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Part One

Gate One The blemishes caused by transgressing the mitzvot of HaShem’s-יהו"ה Torah

Let me instill you with wisdom and enlighten you regarding the great damage that befalls a Jew who transgresses any of the 365 mitzvot that HaShem-יהו"ה forbade us from doing or desists from fulfilling any of the 248 positive mitzvot that He commanded us to do.

As known, the physical body of man is not his actual identity. It is merely called human flesh, as in the verse,4Job 10:11 “You clothed me with skin and flesh and covered me with bones and veins.” Furthermore, it is written,5Exodus 30:32 “It may not be applied to the flesh of man etc.” From this we understand that man is the inner aspect, whereas, the body (the flesh) is similar to a garment. The intellectual soul of man, which is his true identity, is invested in the body as long as he remains in this physical world. However, upon death, he is divested of the garment of the body and instead, becomes clothed in a spiritual, rarified and pure garment. This is as scripture states,6Zechariah 3:4 “Remove the soiled garments from upon him;” and he said to him, “Behold, I have removed your iniquity from upon you and dressed you in a pure garment.” This garment is called, “The Raiment of the Rabbis.”

Just as the tailor makes a garment according to the form of a person’s body, so HaShem-יהו"ה, blessed is He, made the body, which is the garment for the soul, in the form of the image of the soul. That is, He made 248 organs plus 365 veins and arteries that connect them. The blood and life-force surge from organ to organ by means of these arteries that are similar to pipes. Once the body was formed, HaShem-יהו"ה blew the spirit of life into it.7Genesis 2:7 This spirit is comprised of 248 spiritual organs and 365 spiritual veins that are invested within the 248 organs and 365 veins of the physical body. With this, the organs of the soul act through the organs of the body, which are their tools, like an axe in the hand of the lumberjack. Proof of this, is the fact that the physical organs only perform their functions so long as the soul resides within them; the eyes see and the ears hear etc. However, upon the departure of the soul, the eyes dim and all sense and feeling vanishes from the 248 organs.

In like manner, the 365 spiritual veins of the soul are invested within the 365 physical veins and distribute the physical sustenance of the blood to the 248 organs of the body, together with the spiritual sustenance within it, to sustain the 248 organs of the soul. Upon death, when the soul departs, life-force ceases to be drawn to the body. As a result, the physical veins and organs fall apart, decompose and become as if they never were. From this we see that the actual identity of a person is his intellectual soul and that it resides within the body, which acts as its garment while the soul remains in this world.

Know that when the first man sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, both his body and soul took on a composition of good and evil. This is the matter of “the contamination of the serpent,”8Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 146a and elsewhere. that was instilled in Eve and Adam. This dross brought about illness, disease and death, both spiritually and physically. This is the meaning of the verse,9Genesis 2:17 “For on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die” – meaning the death of the soul, as well as the death of the body.10The literal translation of the verse is, “Die, you shall die,” that is, both physical and spiritual death.

We will now explain the matter of the good and evil that became mixed in them. (Examine what is written in Part Three, gates two and three, and you will understand what is written in this gate.) Behold, when man sinned with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he caused this admixture to permeate all worlds.11See Sefer HaMashalim of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as The Book of Allegories 1-4, and elsewhere. Due to this, there is nothing that does not include both good and evil in it.

Therefore, the body of man was formed from the four elements of the physical world12Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah, Ch. 4. that have both good and evil included in them. These are fire, air, water and earth. However, man’s body was formed from the choicest portion of these elements.13The physical body of man is the most refined matter in all of physical creation, as opposed to the grosser physicality of all other creatures. Nevertheless, this choice portion also has an admixture of evil in it. Man’s four humors (that is, the white, black, red and green humors)14The white humor is phlegm, the black humor is the gall produced by the spleen, the red humor is blood and the green humor is the gall of the gallbladder. These humors affect the physical health and balance of a person, as well as his character and disposition. were formed from the grossest portion of these elements. For the body to be healthy, these humors must be balanced. However, if there is an imbalance, and any one of them overpowers the positive characteristics of the others with its negative characteristics, the result is illness and disease. If it is even more overpowering, death may result.

As explained, the admixture of good and evil permeated all worlds, even the upper, spiritual worlds. This being the case, the soul of man was also affected, for was it not hewn from the same four spiritual elements from which all the supernal beings were formed? These four elements are the four letters of the name HaShem-יהו"ה,15For a more expansive explanation of the Name HaShem-יהו"ה, and the manner in which all novel creations are brought forth by and dependent upon the Singular Preexistent Intrinsic and Essential Being of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, see Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated under the title HaShem is One. blessed is He and blessed is His name. About this it says,16Ezekiel 37:9 “From the four spirits, come O spirit etc.” This “spirit” that comes is the essential soul of man from the side of goodness. However, God made everything with its opposite.17Ecclesiastes 7:14 Just as the upper spiritual worlds are the source of goodness and purity, so He created a source of evil and impurity. This is the Sitra Achera (The Other Side) which is called Adam BliYa’al (The Incorrigible Man).18Proverbs 6:12 – “אדם בליעל” – The term “BliYa’al-בליעל” divides into the two words “without a yoke-Bli Ol-בלי עול,” meaning, without the yoke of Heaven, and can also be read “without ascent-Bli Ya’al-בלי יעל,” meaning, the animalistic inclination in man, that descends downward, as stated (Eccl. 3:21), “Who realizes that the spirit of man is the one that ascends on high while the spirit of the beast is the one that descends below down into the earth.” It is made up of four sources of destruction19See Mishnah Bava Kama 1:1 – “The four Fathers of Damages” (אבות נזיקין). and four indicators of plague,20See Mishna Nega’im 1:1 – “The indicators of plague (מראות נגעים), are two, which in fact are four.” which are its four bad elements. From there, an evil soul, which is called, “The Evil Inclination” (Yetzer HaRa), is drawn to man. If this soul overpowers the good soul, destruction, plagues and spiritual illnesses befall it. Moreover, if it is too overpowering, it can even cause spiritual death, God forbid.

Now, the pure soul, which is compared to the fruit, consists of 613 organs and veins and resides within the 613 organs and veins of the impure soul, which is compared to the shell (Kelipah) covering over the fruit. In turn, they both reside within the 613 organs and veins of the body. Thus, the organs of the pure soul reside within the organs of the impure soul and the organs of the impure soul reside within the organs of the body. In order to exist, each of these two souls needs spiritual sustenance. However, the spiritual sustenance of the holy soul is drawn to it through the fulfillment of HaShem’s-יהו"ה Torah, which consists of 613 mitzvot, corresponding to the 613 organs of the soul. Thus, the Torah is called “bread (Lechem-לחם),”21The term “bread-Lechem-לחם-78” has a numerical value of “He was, and He is, and He will be-Hayah v’Hoveh v’Yihiyeh-היה והוה ויהיה-78,” and is a reference to the inner sustenance of the eternal Truth of the Torah of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He. This is called “The Inner Bread” (Lechem HaPanim-לחם הפנים) which is a constant in the Holy Temple, as it states (Exodus 25:30), “And you shall set showbread (Lechem HaPanim-לח״ם הפנים) upon the table, before Me, always (Tamid-תמיד).” (See Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 4, section entitled “The First Vowel Cholem-חל״ם.”) as in the verse,22Proverbs 9:5 “Come, partake of My bread.” Each of the 248 organs receives sustenance from a specific mitzvah that relates to that organ. However, if a Jew lacks the fulfillment of any mitzvah, the organ specific to that mitzvah will lack the sustenance drawn to it from the four letters of the Name HaShem-יהו"ה. This is indicated by the verse,23Nehemiah 9:6 “You (HaShem) give life to all.” All the mitzvot depend on these four letters, as our sages of blessed memory said,24Zohar I 24a; Zohar III 110b, 222b; 273b, and elsewhere “The letters Yod (י) Hey (ה) coupled with the word, ‘My name’ (שמי) of the verse,25Exodus 3:15 ‘This is My name and this is My memorial (זה שמי וזה זכרי) have the numerical value of 365. The letters Vav (ו) Hey (ה) coupled with the word, ‘My memorial’ (זכרי) of the same verse, have the numerical value of 248.’”

Likewise, as mentioned above, the roots of the four elements of the holy soul are drawn from these four letters. Therefore, if a person totally lacks a specific mitzvah, the corresponding organ of his holy soul starves to death and departs, God forbid. In turn, when this holiness departs from it, the spirit of impurity from the four elements of the impure soul fills the void and becomes vested in it. This is the secret of the Rabbinic dictum,26Rashi to Genesis 25:23; See Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 42a; Megillah 6a; Zohar II 236a, 238b. “Tyre did not become a great metropolis until Jerusalem was destroyed.” Thus, the organ now receives its sustenance from the “impure bread” that was exiled from there.

This is the meaning of the statement,27Berachot 18b; Zohar III 123a “The wicked are considered to be dead during their lifetime.”28Similarly, it states (Proverbs 12:9), “Better is the lowly one who is His servant, than a pompous one who lacks bread (Lechem-לחם),” referring the the aforementioned spiritual sustenance. (See Tzava’at HaRivash (HaRav Yisroel Ba’al Shem Tov) translated as The Way of The Baal Shem Tov, Section 114.) This is because the holy soul from the Living God has withdrawn from them. Rather, death, which is called, “The ultimate source of impurities,”29Rashi to Numbers 19:22 and elsewhere. (אבי אבות הטומאה) rests upon them.30That is, their life is not a life. Conversely, regarding a Jew who desists from transgressing the 365 negative mitzvot, the sages stated,31Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 39a “A person who desists from transgressing a negative mitzvah is rewarded as if he performed a positive mitzvah.” In other words, by not transgressing, he empowers the spiritual sustenance that is drawn through the positive mitzvot, as mentioned above, to flow through the “pipes,” which are the 365 veins of the soul, thus enlivening its 248 organs. However, if he transgresses any of them, the pipe specific to that transgression becomes blocked due to the contamination of the sustenance from the Kelipah, which adheres to the walls of the pipe. When the pipe withers, the organ that receives from it withers with it. This is so, even if the life-force is not totally withdrawn from it, similar to one who lacks a positive mitzvah. Nonetheless, it becomes blemished.

This being the case, every Jew should make every effort to fulfill as many of the 613 mitzvot that he can. Furthermore, when he fulfills a positive mitzvah, he should have in mind to rid the specific organ of his soul which correlates to that mitzvah, of the dross of that Kelipah. Once the dross has been removed, the holy organ of the mitzvah may rest upon him. This is the secret of the verse,32Ezekiel 32:27 “Their sins were upon their bones,” because when the one rises, the other falls. Likewise, when an opportunity to transgress comes about, he should restrain himself from doing it and have in mind that by doing so, the dross in the specific vein of his soul which correlates to that transgression withdraws. With this, the blockage will be removed and the spiritual influence which is drawn by way of that spiritual pipe will be able to flow through. In this way, his soul becomes a seat and a vehicle for HaShem’s-יהו"ה holiness, blessed is He. This is the secret of,33Bereshit Rabbah 47:6 “The forefathers are the Chariot (Merkavah).”