Elevating the body to follow the soul

בזוה"ק וכי ימכור איש את בתו לאמה לא תצא כצאת העבדים ע"ש.

In the Zohar [on] "And if a man sells his daughter as a maidservant (amah), she shall not go out as the [male] servants go out" (Shemos 21:7) — see there.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Zohar's mystical reading of the law of the Hebrew maidservant.

הענין דאיתא חביבין ישראל שנקראו בנים חיבה יתירה נודעת להם שנקראו בנים כו'.

The matter is, as it is taught: "Beloved are Bnei Yisrael, for they are called children [of Hashem]; a greater love is made known to them, that they are called children…" (Avos 3:14).

Bnei Yisrael are called Hashem's "children," and Chazal stress this as a sign of extraordinary love.

פרשנו כי הנשמות נקראו בנים.

We explained that it is the neshamos that are called "children."

The title "children of Hashem" refers specifically to the neshamah, which originates directly from Him.

אכן נתלבשו בגוף שנק' אמה ועבד כדברי הזוהר הנ"ל.

However, they became clothed in a body, which is called "maidservant (amah)" and "servant (eved)," as in the words of the Zohar above.

The "child" (neshamah) is dressed in a guf (body), and it is the body that is the "servant" or "maidservant" of the verse.

אכן הכוונה הי' שיתמשכו הגופים אחר הנשמה.

But the intention was that the bodies should be drawn after the neshamah.

Hashem's purpose in clothing the soul in a body was that the guf should follow and be elevated by the neshamah.

ויכול איש ישראל להעלות גם הגוף להיות נמשך אחר הנשמה.

And a Jew is able to elevate even the body, so that it is drawn after the neshamah.

Through avodah, a Jew can raise his physical self so that the body, too, is led by the soul's holiness.

וזהו חיבה יתירה נודעת שיהיה דביקות גם להגוף.

And this is "a greater love is made known" — that there should be deveikus even for the body.

The "extra love" is that even the physical guf can attain deveikus (cleaving to Hashem), not only the neshamah.

ואז אף אם אחרת יקח.

And then, "even if he takes another [for himself]…" (Shemos 21:10).

The Sefas Emes alludes to the verse about the master taking another wife, reading it as a metaphor for the soul's situation.

מ"מ כל ההארות המוכנים להנשמה אין מתעכבין ע"י הגוף כמו שדורש שם ההוא סבא לפי דרכו.

nevertheless, all the illuminations (he'aros) prepared for the neshamah are not held back by the body — as that "elder (sabba)" expounds there in his way.

When the body is properly elevated, the lights destined for the soul flow freely and are not blocked by physicality — following the Sabba's exposition in the Zohar.

אכן עכ"פ אפילו אם רעה כו' אשר לא יעדה שלא זכה לחיבה יתירה הנ"ל להעלות הגוף.

However, in any case, even if "she is displeasing (ra'ah) … whom he did not designate (lo ye'adah)" — [meaning] one who did not merit the aforementioned "greater love" to elevate the body —

Even a person who fails to attain that higher level, who does not succeed in elevating his guf (the "displeasing, undesignated" maidservant of the verse), is still not lost.

עכ"פ לא תצא הנשמה כצאת העבדים.

at least the neshamah does not "go out as the servants go out."

Even in failure, the neshamah is not simply discarded like an ordinary servant going free; it retains its special status.

שצריכין עכ"פ לשמור שלא לקלקל הנשמה בעצמה.

For one must at least take care not to ruin the neshamah itself.

The minimum obligation is to guard the soul from actual damage, even if one cannot fully elevate the body.

והאדם נשתלח לזה העולם לתקן גם הגוף.

And the person was sent to this world to rectify the body as well.

The very purpose of a person's mission in this world is to repair and elevate the physical guf, not only the neshamah.

וכ' ואנשי קודש תהיון שבנ"י הם קודש כמ"ש קודש ישראל לה' וזהו הנשמות.

And it is written: "And you shall be holy people (anshei kodesh)" — for Bnei Yisrael are holy, as it says: "Yisrael is holy to Hashem" (Yirmiyahu 2:3); and this refers to the neshamos.

Bnei Yisrael are intrinsically holy — but this kedushah primarily describes the neshamah, which is "holy to Hashem."

אבל יכול האדם להתקדש בגוף להמשיך בו הארת הקדושה מהנשמה.

But a person can sanctify himself in the body, to draw into it the illumination of kedushah from the neshamah.

The avodah is to extend the soul's inherent holiness into the body itself, sanctifying even the physical.

וכתיב תהיון לי שהוא הויה חדשה כשזוכה להמשיך הארת הנשמה בגוף.

And it is written "you shall be (tihyun) to Me" — which is a new "becoming (havayah chadashah)," when one merits to draw the soul's illumination into the body.

"Tihyun" (you shall be) hints at a new existence: when the body absorbs the neshamah's light, a person becomes a wholly renewed being.

גם פי' תהיון כמ"ש נהייתי ונחליתי שכפי שבירת התאוה הגופניות.

"Tihyun" can also be explained as in "I was overcome (nih'yeisi) and made ill" (Daniel 8:27) — that according to the breaking of the bodily desires,

The root "tihyun" can also connote being broken or weakened — alluding to the breaking of physical ta'avos (desires).

מאיר הנשמה.

the neshamah shines.

The more one subdues bodily cravings, the more brightly the light of the neshamah is able to shine through.

ונעשה הויה חדשה.

And a new "becoming" is made.

This breaking of desire produces the very "new existence" — a person reborn through the dominance of his soul.

והעיקר שיהי' המכוון לשם שמים כמ"ש תהיון לי שאם משתוקק אל הקדושה כדי לעשות רצון הבורא ית' אז כתיב ישלח עזרך מקודש.

And the essential thing is that the intention be l'shem Shomayim, as it says "you shall be to Me" — for if one yearns for kedushah in order to do the ratzon haBorei (the will of the Creator), then it is written: "He will send your help from the Sanctuary" (Tehillim 20:3).

The key is pure intent — to sanctify the body for Hashem's sake, "to Me." One who longs for holiness in order to fulfill Hashem's will is promised divine assistance "from the Sanctuary."

וע"ז נתקן ימי המעשה בחי' הגוף.

And for this purpose the working days were established — the aspect of the body.

The six weekdays correspond to the body and the realm of action, the arena in which the physical is to be elevated.

והשבת יומא דנשמתין כמ"ש למען ינוח שורך כו' וינפש בן אמתך כמ"ש במ"א מזה:

And Shabbos is "the day of the souls (yoma d'nishmasin)," as it is written: "so that your ox may rest … and the son of your maidservant (ben amas'cha) may be refreshed (yinafesh)" (Shemos 23:12) — as explained elsewhere regarding this.

Shabbos is the day of the neshamah, when the soul's light prevails. Even the "son of the maidservant" — the body — is "re-souled" (yinafesh) and refreshed by the added neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos.

Summary: The neshamah is the "child" of Hashem, clothed in a body that is the "servant/maidservant." A Jew's mission is to elevate even the guf so it is drawn after the soul, attaining the "greater love" of deveikus for the body itself. Even one who fails to reach this still must guard the neshamah from damage, for it never "goes out" like an ordinary servant. By breaking bodily desires l'shem Shomayim, a person becomes a "new being" through whom the soul's light shines — and where the weekdays are the arena of the body, Shabbos is the day of the soul, when even the body is refreshed and re-ensouled.