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Body and Soul

(posted 04/22/10)

One of the first payers said each morning upon rising, is one in which we thank God for restoring our souls each day.

My God! The soul which You bestowed in me is pure; You created it,You formed it, You breathed it into me and You preserve it within me. You will eventually take it from me, and restore it to me in the time to come. So long as the soul is within me, I give thanks to You, Ha Shem my God, and God of my fathers, that You are Lord of all creation, Master of all souls, Ruler of all creatures, alive and existing eternally. Blessed are You, Ha Shem, Who restores souls to dead bodies.

What exactly is the soul?
How is it different from the body?
What part of who we are is our soul and what part is the body?

Genetics

My daughter has two children. They have two different fathers, neither of which has been present through much of their early years of development. She has raised her two children as a single mother, and yet it is quite obvious they both have personality traits from their fathers. Are those genetic personality traits part of the body or soul?

Matters of the heart

Are our likes and dislikes, our quick temper, or our appreciation of art and music part of our bodies or part of our soul?

Several years ago I was producing a radio program. The guest on the show was a heart surgeon. I had heard stories about what happens when a person receives a heart from a donor, and was curious as to their validity. So I asks the question, “I have heard stories about heart recipients taking on likes and dislikes and certain personality traits of the donor, does that really happen?” “Absolutely”, he replied. And there was no way to explain this phenomenon. The recipients had no knowledge of the donor and yet there personality may have altered or their taste in art, music or certain foods became reflective of the donors. Is that the soul or the body?

If my memory serves me right ...

What about our memories, that collection of information that defines our past and directs our future? Is that body or soul?

I recently heard an interview with an medical expert on the memory. He said that our memories are formed and kept through a series of chemical reactions and electronic impulses. Our memory and our ability to remember is dependent on some very physical bodily functions. We have the ability to “dump” a certain amount of memory so as not to become overly cluttered. False memories can also be created and formed. In other words, we can have “real” memories of things that never happened! Are our memories part of our body or soul?

The soul's existence is something that most everyone will agree on. But determining exactly what the soul is (or isn't) seems to be allusive at best.

Rick Richardson
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