Man is rooted in two seemingly contradictory sources. He has a soul with no physical likeness that contains within it a spark of Divinity. And he has a body that by itself, without the soul, would not be human.
Each of these two components, body and soul, has its own needs and its own mode of expression. The two components are connected to each other through speech. When it is separated from the body, the soul requires no expression. When the soul enters the body, however, the soul and body must interact - speech being the mechanism through which body and soul coalesce.
Speech is the seam between the physical and the spiritual, because speech is composed of both. Speech is the translation of ideas, of spiritual thoughts, and of connection to God, into physical reality through the tongue, lips and teeth.
The higher the level of speech, the closer we are to our true humanity, which is our "piece" of Divinity; the lower the level of speech, the closer we are to mere physicality. If a person uses speech to express his connection to God, he is using speech in its most perfect way. If, on the other hand, a person uses speech crudely, his speech is no different than the sounds made by an animal.
A person can reach such a low level of speech that he reflects only the animal part of himself, that is, his physical body detached from its godly component. In fact, this is one way to understand Bilaam's talking donkey. The Hebrew word for donkey, "chamor", is related to the word "chomer", meaning material, physical. When Bilaam's donkey opened its mouth, it was the expression of Bilaam's understanding of humanity, which is that we are nothing more than talking donkeys.
Significantly, this incident occurred as the Jews were about to enter the Land of Israel. Bilaam denied the possibility of the coexistence of the physical and the spiritual in any physical object.
The Land of Israel is the ultimate reflection of the Jewish perspective on physicality and spirituality. It combines physical and spiritual. We conquer the land and work the earth, using all of the physical strengths given to us. Yet, ultimately, it is our spiritual observance that determines whether the land will yield its produce. And of course, we turn to God in prayer, the highest level of speech, to "give dew and rain in its time."
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Holly Pavlov writes from Shearim, Jerusalem.
Each of these two components, body and soul, has its own needs and its own mode of expression. The two components are connected to each other through speech. When it is separated from the body, the soul requires no expression. When the soul enters the body, however, the soul and body must interact - speech being the mechanism through which body and soul coalesce.
Speech is the seam between the physical and the spiritual, because speech is composed of both. Speech is the translation of ideas, of spiritual thoughts, and of connection to God, into physical reality through the tongue, lips and teeth.
The higher the level of speech, the closer we are to our true humanity, which is our "piece" of Divinity; the lower the level of speech, the closer we are to mere physicality. If a person uses speech to express his connection to God, he is using speech in its most perfect way. If, on the other hand, a person uses speech crudely, his speech is no different than the sounds made by an animal.
A person can reach such a low level of speech that he reflects only the animal part of himself, that is, his physical body detached from its godly component. In fact, this is one way to understand Bilaam's talking donkey. The Hebrew word for donkey, "chamor", is related to the word "chomer", meaning material, physical. When Bilaam's donkey opened its mouth, it was the expression of Bilaam's understanding of humanity, which is that we are nothing more than talking donkeys.
Significantly, this incident occurred as the Jews were about to enter the Land of Israel. Bilaam denied the possibility of the coexistence of the physical and the spiritual in any physical object.
The Land of Israel is the ultimate reflection of the Jewish perspective on physicality and spirituality. It combines physical and spiritual. We conquer the land and work the earth, using all of the physical strengths given to us. Yet, ultimately, it is our spiritual observance that determines whether the land will yield its produce. And of course, we turn to God in prayer, the highest level of speech, to "give dew and rain in its time."
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Holly Pavlov writes from Shearim, Jerusalem.