________________
JUDAISM
Interview of Rabbi Josef Weiss, a practising scholar of Judaism, based on the views of his religion.
1. Does your religion believe in the soul? If so: a. What does the soul mean? b. Who created the soul? c. Where does the soul come from?
All created beings in this world have a godly life force. For humans this life force is called 'soul'.
We believe that God created Adam by blowing life force into a body made from earth. It's this life force that gives life to the body. The name 'Adam' comes from the Hebrew word for 'earth' (adamah [CMI]).
Everything, from the lowest life form in the physical world, has a Godly life force that keeps it alive. Each of the four levels - Minerals (domem), Plants (tsomeach), The Life / animals (chay) and Speakers / humans (medaber) - receives as much life force as they need to remain alive and fulfil the tasks and mission for which they were created. Speakers (in other words, human) are the only ones who have 'free choice' between right and wrong. They can choose to use their godly life force in its intended way to positively fulfil their godly mission in this world or they can choose to veer from their godly appointed tasks and follow their selfish desires. Crossing the boundary from right (positive) to wrong (negative) is called 'sin’. The Hebrew word for sin (aveira) literally translates into English as 'crossing over'.
Most souls are not new. When a soul doesn't complete its mission, it is divided into two parts. The part that has fulfilled its mission moves onto the next step, while the part that hasn't accomplished its goal is reincarnated into a new body. The reincarnated soul 'spark' in the new body doesn't remember the success or failure of the older body, and starts from a clean slate. This process of reincarnation continues until the soul's mission has been completed.
2. Where do people (souls) come from and where do they go when they die?
Soul, or life force, comes from God and is also referred to as the 'godly spark'within us. If we think of the body as being a candle, the life force is the flame, which always flickers, trying to return to its godly source.
The only difference between a living and a dead body is the presence of soul: when a body dies, the soul has left the body to go to a higher spiritual level (afterlife) but the body remains and
384
