https://www.chabad.org/1058296
https://www.chabad.org/1058312
https://www.chabad.org/1058313
https://www.chabad.org/1058316
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/361897/jewish/The-Soul-and-the-Afterlife.htm
Before its descent to the world the Nefesh Elokit is taken on a heavenly tour. It is shown the various departments in the Garden of Eden and it is also shown Hell (Gehinom). It is made clear to the soul that it is embarking on a perilous journey full of distractions and enticement. The soul is made to take an oath that she will remain righteous, and even if persuaded by those around her that she is perfect, she should always deem herself in need of improvement. The soul is provided with all the spiritual sustenance that it will require on its journey and is satiated with enough spiritual energy required to transform the Nefesh HaBehamit and its portion in the world.
The Nefesh Elokit also has its own infrastructure of pleasure, will, intellect, and emotions, but they are focused on the Divine rather than on the self. When a person is born, the Nefesh Elokit is juxtaposed with the Nefesh HaBehamit and they both operate and express themselves within the thinking mind. The two souls live locked together for their lifespan, both trying to gain control of the thinking mind. Upon death the Nefesh Elokit returns to its Maker. The soul ascends before the Heavenly court and is judged accordingly. Every Mitzvah that a person does creates a defending angel, and every misdeed creates an accusing angel. These angels come and bear witness on a person, and every thought, speech, and action of the deceased’s lifetime is reviewed and taken into account. The Talmud lists the questions that a person will be asked upon arrival at the Heavenly court. They include such inquires as: “Were your business dealings faithful?” and “Did you set fixed times for Torah study?” and “Did you engage in procreation?” If the soul requires cleansing of any misdeeds, the soul is sent to Gehinom, which is a heavenly purification depot. The works of Mussar describe Gehinom as a horrific place where excruciating punishments are meted out to the sinner. Based on the nature of sin is how the punishment is administered.
If a person sinned with heated passion they are placed in a Gehinom of fire. If they were ice cold in their Divine service, they are placed in a Gehinom of snow. It must be understood that Gehinom is not a physical place and the descriptions given speak in human terms that we appreciate, nor is Gehinom a place for eternity, but a temporary—albeit terrible—place for the soul to be cleansed. In fact, the vast majority of souls do not stay in Gehinom for more than eleven months. Because we do not presume most people are so sinful as to warrant a twelve month sentence (reserved only for the wicked), the recital of Kaddish for a departed soul, which brings elevation to the soul and relief from Gehinom, is only recited for eleven months and thereafter only on the anniversary (Yartzeit) of death. On Shabbat all souls have an elevation. Souls in Gehinom are given relief, while those in the world of Yetzirah are allowed through the “Amud,” the pillar that connects the two worlds of Yetzirah and Beriah. After the purification of Gehinom, the soul enters the World to Come—the Garden of Eden—where it receives the rewards it earned through work in this world.
Heavenly Academies
The Talmud speaks of “Heavenly academies” (Metivta D’Rkia), where souls sit and learn Torah. The Talmud states: “Happy is the man who enters the World to Come with the Talmud in his hand.” What one learned in this world is relearned on a much higher level in the next. As is explained in the chapter on Torah learning (ch. 24), there are numerous levels of Torah learning called Pardes, and they correspond to the four worlds. The Torah one has learned on the level of Pshat, “simple interpretation,” one will merit to learn on the level of Remez (allusion), Drush (homiletics), and Sod (secrets). On occasion, souls will be allowed to hear new interpretations in Torah from higher souls. It is said that on the Yartziet of a Tzaddik (righteous person) all other righteous souls come and hear Torah from the Tzaddik.
What is clear is that although the righteous are in a constant state of elevation in experiencing the revelations of the higher realms, the revelations are only equal with the efforts the soul exerted in this world. An analogy may be drawn from a market place. When the market is open, one may buy and sell and do business. However, once the market has shut, one leaves with the set profit made and no more. This world is like a market place where one can make long term investments, but once the soul departs from this world, it is rewarded on parallel with its deeds and nothing more
.The Midrash states that the soul has five names: Nefesh (soul of vitality), Ruach (spirit), Neshamah (breath of life), Chaya (living one), and Yechidah (singular one). Kabbalah explains that these five names of the soul correspond to the level of soul in each of the worlds. Nefesh corresponds to the soul in the realm of Assiyah, Ruach in Yetzirah, Neshamah in Beriah, and Chaya in Atzilut, while Yechidah represents the quintessential point of the soul (Etzem HaNeshamah) which is rooted in the Or Ein Sof. Hassidism teaches that the Nefesh resides in the blood, Ruach in the heart, Neshamah in the brain. Chayah and Yechidah are transcendent of the body, not enclothing themselves in any particular limb. The Kabbalists explain that through successive incarnations, all levels of the soul are elevated.
The souls that have achieved their place in the Garden of Eden will stay in their heavenly abode until the time of the Resurrection of the Dead. At that time all souls will descend once again into this world to be enclothed in their resurrected bodies. It is possible that a soul may be reincarnated, and this will be discussed in the following chapter. It needs to be noted here, however, that if a soul was reincarnated a number of times, each body which carried a different part of the soul will be Resurrected. See my book To Live and Live Again.
The real question is: Which is the greater reward?
According to Rambam, the greatest reward is that of the World of Souls, and he maintains that even after the Resurrection, there will be death and the souls will travel to the World to Come. The Kabbalists disagree and maintain that the ultimate reward is in the time of Resurrection. This requires explanation, for surely the soul is capable of experiencing more when it is free of a body than when it is enclothed in a physical existence.
The explanation is as follows: What the soul experiences in the heavenly abode is a revelation of G‑dliness as it is manifest in the higher realms. However, such revelation is limited to the spiritual levels of those worlds. It is specifically here in this world, in which the world itself is not receptive to the manifestations of the higher worlds that it is receptive to the revelation of Atzmut. Only Atzmut that can transcend all limitations of material and spiritual and be revealed even within the physical world. Such will be the experience of the time of the Resurrection, and it therefore warrants that souls who have been in the Garden of Eden for thousands of years, even those The Soul and the Afterlife who have had amazing elevations in those worlds, will descend at the time of Resurrection, for it is specifically here that they will experience the greatest level—that of a true Dirah BeTachtonim.
Thus, the creation of a Dirah BeTachtonim is a developmental process. Historically there have been various stages in the revelation of G‑dliness within this world. During the times of the Tabernacle and Temple, G‑dliness was revealed, and during the times of Destruction (Churban), G‑dliness was concealed. As time progresses, we move towards the Messianic Era in which there will be a full revelation of G‑dliness within the world, and the ultimate purpose of creation will be revealed in that time. After the coming of Mashiach there will be the Resurrection in which all the souls in the heavenly realms, including the souls of the righteous, will return to their bodily state.
Footnotes 4,2 tanya
1.
Mishnah, Peah 1:1.
2.
Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 30.
3.
See further, ch. 23.
4.
Part I, 24a; II, 60a.
5.
Tehillim 145:3.
6.
Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar.
7.
Yeshayahu 40:28.
8.
Iyov 11:7.
9.
Yeshayahu 55:8.
10.
Megillah 31a.
11.
Bava Kama 17a.
12.
I Shmuel 25:29.
13.
Tehillim 18:3.
14.
Ibid. 5:13.
15.
Avot 4:17.
16.
Berachot 17a.
17.
Shir HaShirim 8:3.
18.
Devarim 33:2.
His latter statement, however (that the middot are clothed in the fulfillment of the commandments in deed or in word), requires further amplification. What connection do the middot of fear and love have with action and speech? The seat of the emotions is in the heart; how do they come to clothe themselves in actions which are done with one’s hand (in donning tefillin, for example), or in speech where one uses his mouth (such as in oral Torah study)?
Namely: Chochmah (“wisdom”), Binah (“understanding”) and Daat (“knowledge”) are called “mothers”; and the seven “doubles” are [the emotional attributes known as] the “seven days of Creation”: Chesed (“kindness”), Gevurah (“severity”), Tiferet (“beauty”), and so on, the other four being: Netzach (“endurance”), Hod (“splendor”), Yesod (“foundation”), and Malchut (“royalty
Just as the Ten Supernal Sefirot are divided into two general categories, so, too, with the human soul [and its ten faculties]; they are divided into two general categories: seichel (“intellect”) and middot (“emotional attributes”).
והנה כל בחינה ומדריגה משלש אלו, נפש רוח ונשמה, כלולה מעשר בחינות
Now, each of these three distinctions and grades — Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah — consists of ten faculties1
כנגד עשר ספירות עליונות שנשתלשלו מהן
corresponding to the Ten Supernal Sefirot (divine manifestations,2 in which they originate and whence they descend.
1.
Elsewhere (e.g., Likutei Torah, Bamidbar 1a, 51b; Shir HaShirim 16d) the Alter Rebbe makes it clear that the soul does not “consist” of the ten faculties, but rather manifests itself through them, since the soul itself is essentially indefinable and indivisible.
2.
The Ten Sefirot are more fully discussed in Iggeret HaKodesh (Tanya, Part IV), ch. 15 and elsewhere.
The explanation of the matter (i.e., of the three intellectual processes described above — inspiration, cogitation, and contemplation) is as follows: that intellectual faculty of the rational soul that first conceives any matter (i.e., the faculty which produces the seminal point of an idea and the first flash of illumination, as explained above)
.ie., the person’s speech is immersed in the study of Torah which includes the exposition of the commandments. For example, Tractate Berachot deals with the commandments and the laws of blessings; Tractate Shabbat deals with the commandments and laws of Shabbat observance, etc.,
The word Pardes (פרדס), whose literal meaning is “orchard”, is here used as an acronym of the four Hebrew words, Pshat, Remez, Derush and Sod, meaning, respectively: plain sense, intimation, homiletical exposition and esoteric meaning — the four levels of Scriptural interpretation.
The Ten Sefirot are subdivided into two general categories.
שהן שלש אמות ושבע כפולות
These two categories are: three “mothers”, i.e., three of these Sefirot are termed “mothers” for they are the source and root of the other seven Sefirot, as a mother is the source of her offspring, and seven “doubles” — the seven divine attributes, called “doubles” inasmuch as each of the emotional attributes manifests itself in a twofold manner, as shall presently be explained.
Namely: Chochmah (“wisdom”), Binah (“understanding”) and Daat (“knowledge”) are called “mothers”; and the seven “doubles” are [the emotional attributes known as] the “seven days of Creation”: Chesed (“kindness”), Gevurah (“severity”), Tiferet (“beauty”), and so on, the other four being: Netzach (“endurance”), Hod (“splendor”), Yesod (“foundation”), and Malchut (“royalty”).
These seven attributes are known as the “seven days of Creation,” for it was through these seven attributes that G‑d created the world. Each day’s creation came about through a particular attribute: during the first day Chesed was dominant, the second day Gevurah, and so on.
חלקת לשתים — שכל ומדות
Just as the Ten Supernal Sefirot are divided into two general categories, so, too, with the human soul [and its ten faculties]; they are divided into two general categories: seichel (“intellect”) and middot (“emotional attributes”).
השכל כולל חכמה בינה ודעת, והמדות הן אהבת ה׳ ופחדו ויראתו ולפארו כו׳
The [category of] intellect includes the three all-inclusive intellectual powers Chochmah, Binah and Daat (ChaBaD), whilst the middot, which bear the same names as their corresponding seven Sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, etc., represent the following emotions: love of G‑d, dread and awe of Him, glorification of Him, and so forth.
Love corresponds to Chesed (“kindness”), as they are, respectively, the internal (i.e., emotional) and external (i.e., practical) aspects of the same trait; the dread and awe of G‑d correspond to Gevurah, as they are its inner aspect; so too the glorification of Him corresponds to Tiferet.
וחב״ד נקראו אמות ומקור למדות כי המדות הן תולדות חב״ד
ChaBaD (the intellectual faculties) are called the “mothers” and source of the middot, for the middot are “offspring” of (i.e., derive from) Chabad.
At this point it would be worthwhile to explain briefly the function of the faculties Chochmah, Binah and Daat (abbreviated as ChaBaD), mentioned frequently in the coming chapters.
Chochmah is the first flash of intellect. It is the seminal and inner point of an idea. This seminal point of intellect already includes within it all the details and ramifications of the idea, but as yet they are concentrated and obscured. (This is analogous to a dot, in which the dimensions of length and breadth are not evident — all that is seen is the dot — although for the dot to exist it must certainly contain length and breadth.)
Chochmah is also called barak hamavrik — the intuitive flash of illumination which is the beginning of intellectual revelation. For instance, we may observe how a person striving to answer an intellectual question suddenly realizes in a flash of intuition that the question can be answered along a particular line of reasoning. At the moment of illumination he is as yet unaware exactly how the particular question is answered: he knows only that he has found an adequate solution to the pr
Rav Hutner explains that the 3000 parables were not 3000 parables that related to distinct topics.
The purpose of a parable is to allow grasping of a concept that is too abstruse and so removed from the pupils capacity to comprehend. The familiar (mashal) then serves as a tool to access the foreign (nimshal).
The concepts Shlomo sought to explain were 3000 steps of comprehension removed from the ordinary so that each mashal was the nimshal for the next sequential mashal.
https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/60700/example-of-solomons-3000-parables-or-1005-interpretations#comment187334_60700
Study Bible
Solomon's Wisdom
…31He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations. 32Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.…
…31He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations. 32Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.…
Proverbs 25:1
These are additional proverbs of Solomon, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:
Ecclesiastes 12:9
Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
Ecclesiastes 12:12
And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
Song of Solomon 1:1
Solomon's Song of Songs.
These are additional proverbs of Solomon, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:
Ecclesiastes 12:9
Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
Ecclesiastes 12:12
And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
Song of Solomon 1:1
Solomon's Song of Songs.
Matthew 13:35
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
He shall perceive a parable, and the expounding; the words of wise men, and the dark figurative speeches of them. (He shall understand a proverb, and its expounding, or its explanation; yea, the words of the wise, and their riddles.)
7 The dread of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and teaching. (The fear of the Lord/Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; but fools despise wisdom and teaching.)
12 swallow we him, as hell swalloweth a man living; and all-whole, as (those) going down into a pit; (we shall swallow him up, like Sheol swalloweth up the living; yea, all-whole, like those going down into the pit;)
13 we shall find all precious chattel, (or possessions,) we shall fill our houses with spoils;
20 Wisdom preacheth withoutforth; in streets it giveth his voice. (Wisdom preacheth outside; yea, it raiseth up its voice in the streets.)
21 It crieth oft in the head of companies; in the leaves of [the] gates of the city it bringeth forth his words, and saith, (It crieth often at the tops of the streets; and at the leaves of the gates of the city, it bringeth forth its words, and saith,)
22 How long, little men in wit, love young childhood, and fools shall covet those things, that be harmful to themselves, and unprudent men shall hate knowing? (How long, ye of little wit, or of low intelligence, shall ye love foolishness, and shall fools desire those things that be harmful to themselves, and shall the imprudent hate knowledge, or understanding?)
24 For I called, and ye forsook; I held forth mine hand, and none there was that beheld. (For I called, but you would not listen to me; I held forth my hand, but no one paid any attention to it.)
25 Ye have despised all my counsel; and charged not my blamings (and would not listen to my rebukes).
26 And I shall laugh in your perishing; and I shall scorn you, when that, that ye dread, cometh to you. (And so I shall laugh at your misfortune, or at your tribulation; and I shall scorn you, when what ye fear, cometh to you.)
27 When sudden wretchedness falleth in, and perishing befalleth as (a) tempest; when tribulation and anguish cometh [up]on you.
33 But he that heareth me, shall rest without dread; and he shall use abundance, when the dread of evils is taken away. (But he who listeneth to me, shall rest without fear; and he shall enjoy his abundance, when the fear of evil is taken away.)
The Jew has his source in Divine “thought” — the innermost level of G‑dliness. All other created beings, even angels, are rooted in and created by Divine “speech”. Speech is external in comparison with thought
That is to say, i.e., the significance of the Jew’s being called G‑d’s child is that just as a child is derived from its father’s brain — his inner and essential being,
so too (to use an anthropomorphism) is the soul of every Jew derived from G‑d’s thought and wisdom.
The Alter Rebbe now takes this concept a step further. Deriving from G‑d’s thought and wisdom actually implies that it derives form G‑d Himself, as he goes on to explain.
For9 “He is wise — G‑d possesses the quality of wisdom — but not with a wisdom that is known to us created beings,” because He and His wisdom are one,and as Maimonides writes,10 “He is Knowledge and simultaneously the Knower... Who knows and comprehends — through the ”Knowledge“...; [and He is that which is Known]” — G‑d is also the subject of knowledge and comprehension, as Maimonides concludes.
Many Jewish philosophers13 rejected Maimonides‘ description of G‑d as “the Knower, the Knowledge and the Known.” In fact they considered it erroneous to ascribe to G‑d a description of any sort — even of the lofty level of intellect of which Maimonides writes — inasmuch as description implies limitation, and G‑d is inherently limitless
The Alter Rebbe therefore points out in this note that the Kabbalists agreed with Maimonides, with the qualification that his concept does not apply to G‑d’s essence. For His essence is truly infinite — even higher than the inscrutable level of “Knowledge” that Maimonides refers to. Regarding His essence, those who disagree with Maimonides are correct in maintaining that G‑d cannot be defined in terms of “knowledge”, since He transcends it infinitely. Only after G‑d limits the infinite light of His essence through the process of tzimtzum (progressive contractions), and thereby assumes the attribute of Chochmah (“Wisdom”), — only then can it be said of G‑d that He is the “Knower, Knowledge and Known.”
The Alter Rebbe therefore points out in this note that the Kabbalists agreed with Maimonides, with the qualification that his concept does not apply to G‑d’s essence. For His essence is truly infinite — even higher than the inscrutable level of “Knowledge” that Maimonides refers to. Regarding His essence, those who disagree with Maimonides are correct in maintaining that G‑d cannot be defined in terms of “knowledge”, since He transcends it infinitely. Only after G‑d limits the infinite light of His essence through the process of tzimtzum (progressive contractions), and thereby assumes the attribute of Chochmah (“Wisdom”), — only then can it be said of G‑d that He is the “Knower, Knowledge and Known.”
The Kabbalists have agreed with him (that G‑d can be described as “Knower, Knowledge and Known”), as stated in Pardes of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero.14
Even according to the Kabbalah of the AriZal (Rabbi Isaac Luria, of blessed memory), Maimonides‘ statement stands.
The Kabbalah of the AriZal provides an even deeper insight into the limitlessness of G‑d’s essence, higher than even that level of “knowledge” to which Maimonides refers. Still, even according to the teachings of the AriZal, Maimonides‘ statement is acceptable — with one proviso, however.
This is so only when applied to the mystic principle of the clothing of the Ein Sof-light — by means of numerous “contractions” (tzimtzumim) — in the vessels of the Sefirot of CHaBaD (חב"ד — an acronym of Chochmah, Binah and Daat — “wisdom”, “understanding”, and “knowledge”, respectively; the triad of Sefirot which represent Divine “intellect”) of the world of Atzilut (“Emanation”).
Through a process of self-limitation called tzimtzum (“contraction”), G‑d manifests (or, in kabbalistic terminology, “clothes”) His infinite essence (referred to by the Kabbalists as Ein Sof — “the endless, infinite One”) in the Sefirot, which are His attributes. This manifestation occurs first in Atzilut; specifically, in CHaBaD of Atzilut — Divine Intellect. Thus, at the level of Atzilut, G‑d can indeed be defined in Maimonides‘ terms of “Knower, Knowledge and Known,” i.e., intellect,
but not higher than Atzilut.
Above the World of Atzilut the Unknowable G‑d cannot be defined. Accordingly, in terms of the kabbalistic scale, Maimonides had nothing to say about G‑d except from the World of Atzilut and “down”.
Thus it is written,16 “You have made them all with wisdom.”
“You have conceived them all with wisdom” would seem more appropriate: conceiving, not “making”, is surely the proper function of G‑d’s wisdom. “You have made them all with wisdom” indicates however that to G‑d, “wisdom” — the highest level within the Worlds — is as lowly as Asiyah, the lowest level.
The Alter Rebbe now addresses a difficulty arising from his previous statement that every soul emanates from Divine wisdom. Since all souls emanate from one source — Supernal Wisdom — it should follow that all souls are of the same level and rank. How then do the various levels and ranks found in Jewish souls come about?
True, there are myriads of different gradations of souls (Neshamot), rank upon rank, ad infinitum.
For example, the souls of the Patriarchs and of Moses our Teacher are by far superior to the souls of our own generations, [which belong to] the period preceding the coming (lit., the “heels”, i.e., the footsteps) of the Messiah;
for [the latter souls] are like the very soles of the feet in comparison with the brain and the head.
Just as the life-force found in the soles of the feet cannot possibly be compared to that found in the head and brain, so too can there be no comparison between the souls of these present generations and those souls (here called the “head” and “brain”) of earlier generations.
Similarly, within each generation we find the same disparity among Neshamot: there are those who are the “heads (the leaders) of the multitude of Israel,” so designated because their souls are in the category of “head” and “brain” in comparison with those of the masses and the ignorant.
Likewise there are similar distinctions between Nefashot and Nefashot (the soul-levels of Nefesh), for every soul consists of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah.17
Just as the soul-level of Neshamah varies from one Jew to another, so too do the levels of Ruach and Nefesh.
Thus we see how manifold are the differences in the ranks of souls. Accordingly, we would expect similar variations in their divine sources — the greater the soul, the higher its source
Nevertheless, the root of every Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah, from the highest of all ranks to the lowest — the “lowest” being those souls embodied within the illiterate and the most light-minded of light-minded Jews, —
נמשך ממוח העליון שהיא חכמה עילאה כביכול
all are derived, as it were, from the Supreme Mind which is Chochmah Ila‘ah (Supernal Wisdom).
In order to help us better understand why the levels of individual souls vary so widely despite their common source, the Alter Rebbe now returns to the analogy of a father and son (used earlier to illustrate the description of Jews as G‑d’s “children” who are derived from Chochmah Ila‘ah — G‑d’s “brain”, as it were).
An explanation in brief: In the analogy we observe that the child’s entire body is derived from a drop of semen originating in its father’s brain. Yet the many physical components which constitute the child’s body are by no means uniform. They vary greatly, from the brain — the highest component— to the nails of the feet, the lowest.
These radical differences come about through the presence of the drop of semen in the mother’s womb during the nine months of gestation. It is this period of physical development that produces the differences between one organ and another: the more materialized a particular component of the drop becomes, the more it diverges from its original state and becomes an entity with its own unique physical characteristics. We thus observe that though all the organs share a common source, nevertheless in the process of development there arise differences as radical as that between brain and nails.
Another matter evident from the analogy: Though the nails are the most insignificant part of the child’s body, they are still bound and united with their first source — the father’s brain. For, like the other parts of the child’s body, the nails too receive their nourishment and life from its brain. Since the child’s brain retains the essence of its source (the father’s brain) and is thus constantly bound to its source, even the nails are therefore bound up with their original source.
The same is true regarding souls. All souls are derived from the same source and root, from Chochmah Ila‘ah. But the soul must descend therefrom through a multitude of Worlds and levels, before clothing itself in a physical body. It is this descent that creates changes in the soul’s level and differences between one soul and another, for one soul is affected by this descent to a greater degree than another.
The second aspect of the analogy too applies here. Although a soul may descend to the very lowest of levels, it is still bound up and unified with its original source in Chochmah Ila‘ah. In the analogy, the nails remain bound to the father’s brain through their unity with the son’s brain. Similarly, these souls of the lowest level remain bound to their source in Chochmah Ila’ah through their attachment to the souls of the righteous and the sages of their generation, from whom they receive their spiritual nourishment. Even when in this physical world, souls of a higher level (analogous to the child’s brain) retain the spiritual level of their source — the level of “head” and “brain”; and through these souls even the souls of lower levels remain bound and unified with their source within G‑d. This, briefly, is what the Alter Rebbe goes on to explain.
Though the child’s organs all derive from the same source — the drop of semen which comes from the father’s brain — yet they develop into entities as radically diverse as the brain and the nails.
The World of Beriah (Creation), as its name implies, is a creation, not Divinity itself. It is the first creation to come about in a manner of Yesh Me‘Ayin — creatio ex nihilo; from Ayin (“nothingness”) there comes about a Yesh, a definite state of existence. Beriah, however, represents merely the passage out of non-existence; it is a state in creation which cannot yet be spoken of as giving rise to proper “existence”, definable in terms of form and structure.
The Maharal is particularly known for the legend that he created The Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay, using mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. This legend, which first appeared in print nearly 200 years after the Maharal's death, states he created the golem to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks; particularly blood libels emanating from certain prejudiced quarters. See the silent movie "Der Golem (1920)", by Paul Webbner & Carl Boese.
The second aspect of the analogy too applies here. Although a soul may descend to the very lowest of levels, it is still bound up and unified with its original source in Chochmah Ila‘ah. In the analogy, the nails remain bound to the father’s brain through their unity with the son’s brain. Similarly, these souls of the lowest level remain bound to their source in Chochmah Ila’ah through their attachment to the souls of the righteous and the sages of their generation, from whom they receive their spiritual nourishment. Even when in this physical world, souls of a higher level (analogous to the child’s brain) retain the spiritual level of their source — the level of “head” and “brain”; and through these souls even the souls of lower levels remain bound and unified with their source within G‑d. This, briefly, is what the Alter Rebbe goes on to explain.
Though the child’s organs all derive from the same source — the drop of semen which comes from the father’s brain — yet they develop into entities as radically diverse as the brain and the nails.
(In Etz Chayim, Shaar HaChashmal, it is likewise stated in connection with the esoteric principle of Adam’s garments in the Garden of Eden,
שהיו צפרנים מבחינת מוח תבונה
that they (the garments) were of “nails” [derived] from the cognitive faculty of the brain.
The soul, too, is changed from its original state by a process of “development” similar to the gestation which transforms the drop of semen; in the case of the soul, however, this process consists of a descent from World to World, and from level to level within each World, as mentioned briefly above.
The Alter Rebbe will now go on to state the details of this descent.
Specifically, the soul passes through four spiritual Worlds, in its descent from Supernal Wisdom to the human body. These “Worlds”, or stages in the creative process, are (in descending order): Atzilut (the World of Emanation), Beriah (the World of Creation), Yetzirah (the World of Formation) and Asiyah (the World of Action). (They are written acrostically as אבי"ע, pronounced ABiYA.)
Atzilut (Emanation) is a World where the Ein Sof-light radiates, so that Atzilut is, in effect, G‑dliness Itself “transplanted” (so to speak) to a lower level. (This takes place by means of tzimtzum.) For this reason, Atzilut is still united with its source — Ein Sof.
These two characteristics of Atzilut are indicated in its very name. The word Atzilut is etymologically related to two roots: (a) The verb אצל , meaning “to delegate”, as in the verse,19 “I (G‑d) shall delegate something of your (Moses‘) spirit and place it upon them (the seventy Elders).” The verse is saying, then, that the spirit of prophecy possessed by the seventy Elders was merely an extension of Moses’ spirit, not something new, and separate from him. Similarly, the properties of Atzilut are extensions, on a lower level, of the Ein Sof. (b) Atzilut is also related to the word “etzel”, meaning “near” — thus indicating the unity of Atzilut with its source.The World of Beriah (Creation), as its name implies, is a creation, not Divinity itself. It is the first creation to come about in a manner of Yesh Me‘Ayin — creatio ex nihilo; from Ayin (“nothingness”) there comes about a Yesh, a definite state of existence. Beriah, however, represents merely the passage out of non-existence; it is a state in creation which cannot yet be spoken of as giving rise to proper “existence”, definable in terms of form and structure.
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Yetzirah (Formation) is the World where that which was created from Ayin assumes shape and form.
The World of Asiyah refers to the completed creation. Understandably, this completed creation is still spiritual. The final world of creation (“physical Asiyah”), comprising our physical world with all its creatures, comes into being only at a later stage.
Together, these worlds form the Seder Hishtalshelut, “the chain-like order of descent,” so designated because just as the lowest link in a chain is connected to the highest by means of all the interlocking links, similarly, in the Seder Hishtalshelut, the lowest level in Asiyah is connected to the highest level in Atzilut; all the levels interlock and flow from each other.
This explains the comment of our Sages20 on the verse,21 “And cleave unto Him” (concerning which the question arises: How can mortal man cleave to G‑d? In answer, our Sages comment): “He who cleaves unto a [Torah] scholar is deemed by the Torah as if he had actually become attached to the Shechinah (the Divine Presence).”
This seems difficult to comprehend: How can one equate cleaving to a Torah scholar with cleaving to the Shechinah? However, in light of the above, this is readily understood.
22As for those who willfully sin and rebel against the Torah sages: How do they receive their spiritual nurture and life? Spiritual life and nurture flow only where there is a desire to nurture and give life. In answer to this, the text continues:
יניקת נפש רוח ונשמה שלהם מבחינת אחוריים של נפש רוח ונשמת תלמידי חכמים
the nurture of their Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah comes from the hind-part, as it were, of the Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah of the scholars.)
Nurture from “the hind-part” can be understood by way of comparison to one who gives an object to his enemy — obviously, not out of a true desire to give, but rather due to some external factor. The grudging reluctance with which he gives will be reflected in his manner; he will turn away from him, tossing the object to his enemy over his shoulder. The same is true in the spiritual sphere. When spiritual nurture is given unwillingly, it is described as coming from “the hind-part” of the giver — an external level of nurture.
Nevertheless, even those who rebel against the sages receive some measure of spiritual nourishment from them. For every soul, without exception, must be bound up with its root and source, as explained earlier. The level of nurture they receive, is however from the “hind-part” of the souls of the sages.
Having23 concluded that every Jew has a holy soul which emanates “from above” (from Supernal Wisdom), the Alter Rebbe now states that even the quality (the “rank” or “level”) of each individual soul is determined only by factors “from above” — spiritual factors, such as the soul’s above-mentioned descent through Hishtalshelut. No actions of this physical world can determine its quality and rank. The Alter Rebbe makes this statement indirectly by clarifying a quotation from the Zohar which seems to indicate the contrary.
As for what is written in the Zohar24 and in Zohar Chadash25 that the essential factor is to conduct oneself in a holy manner during sexual union,
מה שאין כן בני עמי הארץ כו׳
which is not the case with the children of the ignorant and their ilk who do not conduct themselves thus,
The ignorant — as the Zohar goes on to imply — draw down for their child a soul of a lower level, which seems to indicate that an action occurring in this physical world can, in fact, affect the soul’s level. Not so, declares the Alter Rebbe. The Zohar is not referring to the soul at all, but to the soul’s spiritual “garment” — as follows
Now, if the person sanctifies himself, he will bring forth a holy garment for the neshamah of his child, thereby enabling the child to serve G‑d more readily.
However great a soul it may be, it still needs the father’s sanctification at the time of intercourse.
אבל הנשמה עצמה, הנה לפעמים נשמת אדם גבוה לאין קץ בא להיות בנו של אדם נבזה ושפל כו׳
But the soul itself as distinct from its “garment” is not affected by the parents‘ sanctification; in fact it sometimes happens that the soul of an infinitely lofty person comes to be the son of an ignoble and lowly person.
All this has been explained by Rabbi Isaac Luria, of blessed memory, in Likutei Torah on Parshat Vayera, and in Taamei HaMitzvot on Parshat Bereishit.
Thus the physical world — of which the parents are a part — can in no way affect the soul’s spiritual rank. Even the statement of the Zohar that the essential factor regarding the state of the soul is the holy manner of conduct during sexual union, pertains only to the soul’s “garment”. The soul itself, with all its various levels, emanates “from above.”
as it is written3 concerning Adam (whose soul was a comprehensive one, a neshamah klalit, in that it contained all the particular souls of subsequent generations): “And He (G‑d) blew into his nostrils a soul of life”;
and as we say in prayer concerning the soul of every individual Jew,4 “You blew it into me.”
The significance of the verb “to blow” as it relates to the infusion of the Jewish soul is now explained.
For it is of his inward and innermost vitality that a man emits through blowing with force.
Blowing tires a person much more quickly than speaking, as is readily observed, for it requires a greater exertion of effort and vitality. Hence, the fact that the metaphor of blowing is used to describe G‑d’s implanting the Jew’s soul in his body signifies that this soul originates in the “innermost” aspect of G‑dliness.
The Jew has his source in Divine “thought” — the innermost level of G‑dliness. All other created beings, even angels, are rooted in and created by Divine “speech”. Speech is external in comparison with thought.
Many Jewish philosophers13 rejected Maimonides‘ description of G‑d as “the Knower, the Knowledge and the Known.” In fact they considered it erroneous to ascribe to G‑d a description of any sort — even of the lofty level of intellect of which Maimonides writes — inasmuch as description implies limitation, and G‑d is inherently limitless.
The Alter Rebbe therefore points out in this note that the Kabbalists agreed with Maimonides, with the qualification that his concept does not apply to G‑d’s essence. For His essence is truly infinite — even higher than the inscrutable level of “Knowledge” that Maimonides refers to. Regarding His essence, those who disagree with Maimonides are correct in maintaining that G‑d cannot be defined in terms of “knowledge”, since He transcends it infinitely. Only after G‑d limits the infinite light of His essence through the process of tzimtzum (progressive contractions), and thereby assumes the attribute of Chochmah (“Wisdom”), — only then can it be said of G‑d that He is the “Knower, Knowledge and Known.”
והנה כל בחינה ומדריגה משלש אלו, נפש רוח ונשמה, כלולה מעשר בחינות
Now, each of these three distinctions and grades — Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah — consists of ten faculties1
כנגד עשר ספירות עליונות שנשתלשלו מהן
corresponding to the Ten Supernal Sefirot (divine manifestations,2 in which they originate and whence they descend.
The Ten Sefirot are subdivided into two general categories.
שהן שלש אמות ושבע כפולות
These two categories are: three “mothers”, i.e., three of these Sefirot are termed “mothers” for they are the source and root of the other seven Sefirot, as a mother is the source of her offspring, and seven “doubles” — the seven divine attributes, called “doubles” inasmuch as each of the emotional attributes manifests itself in a twofold manner, as shall presently be explained.
פירוש: חכמה בינה ודעת, ושבעת ימי הבנין: חסד גבורה תפארת כו׳
Namely: Chochmah (“wisdom”), Binah (“understanding”) and Daat (“knowledge”) are called “mothers”; and the seven “doubles” are [the emotional attributes known as] the “seven days of Creation”: Chesed (“kindness”), Gevurah (“severity”), Tiferet (“beauty”), and so on, the other four being: Netzach (“endurance”), Hod (“splendor”), Yesod (“foundation”), and Malchut (“royalty”).
These seven attributes are known as the “seven days of Creation,” for it was through these seven attributes that G‑d created the world. Each day’s creation came about through a particular attribute: during the first day Chesed was dominant, the second day Gevurah, and so on.
Just as the Ten Supernal Sefirot are divided into two general categories, so, too, with the human soul [and its ten faculties]; they are divided into two general categories: seichel (“intellect”) and middot (“emotional attributes”).
The [category of] intellect includes the three all-inclusive intellectual powers Chochmah, Binah and Daat (ChaBaD), whilst the middot, which bear the same names as their corresponding seven Sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, etc., represent the following emotions: love of G‑d, dread and awe of Him, glorification of Him, and so forth.
The [category of] intellect includes the three all-inclusive intellectual powers Chochmah, Binah and Daat (ChaBaD), whilst the middot, which bear the same names as their corresponding seven Sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, etc., represent the following emotions: love of G‑d, dread and awe of Him, glorification of Him, and so forth.
Love corresponds to Chesed (“kindness”), as they are, respectively, the internal (i.e., emotional) and external (i.e., practical) aspects of the same trait; the dread and awe of G‑d correspond to Gevurah, as they are its inner aspect; so too the glorification of Him corresponds to Tiferet.
ChaBaD (the intellectual faculties) are called the “mothers” and source of the middot, for the middot are “offspring” of (i.e., derive from) ChaBaD.
At this point it would be worthwhile to explain briefly the function of the faculties Chochmah, Binah and Daat (abbreviated as ChaBaD), mentioned frequently in the coming chapters.
Chochmah is the first flash of intellect. It is the seminal and inner point of an idea. This seminal point of intellect already includes within it all the details and ramifications of the idea, but as yet they are concentrated and obscured. (This is analogous to a dot, in which the dimensions of length and breadth are not evident — all that is seen is the dot — although for the dot to exist it must certainly contain length and breadth.)
Chochmah is also called barak hamavrik — the intuitive flash of illumination which is the beginning of intellectual revelation. For instance, we may observe how a person striving to answer an intellectual question suddenly realizes in a flash of intuition that the question can be answered along a particular line of reasoning. At the moment of illumination he is as yet unaware exactly how the particular question is answered: he knows only that he has found an adequate solution to the problem.
Chochmah is also called barak hamavrik — the intuitive flash of illumination which is the beginning of intellectual revelation. For instance, we may observe how a person striving to answer an intellectual question suddenly realizes in a flash of intuition that the question can be answered along a particular line of reasoning. At the moment of illumination he is as yet unaware exactly how the particular question is answered: he knows only that he has found an adequate solution to the problem.
After the person fully understands the idea with all its details and ramifications, he must then immerse himself in it, binding and unifying himself with it to the extent that he not only understands it but also feels it. Only in this way can he be affected by the idea; if his understanding points to the desirability of a particular thing, it will give birth to a love for it; if his understanding indicates instead the harmfulness of a particular thing, he will react with a feeling of fear and flee from it; and similarly with other emotions. The faculty with which one thus immerses himself in an idea is called Daat (“knowledge”), which is etymologically related to the expression,3 “and Adam knew (ידע) Eve,” a verb which denotes attachment and union. We now return to the text:
Chochmah is also called barak hamavrik — the intuitive flash of illumination which is the beginning of intellectual revelation. For instance, we may observe how a person striving to answer an intellectual question suddenly realizes in a flash of intuition that the question can be answered along a particular line of reasoning. At the moment of illumination he is as yet unaware exactly how the particular question is answered: he knows only that he has found an adequate solution to the problem.
After the person fully understands the idea with all its details and ramifications, he must then immerse himself in it, binding and unifying himself with it to the extent that he not only understands it but also feels it. Only in this way can he be affected by the idea; if his understanding points to the desirability of a particular thing, it will give birth to a love for it; if his understanding indicates instead the harmfulness of a particular thing, he will react with a feeling of fear and flee from it; and similarly with other emotions. The faculty with which one thus immerses himself in an idea is called Daat (“knowledge”), which is etymologically related to the expression,3 “and Adam knew (ידע) Eve,” a verb which denotes attachment and union. We now return to the text:
Footnotes
The ignorant — as the Zohar goes on to imply — draw down for their child a soul of a lower level, which seems to indicate that an action occurring in this physical world can, in fact, affect the soul’s level. Not so, declares the Alter Rebbe. The Zohar is not referring to the soul at all, but to the soul’s spiritual “garment” — as follows:
The Maharal is particularly known for the legend that he created The Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay, using mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. This legend, which first appeared in print nearly 200 years after the Maharal's death, states he created the golem to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks; particularly blood libels emanating from certain prejudiced quarters. See the silent movie "Der Golem (1920)", by Paul Webbner & Carl Boese.
The Maharal was probably born in Poznań (now in Poland), to Rabbi Betzalel (Loew), whose family originated from the German town of Worms. His birth year is uncertain, with different sources listing the eve of Passover Seder 1512 in Poznan, Poland (or 1520? or 1526? and birthplace Worms or Prague). His uncle Jacob was Reichsrabbiner ("Rabbi of the Empire") of the Holy Roman Empire, his brother Chaim of Friedberg a famous rabbinical scholar. Traditionally it is believed that the Maharal's family descended from the Babylonian Exilarchs (during the era of the Geonim) and therefore also from the Davidic dynasty. He received his formal education in various yeshivas (Talmudical schools), other sources claim that he was an "autodidact" and all his studies were of his own and not in any Yeshiva.
One biography of Maharal - ויקיגניה - claims that the Maharal was married twice. His first wife was the daughter of Rabbi Abraham Haiut, and Lea & Feigele were daughters of this marriage. Most other biography versions of Maharal do not mention the first marriage and named Pearl as the mother of all Maharal's children, including Lea and Feigele (see below).
The Maharal married at the "late" age of 32 (1544) to Pearl, of a wealthy family. He had six girls and one boy who was named after the Maharal's father, Betzalel.
He was independently wealthy, probably as a result of his father's successful business enterprises and his wife's generous dowry. He accepted a rabbinical position in 1553 as Landesrabbiner of Moravia at Mikulov (Nikolsburg), directing community affairs but also determining which tractate of the Talmud was to be studied in the communities in that province. He also revised the community statutes on the election and taxation process. Although he retired from Moravia in 1573 at age 60, the communities still considered him an authority long after that. In 1573 he moved to Prague, where he opened a yeshivah and became mentor of many outstanding disciples. The most prominent among these is Rabbi Lipman Heller, author of Tosefot Yomtov on the Mishnah. Not being appointed Chief Rabbi of Prague in 1583, he moved to his birth town Poznen in Poland as Chief Rabbi for 4 years, then returned to Prague for 5 years, and In 1592 the Maharal accepted the position of Chief Rabbi of Poland in Poznen, returning to Prague in 1597 to serve as its Chief Rabbi till 1604.
He was a prolific writer, and his works include: Tiferet Yisrael on the greatness of Torah and mitzvot; Netivot Olam, on ethics; Be'er Hagolah, a commentary on rabbinic sayings; Netzach Yisrael, on exile and redemption; Or Chadash, on the book of Esther; Ner Mitzvah, on Chanukah; Gevurot Hashem, on the Exodus; and many others. The Maharal's works reveal his illustrious personality as a profound thinker who penetrates the mysteries of Creation and metaphysics, clothing kabbalistic themes in a philosophic garment. His unique approach to Jewish thought influenced the ideologies of Chassidism and Mussar.
The Maharal castigated the educational methods of his day where boys were taught at a very young age and insisted that children must be taught in accordance with their intellectual maturity. Thus, Talmud and certainly not tosafot should be introduced only when the child is developmentally capable of fully comprehending what is being taught. He recommended that the system proposed in Pirkei Avot be followed.
The Maharal was a staunch leader of his community, he became the hero of many legends in which he appears as the defender of Prague Jewry against all its enemies, assisted by a Golem, a robot he made and gave life to by placing sacred writings in his mouth.
The Maharal's company and advice was sought by kings and nobleman giving rise to many colorful legends.
The Maharal's synagogue, Altneu Schul, still exists today and is preserved as a shrine by the Prague municipal authorities, who in 1917 erected a statue in his honor.
In the Torah world the Maharal lives on in his writings, which are an enduring source of wisdom and inspiration.
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Judah Loew ben Betzalel, alt. Loewe, Löwe, or Levai, (c. 1520 – 17 September 1609) widely known to scholars of Judaism as the Maharal of Prague, or simply The MaHaRaL, the Hebrew acronym of "Moreinu ha-Rav Loew," ("Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew") was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who served as a leading rabbi in the city of Prague in Bohemia for most of his life.
Within the world of Torah and Talmudic scholarship, he is known for his works on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism and his work Gur Aryeh al HaTorah, a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary.
The Maharal is particularly known for the legend that he created The Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay, using mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. This legend, which first appeared in print nearly 200 years after the Maharal's death, states he created the golem to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks; particularly blood libels emanating from certain prejudiced quarters. There are no contemporary accounts of this occurring.
Rabbi Loew is buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague in Josefov, where his grave and intact tombstone can still be visited. His descendants' surnames include Loewy, Loeb, Lowy, Oppenheimer, Pfaelzer, and Keim.
The Maharal was probably born in Poznań (Poland, though Perels lists the birth town - mistakenly - as Worms, Germany) to Rabbi Bezalel (Loew), whose family originated from the German town of Worms. His birth year is uncertain, with different sources listing 1512, 1520 and 1526. His uncle Jacob was Reichsrabbiner ("Rabbi of the Empire") of the Holy Roman Empire, his brother Chaim of Friedberg a famous rabbinical scholar. Traditionally it is believed that the Maharal's family descended from the Babylonian Exilarchs (during the era of the geonim) and therefore also from the Davidic dynasty. He received his formal education in various yeshivas (Talmudical schools).
He was independently wealthy, probably as a result of his father's successful business enterprises. He accepted a rabbinical position in 1553 as Landesrabbiner of Moravia at Mikulov (Nikolsburg), directing community affairs but also determining which tractate of the Talmud was to be studied in the communities in that province. He also revised the community statutes on the election and taxation process. Although he retired from Moravia in 1588 at age 60, the communities still considered him an authority long after that.
One of his activities in Moravia was the rallying against slanderous slurs on legitimacy (Nadler) that were spread in the community against certain families and could ruin the finding of a marriage partner for the children of those families. This phenomenon even affected his own family. He used one of the two yearly grand sermons (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur 1583) to denounce the phenomenon.
He moved back to Prague in 1588, where he again accepted a rabbinical position, replacing the retired Isaac Hayoth. He immediately reiterated his views on Nadler. On 23 February 1592, he had an audience with Emperor Rudolf II, which he attended together with his brother Sinai and his son-in-law Isaac Cohen; Prince Bertier was present with the emperor. The conversation seems to have been related to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) a subject which held much fascination for the emperor.
In 1592, the Maharal moved to Poznań, where he had been elected as Chief Rabbi of Poland. In Poznań he composed Netivoth Olam and part of Derech Chaim (see below). Towards the end of his life he moved back to Prague, where he died in 1609. He is buried there; his tomb is a famous tourist attraction. A daughter of the Maharal, born c 1565, married Rabbi Zachariah Mendel Gelernter d ? Poznan.
His name "Löw" or "Loew", derived from the German Löwe, "lion" (cf. the Yiddish Leib of the same origin), is a kinnuy or substitute name for the Hebrew Judah or Yehuda, as this name - originally of the tribe of Judah - is traditionally associated with a lion. In the Book of Genesis, the patriarch Jacob refers to his son Judah as a Gur Aryeh, a "Young Lion" (Genesis 49:9) when blessing him. In Jewish naming tradition the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case. The Maharal's classic work on the Rashi commentary of the Pentateuch is called the Gur Aryeh al HaTorah, in Hebrew: "Young Lion [commenting] upon the Torah".
It is unknown how many Talmudic rabbinical scholars the Maharal taught in Moravia, but the main disciples from the Prague period include Rabbis Yom Tov Lipmann Heller and David Ganz. The former promoted his teacher's program of regular Mishnah study by the masses, and composed his Tosefoth Yom Tov (a Mishnah commentary incorporated into almost all published editions of the Mishnah over the past few hundred years) with this goal in mind. David Ganz died young, but produced the work Tzemach David, a work of Jewish and general history, as well as writing on astronomy; both the MaHaRal and Ganz were in contact with Tycho Brahe, the famous astronomer.
Literature
The legend of his creation of a golem inspired Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel Der Golem. Various other books have been inspired by this legend, the authenticity of which has been doubted; although the Golem motif is old, the connection between the Golem on the one hand and the Maharal and Prague on the other is known only from circa 1837 The famous story of the Golem of Prague created by the Maharal, which is usually considered to be a Jewish folk story from the 18th century at the latest, is considered by literary resercher Eli Eshed, who had published research on the subject in Hebrew ( http://www.notes.co.il/eshed/60482.asp), to be a later literary invention. According to Eshed , the story was created by Jewish German writer Berthold Auerbach for his 1837 novel Spinoza. Eshed suppose that the story of the Golem of Prague is the original creation of Auerbach which served as a "trigger " to almost immediate explosion in publication for various poems, stories, plays, novels and such and so created a false impression that it is an "ancient folk story" when in reality it was a completely modern invention by a well known writer . Maharal is featured in the book He, She and It and the Dutch work De Procedure ("The Procedure", Harry Mulisch, 1999), both retellings of the Golem legend. A poem by Jorge Luis Borges, entitled El Golem also tells the story of Judah Loew (Judá León) and his giving birth to the Golem. In that poem, Borges quotes the works of German Jewish philosopher Gershom Scholem. "The Maharal" by Yaakov Dovid Shulman (in English) questions if the stories about the golem are true. Even a Caldecott Medal winner (Golem by David Wisniewski) mentions Loew as Rabbi Loew. The fictional book Iron Council by China Miéville has a character named Judah Low who creates golems. In Leo Perutz' historical novel Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke (By Night Under the Stone Bridge) Loew appears as a key figure.
Works
- Gur Aryeh ("Young Lion", see above), a supercommentary on Rashi's Pentateuch commentary
- Netivoth Olam ("Pathways of the World"), a work of ethics
- Tif'ereth Yisrael ("The Glory of Israel"), philosophical exposition on the Torah, intended for the holiday of Shavuot
- Gevuroth Hashem ("God's Might[y Acts]"), for the holiday of Passover
- Netzach Yisrael ("The Eternity of Israel"; Netzach "eternity", has the same root as the word for victory), on Tisha B'Av (an annual day of mourning about the destruction of the Temples and the Jewish exile) and the final deliverance
- Ner Mitzvah ("The Candle of the Commandment"), on Hanukkah
- Or Chadash ("A New Light"), on Purim
- Derech Chaim ("Way of Life"), a commentary on the Mishnah tractate Avoth
- Be'er ha-Golah ("The Well of the Diaspora"), an explanatory work on the Talmudic and Midrashic *Aggadah, mainly responding to interpretations by the Italian scholar Azariah di Rossi (min ha-Adumim)
- Chiddushei Aggadot ("Novellae on the Aggada", the narrative portions of the Talmud), discovered in the 20th century
- Derashot (collected "Sermons")
- Divrei Negidim ("Words of Rectors"), a commentary on the Seder of Pesach, published by a descendant
- Chiddushei al Ha-Shas, a commentary on Talmud, recently published for the first time from a manuscript by Machon Yerushalyim on Bava Metzia, others may be forthcoming.
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