Humans have 613 organs?

Question

Does the human nefesh (nefesh haAdam) have 613 spiritual organs? Tanya CH.4 says that a soul has 613 organs like the "organs of the King". I'm assuming that since man is made in the image of G-d, then it's describing the organs of a nefesh haAdam. Is this describing the nefesh haAdam as having 613 organs?

Answer 1

There are indeed several sources among the works of Chassidus and later kabbalistic works which describe the soul as being a spiritual counter-shape to the shape of the physical body. In other words, just as the physical body has 613 parts, so does the soul. (I believe that this idea is based on the Zohar, Beraishis 9a but I won't go into details)

For example, the Me'or V'Shemesh (Parshas Bechukosai) quotes this as a teaching that he had received:

קבלנו על הנשמה שיש לה צורה והיא כצורת אדם זכר לזכר ונקבה לנקבה

And, in a fascinating application of this idea, the Pardes Yosef says that a person whose limb was cut off can still pray for his 248 limbs, for this reason:

נסתפק במי שחתך לו הרופא אבר רחמנא לצלן, אם יכול לומר בתפילתו רמ״ח אברים שלי... אין קפידא, דאע״פ שלא נשאר לו רק רמ״ז, מכל מקום אברים הרוחניים של הנשמה הם בשלמות כידוע דגם בנשמה יש אברים וגידים (פרשת משפטים קט״ז)

Thus, if we were discussing another Chassidic thinker I would answer this question in the positive. HOWEVER, because you're asking specifically about the Tanya, this is probably incorrect, because the Rebbe also writes in that same book (Liutei Amarim 51):

אין שינוי קבלת הכחות והחיות שבאברי הגוף מן הנשמה מצד עצמה ומהותה שיהיה מהותה ועצמותה מתחלק לרמ"ח חלקים שונים, מתלבשים ברמ"ח מקומות כפי ציור חלקי מקומות אברי הגוף, שלפי זה נמצא עצמותה ומהותה מצויר בציור גשמי ודמות ותבנית כתבנית הגוף חס ושלום, אלא כולה עצם אחד רוחני פשוט ומופשט מכל ציור גשמי ומבחינה וגדר מקום ומדה וגבול גשמי מצד מהותה ועצמותה

In other words, the Baal HaTanya doesn't seem to believe that the soul has parts. Instead, what he probably means (in chapter 4) is that the soul has 613 aspects or something like that.

Answer 2

According to this footnote at chabad.org:

They are not counted according to scientific methods. Rather, the number is based upon which limbs would be given an important place in Jewish law. They are listed in Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew), vol. 1, pp. 114ff.