Questions tagged [soul]
The soul tag has no usage guidance.
91
questions
4
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1answer
48 views
Learning one mesechta l'ilui Nishmas for two people
It is customary to learn mishnayos in order to elevate the soul of the deceased. Can one learn one tractate of Mishna and have in mind two deceased people l'ilui nishmasom, or can you only have in ...
-3
votes
0answers
48 views
Whom do non-jewish souls come from?
I understand quite well the spiritual anatomy of people, that all humans possess all 5 neshamot.
I read Do gentiles have neshamot? and the answer from the Rebbe here https://chabadlibrary.org/books/...
2
votes
0answers
40 views
Relation between brain damage and the soul
Physical damage to the brain can lead to various psychological and cognitive phenomena, like drastic changes in character, selective memory loss (like forgetting faces but remembering names or vice ...
2
votes
0answers
45 views
Sources that all future souls were at Mount Sinai?
What are the sources for the common understanding that all future souls were at Mount Sinai?
I saw the Chasam Sofer bring the gemarra in Shevuos (39a), but that's talking about parshas Nitzavim.
A ...
12
votes
2answers
498 views
What causes a person to remain in this world as a ghost?
A baraita on Berakhot 18b relates a story where a pious man sleeps in a cemetery and hears two spirits talking. One of them suggests they wander the world, and the other says she can't because she ...
2
votes
3answers
141 views
What happens the second you die?
What do our sources say about what happens the second you die. I’m pretty sure I heard somewhere that one’s soul comes out of their body and they float around the room. Are there any fascinating ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
Is Aryeh Kaplan's definition of the self in Jewish Meditation accurate (“nothingness” chapter)?
Let me preface this question by stating that I'm Jewish with a background in Zen Buddhism. Eastern philosophy was my first introduction to spirituality coming from an atheistic/materialistic worldview....
1
vote
1answer
193 views
Does Judaism teach that the soul cannot rest until the body turns to dust?
In the movie "To Dust" they claim that "Judaism teaches that the soul cannot rest until the body turns to dust."
Is there any basis for this claim?
2
votes
0answers
41 views
Self-association with God [duplicate]
I alway admired the Jews for having a belif system that their is only one God. But recently I got this message from a Christian that claimed that they associate themselves with God, by saying part of ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Does Orthodox Judaism endorse or prescribe exercises and acts to help counteract negative influences or inner spiritual issues and conflicts?
I know this question sounds kind of "New Age" in terms of theme but I was genuinely curious if Orthodox Judaism has any figures who endorsed such topics or books which discussed the topic (either in ...
2
votes
2answers
92 views
Why the soul comes in through the nose and comes out through the mouth?
G-d blows the soul in through the nostrils, not his mouth:
וַיִּיצֶר ה"א אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃
the LORD God ... ...
6
votes
0answers
66 views
The soul and Sleep
I’ve heard from a Rabbi that the falling feeling you get while your sleeping that wakes you up (known as the hipnic jerk) is your soul falling back into your body. Are there any other sources that ...
-1
votes
1answer
296 views
Do a goy (gentile), and/or an animal have ALL of these - Nefesh-Ruach-Neshama-Chaya-Yechida
Can someone please give me a clear source as to whether or not a goy (gentile), and/or an animal have ALL OF THESE FIVE Nefesh-Ruach-Neshama-Chaya-Yechida. (More specifically looking for sources about ...
-1
votes
1answer
93 views
Why is laughter unique to humans?
Read in a book by Rabbi Moshe Shapiro zt'l (Shiurei Rabeinu sec.Purim) that only two truly laugh, human beings and G-d (Tehilim 2:4). If this is true, why is laughter unique to human beings of all ...
0
votes
2answers
77 views
Does the Neshama (soul) choose the body?
I think i might have read in various places i just can't find where that the neshama chooses the body based on the life missions that it needs to accomplish so it chooses the most suitable conditions ...
0
votes
3answers
190 views
Does the Torah discuss the difference between Jews and non jews?
I know that Jews are forbidden to marry non Jews. This leads me to believe that there is some intrinsic and apparently incompatible difference them. Regardless of this prohibition though, I wonder if,...
4
votes
2answers
471 views
What happens when the neshama has an aliya?
there is a common practice to learn torah for someone who is deceased 'l'iluy nishmato/a' - to raise her/his soul. There is also a common (american/ashkenazik?) custom for a relative of a deceased ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
5 “parts” of the nefesh- What is the Rambam's source?
In his introduction to Avos (Shmomneh P'rakim), the Rambam delineates 5 "parts" of the human nefesh. Is this something that he came to on his own or does he have a source for this?
I know that the ...
0
votes
2answers
64 views
Does one get back his neshama in the exact form when resurrected?
I'm viewing the phrasing in the paragraph Elokai Neshamah:
ואתה עתיד לטלה
ממני ולהחזירה בי לעתיד לבא
My loose translation:
In the future, you will take it from me and return it to me in the (...
4
votes
0answers
49 views
Smelling Besamim before Havdallah
According to our minhag that we smell Besamim during Havdallah as part of Havdallah, if one smelled Besamim after Shabbos before Havdallah (for whatever reason), should or can that person omit the ...
1
vote
0answers
55 views
Does Judaism say that souls can or cannot be destroyed?
Does Judaism say that souls can or cannot be destroyed? Just asking because I was raised a Christian, and it didn't make any sense to me, at all, that a "soul" could be destroyed. All I know is that's ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
sanctify the soul or sanctify the world?
I read a chabad sheet which claims (no source) that the main purpose of our religious service is to sanctify the world and not the soul and that this was the mistake of the spies who thought they ...
4
votes
1answer
314 views
Location of the Neshama
The gemara in Brachot 10a says that the Neshama fills the body
מה הקדוש ברוך הוא מלא כל העולם - אף נשמה מלאה את כל הגוף
On the other hand we find places that indicate the Neshama is in the brain/...
0
votes
1answer
119 views
where does the feeling of shame come from?
according to our sources, shame is unique to humans (Duties of the Heart 2:5 "reflect on the feeling of shame with which man alone has been endowed").
It does not exist in animals. Is shame a ...
3
votes
0answers
111 views
Is there a source in Torah that a soul chooses his parents before being born?
Many years ago, I read in a Jewish book that a soul chooses his parents before being born, but I cannot remember the name of the book. Is there an authentic Torah source that confirms this? Thank ...
5
votes
2answers
325 views
What is the Yeshiva Shel Maala?
What is the "yeshiva shel maala" (literally yeshiva on high) that is found a number of times in Chazal's writings (ex. "whoever teaches his fellow's son Torah merits and sits in the yeshiva on High" - ...
2
votes
0answers
128 views
Do you get to keep your old nefesh and ruach when you convert?
According to our tradition, converts acquire a "new soul" in, or upon emergence from, the conversion mikvah. (Not sure of the original source for this--it may be the Zohar--but there are countless ...
2
votes
0answers
123 views
Source for ability to speak before Neshama
I've always understand conventional Jewish belief is that there are different aspects to the soul, and each one provides different abilities. The נפש is common to all living creatures and it is the ...
7
votes
1answer
199 views
Unconsciousness in Jewish Thought
Yes, that pun was intended.
We know that sleep is 1/60 of death, and dreaming is 1/60 of prophecy (Brachos 57b). This is because it's a partial death, in which a piece of the Neshamah leaves the ...
3
votes
2answers
104 views
How can Nefesh mean a dead person?
In Vayikra 21:1 it's stated that one should not defile himself for any (dead) nefesh (person).
How can a word like nefesh which seems to be the force that animated the body and gave it it's life, ...
1
vote
0answers
53 views
At Techiyas Hameisim what will happen to reincarnated souls? [duplicate]
At Techiyas Hameisim what will happen to all the bodies that had souls that came down again as gilgul (that the soul had already been in another body)?
Which body will arise by Techiyas Hameisim if ...
3
votes
1answer
161 views
Does the concept of ibur exist today?
The shaar hagilgulim frequently addresses the concept of iburim, that souls from passed on people may enter new bodies.
For source, see for example shaar hagilgulim 1.8:
"According to this, you can ...
-3
votes
1answer
217 views
Is the soul tied and can one break that tie? [closed]
I have heard that the soul is tied to your wife or husband, but if so, can you break off that "soul-tie" ?
1
vote
1answer
76 views
Where in Judaism does it describe the journey of the soul in the afterlife? [duplicate]
Where in Judaism does it describe the journey of the soul in the afterlife? Sources, that I am looking for stem from kabbalah teaching or the zohar. Also,I am searching for primary sources, so if they ...
0
votes
1answer
154 views
Jewish Meditation for Soul Travel? [closed]
I know that there is meditation and practices for a soul to transcend the body. I have found these meditations across many religions, however, I am wondering if Judaism has a specific meditation for ...
14
votes
7answers
2k views
Am I a body with a soul or a soul with a body?
I've always thought that our true essence, who we actually are, our personalities are our souls. To me, bodies are just temporary "homes" for the soul. My body can perish, but my soul will continue ...
4
votes
2answers
168 views
Role of the soul in living things
Are the bodies of living things (bacteria, plant, animals, humans) running like a purely physical machine or are they coupled with some kind of spiritual soul to breathe life into this machine.
Our ...
7
votes
1answer
316 views
Can a soul be destroyed to non-existence?
Can a soul die (make choices that will lead to its being completely destroyed)?
The Zohar 1:131a states that the souls of transgressors will became ashen cinders under the feet of the righteous. From ...
3
votes
3answers
254 views
Where do human souls come from?
In the kabbalah of the Arizal, which world does the g-dly soul inherant in a human come from?
Do they for example come from the world of Atzilut?
0
votes
1answer
544 views
If the sages removed the desire for yetzer hora of avodah zora, what is left in terms of yetzer hara?
During the time of the second Beit HaMikdash, the 120 sages of the Great Assembly were granted the ability to rip out the desire for idolatry (yetzer hora of avodah zora) from the collective soul of ...
3
votes
1answer
85 views
“The feelings reveal the soul.”(Pieseszner Rebbe). Is this idea accepted by contemporary Orthodox thought?
In “Experiencing the Divine: A Practical Jewish Guide,” by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira
(the Pieseszner Rebbe), translated by Yaacov Dovid Shulman, the Rebbe says, (p 28):
Every feeling that is ...
2
votes
0answers
168 views
Souls (Neshamos) of converts
When I was in Yeshiva many years ago I heard one of the rebbeim (teachers) of the yeshiva speaking to a young man that had converted to Judaism and that was very successful in learning about "his ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
What does it mean for one's soul to “be like dust to everyone”?
From the end of the Amidah: "To those who curse me, let my soul be silent; and let my soul be like dust to everyone". What does it mean, for one's soul to be like dust? And why is it a good thing?
3
votes
2answers
111 views
What is the chassidic version of ruach?
In my understanding by comparing the Arizal's works to the Tanya, the animal soul = nefesh, the G-dly soul = neshamah. But what about ruach?
6
votes
2answers
315 views
What is the tzror hachaim (bond of life)?
On tombstones one finds the acronym for t'hay nafsho/ah tzrurah b'tzror hachaim (may the soul be bound to the bond of life).
What is this bond of life? Do we have any sources which explain what this ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
How are angels categorized in Judaism?
Are they Neshamot or are they something else? Because if they are Neshamot they would be like us, so what forms a angel are they like Only Yetzer Hatov so they only have the desire to do God's will?
3
votes
2answers
217 views
Rebbe maamer modifying Tanya on non-Jew's soul root?
I heard from a friend that the Rebbe gave a maamer somewhat modifying the statement in Tanya that all non-Jews' souls are from the klippot. Can anyone provide the exact source for it?
1
vote
1answer
140 views
Are all non-human creations reincarnations?
I have heard from my Rav and during a few derashot of HaRav Eliyahu Mansour that a neshamah previously brought into 'Olam HaZeh in human form, but needing additional tiqqun (i.e. soul correction) and ...
3
votes
3answers
268 views
Inner being: Soul or Spirit?
Bereshit (Genesis) 2:7 reads: 'vayipach beapav nishmat chayim vayehi ha'adam lenefesh chayah'
Is my inner being a 'soul' or a 'spirit', or am I a 'soul' or am I a 'spirit'? Let me make myself clear:
...
1
vote
2answers
118 views
Zohar and Maharal on the soul and face
1) I heard from someone say in the name Zohar haKadosh that the eyes are the "mirror to the soul" - that to those who are able to read such things a person's eyes are very revealing.
Does anyone know ...
