Soul Awakenings
Translated and adapted from Meah Shearim and
other sources
My G-d, the soul which You have placed within me is
pure. You have created it, You have formed it, You have breathed it into me, and
You preserve it within me. You will eventually take it from me, and restore it
within me in Time to Come. So long as the soul is within me, I offer thanks to
You, L-rd my G-d and G-d of my fathers, Master of all works, L-rd of all souls.
Blessed are You L-rd, who restores souls to dead bodies.
(Liturgy, Morning Blessings)
Eighteen morning blessings are said each day upon
arising, after one has dressed and washed hands. This, the third blessing, deals with
the Jewish soul.
"A person is a small world" ( Bereishit Rabba 78:12). In a
sense each one of us reflects the entire creation. While we are asleep,
conscious control is suspended and our souls return to their source. This
corresponds to the state of reality before the world was created. When a person
awakens and his divine soul reenters his body, he re-enacts the creation by
drawing the divine energy back into him.
My G-d... Who is talking here? Given that a human
being is an entity comprised of different spiritual and physical elements, the
speaker cannot be the body, for the body without the soul is like an inanimate
rock.
...the soul... On the other hand, if the speaker is
the soul, why is it referring to itself in third person?
...which You have placed... The basis for the answer
is that in addition to his body, every Jew has two souls - a G-dly soul
that is linked to the Infinite, and an animal (animating, animalistic)
soul, totally bound by material reality. The G-dly soul is derived from G-d's
essence (see Tanya I, ch. 2); this is what is meant by "the soul which You
have given."  | | " The speaker here is the animal soul, making a statement about the G-dly soul..." | | |
...within me... Just as the animal soul is clothed
within the body (its intellect in the brain, its emotions in the heart, and so
on) and through it, seeks to fulfill its desires, so too the G-dly soul finds
expression by being clothed within the animal soul. The speaker here is the
animal soul, making a statement about the G-dly soul within it. "Within me"
hints that while this condition is a benefit for the animating soul, it
nevertheless constitutes a state of exile for the divine soul.
The descent of the divine soul through the Four Worlds
(stages or spiritual dimensions in the process of Creation) is now described:
...is pure. It originates in the world of Emanation,
known as Atzilut.
You have created it. It descends through the world
of Creation, or Beriya. Note that the Hebrew word for "created it", "barata",
in the blessing literally uses the same term as the supernal world associated
with it.
You have formed it. This comes from the
world of Formation, or Yetzira. Note that the Hebrew word for "formed
it", "yetzarta", in the blessing uses the same term as the supernal world
associated with it.
You have breathed it... from the world of Action,
or Asiya...
...into me.... into this physical world. | | " The soul longs to leave the confines of the body...like a flame that naturally ascends..." | | |
You preserve it within me... The soul longs to
leave the confines of the body and return to its previous level, like a flame
that naturally ascends, as it is taught (Avot 4), "Against your will, you
live." Furthermore, you guard it from doing evil within me, as it is written,
"If G-d did not aid the soul in its task, it would be unable to overcome the
evil inclination" (Kiddushin 30b).
And in the future you will take it from me... The
primary purpose of the soul's descent into the body is to gain the merit to
eventually cling to G-d on an even higher level than it did previously. The soul
attains this merit by influencing the rest of the animal soul of the body to
conduct itself properly.
...and return it within me in Time to Come. G-d will
restore the soul as well as the body at the time of the Revival of the Dead.
So long as the soul is within me... In the morning,
one's soul is refreshed and, more than at any other time, is free from evil
thoughts and impulses. He feels pure. What better time is there for the animal
soul to thank the Creator for His gift of potential growth?
I offer thanks to You, my G-d and G-d of my fathers,
Master of all works.... Ultimately even the animal soul realized that its
existence, too, is dependent on G-d.
L-rd of all souls... It is to You we will have to
answer. "L-rd", in Hebrew "Adon", refers to the divine name associated
with justice, Ado-nai.
Blessed are You, G-d, who returns souls to dead
bodies. Sleep approximates a 60th part of death (Berachot
57b). The animal soul simultaneously affirms the new opportunity for the day and
expresses faith in the future Revival of the Dead.
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