Come and see. At the hour when the soul descends [from the
treasury of souls in malchut
of Atzilut] to
enter into this world [dressed in the body of a person] she first descends to
the Garden of Eden, which is [connected with] this world. She sees the honor of
the spirits of the righteous that stand, row upon row, [and sees the extent of
their reward]. Next, she goes to Hell to see the [punishment of] the wicked who
yell "Voi, voi!" [Why, why?!], and no mercy is shown to them. At each
place she witnesses the evidence [of reward for each mitzvah and
punishment for each sin] and this holy shadow stands over her until she issues
forth in this world.
When [the body] issues forth into the world this shadow is
immediately present with it and participates with it, and they grow together.
This is as said: "Surely every man walks in his
shadow" (Tehillim 39:7). All the days of the
life of a person are present in this shadow.
This is as is written,
"For we are as [though born] yesterday, and know nothing [about how long we will
live], because our days on earth are a shadow" (Iyov 8:9).
And we don't know how long we will be in this world because the days of our life
depend on this shadow.
From the day that a woman becomes pregnant until the day she gives birth, people
don't understand how wondrous and how exalted are the works of the Holy One
Blessed be He [in the formation and growth of the fetus], as is written,
"O Hashem, how numerous are your works! You have made
them all in Your wisdom" (Tehillim 104:24).
Come and see. All souls that are in the world include
both male and female.
And when the souls issue forth [from the treasury of souls
in malchut],
they emerge as male and female, and after [they have descended to the physical
world] each separates and goes its own way.
[The male part manifests in a male body and the female part in a female body].
If a person merits [through behavior worthy of his soul] they join together
[again] as one unit. His wife is his true soul mate [meaning they actually are
the male and female aspects of the one soul]. They join together as one unit in
everything, in spirit and in body.
This is as is written,
"And G-d said, 'Let the earth bring forth a live Nefesh in its type'"
(Bereishit 1:24). What does "in its type" mean?
This is the spirit of that person that came into his soul mate who is of the
same type as he is. And what is "the earth"? This is as in the verse,
"My essence was not hidden from You, when I was made in
secret, and finely wrought in the depths of the earth." (Tehillim 139:15).
And this we have explained.
The [Nefesh]
certainly issues forth from "the earth" [malchut]
because it is from her that it comes out in this world.