Spiritual Garments: Dressing the Soul

"... Another garment Hashem will dress these souls in the World to Come. One might ask: For those the prophet Ezekiel resurrected, why wasn't this garment made for them? It wasn't their time yet, as the pure air of the Garden of Eden that creates these garments hadn't yet been brought into the world. Therefore, Hashem did not clothe them with these but resurrected them in the material garments they wore in life. Similarly, at the resurrection of the dead, souls will rise with physical bodies, but the impurity of the first body will not be present. As stated previously, the souls will be clothed in another garment, one of a superior form—garments of the soul made from a higher place."

(Zohar, Third Part, Sign 10, Sheet 303, Sweet as Honey, p. 365)

Garments from Mitzvot

A story of Rabbi Yehuda Saba reveals that he saw a great light in a dream and asked, "What is this?" They answered, "This is the garment from the mitzvot you have fulfilled, prepared for you in the higher realm." From that day on, he rejoiced with joy of the soul.

Excerpt from Sweet as Honey: One day, Elder Judah was excited in thought, that is, he was contemplating matters of the upper world and was troubled by all that happens to a person at death. To ease his mind, they showed him in a dream a spiritual garment, shaped like him, made of a strong light that illuminated the four corners of the world. He asked them, "What is this shining garment?" They told him, "This is your garment, ready for you to wear when you come to dwell here in the Garden of Eden."

(Zohar, Vayechi 226, Sweet as Honey, p. 504)

The Ramban on the Soul's Garment

The Ramban wrote that the soul's garment is an ethereal covering with elements of wrapping, known as "Robe of the Sages," the garment of the righteous in the Garden of Eden.

(Ramban, Vayera 18:1, Vayechi 49:33)

The Soul's Garment Made by the Light of Torah

The upper, spiritual, and aerial garment is made by the light of Torah study and the performance of mitzvot. Through fulfilling the mitzvot, the precious spiritual garment is woven, and the angel named 'Aura' is in charge of this garment.

Upon separation from the material body of this world, the soul is highly spiritual, unrecognizable, and incapable of prayer for itself or its descendants. However, when Hashem grants the soul its second spiritual garment, it becomes recognizable and can pray for itself and its descendants.

(Shivti Musar, Chapter 35)

Garments of the Soul

In the upper Garden [of Eden], in the concealed chamber known as Sovereignty, the soul clothes itself in spirit... when the soul descends to the lower Garden to return to this world for correction, it wears a spirit that departed when it came to this world, born from the union of righteous souls in the Garden of Eden, known as the soul of the convert.

... and in all of them, whether within its own spirit or the spirit of the convert, the soul of Israel dresses and enters this world for correction. [Through the nephesh of the convert in which the sacred soul dresses, it perceives and enjoys the matters of this world.]

(Zohar, Mishpatim 99, Sweet as Honey, p. 788)

Garment of the Soul in Eden and the World

When spirits depart from Eden to enter this world, they shed their physical and spiritual garments of Eden, and that garment is stored there.

Depending on one's engagement in Torah and mitzvot in this world, the garment in Eden is renewed and corrected, ready to be worn when leaving the material body.

In this world, a person dresses in a body and physical clothing of this realm. [The form is the medium between the physical body and the soul]. Hashem causes a person to forget all matters of Eden; otherwise, they wouldn't eat, drink, build homes, or work in this world, lacking free choice.

(Zohar, Terumah 150, Sweet as Honey, p. 390)

Special Garment of Elijah the Prophet

I discovered a secret in the book of Adam, stating: Among future generations, one spirit will descend to this world clothed in a material body born of parents. Elijah, the son of Pinchas ben Elazar, son of Aaron the priest, his mother was from the daughters of Putiel. He will be called Elijah, and his material body will ascend from this world, divested, and a second body of light will be given to dress his spirit among the angels. This is the secret of the "Robe of the Sages" worn by souls in Eden.

When he descends to this world, he clothes in the material body left in the whirlwind of the lower world and reveals himself to mankind below, while a body of light reveals itself above. This is the secret "Who ascended to heaven and then descended"—only Elijah ascended his spirit to heaven and returned to descend and clothe his body.

(Zohar, Vayakhel 197, Sweet as Honey, p. 310)

Letters that Adorn the Soul

These two letters, Mem and Resh [angels Michael, Rafael], are found amidst the light within the two portals, and when righteous souls enter Eden, these letters emerge from that light to embrace the righteous, adorning the soul like a crown, and Resh heals her deathly distress; if no healing is needed, the letter Bet from angel Betu'el blesses the soul, and they ascend to receive abundance and descend to bestow it onto the souls of the righteous.

... When the first letters, Mem and Resh, return to their place, these second letters, Gimel and Nun [angels Gabriel, Nuriel], shine and ascend to receive abundance and descend to illuminate the soul, emerging from the aforementioned lights and standing to illuminate the soul.

Then two chariots descend from these two portals: one is the chariot of angel Gabriel, chief and dignified among his hosts, the second chariot is a sacred chariot of angel Nuriel, chief officer over his hosts, descending from these portals to stand on the soul and illumine it. The letters

Gimel and Nun return to their place and merge within the lights of the portals before the chariots fulfill their mission (unlike letters Mem and Resh, which return only after the chariots complete their actions).

Then these two chariots enter an inner chamber, where the hidden chamber of the Sovereignty in Eden known as Ahuloth, symbolizing Rachel's and Leah's tents, pointing to the Sovereignty, holding twelve kinds of spices representing the twelve angels bearing the Sovereignty, as it is written: Spikenard, Saffron, Cane, Cinnamon, and four more kinds included in "with all the principal spices." Considered together as before, these twelve kinds of spices below have their origin in Eden, in the chamber known as Ahuloth.

Here, all the garments of souls bathe and become fragrant in these twelve spices... In this garment, all good deeds done by the person in this world are marked and recorded; all mitzvot combine to weave and embroider a garment for the soul in Eden. As one performs mitzvot for Heaven's sake with intention, so does the upper light shine on this chamber to create a garment worthy of one's soul. It is declared above, "This is the garment of such-and-such a soul." The angels take this garment, and that soul of the righteous in Eden dons it, reflecting the image of its earthly form.

When Does the Soul Wear Its Spiritual Garment?

And when do souls wear this garment? From thirty days onward after the soul departs, as no soul avoids some form of punishment before entering Eden, which includes most souls. But certainly, select righteous souls enter Eden's chambers without the angels' permission and even the gatekeepers do not stand in their way. Once they receive their deserved punishment, they enter Eden... only after purification and cleansing from worldly pollution is a soul clad in this garment.

(Zohar, Vayakhel 210, Sweet as Honey, p. 362-365)

The Soul Illuminates the Body Like a Candle in the Dark

The following anecdote is brought forth in Zohar, Terumah 166a, suggesting it is a single account, with Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Yosi present, thus the Gra records: everywhere it reads Rabbi Bon, "Rabbi Chiya" should be read; instead of "Rabbi Chanina," it mentions Rabbi Yosi, and we retain the printed version as is...

Rabbi Bon and Rabbi Yosi bar Rabbi Chanina were on their way to redeem captives when they reached the village and stayed at an inn. At midnight, they awoke to study Torah. A woman from the household lit a candle to illuminate their learning, sitting behind them to hear the words of Torah. Aware of her presence, one of them, Rabbi Bon, opened and expounded on the verse: "The soul of man is Hashem's lamp, searching all the innermost parts" (Proverbs 20:27)—as a man searches in the dark by candle, so Hashem searches innermost thoughts with the soul of man; indeed, the soul resembles a candle as it illumines the darkness, much like a person's soul illuminates their body.

(Zohar Chadash, Midrash Ruth 105, Vol. 3, Sweet as Honey, p. 556)

Behind-the-Scenes Repairs by Hashem for the Souls

People aren't aware of the many reincarnations and hidden deeds and corrections does Hashem for bare souls lacking the "Robe of the Sages" as they did not engage in Torah and mitzvot to fashion such a garment for the soul. Furthermore, there are bare spirits wandering the upper world... altering fates from mercy to judgment or vice versa... [Even] in this world, secret wonders occur unnoticed as people remain oblivious to these visible phenomena.

(Zohar, Mishpatim 99, Sweet as Honey, p. 786)

An Extra Soul is Added to a Person During Shabbat Evening Prayer

An additional spirit of an extra soul is granted to each of Israel, for the world's atmosphere is primed to welcome a new, pure soul from the Sovereignty, rooted in Binah. With this extra soul, all forms of sadness and anger from the scales are forgotten by Israel, as the soul derived from Binah is capable of gladdening a person and dispelling all concerns and sorrow, making joy found only above in the upper worlds and below in this world.

On Shabbat evening, extra spirit descends at the acceptance of Shabbat prayer, and an additional spirit at the recitation of "Bar'chu," and an additional soul upon saying "Spread over us Your shelter of peace," all three additions stemming from the Sovereignty, ascending on Shabbat evening. This spirit, descending and added to the world's people, is very spiritual; therefore, when it descends it bathes in the fragrance of Eden’s perfumes, becoming condensed to reside on the soul within a body in the lower world, descending to dwell on the holy people. At this time, when this spirit descends from the world of Atzilut, sixty chariots descend with it, spreading among the six chambers in the six directions of Eden where the righteous dwell. When they arrive in Eden, all spirits in Eden are adorned with this spirit, and a herald announces, "Blessed are you, Israel, holy nation, for the will of your Creator stirs for you without support, as Shabbat holiness stirs itself from Above to sanctify Israel."

(Zohar, Vayakhel 204, Sweet as Honey, p. 493-494)