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"The Soul Fills the Body"
In the end of the previous chapter, we explained that the way to awaken and expose the soul is through the power of speech. "And He blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and the man became a living soul." The bonding of body and soul generated the "living soul," the "speaking spirit." Speech, when proper, flows from the soul. When the soul is not exposed, the speech is practically on the level of bird chirping. This is the essence of what we said.
To get a deeper and clearer understanding of speech, we will preface with a known statement of the Sages (Berachos 10a): "Just as Hashem fills the entire world, so does the soul fill the entire body."
To what may this be compared? A person wears a glove on his hand. Each finger fills part of the glove, and the glove as a whole covers the hand. What do we have? A hand wearing a glove. What will happen if, chas veshalom, the person is missing a finger? The part of the glove that is supposed to hold that finger with collapse, because there is nothing to hold it in place.
When it says, "the soul fills the body," it means that the energy of the soul spreads through all the 248 limbs and 365 sinews of the person. When we see that chas veshalom a person has a part of the body that is lifeless, like a hand or foot, the depth of the matter is that the energy of the soul has not spread into that limb, and since the inner energy is lacking, the limb becomes dead, with no vitality.
In other words, the soul constantly fills the body, and if the soul totally departs the body, there is death. If it departs from one limb, that limb loses its life and is "dead."
Based on this, we can understand that there are three levels: Hashem, the soul, and the body. The inner essence of everything is Hashem. The soul, so to speak, is a garment over the Creator, and the body covers the soul. If a person wants to reach Hashem, he must first leave the garment, the body, and enter into the soul. From there on, he will have a clear path to cleave to the Creator, the inner essence of everything. (How to fully reach from the soul to Hashem is a deep matter and special path.)
"And man was a living soul." Chazal have explained, "He who blows, blows from within himself." Let us consider this: When we use the power of blowing, what do we do with it? There is a coal, and in it, is a hidden fire. By blowing, one flames the fire that was hidden in the coals, and exposes it.
The point of "He who blows" in the case of a person is for the sake of bringing the flame from potential to actuality. This is the concept of "and He blew in him a soul of life." In other words, the ability to awaken the inner point, which is the soul, and the point which is further inward, which is G-dliness, comes from the "blowing!" Just as one's formation comes from blowing, so is the constant awakening achieved through this "blowing."
Let us consider our example, and understand the matter clearly. Just as through blowing, a person brings a real fire out from a coal, a real entity that becomes exposed, so through a person's blowing, he brings the soul from hiddenness to exposure. Just as Hashem is the real entity, so is the soul of each person. The soul is a real entity, just as the body is a real entity, and the "blowing" done by the person exposes the soul as a real being. This is not merely inspiration or excitement or joy. Those are only products of the soul. The root of it all is to discover the reality of the soul.
The Soul Must be Awakened in a Language Appropriate to It
We will now continue and consider the type of speech required to awaken the soul. We will start with a parable: Some people are standing and talking to each other. One is called Reuven, the other, Shimon, the third, Levi, and so on. Someone arrives, and calls, "Reuven!" Of course, Reuven will respond, not Shimon or Levi, because he called Reuven's name. If he would call, "Shimon," Shimon would respond.
Another example: In a group of people, there are those who understand different languages: one knows Hebrew, the second knows Yiddish, and the third knows English. Even if one does not call a person by name, but speaks in a specific language, only the one who knows that language will respond to him.
Certainly, this example does not adequately present the message, but we will try to clarify the point. Anything you want to summon must be called in a way appropriate for it. You don't speak to a child as you speak to an adult, because he won't understand that kind of conversation. If you want to awaken something, expose it, and elicit its attention, you must use the "language" it understands and grasps.
We primarily recognize the language of the body. Let us ponder: What kind of speech does the soul understand? The soul exists, and it only needs to be brought from potential to actuality. How, then? What is the language through which one reaches the soul?
You must speak to the soul with the language of the soul! As long as one speaks with the language of the body, only the body listens, and only it is awakened, not the soul. If a person is not familiar with the language of the soul, his soul is like the case of a meis mitzvah (a corpse with no one available to help with the burial), where you call out for help, but there is no response (Eruvin 17b), because here, too, no one responds.
Eliyahu arranged a test on Mount Carmel (Melachim I 18:21): "If Hashem is the G-d, follow Him," but if not, go after the other deity. What was the test? They called with a loud voice, and waited for a response. In fact, the ba'al deity did not respond, because it does not have the means to hear.
The holy soul is attentive, but it is listening to hear its own language, words of the soul. Just as when you call a person by name, he will turn and look for the person who called him, so it is precisely if one speaks the language of the soul, it will certainly turn to Him! It is waiting for a long time for someone to call it! However, a person's responsibility is to learn its language.
Let us then consider what the language unique to the soul is.
The Language of the Soul - a Gentle Expression
The world was created with ten statements, and the Torah was given with ten commandments. The pasuk states (Shemos 19:3), "So shall you say (somar, based on the word amirah) to the house of Ya'akov and tell to the children of Israel." Rashi comments: "Say to the house of Ya'akov"- "these are the women; speak to them gently." "Tell to (saged) the children of Israel"- "punishments and details must be told to the men; words harsh as sinews (gidin)."
Chazal have defined two kinds of speech. There is speech described as dibbur, and there is speech described as amirah. Women must be addressed in the form of amirah, in a gentle manner. Men are addressed in the form of dibbur, a form harsh as sinews.
Certainly, the simple meaning of this is also true. A woman has a gentle nature, and it is not her way or nature to hear harsh words, but a man can hear harsh words. However, these words of Chazal also contain a deeper message. It is known (Nidah 45b) that Hashem endowed women with an extra measure of binah (understanding). A woman discerns with her power of binah. The pasuk says (Iyov 32:8), "the soul from G-d will give them understanding (binah)." If so, since the women have more binah, we see a great principle, that the soul is more exposed in a woman than in a man! (Although there certainly is an opposite aspect, that a woman is closer than man to matter, there is the aspect of the lights and there is the aspect of the vessels. Here is not the place to elaborate on that.)
This is explicit in the sefarim hakedoshim. The soul of the feminine aspect is more exposed than that of the masculine. If so, we learn an awesome principle: the language of the soul is a gentle expression, while the language of the body is a harsh expression!
What is a gentle expression?
The pasuk states (Devarim 18:13), "Be simple with Hashem, your G-d." The nature of a simple person is to hear and accept. A sly person analyzes everything. "The snake was the slyest of all the animals in the field" (Bereishis 3:1). That lead to the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, which caused a refusal to accept things. Of course, there is also a negative kind of simplicity. A simple person can easily be fooled. But there is a holy simplicity, which is the inner essence of the soul. The soul by nature has the quality of simplicity. (The root of Jewish souls is the world of Atzilus - Emanation - which is above the world of Beriah - Creation, wherein there are intellectual ideas. So writes the GRA.)
Yaakov Avinu, who was called a "simple man," is considered "the choice of the Avos," because the soul is more exposed in a simple person.
When speaking to a person who is attentive and receptive, who needs practical information, there is no sense in saying harsh words. To the contrary, you should use gentle words, which are enjoyable to hear. He already wants to accept, and is yearning to hear. When, chas veshalom, you meet one who displays "the inclination of man is evil from his youth" (ibid. 8:21) and is stubborn, his stubbornness and evil inclination must be broken, so there is a need for harsh words.
The body is tough, but the soul is gentle and delicate. The soul naturally seeks Hashem, and it need not be pressured by using harsh words. Every true word, every simple word, gives pleasure to the soul, and it will yearn to connect to the message. But when using simplicity to talk to the human intellect (which is of the body), since simplicity is the opposite of the intellect, the intellect naturally resists.
The rule is "With a saint, be saintly, with a simple man, be simple, and with a crooked man, be devious" (Shmuel II 22:26-27). Therefore, as the soul is simple, one must approach it with simplicity. One should use pleasant talk, softness, and supplication, as it says (Mishlei 18:23), "The poor one speaks with supplication." Ordinary human intellect, though, has become sly through the Tree of Knowledge, and it needs harsh words, such as deep intellectual ideas or a very sharp mode of expression.
When one uses human intellect, he might be able to break the body's resistance, but due to the nature and external quality of such speech, he will not be able to turn to the soul, call it by name, and awaken it. He is only using the language of the body, and only the body hears it, not the soul. The soul hears only "soul language."
Words that Come from the Heart
However, there remains a matter of difficulty, and we will try to explain it.
In order for a person to speak gently, there must be a source in his soul which is already exposed, from where these gentle words will come. If his words will come only from the intellect, their source is not one of gentleness. He may try to speak gently, but if they come from the intellect, there will be an inherent contradiction. The source is the body, and somewhere along the way, one is trying to change them to words of the soul, to awaken the soul. To awaken the soul, one must use words that come from a gentle source, and such words can only come from the soul itself.
Only if the source is the gentle soul, the words will awaken the soul. Chazal say, "Words that emanate from the heart enter the heart." Why? Because if they come from the intellect, they come from the body, and are harsh. The soul can only be touched with words that really come from the heart. If so, a person's condition is that his soul is concealed, and if he wants to expose it, he must speak gentle words. When the soul hears the gentle words, it understands the language and awakens. The question is, how does one find the source of gentleness?
With Hashem's help, we will expand on this later, but the first suggestion is that when another person speaks from his soul, listen to the "soul" in the words, not just the intellect contained in them. When one speaks from the soul, and another listens, if he focuses only on the ideas, he ignores the inner gentleness underlying the words, and relates to the external aspect, the garment, and the words cannot expose his soul.
Words which are not of the intellect, but simple soft words, come from the heart of the teacher, and will enter the heart of the listener, to allow his soul to emerge. He may hear even words of intellectual ideas, but know how to remove their outer form and receive the inner point from the heart and soul of the speaker. However, it is not practical to always need others to inspire him.
Each person must find a way to speak gentle words on his own, coming from the soul, which will awaken and expose his soul, as it says (Avos 5:18) "the tongs are made from tongs." Every person must discover the soft point in himself and awaken the soul with it.
This is the basic issue. With Hashem's help, we will try to elaborate, until each person understands, and the soul recognizes the revelation of its Creator.
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