Understanding the Structure of the Three Types of Soul — A Chance for Teshuvah

Understanding the Structure of the Three Types of Soul — A Chance for Teshuvah

Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, in Nefesh HaChaim, cites a midrash that uses an analogy to explain how the human soul is structured. A Jew has five types of soul: Nefesh – Ruach – Neshamah – Chayah – Yechidah. But the midrash discusses only the first three. Let us imagine a glassblower who inhales air and, through a long tube, blows it into glass, giving the glass its shape. The midrash says: this is how man was created as well. Neshamah – from the word neshimah (breathing), from linshom – G-d, as it were, “breathes”; like a glassblower, He draws in air; Ruach – that which He passes through the tube; Nefesh – the part of the soul that enters the glass and, according to the way He blows it into the glass, acquires its corresponding shape—the shape of a human being. This soul determines a person's form. The Maharal of Prague says that “Panim – lashon pnim” (the face reflects a person's inner essence). Nefesh – from the word “vayinafash” (stopped) – a place of cessation. The Nefesh remains within us and regulates all of a person's vital functions: blood circulation, digestion, and our ability to hear and see. Speaking is already the domain of Ruach. And the Neshamah is not within us—it is with the Creator (only Adam HaRishon had all the types of soul within him). The Neshamah may be closer or farther away, depending on a person's merits. When the Jews received the Torah, their heads radiated light—their Neshamah was above them. After the sin of the Golden Calf, they lost that closeness. Each soul is connected to the ten sefirot. Karet—the severing of the soul—is the severing of Ruach from Nefesh. But Hashem, in His mercy, does not completely sever the final sefirah (Malchut) of Ruach from the first one (Keter) of Nefesh; they remain connected by a fine thread. This saves a person, and through this thread, a person can do teshuvah. All transgressions associated with the body are punishable by karet and affect the Nefesh. There are transgressions not associated with the body (though no less serious) that are not punishable by karet—for example, lashon hara. In this case, the damage is done to the Ruach. (Based on a lesson by Rabbi Benzion Melamed on Tomer Devorah)