Parshat Vayetchanan - I’m a Soul, Man!
Sam and Dave famously sang the 1967 classic “Soul Man,” written by the great Isaac Hayes and David “Dave” Porter. With its powerful message of our inherent self-worth and pride, this song resonates deeply with the themes we explore in this drash.
Music blogger Ted Tocks said of the songwriters, “They were inspired to write as they watched footage of the riots and noted that the people were writing the word ‘SOUL’ on the buildings left standing. These buildings signified buildings or institutions owned by ‘African American’ people.
Hayes and Porter explain it as “…a story about one’s struggle to rise above his present conditions…I’m a soul man; it’s a pride thing.” Hayes and Porter recognized their worth regardless of how society portrayed them.
Rabbi Steinsaltz categorizes Chapter Four of Deuteronomy as “General Warnings.” Continuing his month-long speech, Moshe provides warning and encouragement as the people are about to enter the land.
One of those reminders was the nation's experience at Mt. Sinai, where they came in direct contact with Hashem. He describes the experience by focusing on the idea that the nation of Israel did not see Hashem but only heard him.
In different translations of Chapter 4, Verse 15, the authors translate the phrase “VNashmartem Mi’od VNafstaychem” emphasizing the need to guard our bodily experience. Chabad translates the verse as, “Look after yourselves very well and remember that you did not see any image on the day Gd spoke to you at Chorev (Sinai) from the fire.”
Rabbi Steinsalz’s Chumash translates it as “you shall greatly be aware for your lives…” Soloveitchik’s Chumash translates it as “and you shall watch yourselves very well…” Each of these translations focuses on the bodily experience.
They urge us to think about our actions in the context of Gd's revelation at Mt. Sinai, which makes sense. After all, Judaism is a religion of action. We take on mitzvot. We actively care for our fellow man. We offer our actions as a reflection of our beliefs.
However, the Rav Hirsch Chumash stands alone among these translations. The translation and subsequent analysis take this verse in different directions.
The Hirsch Chumash translates verse 15: “So take heed exceedingly for (the sake of) your souls! For you saw no (manner of) form on the day that Gd spoke to you at Chorev (Sinai) out of the midst of the fire.”
Here’s where the lesson got interesting for me. Hirsch calls for a focus on our souls, not our bodies that we need to guard.
Hirsch says we see this idea of guarding our souls nowhere else in the five books. He focuses on how we must remain faithful to our calling. He writes that this verse can mean “guard yourselves for the sake of your souls. Let nothing remove you from the decisive influence exercised by your souls.”
We are asked to protect (Shomer) the idea that the indivisible Gd is imperceptible to the senses, yet his existence is real and personal. We are asked to put this idea to the test of our souls and told to guard ourselves so that nothing can disturb this reality.
After all, there is only one other thing that is invisible and imperceptible to us but whose reality we are sure of. That is our soul, our nefesh. He says that since our soul can reflect on itself, we are also equipped to reflect on an invisible Gd. He adds, “Just as we are sure of our existence, so are we sure of Gd's existence.”
Hirsch points out that the Talmud in Berachos 10 speaks to the similarity between the balance of imperceptibility and reality of Gd and our soul by highlighting mentions of the soul in the writings of King David and others.
Just as Gd fills the world, our souls fill our bodies.
Gd sees but cannot be seen. So, too, our soul.
Gd nourishes the world, and our soul nourishes our bodies.
Gd is pure, and so is our soul.
Gd dwells in the innermost recesses of the universe, and our souls do the same in our bodies.
The analogy goes even further, as elucidated by Hirsch.
Our soul bears our body, and Gd bears the world.
The soul outlives the body, and Gd outlives his world.
The soul is singular in her body, as Gd is singular in His world.
The place of the soul is unknown, as is true of the place of Gd's glory.
Hirsch's lesson is universal and lasting. He says we must keep ourselves open to the influence of our soul's knowledge. In many ways, the soul knows what our senses can’t understand. It operates at a hidden and deeper level beyond our senses that may be even more real. Gd's existence, he adds, is the most real precisely because he is imperceptible to our senses but fully alive in our hearts in its pristine purity.
He urges us to “take care that you retain this influence of your souls upon yourselves.” Nothing he adds should tear us away from this pure trait of our souls.
I feel wholly embodied when I act consistently with my soul's direction. It’s as if my soul fills the entirety of the body I’ve been given.
When I act inconsistently with what my soul (and gut) tells me, I can feel a gap or a space between my true self and the vessel I’ve been given to walk around with.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve become more attuned to these contrasts, and this has become a powerful tool for knowing when I’m acting according to my best self and divine instruction.
Your soul knows what’s best and what is consistent with Gd's intention for us. No matter the difficulty, Hayes and Porter were writing about our inherent value as humans and our Gd-given ability to choose to embody our best thoughts and put them into action.
Our soul speaks to us. When we ignore it, we do so at our peril. We risk losing touch with our most authentic and divine selves. When we listen, we can access our most authentic and divine selves. You get to choose.
