parts of the whole (part two)

When G-d created human life as told in the book of Breishit (Genesis in the Christian texts), G-d breathed a holy wind into the human that had just been created, and in so doing, created human life. The word used in Breishit, the textual original, is רוח (ru-akh)–meaning wind. This Hebrew word also has the peculiar ability to also infer meanings spirit or soul. This of course affirms the classical Greek idea that body and soul are separate, but yet we see in the narrative that life did not exist until both body and spirit became inherently conjoined.

We must also note, how the first human attains life. It is through a gift from G-d. G-d is responsible for the ruakh that infuses the otherwise inert body with life. And it is here that we see just a small fraction of the immense value of the very sort of analysis described in part one of this entry.

Our bodies are intrinsically temporary. They are here now, but at some point they will be no longer. Our bodies will die and decay and return to the cycle of organic matter that nourished them and from which they essentially came. Our souls, however, are intrinsically divine. From the story in Breishit we are told that humanity is imbibed with a divine wind that we know as a soul–a direct gift from the Eternal. In this way, our bodies and by extension, our lives, are opportunities to experience the Divine. Life as we know it today, is constantly working against this. At every turn, our opportunities to meet the Eternal in this way are limited and preoccupied with other “more important” things. Endeavoring to experience G-d requires a mindfulness and awareness that is nearly impossible to attain without withdrawing from normal life into a life of monasticism.

It is such, that we must strike a balance between our endeavors to know G-d and our daily lives. In doing so, we have the opportunity to create daily practices that create mindfulness. We can do things to elevate the mundane and make them holy. The adherence to a set of dietary laws, turns the everyday task of eating into an event of holiness–if only in a small way. A daily meditation practice helps to create holy space and time into each and every day. The ways we can use our bodies to elevate our souls in very nearly endless. It is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy life in an entirely new way while continuing down the path to enlightenment.

May we all develop new and positive ways to journey closer to the Divine.