Soul Sparks: Understanding Spiritual Essence and Repair

Repairing the Sparks

The teachings of the Ari: After the physical body departs, a person's spirit dresses in another spiritual body, referred to as the human garments...

The soul is divided into multiple sparks, and in each reincarnation, some of these sparks come forth - the number of sparks that come to perfect in this reincarnation equals the number of days in one's life...

These sparks urge the person every day to repair the spark corresponding to that day... On days when mitzvot were performed, one spark of that spirit is repaired, and days when mitzvot were not performed, the spark remains blemished... until repentance is performed, restoring the spark of that day to its place, combining with other repaired day sparks. The spirit cannot fully dress in its garment until all sparks are repaired, after which the person leaves this world and enters Gan Eden.

(Zohar, Vayechi, Radiance Sweeter than Honey, pg 174-176)

The Soul, Spirit, and Nefesh have different realms in the upper world

Although parts of the soul are interconnected in the body, upon ascension to the next world, they separate: The soul rises to the lofty source of the wellspring, enjoying the glow of the Divine Presence, the spirit enters the lower Gan Eden... where it finds tranquility by dressing in the spiritual atmosphere of Gan Eden from the realm of the Divine kingdom, while the nefesh settles in the grave within its former body.

... On Shabbat and holidays, when the soul of a person which is in the higher Gan Eden in the world of creation connects to its root in the Divine kingdom, the light of the spirit in the lower Gan Eden is renewed - and ascends to the higher Gan Eden to connect with the soul.

After Shabbat, when the spirit descends from the higher Gan Eden to the lower one, it carries a great light from above, and from this light, a very bright light descends to illuminate the nefesh of the person in the grave, and the nefesh dresses in this light in the form of the body's image, then from the vanity of bones - which is a part of the nefesh remaining in the body that shall rise at the resurrection. Similarly, the bones' interiors are dressed in the vanity of bones with the light's covering, and at the end of Shabbat, the bones rise from the grave and sing before Hashem.

And you will understand... as long as the bones remain in the grave, so does the nefesh... and the spirit stands in the upper light, for its light is renewed on Shabbat, more and more until it rises to the higher Gan Eden and illuminates like the soul. This occurs on Shabbatot, Rosh Chodesh, and other times, when the nefesh receives the renewed illumination from the spirit as it descends after Shabbat, full of abundance and light it received in the higher Gan Eden, descending to dwell in the lower Gan Eden. With this impulse, the nefesh stands in the grave, embracing the light and dressing in the form of its body’s image from the beginning, and also shaping a garment for the internal bones from the vanity of substances, allowing all bones in their exactness of form to rise and stand upon the grave, praising and acknowledging Hashem [as it’s written] "all my bones shall say, 'Hashem, who is like you.'" Speaking of the future, when they rise from the grave.

If the physical eye were granted permission to see the upper shapes, [meaning] the garment made for the bones from the vanity of substances, it would see on nights after Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh, like forms [of souls] standing on the graves, thanking and praising Hashem. This should be visible because it happens precisely in this world, but human folly prevents them from seeing, as they don't know and aren't attentive to what sustains them in this world, not setting their hearts to recognize their existence to distance from worldly pleasure and its desires, to draw close to the service of the Creator and to merit the true good because this is man's entirety.

They don’t concern themselves to honor the upper King in this world, Heaven forbid, and aren’t mindful of how Hashem’s honor depends on human deeds... if they knew, they would tremble and say: Woe to me that my Creator has hung all His glory on my work, and if they contemplated this, then how much more would man uphold his work! But people pay no attention, much less do they set their hearts to regard and observe the glory of the righteous and their rest in the upper world, and that rest is known to them - only by listening to their ear without understanding its essence, also not setting their hearts to exist and how to interpret his existence.

(Zohar, Terumah, Radiance Sweeter than Honey, pg 194-196)

The Sparks of the Soul Are Determined by the Number of Days of a Person’s Life

[To understand the upcoming passage, let’s preface with the words of the Ari, which state]:

"You already know about the division of the soul into multiple sparks, and in each reincarnation, some of them come, and the number of sparks of that form coming to complete now in this reincarnation corresponds to the soul’s number. Thus, this form is called: The measure of man's days. For according to the number of his sparks is the number of his days, and the days he performed mitzvot, one spark of that form is repaired, and the day no mitzvot were performed leaves a blemished spark of the form... which corresponds to that day."

This is said (page 43, vers 2): When a person’s body exits into the air of the world, and the soul enters a person, then immediately that form that stood over the body while it was in the womb joins with it and grows with it, as it is stated, "only in form will a man walk." All the days of his life, the man, that is, the soul, is cloaked in the form, and in that form, all the days of a person's life are contained and dependent. For according to the number of sparks in the form, so is the person’s days number as mentioned. This is why it's written "for we are but yesterday" - as though we were born yesterday, and we do not know how long we will live in this world, "for our days are a shadow on the earth," meaning because our days are indeed a shadow, our days are certainly dependent on this shadow.

(Zohar, Tazria, Radiance Sweeter than Honey, pg 239-240)

Why Does the Spirit Visit the Nefesh in the Grave

[The departed’s spirit] visits the cemetery at the beginning of every night, but if the flesh has already decomposed, then what benefit is there to visit the grave?

It's answered that... [at that time] the visitation is not upon the body as when the body is present, but upon the remnants of the nefesh residing in the bones. For as long as the body's flesh is intact, the spirit visits the nefesh, and the nefesh visits the body (because as long as the flesh is not yet digested, the entire nefesh remains in the grave, then the spirit visits the nefesh, and the nefesh the body, bringing gain to the adversary. But after the flesh decays, the principal nefesh ascends to the lower Gan Eden, and only a part of the nefesh sparks remains within the bones).

But now, with the entire body’s flesh gone in the grave, the spirit’s visitation is to the nefesh - the spirit illuminates the sparks of the nefesh, which stays serene within the bones, to maintain their moist spark of light [to rise at the resurrection], (as per the mystery: "and you will satisfy your soul with radiance and your bones shall flourish," according to the Ari).

These remaining bones, refine themselves there in the dust until they meld with the spiritual body meant to exist after the revival. (The intention here is to a bone that always remains from the body in the grave, from which the entire body will be recreated at the resurrection as described in Noach page 69, vers 1). Therefore, at the start of each night, the spirit’s visitation is for the nefesh and not for the flesh.

(Zohar, Shlach, Radiance Sweeter than Honey, pg 165)

In Which Body Will the Person Rise at the Resurrection?

Rabbi Shimon said: The person who received a reincarnated soul, meaning that they came into this world again to rectify what was damaged and neglected in the first incarnation, and also now did not merit the soul’s repair from previous sins, but added sin to their past wrongs, this one is considered as if deceiving and violating the King's truth.

For Hashem granted them a gesture of true kindness, allowing them another chance for rectification of past errors, yet they deceived and denied it... by adding sin to past wrongs.

The individual who did not complete themselves in the first incarnation needs to reincarnate for a second round to complete, yet here we have two bodies, and we don't know which will merit the soul. For one who engaged thoroughly with Torah in the first incarnation, only lacking a small portion to complete, such a person, certainly all engagement in Torah and good deeds in the second reincarnation serves solely for the soul's repair, thus their soul will return in the first primary body at resurrection. For the second body is only borrowed. And behold, Rav Sheshet was already a great man in his first round and reincarnated for a small matter in Rav Sheshet, and thus was distressed over his body laboring in vain, for this is not the main dwelling of his soul, as this soul will return to the first body, and therefore, the second body will only be resurrected as a small spark.

(Zohar, Pinchas, Radiance Sweeter than Honey, pg 5-6)

Moses’ Soul with Righteous Souls Descend on Shabbat Evenings to Elevate Soul Sparks in Deep Realms

The Ari wrote that... Moses' soul, along with many myriads of souls of other righteous ones in Gan Eden, descends every Shabbat evening, diligently striving to elevate all soul sparks trapped in the deep realms of impurity, which cannot ascend by themselves.

Rabbi Shimon expounded on this mystery: Thus comes the faithful shepherd, the soul of Moses, and during the weekdays, the children of Israel engage in elevating the holy sparks from amidst the impure. On the eve of the holy Shabbat, towards evening, comes Moses' soul, diligently striving to elevate all trapped soul sparks in the deep realms of impurity incapable of self-ascension. It comes accompanied by numerous flocks, symbolizing souls from the realm of kindness, and several flocks of bulls, representing souls from the realm of strength. With many flocks of lambs, indicating souls from the realm of grace, as numerous myriads of souls come with him from Gan Eden, for each soul according to its category - descends to elevate the souls linked to its category, which are unable to ascend independently. A staff in hand... representing the concept of the letter 'V'... by which he performs his function.

(Tikkunei Zohar, 29: Tikkun 13, Radiance Sweeter than Honey, pg 263-266)