Rabbi Yitzhak opened [his discourse] and said [the verse]: "And the dust [of the the body of man created from dust] returns to the earth as it was: and the spirit returns to G‑d who gave it". (Ecclesiastes 12:7) [The spirit and soul return to above to malchut which put it into a man's the body] Come and see! When G‑d created Adam, He took the dust from the place of the [supernal] Temple [in the world of Yetzira] and built his body from [the powers of] the four directions of the world [of Yetzira, meaning chesed, gevura, tiferet and malchut], each of which gave him from their strength. Later, He poured the spirit of life upon him as it is written: "And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7) [i.e. nefesh from the world of Beriya, ruach from malchut of Atzilut, the neshama super-soul from Zeir Anpin, and the soul of the soul from Abba and Imma of Atzilut]. Then [Adam] stood up and knew that he was [comprised of] both high and low; he cleaved and knew the supernal wisdom.

Similarly, all people in the world are included from the upper and the lower [from body and soul]. When all those who know how to properly sanctify themselves in this world beget a child, they draw on it a holy spirit from that place where all that is holy originates [from malchut of Atzilut]. These are called children of G‑d because their bodies were properly made in sanctity. They are also given a spirit from the holy supernal place, as they deserve. This has already been explained.

Come and see [that the soul is not connected to the body by its nature, but when it descends below from a supernal place, then G‑d sends it to this world with supernal intention and houses it in a physical body]. When man is called to account for his deeds before leaving this world, there will be a day of reckoning, a day when both the soul and body give reckoning. Afterwards, the soul is separated from it, while the body returns to dust, and all returns to the place from which it was taken. It has already been explained that everything will be stored before G‑d until the time when He resurrects the dead [souls with souls, bodies with bodies].

G‑d will resurrect that very body [from the bone that remains together with the surrounding dust of its decomposition] and that very soul to the world as before, and renew the face of the world. This is according to the verse: "The dead men of your people shall live, my dead body shall arise". (Isaiah 26:19) The same soul stored before G‑d returns to its proper place [in its previous body] according to its [proper] manner, as it is written: "And the spirit returns to G‑d who gave it." At that time, He will revive the dead and pour dew from His head upon them. All the bodies will be resurrected from the dust by that dew.

It is written: "For your dew is as the dew of lights". (Isaiah 26:19) What is the dew of lights? These are real lights, the Supernal Lights by which He will pour life upon the world, because the Tree of Life [Zeir Anpin] will then provide never-ending life [to the lower beings]. For now, there is an end to life, since the evil serpent [i.e. the evil inclination] has its way and the moon [malchut] is covered. For that reason, the water stops flowing. Therefore, life does not exist properly in the world.

At that time, the evil inclination, which is the wicked serpent, will be removed from the world and G‑d will cause it to pass away, as written: "And I will cause...the unclean spirit to pass out of the land". (Zachariah 13:2) After it passes from the world, the moon [malchut] will no longer be covered [for it will be joined with Zeir Anpin] and the sources of the river [yesod] will never stop flowing. Then, it is written: "The light of the moon [which is the life drawn to malchut from Zeir Anpin] shall be as the light of the sun, [which is the light of Zeir Anpin drawn from Supernal Imma] and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days". (Isaiah 30:26)

BeRahamim LeHayyim: Why did the Ari and Chida include this, and what do they want us to learn

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Above in capsule summary lies the secret of Man's initial creation, his judgment, his return and resurrection, and the coming of the Mashiach, when the evil inclination is removed from the earth. This is traditional thought about origins and end times. WE REALLY BELIEVE THIS!! We MUST believe this to stay connected to G‑d, and not cut-off. It is a large pill to swallow for modernists. Nevertheless, we must not question. Maimonides holds that this principle is essential for all those who will be revitalized.

Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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