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Section II: Nefesh Hachaim Section II: Nefesh Hachaim Section II: נפש החיים THE SOUL OF LIFE This translation of Nefesh Hachaim was done for one of the major publishing houses, in the last period of Rav Weiss’ life. When he got his diagnosis he worked feverishly to finish it, but unfortunately he only got to the middle of the 20th chapter of the first Shaar. After his passing, the family considered having someone else complete the job, in order to publish a complete sefer. advised them to take ,זצ"ל However, Rav Zelig Epstein whatever they had, and gather together all of Rav Weiss’ other writings, and make a sefer from that collection. The first 19 chapters of this translation had been typed up by an editor, and had Rav Weiss’ corrections on them. The 20th incomplete chapter, was written in his handwriting, and had not yet been edited. Nefesh Hachaim was a sefer that was very dear to Rav Weiss all his life, and one that he made sure to buy for all his grandchildren. Hopefully this and all his other writings will be useful for the public, and be a zechus for his Neshama. Machsheves Shamshon Page 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................ 26 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................ 32 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................ 51 Chapter 8 ............................................................................................................ 54 Chapter 9 ............................................................................................................ 62 Chapter 10 .......................................................................................................... 67 Chapter 11 .......................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 12 .......................................................................................................... 75 Chapter 13 .......................................................................................................... 83 Chapter 14 .......................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 15 .......................................................................................................... 98 Chapter 16 ........................................................................................................ 105 Chapter 17 ........................................................................................................ 112 Chapter 18 ........................................................................................................ 116 Chapter 19 ........................................................................................................ 122 Chapter 20 ........................................................................................................ 129 Glossary ............................................................................................................ 135 Index................................................................................................................. 139 Page 2 Machsheves Shamshon Section II: Nefesh Hachaim שער א - פרק א Chapter 1 כתיב )בראשית א, כז( ויברא אלקים את האדם בצלמו בצלם אלקים ברא אותו, וכן כתיב )שם ט, ו( כי בצלם אלקים עשה את האדם. image; In the image of צלם It is written "And Elokim1 created man in His Elokim He created him" (B’reshis 1,27). [Further on], it is also written "for in the image of Elokim He made man" (B’reshis, 9,6). הנה עומק פנימיות ענין הצלם, הוא מדברים העומדים ברומו של עולם, והוא כולל רוב סתרי פנימיות הזוהר. אמנם כאן נדבר במלת צלם, בדרך הפשטנים הראשונים ז''ל על פסוק "נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו" )שם א, כו(. The deeper inner meaning of the term tzelem is one of the loftiest concepts. It encompasses most of the hidden inner meanings of the Zohar. Here, however, we shall talk about the word tzelem in the way of the Pashtonim HaRishonim2, [i.e. our early authorities who interpret Scripture according to its simple meaning], as they understand the verse "Let Us make man in Our .(likeness”, (B’reshis 1,26 ,דמות image, after Our 1 ,י-ה-ו-ה and א-ל-ה-י-ם The Divine names most frequently occurring in Scripture are ,Due to their sanctity they are neither written nor printed nor pronounced .א-ד-נ-י pronounced unless when quoted in a complete verse of the Torah or in prayer. The author therefore ,”הויה” and ,ה for the letter ק substituting the letter ,”אלקים” :transcribes these names .the first letter of the sacred name, to the third position ,י transposing the is best translated "the Almighty" (see the author's quote in Chapter 2 from Tur Orach אלקים is frequently translated "the ,השם or ה' often also shortened to ,הויה Chaim, 5). The name Eternal” (see above source), or simply G-d. These names will be rendered in this translation, Elokim and Hashem, respectively. is explained in the translation. Rishonim, literally "the first פשטנים ,”הפשטנים הראשונים“ 2 ones", is a term denoting our early halachic and exegetic authorities, from Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, who passed away in 4863 )1102 C.E.), to Rabbi Yaakov "Baal Haturim" 5030-5103 (1270-1343 C.E.), the son of Rabbeinu Oshri, usually referred to as "Rosh". He wrote his major work, "the Four Turim", around 5100 (1340 C.E.). Thus, the period of the Rishonim extends for about 350 years. The subsequent Torah authorities are called the Acharonim, i.e. the later ones. in (רמב"ם Here, the author follows the explanation of Maimonides (henceforth: Rambam or his Moreh Nevuchim I,1 who quotes the verse from Psalms 102,7, cited by the author in the next .דמות paragraph, to explain the term Machsheves Shamshon Page 3 Chapter 2 והוא כי מלת "צלם" ו"דמות" כאן, אינו כמשמעו, כי כתוב מפורש )ישעיה מ, יח( "ומה דמות תערכו לו", אלא פירושו, דמיון מה באיזה דבר, כמו "דמיתי לקאת מדבר" )תהלים קב, ז(, כי לא נעשו לו כנפים וחרטום, ולא נשתנה צורתו לצורת הקאת, רק שנדמה אז, במקרה פעולותיו שהיה נע ונד, כמו הקאת מדבר, שהוא צפור בודד ומעופף ממקום למקום. כך הוא לפי הפשטנים הראשונים ז''ל, וכן על דרך זה הוא ענין מלת "צלם", כי המה דומים במשמעם בצד מה. may not be taken here in their דמות and צלם According to them], the terms] literal sense, for it is written explicitly "and what likeness3 can you compare to Him?" (Yeshaya 40,18). Rather, it means that there is a facet which makes it comparable, in some respect. So, for instance, we find in Scripture "I became likened to the pelican of the desert" (Psalms 102,7), which does not mean that the Psalmist grew wings and a beak, nor that his shape became that of a pelican. It merely means that he became comparable to it in some aspect of his actions, being restless and roaming as does the pelican of the desert which is a דמות lonely bird and flies from place to place. This is the explanation of according to those Rishonim who interpret Scripture in its simple meaning. for these two terms are in some ,צלם Similarly, this is also the explanation of manner related in their connotation. 3 In reference to the Almighty, any likeness would imply, forfend, corporeality. Rambam the Guide to the Perplexed, to explain all ,מורה נבוכים considers it one of the primary tasks of his anthropomorphic biblical terms which may be similarly misunderstood. As stated above, it is in and צלם the very first chapter of this majestic work that he elucidates the correct meanings of .as they refer to G-d דמות Page 4 Machsheves Shamshon Section II: Nefesh Hachaim שער א - פרק ב Chapter 2 אמנם להבין ענין אומרו "בצלם אלקים" דיקא, ולא שם אחר, כי שם "אלקים" ידוע פירושו, שהוא מורה שהוא יתברך שמו בעל הכחות כולם, כמו שמבואר בטור אורח חיים סימן ה'. We must, however, understand why Scripture says "in the image of Elokim” in particular, not using any other of the Divine names. The explanation of the is the possessor of all ,יתב"שname Elokim is known. It conveys to us that He, 1 the forces, as stated in Tur2, Orach Chayim 5. וענין מה שהוא יתברך נקרא "בעל הכחות", כי לא כמדת בשר ודם - מדת הקב''ה, כי האדם, כשבונה בנין דרך משל מעץ, אין הבונה בורא וממציא אז מכחו העץ, רק שלוקח עצים שכבר נבראו, ומסדרם בבנין, ואחר שכבר סדרם לפי רצונו, עם שכחו הוסר ונסתלק מהם, עם כל זה הבנין קיים. is called the Possessor of all the forces is as ,יתב"ש ,The reason why He follows: Unlike the capacity of mortal man is the capacity of the Holy One, If man erects a structure, say of wood, the builder does not create that .יתב"ש 1 The author adds, whenever he refers to G-d in the third person, "He" (or "Who" or "Him"), be His ,יתברך שמו meaning ,יתב"ש be He blessed, or ,יתברך meaning ,יתב' the abbreviation name blessed. There are no capital letters in Hebrew by which a distinction could be made between the third person when referring to Hashem or when referring to a human being. In this translation, these Hebrew abbreviations are maintained. Their constant reiteration in English would be tiresome and would interrupt the flow of thought. 2 Tur is the singular of Turim. The "Four Turim"
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