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The Glassblower Analogy
Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
from "Derech Hashem"
In the Zohar 3:25a we find that "the Nefesh is bound
to the Ruach, the Ruach to the Neshamah, and the
Neshamah to the Blessed Holy One." The three thus form a sort of chain,
linking man to G-d. The idea of these three parts is best explained on the basis
of the verse (Genesis 2:7), "G-d formed man out of the dust of the earth, and He
blew into his nostrils a breath of life." This is likened to the process of
blowing glass, which begins with the breath (neshimah) of the
glassblower, flows as a wind (Ruach) through the glassblowing pipe, and
finally comes to rest (Nefesh) in the vessel that is being formed. The
Neshamah thus comes from the same root as Neshimah, meaning breath,
and this is the "breath of G-d." The Nefesh comes from a root meaning "to
rest" and therefore refers to the part of the soul that is bound to the body and
"rests" there. Ruach means a wind, and it is the part of the soul that
binds the Neshamah and Nefesh.
See Nefesh ha-Chaim 1:15....
["The Way of G-d" (Feldheim); part 3, footnote 6.]
Visitor Comments: 3
Anonymous, 1/8/2007
great stuffRaphael Jochanan Miller, from USA, Baltimore, MD, 7/27/2006
My thoughts and prayers go out Kenneth Tedrow, from Coquille Oregon, USA, 7/12/2006
To those concer
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