Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Unmasked) — Part II Chapter I. In which it is shown what the Rabbis write concerning the souls of Christians and of other peoples found outside of Judaism, and what they teach on the other hand concerning the souls of the Jews and their passage, or transmigration, from one body or place into another. 3 Chapter II. In which it is shown in what manner the Jews are accustomed to curse us Christians and to wish all manner of evil upon us. 70 Chapter III. In which three questions are examined: first, whether Jews are permitted to rescue a Christian who is in mortal danger from death; second, whether Rabbinic laws allow bringing a Christian’s life to an end; and likewise third, whether one can safely entrust oneself to Jewish physicians or doctors, and use their medicines without concern. 146 Chapter IV. In Which It Is Shown That Christians, According to the Teaching of the Jews, Are All Damned and None Can Be Saved, Whereas All Jews Are to Partake of Eternal Salvation. 181 Chapter V. In Which Is Shown What the Jews Write and Teach Concerning Paradise 227 Chapter VI. In which is set forth what the Jews teach concerning Hell. 248 Chapter VII. This chapter shows what the Jews teach concerning the good angels. 283 Chapter VIII. In this chapter an account is given of what the Jews teach concerning the evil angels, or devils. 311 Chapter IX. In which it is shown how greatly the Christian authorities are despised by the Jews, and in what manner it is forbidden to them to bring charges against one another before those same authorities; as well as what is to be made of an oath which a Jew swears before a Christian authority. 356 Chapter X. In which is reported what the Jews, according to the vain claims of the Rabbis, possess for lands in the world, in which they are said to have their own government and to be ruled by their own princes and kings. 390 Chapter XI. In which four questions are examined: first, whether it is permitted to the Jews, according to the teaching of the Rabbis, to deceive a Christian? Second, whether it is allowed to them to steal from or rob him? Third, whether they may keep something that a Christian loses and they find? And finally, fourth, whether they may practice usury against Christians? 429 Chapter XII. This chapter reports: first, what the Jews think of Christians’ food and drink, and whether they are permitted to eat with a Christian; second, whether it is right that one buys meat from Jewish butchers; third, whether Jews may invite a Christian as a guest. 460 Chapter XIII. In which it is shown: 1. That the time in which the Messiah, according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, must have come, has long since passed. 2. When he, according to the teaching of certain rabbis, was born. 3. Where he has resided since he was born. 4. Why he has not yet come until now. 5. When, how, and from where he will come. 6. What signs of his coming there will be. And finally 7. how many Messiahs, in the opinion of the Jews, there are supposed to be. 485 Chapter XIV. In which it is shown in what manner, according to the teaching of the Jews, the Christians will wage a great war with the Turks shortly before the coming of the Messiah; and how, during that war, the Messiah the son of Joseph will fight valiantly alongside the Christians and be slain; and how after that the Messiah the son of David will come and bring the entire world under his dominion; in which time all Christians together with their supposed prince and ruler, Sammael, are to be exterminated; as well as what else will further come to pass at that time. 547 Chapter XV. In which it is shown how long the Messiah will reign after the defeat of his enemies and the subjugation of the entire world, and what further events will occur during his reign. 602 Chapter XVI. In Which Is Set Forth What the Jews Teach Concerning the Resurrection of the Dead. 662 Chapter XVII. In Which Is Shown What the Jews Teach and Believe Concerning the Last Judgment. 706 Chapter XVIII. In which the reason is reported why the Jews show themselves so steadfast in their religion and accept the Christian faith so little, and how one ought to proceed with them so that they may be converted in greater numbers than has hitherto occurred. 726 Index of the Contents of Part II of the Discovered Judaism. 764 2 Chapter I. In which it is shown what the Rabbis write concerning the souls of Christians and of other peoples found outside of Judaism, and what they teach on the other hand concerning the souls of the Jews and their passage, or transmigration, from one body or place into another. Since the Jews, puffed up with nothing but vain imagination, hate and despise all other peoples to the utmost degree, and are stuck in the erroneous opinion that they alone are holy, one can easily judge that they write nothing good at all about our souls, but rather defame and belittle them in the worst and most shameful manner. But so that their poisonous doctrine on this matter may be brought to light, it is to be known that they believe all the souls of those who are not Jews derive from the unclean spirits and devils. Hence it is read in the book Emek hammelech, folio 3, columna 4, in the 4th chapter, under the title Scháar Schiafchúe hamélech , as follows: להם אין כי אדם קרויים העולם אומות ואין העליון אדם נשמת מצד אדם קרויים אתם ל ” רז אמרו בליעל מאדם להם יש נפש אלא הקדוש העליון מאדם נשמה : That is: Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said: you (Jews) are called human beings on account of the souls which you have from the highest Man (that is, God, who is called by the Kabbalists העליון אדם Adam haélion , that is, the Highest Man); but the peoples of the world are not called human beings, because they do not have a neschamá (or neschómo ), that is, a soul, from the most holy Highest Man, but rather a néfesch , that is, a soul from בליעל אדם Adam beliáal , that is, from the most wicked (or most worthless) Man (namely, the chief devil Samaël , who, as can be seen in the aforementioned book Emek hammelech , fol. 129, col. 4, in the 11th chapter, under the title Scháar réscha díser ánpin , is called Adam beliáal , that is, the most wicked Man). For this reason it is written on this matter in Rabbi Menáchem of Rekanat ’s commentary on the Five Books of Moses, fol. 137, col. 1, in the Párascha Schemini , as follows: אחרא בסטרא ’ וגו אדם אינון לאו עמים ושאר אתם אדם טמא רוח דההוא שמא דאי בשמא סליק לא כך ובגין אדם איהו לאו דמסאבו מסטרא נפק עמין לשאר דאתפשט רוחא דמסאבא וגו טמא דההוא לבושא דליה גופא חולקיה ביה ולית דאדם בשמא סליק לא ’ : That is: (You Jews) are human beings, but the remaining peoples are not human beings, etc. On the other side, which is unclean, the spirit (understand: the soul) which is spread out among the remaining peoples comes from the side of uncleanness (that is, from the devils). That same spirit is not a human being, and therefore this name is not given to it either. The name of that spirit is called Unclean, and it is not called by the name of human being, nor does it have any share therein. Its body is the garment of that same unclean one. In the great Jálkut Rubéni , in the Párascha Bereschíth , the following is also taught on this matter at fol. 10 (though it should be folio 8), col. 3: אדם נקרא הפנימי ורוח לאדם מלבוש הוא ובשר עור וכו הקדושה מרוח נשמתן ישראל אמנם הטומאה מרוח נשמתן כי אדם קרויים אינם ום ” עכ ’ : That is: the skin and the 3 flesh are the garment of man, and the inward spirit is called Man; but the idolaters (that is, the Christians and other peoples) are not called men, because their souls derive from the unclean spirit. But the souls of the Israelites derive from the Holy Spirit, etc. And at fol. 10, col. 2, in the same place, one reads: נפשם שבא ם ” לעכו אבל עליון מאדם לו ירדה שנפשו על אדם נקרא ישראל חזיר של ונפש גוף הוא ם ” עכו של גוף כן ואם חזיר נקרא הטומאה מרוח : That is: an Israelite is called a man because his soul descends to him from the supreme Man; but an idolater, whose soul derives from the unclean spirit, is called a swine. If this is so, then the body of an idolater is the body and soul of a swine. Furthermore, in the aforementioned book Emek hammélech , fol. 23, col. 4, in the 43rd chapter under the title Scháar ólam hattóhu , one reads: קרויים בחייהם הרשעים מן נפש להם יש רק הבא ובעולם הזה בעולם עלמין בתרין העולמים חי הנקרא היסוד מן קדושה נשמה להם אין כי מתים חיים הם הניצוצות אותם ידי ועל מות וצלו מות הנקראת הקליפה : That is: the wicked are called dead during their lifetime, because they have no holy soul from the Foundation, which (Dan 12:7) is called He who lives eternally, in the two worlds, in this world and in the world to come; rather, they have souls from the Kelífa (that is, the husk, by which the Devil is understood, as was indicated above in the 18th chapter of the first part), which is called Death and the Shadow of Death; and through those same sparks they live. Now, since the Jews regard all Christians as idolaters and wicked people, as was demonstrated in the 16th chapter of the first part, and call Christendom the godless kingdom, as was indicated in the 17th chapter of the said first part, it follows from this that all of the above has been said concerning our souls. This is also consistent with what is found at fol. 4, col. 2, in the preface of the book Schéva tal , where the words read as follows: עניינם סוד נבאר כאשר הקליפות כחות חיצוניות מכחות המה האומות נפשות ברוך האצילות מקדושת אצולות ישראלית אותה של הנשמות אבל מעלה לשרי והנחילם חלקם כן מפני ד ” בס הבאים בשערים הוא That is: the souls of the nations derive from the outermost powers, the powers of the Kelífoth (or Kelifos , that is, husks, namely of the devils), as we shall explain the mystery of their nature in the following chapters, with the help of God. For this reason God distributed them among the highest (seventy) princes (mentioned above in chapter 18 of the first part) and gave them as an inheritance. But the souls of the Israelite people derive from the holiness of the emanation , or outflowing, of the blessed God. So too it is written in Rabbi Ménachem von Rékanat ’s commentary on the Five Books of Moses, fol. 221, col. 4, nearly at the end of the Parashah Haahinu , as follows: אומות של נפשותיהן נאצלים ומשם נסך יין נקרא הטומאה לכחות שבא השפע העולם : That is: the influentz , or the influx, which comes to the powers of impurity, is called יין נסך jín nésech , that is, libation wine (which is offered to idols); and from thence come the souls of the nations of the world. Concerning this origin of the souls of Christians and other nations, something has already been indicated above in chapter 16. 16. Chapter of the first part, in connection with the twenty-eighth name that is given to the Christians. 4 Since it was mentioned shortly before in folio 4, col. 2 of the book Schéva tal that the souls of the peoples of the world have been distributed among the seventy Princes or Devils, I must also set down here what is written on this subject in the book Tuf haárez fol. 9, col. 2, and the words read as follows: את נתתי לוט לבני כי ש ” וז : ההוא החלק אל המתיחסת לאומה נתן מהארץ וחלק חלק כל כי דע הארץ יחס שממש מורה אדומה וארצו אדום הוא ל ” רז פרשו וכן שעיר הר לעשו וכן ער הוא לוט לבני מתיחס ממש ירושה ער הם ההם הנשמות וכן ההיא הארץ בחלק להשפיע יחס לו יש כן גם האומה על השולט השר כי והטעם בה השוכנת האומה לפי ובהשגחה בנשמות השר ויחס הארץ יחס האומה יחס יחסים שלשה שהם בענין החיצוני עפר לאותו המתיחסת הקליפה מחלק : That is: Know that every portion of the earth has been given to that people to which that same portion (in which it dwells) is assigned; and this is what is said (Deut 2:9): I have given Ar to the children of Lot to possess. Ar is properly attributed to the children of Lot. Likewise, the mountain of Seir was assigned to Esau; and our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have explained the matter (through the words): He (namely Esau) is red, and his land is red; by which it is taught that the assignment of a land is properly according to that people which dwells therein. The reason, however, is that to that Prince (among the aforementioned seventy Princes) who rules over a people, the influence or influx over the portion of that same land has also been assigned. And thus those same souls (which are found in that same portion of the land) are from the portion of the Kelifa, or husks (namely of the evil spirit, or Devil), to which that same outward earth (or territory) is assigned, so that there are three kinds of assignment, namely the assignment of the people, the assignment of the land, and the assignment of the Prince over the souls and their governance. Concerning this matter, as well as the frivolous doctrine that the souls of the nations derive from the seventy princes, or devils, it is also written in the book Maarécheth haëlahúth (or Maaréches haëlohús ) fol. 206, col. 1. as follows: נפרדים שכליס שהם לשרים ’ ית ’ ה מסרם אומות שאר הם האלה והשגחם ומזלות כוכבים ידי על ולשמור טוב עליהם ולהנהיג לשלוט ואומה אומה לכל שר ומנה עליהם והמשילם האומות של נשמתן נשתלשלה האלה השרים ומן להם חלק אשר העמים אלהי הנקראים : That is: the remaining nations (those found outside the Jews) the blessed God has delivered over to the princes, who are Intelligentiæ abstractæ , that is, spirits without bodies, and has given them dominion over those nations, and has set a prince over each and every people to rule over it and to speak good on its behalf (and to be its advocate), and also to preserve it through the stars and planets. These same princes are also called the gods of the nations, whom He (God) has given to them in part, and from such princes the souls of the nations derive. Since the souls of the peoples are supposed to derive from the devils, it is read in the book Emek hammélech , fol. 121, col. 2. in the 151st chapter, under the title Scháar Kirjáth árbä , that the Jews will in the future overpower all peoples, and indeed in these words: יתגבר לעתיד וגו׳ הרע מצד שהם העולם אומות על יתגברו הטוב מצד שהם ישראל גם אז הרע על הטוב That is: In the future, the good will overpower the evil; then the Israelites also, who are from the good side, will take possession of the peoples of the world, who come from the evil side. By the evil side, however, 5 the devil is understood, wherefore it is stated in the book Avodáth (or Avódas,) hakkódesch , fol. 18, col. 3. in the 18th chapter under the title Chélek hajickud : הרע צד הוא הנחש that is, the serpent (namely the devil, as has been reported in the 18th chapter of the first part) is the evil side. In the book Zerór hammór it is also taught at fol. 148, col. 4. in the Parascha Ki tavó : הקדמוני נחש מזוהמת באו שהם לפי לנחש משולים הם העולם אומות : That is, the peoples of the world are compared to a serpent, because they derive from the impurity of the ancient serpent. What is meant by this, however, is to be seen from the great Jalkut Rubéni fol. 80, col. 4. in the Parascha Schemóth, where it is read: דרע מסטרא ומקין דטוב מסטרא מהבל והבל דקין מסטרא באו הנשמות כל : That is, all souls derive from the side of Cain and Abel: from Abel from the good side, and from Cain from the evil side. Now since the soul of Cain (as has been reported in the second and eighteenth chapters of the first part) is supposed to have derived from that impurity which the chief devil Sammaël caused to fall upon Even when he lay with her, all souls of the peoples are supposed to derive from that same filth; for this reason it is read in the little book Afkáth (or Afkas) róchel , fol. 7, col. 2., where mention is made of the impurity of the evil spirit, as follows: הוא משם הגוים ורוח הצד מאותו רוח ממשכים עצמם לטמא הבאים והכופרים הגוים : That is, the Gojim (that is, Christians or heathens) and the deniers of God, who defile themselves, draw (or receive) the spirit from that same side, and their spirit (that is, their soul) comes from thence. From what time onward this occurs, namely that the souls of the nations are said to derive from the aforementioned seventy princes, is taught by Rabbi Aharon Schmuel in his book Nischmāth (or Nischmas ) ádām , in Chapter I, fol. 5, col. 2, where he writes as follows: קודם הנה ומסרס אומות לשבעים השם חלק כאשר אמנם אחת שפה כל־הארץ היה כן על אחד ממקור הנפשות כל היו הפלגה דור אחר הלשונות נחלקו ופירודם הנפשות חילוק כפי כן על עליו הממונה מהשר נפש ואומה אומה לכל נמשך שרים לשבעים נפשם בלבול ענין הוא לשונם ונבלה באמרו כן ואם מהנפש נמשך שהדבור : That is: Behold, before the time of the dispersion (which took place at the building of the Babylonian tower), all souls (of the people who lived upon the earth) were from one source (and one origin); for this reason the people of the whole earth had one and the same language. But after God divided the seventy nations and delivered them over to the seventy princes, each nation received its souls from the prince appointed over it; for this reason, after the distribution of the souls and their separation, the languages were divided, since speech derives from the soul. If this is so, then by that which is said (Gen 11:9: “And let us confuse their language”), the confusion of their souls is to be understood. In the book AmmudéhaSchifa , the following is read concerning another origin of souls, fol. 51, col. 3, 4: לו ומה לויתן עם קניגי לעשות גבריאל שעתיד ל ” רז אמרו כי כפשוטו הדבר אינו זוגו ובת לויתן עינך בריח נחש לויתן והם זוגו בת ולילית אחר אל השטן המלאך על רמוזים הם זוגו ובת שלויתן הוא הענין אבל מלחמה עמו לציד עמו קיניגי יעשה וגבריאל השלם מן להאכילם הקשה בחרבו עליהם לפקוד עתיד בה ” שהק בישעיה הנזכרים עקלתון ונחש יזדווג שאם מחשבית חשב יתברך אצלו ידועה לכוונה בה ” הק ברא כאשר הבריאה ובתחלת הארץ מן הטומאה רוח להעביר כן בה ” מהק באים הצדיקים שנשמות כשם כי ום ” עכ והרבה מזיקים נשמות ויולידו המרשעת לילית זוגו בת עם חזה לויתן 6 כח ושלום חס יגבור בעולם ום ” עכ ונשמות המזיקים ברבות ובודאי כנודע אחר אל השטן מלאך ידי על באים טומאה נשמות משפטים בזוהר אמר ולכך העולם ויתקיים עמה יזדווג שלא השטן למלאך סירס בה ” ק עשה מה לפיכך העולם ויחריבו הטומאה הזה הזוהר מאמר על הקשה לאברהם חסד בעל החכם והנה בעולם ותולדה פרי יעשה שלא ה ” קב שסרסו אסתרס יחד ואל מרובות הס טומאה שנשמות רואים אנו והרי ום ” עכ נשמות יוליד שלא אחר אל להמלאך בה ” הק שסרס הוא אפשר איך ואומר ודאי שסרסם אחרי כי ולילית השטן המלאך זיווג מצד באים אינן הנשמות שאלו הוא שהענין ואמר זה על נפלא תירוץ ותירץ והם הרשעים מעשי ידי על באים כולם לעולם שבאים המזיקין של הנשמות וכל הנשמות אלו אבל להזדווג להם אפשר אי ומשטשטים המחריבים מזיקים הן והן מזיקים הרעים מעשיו ידי על בורא אחת עבירה העושה כי לעולם אותם להביא הגורמים אחד וכל הדין ביום עליו המעידים העדים הם הרעים מעשיו ידי על האדם אותם הבורא המזיקים אותם והנה כאן עד העולם מקומות בהרבה בזוהר מזה שהפליג כמו בראני פלוני ואומר צועק ואחד : That is to say: the matter of the Leviathan (that God castrated him so that the world would not be destroyed, were he to produce offspring, as will be shown below in the 15th chapter of the second part) and his female companion is not to be understood literally, that our rabbis, of blessed memory, said that the angel Gabriel would in the future arrange a hunt with the Leviathan . Why should he wage war against him? Rather, the matter is to be understood thus: that the Leviathan and his wife signify that angel who is the Satan and the other god, and Lilith (or Lilis ), his wife, who are the Leviathan , the one a straight serpent and a crooked serpent, of whom mention is made in Isaiah (ch. 27, v. 1), whom the holy blessed God will visit with His hard sword to destroy them from the world; and Gabriel will hold a hunt with him, so that the unclean spirit may be driven from the earth. Now the holy blessed God, at the beginning of creation, when He created all things for a purpose known to Him, considered in His thoughts that if this Leviathan were to lie with his wife Lilis , they would beget many souls of devils and of idolatrous people; for just as the souls of the righteous come from the holy blessed God, so the unclean souls come from the angel who is the Satan and the other god, as is well known. And it is certainly true that when the devils and the souls of the idolatrous multiply in the world, the power of impurity gains the upper hand (God forbid), and those evil spirits destroy the world. For this reason, what did the holy blessed God do? He castrated or cut the angel, the Satan , so that he should not mingle with her, and thus the world might be preserved. For this reason it is said in the Sohar , in the Parascha Mischpatim , that the other god was castrated, since the holy blessed God castrated him so that he would bring forth no fruit in the world and beget no offspring. Now the wise author, or writer, of the book Chesed le-Abraham חסד לאברהם , raised an objection against this statement of the Sohar , and says: how can it be possible that the holy blessed God should have castrated the angel who is the other god, so that he should beget no souls of idolatrous people, when we plainly see that there are very many unclean souls? And he resolved this objection most admirably, and said that the matter is to be understood thus: that those souls do not come from the side of the mingling of the angel, the Satan, and Lilis , for after God castrated them it is impossible that they should mingle. Rather, those souls, and the souls of the devils that come into the world, all come through the deeds of the wicked, who are the cause of their being brought into the world; for whoever commits a sin creates devils through his evil deeds, and those are the very devils that 7 do harm, destroy the world, and defile it. (Thus far are the words of the book Chesed le- Abraham .) Behold, man thus creates those very devils through his evil deeds. Those same devils are the witnesses who will testify against him on the day of judgment; and each one will cry out and say that such-and-such a person created him, just as this is particularly shown in many places in the Sohar As for the place in which the souls of the nations are supposed to dwell before they enter into human beings, it is said to be in the expansis , that is, in the firmaments or expansions of the seven planets, and concerning this, the following is written in the small Jalkut Rubéni, numero 4, under the title Neschamá , from the booklet Tuf haárez, fol. 9, col. 1: רקיעים בשבעה גלגל ותחת ’ וכו כוכב כל תחת אומות ’ י אומות ’ ע נשמות יש רקיעים שבעה ובאלה ל ” חנכ ם ” שצ לכת כוכבי שבעה התחתים וגו ולילין ורוחין השדים נשמות שם כלום משמש שאינו חלק רקיע יש שבכולם האחרון לבנה ’ : That is: Among the seven firmaments or expansions there are seven planets, namely Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, and in these seven expansions dwell the souls of the seventy nations, ten nations under each planet, etc. But beneath the Sphæra , or sphere, of the Moon, which is the last of all, there is an expansion that serves no purpose whatsoever, and there dwell the souls of the devils, the spirits, and the night-phantoms. How long the souls of the nations shall endure and remain in the world is taught in the book Maarécheth haëlahúth , fol. 25, col. 2., in the commentary of Chájat , as follows: ביובל כי הקליפות אל חוזרת הבליעה כי להשיב יש עליהם יחרון לנו וכה חרב יהיה שהעולם מאחר אומה שום תשאר לא הגדול לא וכל מכל כלייה להם יהיה שסיבתם מאחר לחרפות ילכו מהם הבאות האומות של נפשם גם ולכן העולם מן וכל סכל יכלו עוד שמם יזכר : that is, in the great Jubilee year no nation will remain, since the world (in that time) will be destroyed and laid waste. What advantage, then, do we (Jews) have over them (namely, the seventy nations)? To this it is to be answered that the destruction is to be understood as referring to the Kelifóth (or Kelifos ), that is, the husks (which are the evil spirits), for these will be utterly and entirely exterminated from the world; and therefore the souls of the nations, which derive from them, will also come to ruin (and be exterminated), since their originators (from whom they proceed) will come to a complete end, and their name will no longer be remembered. Having now revealed what the malicious Jews teach as a shameful doctrine concerning the souls of our people and of other nations, I must also show what they teach, by contrast, concerning their own souls. Here it is to be known that they hold that their souls are a part and spark of the divine essence. That they are a part of the divine essence is taught in the book Schené luchóth habberíth , fol. 262, col. 3, in these words: ממעל אלוה חלק הנשמות , that is, the souls are a part of God from above. And in the book Nischmáth adam , Rabbi Aharon Schmuél writes: ממעל אלוה חלק היא הנשמה , that is, the soul is a part of God from above; which is also to be found in the book Schéfa tal , in the preface, fol. 4, col. 1, 2. And in the third column it is there 8 taught: אב של מעצמותו כבן ומעצמותו ממעל אלוה חלק היא הנשמה , that is, the soul is a part of God from above, and of His substance, or essence, just as a son is of the essence of his father. Something on this matter has, however, already been mentioned in the first chapter of the first part. That they are also supposed to be sparks of the divine essence is evident from the book Emek hammélech , fol. 121, col. 4, in the 152nd chapter, under the title Schaár Kirjáth árba , where it is written as follows: הוא ברוך מעצמותו ניצוץ שהם מפני ועד לעולם וקיימים חיים הם שברא נשמות נופח הוא מעצמותו הנופח וכל חיים נשמת באפיו ויפח שנאמר : That is: The souls which He (namely, GOD) has created live and endure in eternity, because they are a spark of the substance or essence of the blessed God, as it is said (Gen 2:7): And He breathed into his nostrils a living soul. The like is also to be found in the same place, fol. 127, col. 3. And in the book Nischmáth ádam , one reads in the first chapter, fol. 5, col. 1: ואשו הגדול מאורו נאצלה ידוד הגדול מהשם וניצוץ נר היא הנשמה פיו מרוח שנאצלה הנשמה כך כלום חסר שאינו מנר נר כסדליק והוא הוא אוכלה אש אלהיך ’ ה כי הכתוב שאמר כמו הקדוש כביכול יתברך : That is: The soul is a light and a spark of the great name Jehova, and derives from His great light and from His holy fire, as Scripture says (Deut 4:24): For the Lord your God is a consuming fire. And just as one lights a candle from another and that candle thereby suffers no diminishment, so too, so to speak, is it with the soul, which derives from the breath of the mouth of the blessed God. In the same manner one also reads in the book Emek hammelech , fol. 135, col. 1, in the 18th chapter, under the title Scháar réscha dísér ánpin : מן באה היא הנשמה עמו ’ ה חלק כי דכתיב עצמה הויה שם : That is: The soul derives from the name of the Essence (that is, the name Jehóva ), as it is written (Deut 32:9): For the Lord’s portion is His people. In the aforementioned book Nischmáth ádam , it is also taught at fol. 7, col. 1, in the first chapter, that the Jewish souls derive from the ten Sephiróth or Sephiros , and the words there read as follows: הקדושים ספירות ’ מי נאצלות הראשון אדם נשמת באחדות כלולים נשמותינו : That is: Our souls, which are contained in the unity of the soul of the first man, derive from the holy ten Sephiróth (or radiances). By the ten Sephiróth , however, the Kabbalists understand the Godhead, as may be seen in the book Schéfa tal , fol. 1, col. 1. Since the souls of the Jews are supposed to have such a glorious origin, while the souls of all other peoples are supposed to have such a shameful one, the former are to be entirely pleasing and dear to God, while the latter are to be regarded by Him as utterly worthless. It is reported in the book Schéfa tal fol. 4, col. 2. in the preface that, corresponding to the number of the seventy souls who, as can be seen in Exod 1:5, came from the loins of Jacob, there are also seventy peoples, and the following passage ensues: כל כי לנו להורות כדי זה להודיע הוצרכה התורה התורה לנו גילה הענין וזה בכללה אחת אומה של הנפשות מכל יותר בה ” הק בעיני וחשובה חביבה עצמה בפני מישראל נשמה כמו הנפשות כל אמרה ולא הנפש כל לומר ודקדקה שבעים מצרימה יעקב לבית הבאה הנפש כל באמרה כן גם אחר במקום יעקב אצל שכן מכל רבים בלשון נפשות אותן קורא הכי ואפילו נפשות שש רק היו שלא ביתו נפשות כל את עשו אצל שאמרה יותר בעיניו חביבה מישראל עצמה בפני ונפש נפש כל כי לנו להורות שרצתה אלא הנפשות כל לומר לו היה נפש שבעים שהיו אומות ’ מע יותר בעיניו וחשובה חביבה בכללה ישראלית ואותה בכללה עולם מאומות אומה של הנפשות מכל That is: The Law found it necessary to make this known, in order to teach us that each and every Israelite 9 soul individually is more pleasing and more precious in the eyes of the holy blessed God than all the souls of one (other) entire people. And this matter the Law has also revealed to us in another place, when it states (Gen 46:27): “And all the soul (not souls, in the plural number) of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt was seventy.” It (namely the Law) took careful note of this, that it says: “All the soul,” and did not say “All the souls,” just as it says of Esau (Gen 36:6): “All the souls of his house,” and calls them souls in the plural, even though there were only six souls. How much more ought it to have said of Jacob, when there were seventy souls, “All the souls”? But it wished to teach us that each and every Israelite soul individually is more pleasing and more precious in His eyes than all the souls of an entire people among the peoples of the world, and that the Israelite people as a whole is more beloved and more highly regarded in His eyes than the seventy peoples. Regarding the time in which the souls were created, the Jews teach that they were created at the very beginning of the world, in the first six days. Hence Rabbi Menasse ben Israel writes in his book Nischmáth Chájim , fol. 70, col. 2, in the 16th chapter of the second Maámar , as follows: מאמינים ישראל אמוני שלומי הגוף עם נבראים שהנשמות הוא העולם אומות חכמי שדעת הגם בראשית ימי בששה כלם שנבראו שלמה באמונה : That is: Although the wise men of the nations of the world hold that souls are created together with the body, the perfect and faithful Israelites believe, with a perfect faith, that they were all created in the six days of the creation of the world. And immediately thereafter follows, from the book Tanchúma : אדם מן שהיו הנשמות כל עדן בגן וכלן בראשית ימי בששת נבראו כלם העולם סוף עד ושיהיו הראשון : That is: All souls that have existed from the time of the first man, and that will exist until the end of the world, were created altogether in the six days of the world. Likewise, in the commentary of Rabbi Menáchem of Recanati on the five books of Moses, fol. 34, col. 2, in the Parascha Bereschith , one reads as follows: רבים ימיך ומספר תולד אז כי ידעת שנאמר כענין בראשית ימי מששת נבראו הנשמות כי ידעת כבר : That is: You already know that the souls were created from the six days of creation, as it is said (Job 38:21): “Did you know that you were to be born at that time, and that your days would be many in number?” And by this it is meant that the souls were created with the first light, as can be read in the aforementioned book Nischmáth Chájim , fol. 72, col. 1, in the 17th chapter of the second Maámar This is also said to have occurred on the first day, as the aforementioned Rabbi Menasse reports in the immediately following 17th chapter, fol. 71, col. 2, where he writes in the following manner: הזה בדבר גם עיני ואורו דבש מעט טעמתי אשר אחר ועתה ראשון ביום נבראו שהנשמות ל ” ז חכמינו מכל כמעט הוא מוסכם כי ואומר נבראו בראשית ימי מששת יום באיזה נא נחקור : That is: Now that I have tasted a little honey and my eyes have been enlightened in this matter as well, let us inquire on which of the six days of the creation of the world they were created; and I say that nearly all of our sages, of blessed memory, agree that the souls were created on the first day. Shortly thereafter he further expresses himself as follows: כתב כבר ואילך ומשם ראשון ביום אלא מאין יש ברא לא ה ” שהקב לפי כלל ראשון יום אחר נבראת שתהיה לומר אפשר שאי ן ” הרמב נבראו הראשון היש בכלל הנשמות כך ואם מיש יש עשה בראשית ימי בשאר : That is: Rabbi Moshe bar Nachman 10 wrote that one cannot say at all that they were created after the first day, since the holy and blessed God created something out of nothing only on the first day, but from that day onward, in the remaining days of creation, He made something out of something; and if that is so, then the souls are included among those things that were created on the first day. Where the souls go immediately after they have been created is taught by Rabbi Salomon Jarchi in his commentary on the Talmudic tractate Chagiga fol. 5, col. 1. in the following manner: לשם ונתנם להולד העתידות הנשמות כל נוצרו ומבראשית גוף ושמו יש אוצר : That is, there is a treasury (in heaven) which is called Guf , and all the souls which were created from the beginning and are yet to be born in the future have been placed there (by God). Concerning this, an equivalent passage is also to be found in the book Zerór hammór, fol. 152, col. 1. in the Parascha Nizzavim . From this treasury the souls are also to be given by God to children in their mother’s womb, as the aforementioned Rabbi Menalle ben Israel teaches in his book Nischmáth Chájim fol. 72, col. 1. in the 18th chapter, when he writes as follows: ויציב קיים מונח לאור צאתו טרם אמו במעי הוייתו מהחילת השמים מן ’ ה מאת לאדם לו נתנה הטהורה שהנשמה ישראל חכמי כל מדעת הוא העולם : That is, it is certain and true, according to the opinion of all the wise men of Israel, that the pure soul is given to man by God from heaven from the very beginning, when he is formed in his mother’s womb, before he comes forth into the air of the world. And this he demonstrates in detail in what follows. Regarding the number of souls which God originally created: there are said to be sixty times ten thousand, or sixty times one hundred thousand, in all, and indeed purely souls of the Israelites , all of which were contained within the soul of Adam and were attached to it. Therefore it is written in the Jalkut chadasch. fol. 155, col. 1. numero 34. under the title Neschamóth as follows: ( רבוא ) ששים ויש דישראל הנשמות שרש היא והתורה רבוא ששים הם הנשמות כללות כפי התורה יקרא אחד כל ולעתיד אחד מפירוש נתהוה עצמה בפני ונשמה נשמה וכל שבתורה פסוק לכל פירושים רבוא ששים מכל כולל היה השלום עליו רבינו ומשה פירושים כמה שכוללות נשמות כמה ויש נשמתו נבראת משם אשר לו המגיע הפירוש בפסוק אחרת ובלילה אחד בפסוק לו השייך הפירוש שם וקורא נשמתו עולה זוכה אם ישן כשהאדם לילה ובכל רבוא הששים בקבלה וכנגדן באגדה וכנגדן הפסוק כפשט אלו פירושים רבוא וששים אחד ; That is: the sum of souls consists of sixty times ten thousand (or six times one hundred thousand), and the Law is the root of the Israelite souls. Likewise, every single verse in the Law has six hundred thousand interpretations, and each individual soul was made from one interpretation. In the future, every person will also read the Law according to the interpretation that pertains to him, upon which his soul was created. There are, however, many souls that encompass many interpretations, and Moses our teacher, upon whom be peace, was encompassed by all six hundred thousands. Every night also, when a person sleeps, provided he is worthy of it, his soul ascends (into Heaven) and reads there the interpretation that belongs to it (and pertains to it) in one verse, and on the next night in another verse. These six hundred thousand interpretations, however, are according to the plain and literal sense of the verse; and corresponding to those (interpretations) there are likewise just as many (interpretations) in 11 the Aggáda (that is, in the entertaining and subtle stories), as well as in the Kábbala . The very same thing is also found in the book Emek hammelech fol. 139, col. 4. in the 30th chapter, under the title Schaar réscha díser ánpin. Now, since six hundred thousand souls were created, there are also supposed to be just as many Jews; for this reason it is read in Schir haschírim rábba , fol. 264, col. 2.: ישראל כל שהם רבוא ’ ס כנגד שקול משה ; That is: Moses is equal to the six hundred thousands, which comprise all Israelites. Concerning which, more can be read in the book Megálle amyk-kóth , in the one hundred and eighty-sixth as well as in the one hundred and forty-eighth Ofan or chapter. That all six hundred thousand souls were contained within the soul of Adam is taught in the book Nischmāth ādam , fol. 6, col. 1. in the first chapter as follows: כלולה הראשון אדם נשמת וכן בראשית בזוהר כבזואר בישראל להיות המציאות שבאפשרי והפרצופים הדעות כלל שהם נשמות רבוא מששים ושזורה וזה רבוא מששים לעולם נעדר לא ואיש נשמות רבוא ששים בהם יש ישראל ל ” וז ה ” פ האהבה שער חכמה ראשית בעל כתב התבונה מבעלי שמעתי וכן . . החכמה ליודעי כנודע בחינות רבוא ששים בהם שיש העליונה המרכבה דוגמא היותם על יורה רבוא ששים הם כולם שהכוכבים : That is to say: the soul of the first man was composed and put together from six hundred thousand souls (the Hebrew word properly means “twisted together,” as threads are customarily twisted together), which is the sum of the forms of knowledge and of the persons that can possibly exist among the Israelites, as is explained in the Sohar on the first book of Moses. Likewise, the author of the book Reschith chóchma (by the name of Rabbi Elias ), of blessed memory, writes in the 5th chapter under the title Scháar haaháva as follows: Among the Israelites there are six hundred thousand souls, and never at any time does a single person fall short of the six hundred thousands. This also indicates that they are a pattern of the supreme chariot, in which there are six hundred thousand forms of knowledge, as is known to those who are acquainted with this wisdom. I have likewise heard from astrologers that the number of stars in general is six hundred thousand. Shortly thereafter, in that same column , the following appears: הנשמות כל כי לדעת הראיתיך עתה המשיל כן ועל הראשון אדם נשמת שהיא אחת בפתילה נכללים היו נשמות רבוא ששים ואותן רבוא בששים כלולים מישראל רבים מחוטים שזור פתילה לו שיש לנר הראשון אדם נשמת החכם : That is: I have now shown you, so that you may know, that the souls of the Israelites consist of six hundred thousand; and these six hundred thousand souls were contained within one wick (namely, the soul of the first man); for this reason the wise man compared the soul of the first man to a light that has a wick twisted together from many threads. And at fol. 8, col. 1, in the first chapter of the aforementioned book, it further states: מישראל נשמות רבוא ששים כלולים שבו ’ ה נר היא הראשון אדם נשמת מנר נר כמדליק : That is: The soul of the first man was a light of the Lord, in which the six hundred thousand souls of the Israelites were contained, just as one lights a candle from another. So too is it taught at fol. 7, col. 1 in the aforementioned first chapter: כלולים היו מישראל נשמות כל דרכו שסילף הראשון אדם אולת ואמנם סגולתו עם נחלתו חבל בישראל העולם בזה לבא מוכנים והיו הראשון אדם בנשמת וגו וקדושה טהרה אחר אם כי זו לנשמה זוכה אדם כל ואין נתערבו האלו שהנשמות גרמה בחוה זוהמא הנחש והטיל ’: That is: All Israelite souls were contained within the soul of the first man, and were prepared to 12 come into this world among the Israelites, the portion of His (namely, God’s) inheritance and the people of His possession. But the foolishness of the first man, who perverted his way, and the fact that the serpent cast a defilement into Eva , caused those souls to become mingled with one another; and not every person is worthy of such a soul except after purification and holiness, etc. In the Sepher Gilgûlim , fol. 1, col. 3, the following is also read: והרוחות הנשמות כל שנברא בעת הראשון באדם כלולים היו כולם והנפשות : That is, all Neschamoth , or souls, and all Ruchóth , or spirits, as well as all Nephalschóth , or souls, were comprehended in the first man at the time when he was created. And in the book Emek hammelech , fol. 171, col. 3, under the title Scháar ólam habbería , the following is likewise taught on this matter: היינו העולם בריאת בשעת היית איפה פסוק על זל ” ר שדרשו וזהו היו ונקבה זכר נשמות של רבוא ששים כל בו כלולים היו הראשון אדם שנולד בשעה ישראל אלהי ה