אמר רבי יצחק R. Yitzchak says: “Worthy are the righteous in this world and in the next, for they are altogether holy. Their bodies are holy, their Nefashos1 are holy, their Ruchos are holy, their Neshamos are holy of holies.

“These three levels reflect the sublime attributes. As we learned, R. Yehudah says: ‘It is written,2 Let the earth bring forth living souls. This is the soul of Adam, the first man.’

“See: There are three levels, Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah, and they are fused as one. The most sublime of them is the Neshamah. As R. Yosei says, ‘Every person has a Nefesh [which vitalizes the body],3 and a Nefesh4 higher than that Nefesh.

“‘If a man acts meritoriously with this Nefesh, there descends upon him a certain crown called Ruach, as implied by the verse,5 “Until a Ruach will be poured upon us from on high.” He will then be stirred with a different and sublime motivation to contemplate the ways of the Holy King.

“‘If a man acts meritoriously with this Ruach, he is invested with a holy, exalted and all-encompassing crown called Neshamah, the soul of G‑d.’ ”

Thus has it been taught among the most hidden, mystic secrets, in the secrets of the book of King Solomon, where it is written,6 “And I praise the dead, for they are already dead”: Since it is written, “And I praise the dead,” why is it further stated, “for they are already dead”? The intent is that they have already died in this world7 in the service of their Master.

There it is written that G‑d has made three abodes for the righteous: One is for the Nefashos of the righteous which have not left this world and are present here. When the world is in need of mercy and the living are suffering, the Nefashos [of the righteous] pray for them and go and inform those who sleep in Hebron [i.e., the Patriarchs]. They awaken and enter the terrestrial [lower] Gan Eden where the Ruchos of the righteous are clothed with crowns of light, and take counsel with them and issue decrees. The Holy One, blessed be He, grants their desire and has pity on the world.

These Nefashos of the righteous abide in this world to protect the living. This level is called the Nefesh. It does not depart from this world, but abides in the world to watch and know [what takes place] and to protect its generation. It is with regard to this Nefesh that the Companions8 say that the dead know the sorrows of the world, and the punishment of the wicked in this world. Concerning this [soul-level] it is written,9 “And this Nefesh will be cut off from its people.”

The second abode is the terrestrial [lower] Gan Eden.10 In it, the Holy One, blessed be He, has made sublime and precious chambers after the pattern of those of this world and of the celestial world, innumerable palaces of two colors, and trees and sweet-smelling herbs that grow afresh every day. This is the domain in which the Ruchos of the righteous abide, each one being clad in a precious garment after the pattern of this world and of the upper world.

The third abode is that holy celestial abode which is called “the bundle of life,”11 where that holy superior level called the Neshamah regales itself. There it cleaves [to G‑d] to take pleasure in sublime delights. Concerning this level it is written,12 “Then shall you delight in G‑d and I will make you ride on the high places....”

Now we have learned that when the world requires mercy, [this is what transpires with regard to] these worthy righteous [souls]. Their Nefesh which is found in this world to shield the world rises upward, soars over the world, and informs the Ruach. The Ruach rises upward, is crowned, and informs the Neshamah, which in turn tells the Holy One, blessed be He. Then G‑d has compassion on the world.

[And the process is reversed,] descending from the higher realms to the lower ones. The Neshamah informs the Ruach and the Ruach the Nefesh.

On every Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, all [these three levels] are fused together, crowned as one and unified, so that they can be brought to prostrate themselves before the sublime King. They then return to their respective places. This is the inner intent of the verse,13 “And it will come to pass that every New Moon and every Sabbath, all flesh will come....”

Thus when the world requires mercy, the living — those who are worthy — go and inform the Nefashos of the righteous and weep over their graves. Why are they deemed worthy? Because their desire is that a Neshamah will cleave to a Neshamah.14

The Neshamos of the righteous then come together and soar aloft to the sleepers of Hebron, informing them of the sorrows of the world. They then all enter the gateway of Gan Eden and inform the Ruchos. Those Ruchos that are crowned in Gan Eden — celestial angels go about among them. They all inform the Neshamos, and the Neshamos inform the Holy One, blessed be He. They all implore His mercies for the living, and G‑d has compassion on the world for their sake. Regarding this Solomon said: “And I praise the dead, for they are already dead.”

Said R. Chiya: “I wonder if anyone knows how to inform the dead besides us.”

R. Abba replied: “The sufferings [of men] inform them, and the Torah informs them. For when there is none who knows how [to inform the dead], a Torah scroll is taken near to their graves, and [the dead] are aroused [and enquire] why it was exiled there; and then Dumah15 informs them.”

R. Yosei added: “They then know that the world is in distress and the living are not worthy or do not know how to inform them. At that time, they all cry out for the dishonor done to the Torah, which has been exiled to such a place.

“If men repent and weep with all their heart and turn to the Holy One, blessed be He, then [the Nefashos of the righteous] all gather together and plead for mercy and inform the sleepers of Hebron, and enter Gan Eden to inform the Ruchos there, as we have said. But if they do not repent wholeheartedly, [but still] make petitions and cry over the distress of the world, then woe to them. For they have assembled for nothing. [The Nefashos of the righteous say:] “Who has caused the holy Torah to be exiled for them without repenting?” And all [these Nefashos] go to call renewed attention to the sins [of these people]. Therefore men should not go to the cemetery to make petitions without repentance and fasting.”

R. Abba said: “[One should not go] unless he undertakes three fasts.”

R. Yosei, however, said: “One is sufficient, even on the same day [one goes to the cemetery], provided the world is in a situation of acute distress. [If people fast,] all [the Nefashos] join forces to ask for mercy for the world.”

It was taught: R. Yehudah said, “One day R. Chizkiyah and R. Yeissa were traveling. They came upon Gush Chalav, which was in ruin.

“They sat down near the cemetery, R. Yeissa having in his hand a portion of a Torah scroll which had been torn. While they were sitting, a grave began to stir near them and [there was a] cry: “Alas, alas, for the world is in distress, for a Torah scroll has been exiled here. Otherwise, the living have come to mock us and to shame us with their Torah!”

“R. Chizkiyah and R. Yeissa were greatly alarmed. R. Chizkiyah said: ‘Who are you?’

“[The voice] replied: ‘I am dead, but I have been awakened by the Torah scroll. For once the world was in distress, and the living came here to awaken us with a Torah scroll. My companions and I approached the sleepers of Hebron. When we were joined with the Ruchos of the righteous in Gan Eden, it was discovered that the Torah scroll which the living brought before us was invalid, there being a superfluous vav in the verse,16 “Which have a cloven hoof, [divided] into two parts.” As such, falsehood was uttered in the name of the King. So the Ruchos said that since falsehood was uttered in the name of the King, these souls should not return to them. And they thrust me and my companions out of the assembly, until a certain elder who was among them went and brought the scribe of R. Hamnuna the Elder.

“‘Then R. Elazar the son of R. Shimon who was buried with us was aroused and entreated for them in Gan Eden and the world was healed. Permission was then granted to us [to return to the assembly].

“‘From the day that R. Elazar was disinterred from his grave here and reburied with his father [in Meron], there is none [among us] that has been aroused to stand before the sleepers of Hebron, for we remember with fear the day when they rejected me and my companions. And now that you have come to us with a Torah scroll, I assume that the world is in distress. Therefore I am dismayed, for I wonder: Who will be the first to go and tell those truly righteous ones, the sleepers of Hebron?’

“R. Yeissa left with the portion of the scroll and R. Chizkiyah said: ‘G‑d forbid, the world is not in distress, and we have not come for that purpose.’

“R. Chizkiyah and R. Yeissa then rose and went on their way. ‘Certainly,’ they said, ‘when there are no righteous in the world, the world is sustained only by the dead.’

“R. Yeissa asked: ‘Why, when rain is needed for the world, do we go [and pray] at [the resting place of] the dead? For the Torah forbids [us to] “inquire of the dead.”’17

“He replied: ‘You have not yet seen the wing of the Bird of Eden.’18 The ‘dead’ to whom the verse refers are those who may certainly be termed dead, i.e., the sinners of the heathen who are forever dead. But of Israel who are truly righteous, Solomon says: “And I praise the dead, for they are already dead”; i.e., they have died in the past, but now they are living.

“‘Furthermore, when other peoples visit their dead, they come with magic to arouse evil spirits upon themselves. When, by contrast, the Jews visit their dead, they come in profuse repentance before the Holy One, blessed be He, with a contrite heart and with fasting. This is all with the intent that the holy Neshamos entreat the Holy One, blessed be He, for mercy on their behalf — and then, for their sake, He has compassion on the world.

“‘In regard to this, we have learned: A righteous man even when he departs from this world, does not [truly] rise above or vanish from any world. For he is to be found in all worlds more than in his lifetime. In his lifetime, he is found only in this [material] world, but afterwards, he is found in three worlds, and accessible therein. This is alluded to by the verse,19 “Young maidens (עלמות) love you.” Do not read עלמות, “young maidens,” but rather עולמות, “worlds.” Happy is their lot.’”

We have learned: It is written,20 “May the Nefesh of my lord be bound in the bond of life.” Why does the verse say “the Nefesh of my lord”? [Seemingly,] “the Neshamah of my lord” would bemore appropriate.[In resolution, it can be said, that] as mentioned above, happy is the lot of the righteous, for all [three levels of the soul] are bound together, the Nefesh with the Ruach, the Ruach with the Neshamah, and the Neshamah with the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus, even the Nefesh [ofthe righteous] is “bound in the bond of life.”

R. Elazar said: “The Companions said that it is forbidden to exile a Torah scroll from one synagogue to another, all the more so to bring it out into the street. Why then [do we take it] into the street [when praying for rain]?”

R. Yehudah replied: “As we have explained, so that [the dead] may be aroused because of it and entreat for the world.”

R. Abba said: “When the Shechinah was exiled, it was also exiled from place to place until it said,21 ‘If only I could be in the wilderness, in a lodging place for wayfarers!’ Similarly, in this instance, [the scroll] is first taken from synagogue to synagogue, then into the street, then to ‘the wilderness, the lodging place of wayfarers.’”

R. Yehudah said: “In Babylon, they are afraid to take [a Torah scroll] even from synagogue to synagogue, all the more so [into the street].”

It has been taught that R. Shimon said to the companions: “In my days the world will not require this.”

R. Yosei said to him: “The righteous shield the world in their lifetime, and after their death even more than during their lifetime. This is reflected in the verse:22 ‘I will defend this city, saving it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’ In David’s lifetime, this was not said.”

R. Yehudah said: “Why does the verse state ‘for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David,’ putting [David] on a par [with G‑d Himself, as it were]? — Because David was found worthy of being connected with the Holy Chariot of the Patriarchs, and therefore all is one.23 Blessed be He forever and ever.”