"If someone sins and commits a trespass against G-d
[in Hebrew, 'vema'ala ma'al b' HaShem'] by lying to his comrade…." (Lev.
5:21-22)
In Kabbalistic terms, every Jewish soul depends on
continuous input from celestial forces called "Shefa Neshamot" in order
to sustain itself spiritually inside a body. The only soul which does not enjoy
this continuous spiritual input is one whose Nefesh (i.e. the person it
resides in) has become guilty of criminal sins which will result in its being
deprived of the celestial influx mentioned above. This is what the Torah meant
when it described the Nefesh being "cut off" in the verse "An
uncircumcised male the flesh of whose foreskin shall not be circumcised – that
soul shall be cut off his people…" (Gen. 17:14), as the consequence of a Jew
ignoring the commandment to circumcise himself or be circumcised.
The celestial spiritual input into our souls…enters by
means of two thin threads through a person's two nostrils….
The celestial spiritual input into our souls which we
have described enters by means of two thin "threads" through a person's two
nostrils, as this is the area where the Nefesh is "joined" to its Owner,
to G-d. This is what Moses meant when he said in the verse: "All of you who have
cleaved unto the G-d your L-rd are alive as of this day." (Deut. 4:4)
If man commits the sins described in this paragraph,
his soul comes under the domination of the forces of evil; if the spiritual
input from celestial sources were to continue, it would actually strengthen the
forces of evil which have taken over in that person. When the Torah speaks of "vema'ala
ma'al b'Hashem", this describes such a process of strengthening him who
trespassed against G-d.
…All of Israel are branches of one soul. If any branch
of that soul becomes involved in evil, this has repercussions on the entire
people. This is the deeper meaning of the words "…by lying [in Hebrew, 'v'kachash']
to his comrade", his denial extends to the members of his people. His people
become "kachash", in Hebrew "weak", through his sinful behavior.… The
Jewish nation increases in spiritual power by means of its men of valor who
contribute to its peace and harmony and who thereby assure it of itself.
[Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk]
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