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On the Chabad Website, I found this quote:

"With the destruction, G-d temporarily removed the Temple from its geographic location and placed it within us. Instead of traveling to Jerusalem, G-d wanted us to find Him in our inner Jerusalem. Now our bodies are our Temples, our souls are our windows, our minds the kohanim and our animal instincts are our sacrifices."

I wondered if we, human beings, are ever compared to the Temple according to the commentators, rabbis and Jewish teachings?

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    Welcome the site User!
    – mevaqesh
    Commented Jul 31, 2016 at 23:27

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The Nefesh Hachaim 1 (4) says (rough translation)

The Zohar (Parshas Shelach 161a) says that Hashem fashioned man according to the model of the heavens and placed the source of his strength in his heart. The heart directs all parts of the body and they depend on it. So the heart parallels the Sanctuary which includes the Holy of Holies where the Ark, the Cover and the Cherubs rest and where the Divine Presence resides. For the Sanctuary is the heart of the universe. Therefore when an indecent thought enters one's mind, he is in effect bringing a harlot into the Holy of Holies of the heavenly worlds.

So you see that the Zohar compares part of our human being to part of the Temple.

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  • Can you help me understand... is Nefesh HaChaim part of the Zohar or ist the other way around? Or are they two separate texts? (Forgive me!) Also, can someone point me to where I may find an English translation of the Nefesh Hachaim! I would love to read its entirety! THANKS!!!!
    – Pills N Pillows
    Commented Aug 22, 2017 at 1:23
  • @PillsNPillows The Zohar [attributed to the Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (c. 160 CE) and revealed in the 13th century] is quoted here by Nefesh HaChaim which was written by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin (1749 – 1821) a great disciple of the Gaon of Vilna and the father of the Lithuanian Yeshiva
    – Naftali Tzvi
    Commented Aug 22, 2017 at 3:08
  • @PillsNPillows See English translation of the Nefesh Hachaim at: judaicapress.com/products/nefesh-hachaim . It does not translate the kabbalistic parts but is anyway fascinating.
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Commented Aug 22, 2017 at 7:54

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