What Makes Every Soul Unique? The Jewish View on Life’s Stages and Spiritual Growth

Liran asks: “Shalom and blessings. How is my soul different from any other soul? Are all souls the same? If not, what makes me unique? Also, why are human lives divided into infancy, childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age? Why did God create us in this way? Thank you.”

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Shalom Liran, and thank you for your question.

Of course, we are not identical. If all souls were the same, then all people would always make the exact same choices in every situation. The very fact that we differ from one another, both in our traits and in our actions, proves that each soul is unique. Every soul was created with free will, to choose between good and evil, and therefore its choices are uniquely its own. You are a partner in the ongoing creation of yourself, constantly shaping the kind of person you will be.

The Sages taught that King David was born under the astrological influence of Mars, which should have made him bloodthirsty, but he chose to use that quality to fight the enemies of Israel. The Talmud (Shabbat 156a) teaches that even when a person is born with a particular tendency he still has full free will in how to direct it. Instead of becoming a murderer, he can become a ritual slaughterer, a mohel, a surgeon saving lives, or even a medic. This is the power of free choice, which makes each soul utterly unique.

Still, one may ask: Great tzaddikim such as Moses and Rabbi Akiva already reached perfection. Why then did God also create me and you? What need is there for “small” souls when such great ones already exist? The Talmudic Sages answered: “Whoever sustains one life, it is as if he sustained an entire world” (Sanhedrin 4:5).

Your life is different from anyone else’s, because you were given tests and challenges designed uniquely for you. God accompanies you throughout your life, and your soul was created with spiritual abilities (and limitations) that no other soul possesses. Your mission is to sanctify God’s Name in a way no one else can. Moses fulfilled his mission, but what about Liran? Liran has his own challenges in this generation, his own role in fixing something in the world that no other soul was chosen to fix.

You are a unique soul that descended to this world to grow in holiness and to ascend. No one else is exactly like you, because the trials and choices you face are yours alone. That is why the Sages said that each person is an entire world.

To test you, God placed you within a particular body. That body has strengths and weaknesses determined from Heaven, as well as inclinations of personality. Because you are a divine soul, you have the power to rise above the natural impulses of the body, to refine your character through the mitzvot, and to fulfill the true meaning of your life in this world.

The Sages said: “Yiftach in his generation was like Shmuel in his generation” (Rosh Hashanah 25b). Every person can reach great heights, because God judges each of us according to our personal effort and struggles, not only by external success.

In answer to your second question, a person is indeed a mature soul, and the purpose of coming into this world is free will and spiritual growth.

The stages of life — childhood, youth, maturity, and old age, are the pathway through which the soul advances:

• Childhood introduces the soul to the world God created, as if for the first time, allowing it to marvel at creation and learn to adapt.

• Youth challenges the soul with desires, passions, and rebellion. As the Sages said: “Who is mighty? The one who conquers his inclination” (Avot 4:1). This is the time to build character for adult life.

• Adulthood brings family life, partnership, and children. Here the soul learns to overcome selfishness through giving and love, and to grow through responsibility.

• Old age unfolds gradually, teaching the soul to recognize that material life is fleeting. It shifts perspective toward meaning, legacy, and divine truth, guiding the soul to wisdom and helping it educate the younger generation.

As Pirkei Avot (5:21) teaches: “At five years of age for Scripture, at ten for Mishnah, at thirteen for mitzvot, at fifteen for Talmud, at eighteen for marriage, at twenty for pursuit, at thirty for strength, at forty for understanding, at fifty for counsel, at sixty for maturity, at seventy for fullness of years, at eighty for strength, at ninety for a bent body, at one hundred as if dead and passed away, gone from the world.”

Each stage of life teaches the person something essential about himself and about existence, bringing his soul closer to its divine purpose.