And they derive\nfrom the more exalted Ruach<\/em> and Neshama<\/em> levels respectively (see 1:14\nfor the interrelationship between our actions, words, and thoughts and the\nthree elements of our soul).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(c) 2020 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feel free to\ncontact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nFeldman’s new annotated translation of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to\nthe Zohar\u201d is available as \u201cThe Kabbalah of Self\u201d on Kindle here<\/a>. His\nannotated translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> and his\nannotated translation of Rabbeinu Yonah\u2019s “The Gates of Repentance”\nis available here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also\ntranslated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The\nDuties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nFeldman also offers two free e-mail classes torah.org entitled \u201cSpiritual\nExcellence<\/a>\u201d\nand \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d that can\nbe subscribed to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nephesh Hachaim 1:12 1. \u00a0R. Chaim already spoke 1 of the fact that we could only link celestial worlds, rectify this one, and interconnect with those upper worlds after we\u2019d come to this world as souls encased in bodies 2 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8YhFQ-33","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":191,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions\/191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/nephesh-hachaim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}