#nefesh

"Two souls exist in the earth being, Wind Spirit and Breath Spirit. Wind Spirit [Rua'h] journeys from one end of the universe to the other while a person dreams. Breath Spirit [Neshamah] dwells deep within the chambers of chambers." Midrash Olam Katan, No. 4, from Gershon Winkler, Magic of the Ordinary.

Jewish tradition uses different names for the soul. The ones that are mostly used in the Tanakh are neshamah (breath), nefesh (living being) and rua'h (wind). Kabbalah adds two more terms: 'hayyah (life) and yekhidah (singularity), but I won't be talking about these two in this post because I don't personally use them in my practice for now.

Many non-monotheistic systems of belief incorporate soul dualism, or the doctrine of multiple souls. Wikipedia tells us: "In many cases, one of the souls is associated with body functions ("body soul") and the other one can leave the body ("free soul" or "wandering soul"). Sometimes the plethora of soul types can be even more complex. Sometimes, a shaman's "free soul" may be held to be able to undertake a spirit journey." My animistic perspective on Judaism is no different: I do believe in a pluralistic conception of the soul.

The Torah says "For the nefesh of the flesh is in the blood." (Leviticus 17:11). Nefesh, thus, is associated with the blood of a living thing, and dies with it. Neshamah is the part that is reincarnated in the Gilgul Neshamoth, the Wheel/Cycle of the souls. Neshamah is given directly by HaShem, and is responsible of the nefesh, as it is written: "He blew into his nostrils the breath of life [nishmath 'hayyim] and man became a living being [nefesh 'hayyah]." (Genesis 2:7). That leaves us with the rua'h, the wind. I equate this with the "free soul" of soul dualism, the one that can travel outside the body, as the opening quote of this post illustrates : "Wind Spirit [rua'h] journeys from one end of the universe to the other while a person dreams." I believe the rua'h also travels when the body is in certain trance states. Some people may thus be able to journey through the universe. HaShem is also said to have Their own rua'h, the rua'h Elohim (Spirit of G-d), the rua'h HaShem (Spirit of the Name), or the rua'h haQodhesh (Holy Spirit), sometimes equated with the Shekhinah. These notions are not to be confused with the Christian Holy Ghost, one of the three persons of the Trinity, a concept which can't exist in Judaism.

I believe every thing created by HaShem has a neshamah. In the Tehilim, the Book of Psalms, inanimate things are said to praise HaShem:

"Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all bright stars. Praise Him, highest heavens, and you waters that are above the heavens. [...] Praise HaShem, O you who are on earth, all sea monsters and ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and smoke, storm wind that executes His command, all mountains and hills, all fruit trees and cedars, all wild and tamed beasts, creeping things and winged birds" Psalms 148:1-4;7-10

"Let all that breathes [neshamah] praise Yah." Psalms 150:6

Everything is alive, and everything is constantly praising its Creator. This is the core belief of Jewish animism.

כל הנשמה תהלל יה הללו יה

Tomb of Absalom / Absalom's Pillar  (Yad Avshalom, Absalom's Shrine)

Kidron valley, Jerusalem, Israel

1st century CE

20 m.

Tomb of Absalom is an ancient monumental rock-cut tomb with a conical roof, a few metres from the Tomb of Zechariah and the Tomb of Benei Hezir. Although traditionally ascribed to Absalom, the rebellious son of King David of Israel (circa 1000 BCE), recent scholarship has dated it to the 1st century CE. 

The tomb is not only a burial structure in its own right, with its upper part serving as a nefesh or funeral monument for the tomb in its lower part, but it was probably also meant as a nefesh for the adjacent burial cave system known as the Cave or Tomb of Jehoshaphat, with which it forms one entity, built at the same time and following a single plan. The freestanding monument contains a burial chamber with three burial sites. The chamber is carved out of the solid lower section of the monument, but can only be accessed from the upper section via a built entrance and a staircase. It has been compared to Petra, given the rock-cut nature of the bottom segment and the style of the finial.

Absalom's Pillar is approximately 20 metres (66 ft) in height. The monument proper stands on a square base and consists of two distinct parts. The lower section is a monolith, hewn out of the rocky slope of the Mount of Olives, while the upper part, rising higher than the original bedrock, is built of neatly cut ashlars.

The lower half is thus a solid, almost perfectly cubical monolithic block, about 6 m (20 ft) square by 6.4 m (21 ft) high, surrounded on three sides by passageways which separate it from the vertically-cut rock of the Mount of Olives. It is decorated from the outside on each side by pairs of Ionic half-columns, flanked in the corners by quarter-columns and pillars (a so-called distyle in antis arrangement). The four square facades are crowned by a Doric frieze of triglyphs and metopes and an Egyptian cornice.

The upper, ashlar-built part of the monument consists of three differently-shaped segments: a square base set on top of the Egyptian cornice of the lower part, followed by a round drum crowned by a rope-shaped decoration, which sustains a conical roof with concave sides (the easily recognisable "hat"), topped by a half-closed lotus flower. The upper part of the monument corresponds to the outline of a classical tholos and is not unlike contemporary Nabatean structures from Petra.

Come join your WWT family for a Tashlich ceremony!

Tashlich: Letting go of what you need to release in the coming year

September 19, 2020 @ 11:30 AM EST following Rosh Hashanah services

Ritual Description:  Come join us for a personal and introspective ritual, adapted to Zoom! Typically tashlich is performed on the bank of a moving body of water, where people release breadcrumbs representing mistakes or regrets from the previous year.  This is a restorative practice designed to help you forgive yourself and move forward in the new year.

You were shooed away from the storage room hallway by force. As you waited for word from Nefesh and Ruach, Neshama soon joined you.

“It appears a dangerous gas was detected in the air within the storage room.” She crossed her arms, clucking her tongue. “It should be safe for you to enter soon enough.”

Chayah sidled up behind her soon after.

“Ooh, what’s going on, what’s going on?”

“Chayah, go downstairs.” But Neshama didn’t pay him any mind.

“Awww, fiiiine…”

He stormed off, pouting. Soon enough, Nefesh returned, looking dejected.

“It’s… It’s clear now. You’re… not gonna like this.”

The door, normally off-limits to clerks and employees alike, was unlocked, and slightly ajar. As you approached it, a wave of apprehension swept over you. Did you really want to see what was on the other side?

Were you really prepared to face this truth?

Hesitantly, you nudged open the door and slipped inside, one by one.

Inside, you found a larger room than expected, filled with what appeared to be assembly lines, as well as other machinery, too complex for you to comprehend. A putrid stench met your nose. Whatever this place was, it felt ungodly wrong.

You heard a familiar voice up ahead - was that Neshama?

“Now, now, it’s all going to be okay.”

“I don’t want to, I’m scared...” And… Chayah?

With a sigh, Aletheia starts today’s lecture.

“I understand most of you are demonstrating certain attachments to certain abnormalities, which while not explicitly outlawed, is not exactly practical. Today I’d like to discuss efficiency in terms of extracting energy…”

Her voice fades out as you listen to her lecture.

A memory occurs to you, around this time. You’re not sure from when, but you can hear their voices clearly in your head. In this very lobby, in fact.

When the doors opened, the room that greeted you was startlingly silver. There was little to say for it besides that. What was this place?

"Well, here's our stop." Nefesh stepped out of the elevator first, motioning you to follow. As you left the lift, your eyes settled on a large video screen adorning the far wall. Looking around, you identified two exits - smaller doors, on opposite ends of the room. That was it. Was this our stop? "Well, ok, not quite yet I guess." She shrugged, gesturing towards the doors.

Once you were all out of the elevator, the video screen flickered on. While no picture was displayed, a voice came through.

"Welcome, everyone."

Once you arrived in the lobby, you found Aletheia seated by her monitors, waiting for you.

"Good, welcome back. I trust this investigation has been fruitful for you?"

She stood up, taking a step towards you. Dismissing the glares and nervous glances, she waved a hand towards the large elevator in the lobby.

"All you have to do is get in there. While a safety bulkhead has disabled elevator access to the surface, you will be, in fact, going down."

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened with a hiss. Out stepped Nefesh, who gave you a small wave.

"Run along now." Aletheia dismissed. "Department head Nefesh will be escorting you to this meeting. I will remain here, making sure all our systems are back online once more. Once you get downstairs, your host will explain the specifics of how the meeting will function."

A beat of silence, and she continued, offering you a small smile.

"I know most of you don't really care for me, understandably. Trust me, your host is, if nothing else, fair. We have no right to pass judgement on human matters, so this falls to you, unfortunately. Best of luck."

She sat back down with that, returning to her work. Looks like that conversation was over. With nothing else to say to her, you eventually made your way to the elevator, joining up with Nefesh.

"All aboard..."

A push of a button, and the doors closed behind you.