Body and Soul

Moadim Lesimcha. Tonight we begin counting ספירת העומר.

The book, דרך ה׳, by the Ramchal, speaks of the struggle between the body and soul, the גוף and נשמה.

The body is purely physical, and longs for gaining physical pleasures. The soul is inherently holy, and gets its nourishment from spiritual matters. It is not interested in anything mundane. It is restricted by being placed in a human body.

The goal of every Jew is to give dominion to the soul, and to learn to minimize man’s physical tendencies.

We accomplish this as we devote our lives to Torah and Mitzvot. This brings us an inner joy that is far greater than fleeting, momentary, physical pleasures.

Hashem gives us special holidays like Pesach, where we get a heavy dose of Kedusha, after a long, dark, Corona filled winter.

Let us hope the next week will be one of great elevation for ourselves and all of כלל ישראל.