## Ba'al Shem Tov, Noach

###### Ba'al Shem Tov, Noach 158:1
[Ba'al Shem Tov, Noach 158:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ba%27al%20Shem%20Tov/s/Noach/r/158:1)

שמעתי ממורי זלה"ה כי נר"ן של אדם נתגלגל בזיי"ן ספירות והנפש הם עבדיו ובהמותיו, ואם פגם בנפש דהיינו במעשה, גורם לו צער מעבדיו ובהמותיו, והרוח ממללא הוא הדיבור, ואם פגם בדיבור לשון הרע וכיוצא בזה, נעשה מדיבור זה אנשים שמצערים אותו, ומדברים עליו, ונודע כי הדיבור נקרא זווג כמו שאמרו חכמינו ז"ל (כתובות די"ג ע"א) ראוה מדברת וכו', אם כן אשתו היא רוח גם כן זכה נעשה לו עזר ואם לאו כנגדו, הנשמה שוכנת במוח שמזה נעשה טפה זרעיית והם בניו, ואם פגם במחשבה שבמוח גורם שיש לו צער מבניו, ובכל הספירות יכול להעלות נר"ן מה שאין כן בספירה זיי"ן שהוא מלכות אשר משם יונקים הקליפות נגה, קשה לו להעלות משם נר"ן שלו. כלל העולה כי בני אדם השונאים אותו באו על ידי פגם דיבורו לכך צריך להעלותן ולתקנן על ידי דיבור התפלה להתפלל עליהם שישובו ויתוקנו, כמו שאמרו בש"ס (ברכות ד"י ע"א) גבי ר' מאיר וברוריא איתתיה יתמו חטאים ולא יתמו חוטאים וכו', ואם אינו עושה כך רק שדוחה אותן נעשו חומריות ועב יותר, ושונאים אותו יותר, וזהו שדרשו חז"ל (ברכות ד"ג ע"א) גם ענוש לצדיק לא טוב, כי הוא רוחו של צדיק עצמו שמזה נעשו בני אדם השונאים אותו, וצריך לתקנם ולהעלותם בתפלתו, ועל ידי התפלה נמתק בשרשו ומוציא מהן רוחו, והנשאר בהם כלה מאליו וכו', וזה ענין משה רבינו עליו השלום שהיה רועה צאן ואחר כך נתן להם התורה ונעשו תלמידיו וכו' ודפח"ח:
(תוי"י פ' לך די"ז ע"ג).

**Ami Silver, 2020:**
I heard from my Master that a person’s *nefesh*, *ruach*, and *neshama* are embodied in the seven [lower] Sefiros, and that his *nefesh* corresponds to his servants and livestock.² and *neshama* (the other two, *chaya* and *yechida*, are considered to surround a person from without). They correspond to a person’s physical, emotional and mental faculties. The *nefesh*, being the lowest, corresponds to those things that are most material in relationship to a person, in this case, his servants and livestock. If he blemishes his *nefesh –* his actions – then his servants and animals will cause him pain.
The *ruach* – the “speaking spirit”³). – is his power of speech. If he damages his speech with slander, gossip and the like, it becomes people who will abuse him, and gossip about him. “Speech” also corresponds to marital union, as our Sages have said: “he sees her speaking.”⁴ 13a. The Mishnah states: “They [the court] saw [an unmarried woman] speaking with someone.” In the Gemara, Rav Assi explains that this is a euphemism for sexual relations. Therefore, one’s wife is also his *ruach* – “if he is worthy, she is a helper, if not, she opposes him.”⁵
The *neshama* dwells in the mind, where the sperm originates.⁶ Thus, it corresponds to his children. If he blemishes his thoughts, he will suffer from his children.
Now, it is possible to elevate the *nefesh*, *ruach*, and *neshama* from all the Sefiros. However, as the *kelipas* *nogah* attaches itself to the seventh Sefirah of Malchus, it is very difficult to elevate the parts of one’s soul from there.
All this teaches us that a person’s enemies come from his own blemished speech, and that he must elevate and repair his speech with words of prayer. He should pray that his enemies repent and be rectified, as in the story of Rabbi Meir and Beruria: “Let the sins be erased, but not the sinners.”⁷ 10a. That Talmud relates that Rabbi Meir had a neighbor who was an apostate, who constantly abused him. Rabbi Meir wanted to pray for the man to die, but Beruria, Rabbi Meir’s wife, taught him the verse: “Let sin cease from the earth” (Psalms 104:35). “It is written ‘sin’ (*chatayim*),” she said, “not ‘sinners’ (*chotayim*).” Rabbi Meir prayed for the man to repent, and he did so. If you do not do this, but reject them further, they will become even more material and hate you more.⁸ Thus, the Sages said: “Punishment, for the righteous, is also not good” (Proverbs 17:26).⁹ 3a. This is an interpretive reading of the verse, which actually states: “To punish the righteous is also not good.” The Talmud means that it is not good for a Tzaddik to punish others. Because a Tzaddik’s enemy is his own *ruach*, which becomes a human being who hates him. He must fix this person and elevate him with his prayers, which "sweeten" him in his root. Then his *ruach*will be removed from him, and what is left will disappear by itself. ¹⁰, p. 23b. Thus, Moses was first a shepherd; later he gave them the Torah, and they became his disciples.¹¹
*Toldos Yaakov Yosef*, p. 17c

footnotes:
² There are three levels of soul found within the human being: nefesh, ruach
³ On the words of Genesis 2:7, “…and the man became a living soul,” the Targum Unkelos translates: “and the man became a speaking spirit (ruach m’malelah
⁴ Kesuvos
⁵ See Rashi on Genesis 2:18: “And the L-rd G-d said… I will make him a helper opposite him.'
⁶ The Midrash and Kabbalistic literature speak of the formation of sperm as occurring in the mind (i.e. whiteness from whiteness), from where it descends to the reproductive organs.
⁷ Berachos
⁸ That is, since they derive from the lowest part of your soul, which is trapped in the impure shells, if you push them away, they fall even lower and become more grossly physical; thus, they will hate you even more.
⁹ Berachos
¹⁰ See, also, Ben Poras Yosef
¹¹ That is, the souls of the Jewish people, who were all part of Moses’ soul, were embodied in Moses’ flocks. Afterward, he uplifted them and gave them the Torah.