## Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I

###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:1
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:1)

ומה שהנר"ן של האדם אין ביכולתם לקשר העולמות עד רדתם למטה בגוף האדם כנ"ל. כי לתקן עולם העשיה הוצרכו בהכרח להתלבש בגוף בעולם המעשה וכן מצינו כמה מקראות המדברי' באלו הג' בחי' הנ"ל: בענין התעוררו' שלמעל' ע"י בחי' המעשה אמר דוד המע"ה היוצר יחד לבם המבין אל כל מעשיהם ולפי פשוטו היה ראוי לומר המבין כל מעשיהם ואמר אל כל מעשיהם ר"ל הנוגע למעשיהם והיינו שהוא היוצרם ית"ש היודע ומבין עד היכן מעשיהם מגיעים ונוגעים בתיקוני העולמות או להיפך ח"ו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And man’s soul-*Neffesh*, soul-*Ruakh* and soul-*Neshama* are unable to interconnect the worlds until they descend below into man’s body, as we discussed above in Chapter 10, for to rectify the World of Action it was absolutely necessary that they clothe themselves in the body in the World of Action. And we found this in several sources that discuss the three divisions of the soul we mentioned above. Regarding the matter of arousal in the worlds above via the quality of action²²⁶, King Dovid (peace is upon him) said (Tehillim 33): “He who forms together their hearts/minds and understands the direction of all their actions...²²⁷.” According to the plain meaning it would have been appropriate to say “understands all their actions.” And he said “*the direction* of all their actions,” as if to say all the things that are relevant to their actions, to say that He who formed them (blessed be His name) is the One who knows and understands to where [the results of ] their actions²²⁸ reach and relate to in rectifying the worlds, or the opposite (heaven forefend).

footnotes:
²²⁶ There are three ways for Man to affect the worlds: action, speech and thought. R. Chayyim addresses each of these in turn.
²²⁷ Heb.: Ho-yotzeir ya-khad leebam ha-mei-veen el kall ma-ah-seihem
²²⁸ I.e., the effects of their actions


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:2
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:2)

וכן קהלת אמר כי את כל מעשה האלקים יביא במשפט על כל נעלם גו'. ולא אמר כי האלקים יביא במשפט את כל מעשה וגו'. והיינו כי אלקים פי' בעל הכחות כולם ובעת עמוד האדם למשפט לפניו ית"ש לא ידונו את המעשה לבדה כפי שהיא. אך יחשבו גם כל מה שגרם וסיבב ע"י מעשיו אם טוב ואם רע בכל הכחות והעולמת זהו אמרו מעשה האלקים:

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And as Kohelet stated (12:14): “For every action, God-*Elohi”m* will bring to judgment, relative to all that is hidden... .” And it doesn’t say: “For God-*Elohi”m* will bring to judgment every...”. The reason for this is that the definition of “Elohi”m” is “Master of All Powers”, and when a man stands in judgment before Him (blessed be His name), the specific action won’t be judged in isolation; rather all the effects and results of his actions will be taken into account, be they good or bad, in all the powers and worlds. This is why he states: “...action, God-*Elohi”m*... .”


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:3
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:3)

ואמר כי את כל מעשה. ולא כי על כל מעשה הענין כמ"ש (איוב ל״ד:י״א) כי פועל אדם ישלם לו והוא כמו שנתבאר למעלה (בפ"ו בהג"ה) שמעת שעולה על טוהר מחשבת האדם לעשות מצוה תיכף נעשה רשומו למעלה בשרשו העליון לבנות ולנטוע כמה עולמות וכחות עליונים. כמ"ש (ישעיהו נ״א:ט״ו-ט״ז) ואשים דברי בפיך וגו' לנטוע שמים גו' וכמאמרם ז"ל א"ת בניך אלא בוניך כמש"ל.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And he said: “for every action”²²⁹ and not “relative to every action”²³⁰. It is as was stated (Iyyov 34): “For a man’s action will he be recompensed.” And it is as was explained above (in chapter 6, in the notes), that from the instant it enters into the purity of a man’s thoughts to perform a commandment, immediately its impression is made above, in its lofty root, to build and to plant a number of worlds and lofty powers, as is written (Yeshayahu 51): “And I will place my words in your mouth...” and “to plant the heavens...”. And as they (OBM) stated (at the end of tractate Berakhot): “Don’t read it as ‘your children’²³¹ but rather as ‘your builders’²³²” as we mentioned above.

footnotes:
²²⁹ Heb.: kee et call ha-ma-ah-seh
²³⁰ Heb.: kee al call ha-ma-ah-seh
²³¹ Heb.: ba-nahyikh
²³² Heb.: bo-nahyikh


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:4
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:4)

וממילא מתעורר וממשיך גם עליו אור מקיף מהקדושה העליונה. והוא המסייעו לגומרה. ואחר גומרו המצוה. הקדושה והאור מסתלק לשרשו. וזהו ענין שכר העה"ב שהוא מעשי ידי האדם עצמו שאחר פרידת נפשו מהגוף הוא העולה להתעדן ולהשביע נפשו בצחצחות האורות והכחות והעולמות הקדושים שנתוספו ונתרבו ממעש' הטובים.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And of itself, it arouses and draws upon itself too an encompassing light from the lofty holiness, and it assists him to complete it. And after he finishes the commandment, the holiness and the light withdraws to its root. And this is the matter of reward in the world-to-come, it being man’s own actions. When after the soul-*Neffesh* separates from the body, he ascends to delight and satiate his soul-*Neffesh* in the glow of the holy lights, powers and worlds that were increased and multiplied as a result of his good works.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:5
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:5)

וזשרז"ל כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה"ב. ולא אמרו בעה"ב שמשמעו הי' שהעה"ב הוא מוכן מעת הבריאה ענין ודבר לעצמו ואם יצדק האדם יתנו לו בשכרו חלק ממנו. אבל האמת שהעה"ב הוא הוא מעשה ידי האדם עצמו שהרחיב והוסיף והתקין חלק לעצמו במעשיו לכ"א שכל ישראל יש להם לכל א' חלק הקדושה והאורות והצחצחות שהתקין והוסיף לעה"ב ממעשיו הטובים.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And that the sages (OBM) said (in Mishna Avot): “All Israel, there is for them, a portion *for* the world-to-come,” and didn’t say “*in* the world-to-come,” whose meaning would be that the world-to-come is prepared from the time of creation, a subject and a thing by itself, and if a person is pious he will be given a portion from it as his reward. Rather, the truth is that the world-tocome is [emphatically] a result of a person’s own actions, that a portion is expanded and added to and refined for himself via his actions. And therefore they said that all Israel, there is for them, for each one, a portion of the holiness and the lights and the brightness that he refined and to which he added *for* the world-to-come, via his good actions.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:6
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:6)

וכן עונש הגיהנם ענינו גם כן שהחטא עצמו הוא עונשו. כמ"ש (משלי ה׳:כ״ב) עונותיו ילכדונו את הרשע ובחבלי חטאתו יתמך. תיסרך רעתך גו' (ירמיהו ב׳:י״ט) כמו שנתבאר שכאשר האדם עושה אחת ממצו' ה' אשר לא תעשנ' הפגם והחורבן נרשם ח"ו תיכף למעלה בשרשו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And so too the punishment of *Gehinnom*²³³ (lit.: Valley of Hinnom) is a name used for the spiritual location used for repentance via a kind of suffering or intense embarrassment. Colloquially it is called Hell., its explanation is the same: that the sin itself is his punishment, and as is written (Mishlei 5:22): “His sins will trap him and in the ropes of his sins will he be held,” and (Yirmiyahu 2:19): “Your own wickedness will afflict you,” as will be explained, that when a person performs one of God’s commandments that shouldn’t be done, the defect and the destruction is recorded (heaven forefend) immediately above, at its root.

footnotes:
²³³ Gehinnom


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:7
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:7)

ולעומת זה אמלאה החריבה הוא מקים ומגביר כחות וחיילי הטומאה והקליפות. הרחמן ית"ש יצילנו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And in contrast to this (Yechezkel 26:2) “I will be filled for it has been destroyed,” [when a person sins] he sets upright and emboldens powers and legions of the defiled and the *kleepote*²³⁴ (“shells” or “husks”) are the remnants of the *kei-leem* (containers, vessels) that were broken at the time of creation, when they could not contain the “light” that was placed within them. They are associated with the world of impurity, and derive their sustenance by drawing light from sources of holiness, acting as a kind of parasite on the holiness in the world., may the Merciful (blessed be His name) save us.

footnotes:
²³⁴ The kleepote


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:8
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:8)

ומשם ממשיך גם על עצמו רוח הטומאה שמלפפתו בעת עשיי' העון ואחר עשותו הרוח טומאה מסתלק למקומו והוא בחייו בגיהנם ממש המקיפו בעת עשיית החטא רק שאינו מרגיש עדיין עד אחר פטירתו שנלכד אז ברשת אשר הכין הן כחות הטומאה והמזיקין שנבראו ממעשיו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And from there he draws also upon himself the spirit-*Ruakh* of impurity that wraps itself around him at the moment he performs the offense. And after performing it, the spirit-*Ruakh* of impurity withdraws to its place. And he, during his life, is literally in the *Gehinnom* that surrounds him at the moment he performs the sin, only that he doesn’t sense it until after he dies, and is then trapped in the net that he prepared, they being the powers of impurity and the destructive forces that were created from his actions.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:9
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:9)

הגהה: אמנם מרובה מדה טובה כו' בהפרש ויתרון רב כי הצחצחות ותוספ' קדושה שנתוספו ממעשיו הטובים הם נצחים וקיימים לעולם ונפשו מתעדן בהם תענוג נצחי. אבל הכחות הטומאה והמזיקין שנבראו ונתרבו מחטאיו. אחר קיבול כל העונש הנקצב לו. הם מתים וכלים מאליהם

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
**Annotation:***However, virtues outweigh…, with a major difference and degree of benefit. For the brilliance and increase in holiness that was added by his good deeds are eternal and exist forever, and his soul-*Neffesh *delights in them an everlasting pleasure. But the powers of impurity and the harmful entities that were created and multiplied as a result of his sins, after he receives the complete punishment decreed for him, by their nature they die and perish by themselves.*


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:10
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:10)

כי עצמות חיותן הוא רק מפגם החטא וההריסה שגרם בכחות והעולמות הקדושים. שמזה נמשך להם שפע חיות ונצוצי אור מועט דרך צנורות ארחות עקלקלות כענין אמלאה החרבה וכיון שקיבל דינו על ידיהם חיל בלע ויקיאנו ונפסק חיותם ממילא וכלים מאליהם. וזהו הענין שהגיהנם נקרא עלוקה שהעלוקה מוצצה הדמים הרעים ומזה היא מתה תיכף כן הוא ענין הגיהנם כנ"ל:

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
*For the essence of their existence is only from the sin’s blemish and the damage that it caused in the holy powers and the worlds, that from this is drawn to them a minimal amount of vital energy and sparks of light via long, crooked pipes, as in the context of “I will be filled for it has been destroyed” (Megilah 6a), and because he received his judgment from them, “he swallowed wealth and vomited it out*²³⁵*”, and the flow of life was stopped and in this case, naturally perish. This is the context in which* Gehinnom *is called “leech*²³⁶ Leeches were used in medical treatments to suck out the bad humors responsible for illness.*” (*Eiruvin *19a), for the leech sucks out the bad bloods and as a result it [fem.] dies immediately; so it is with* Gehinnom *as mentioned above.*

footnotes:
²³⁵ Iyyov 20:15
²³⁶ Heb.: ah-loo-ka.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:11
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:11)

וזשרז"ל רשעים מעמיקים להם גיהנם ר"ל שהן עצמם המעמיקים לעצמם הגיהנ' ומרחיבין אותו ומבעירין אותו בחטאי' וכמ"ש (ישעיהו נ׳:י״א) הן כלכם קודחי אש גו' לכו באור אשכם ובזקות בערתם מידי היתה זאת לכם וגו'. לכן כשתפסו אנשי כנה"ג להיצה"ר נכבה אז גם הגיה' מעצמו כמ"ש בזוהר תרומה ק"ט ריש ע"ב כגוונא דחייביא מתחממן בנורא דיצה"ר כו' בכל חמומא וחמומא כו' הכי אתוקד נורא דגיהנם זמנא חדא לא אשתכח יצה"ר בעלמא כו' וכל ההוא זמנא כבה נורא דגיהנם ולא אתוקד כלל אהדר יצה"ר לאתריה שארו חייבי עלמא לאתחממא ביה שארי נורא דגיהנם לאתוקדא דהא גיהנם לא אתוקד אלא בחמימו דתוקפא דיצר הרע דחייביא.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And this is what our sages (OBM) said (Eiruvin 19:1): “The evil deepen *Gehinnom* for themselves,” conveying that they themselves deepen *Gehinnom* for themselves, and expand it and ignite it with their sins, and as is written (Yeshayahu 50:11): “Behold all you who kindle a fire... be gone in the flames of your fire and among the sparks that you kindled—from my hand shall this be for you... .” Therefore when the Notables of the Great Assembly seized the evil inclination, then *Gehinnom* was thereby quenched, as it is written in *Zohar* (*T’rooma* 109b, top): “as the evil ones warm themselves by the fire of the evil inclination... in every warming and warming... this is the degree to which the fire burns in *Gehinnom*, when once the evil inclination was absent from the world..., and all during that period the fire of *Gehinnom* was extinguished and didn’t burn at all. When the evil inclination returned to its place and the evil in the world began to warm themselves from it, the fire of *Gehinnom* began to burn, for *Gehinnom* doesn’t burn except fueled by the power of the evil one’s evil inclination.”


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:12
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:12)

זש"ה כי פועל אדם ישלם לו שהפעולה עצמה הטובה היא אם רעה ח"ו היא היא עצמה התשלומין שלו כנ"ל ועיין זוהר קרח קע"ז א'. וז"ש באבות ששכר מצוה מצוה ושכר עבירה עבירה ז"ש כי את כל מעשה וגו' ר"ל המעשה עצמה העומדת ונרשמת כמות שהיא כמש"ל:

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
This is what the text said (Iyyov 34:11): “for a man shall be paid for his actions”—that the action itself, whether it be good or evil (heaven forefend) it [emphatic] itself is his compensation, as we explained (and refer to *Zohar Korakh* 177a). And this is what is said in Mishna Avot (4:2): “The reward of [fulfilling] a commandment is another commandment, and the reward of a transgression is another transgression,” and this is what is written (Kohelet 12:14): “For every action, God-*Elohi”m* will bring to judgment,” to say it is the action itself that endures and is recorded as it is, as was explained above.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:13
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:13)

ולכן ארז"ל (ב"ק נ' ע"א) כל האומר הקב"ה וותרן הוא יותרו חייו כו'. וכ"ה בירושלמי פ"ה דשקלים ובב"ר פס"ז ובתנחומא פ' תשא ובש"ט תהלים ולכאורה יפלא הלא אפי' אדם איש חסד מתנהג במדת ותרנות.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
Therefore our sages (OBM) said (*Bava Kamma* 50a): “All who say that the Holy One (blessed be He) makes concessions²³⁷, his life will be conceded²³⁸”. And so it is in the *Yerushalmi* (the fifth chapter of *Sh’kalim*), and in *Bereshit Rabba* (chapter 67), and in *Tahn-khooma* (*parshat Teesah*), and the *Shokhar Tov* (*T’hillim*). And on the face of it this seems surprising, for a kind person acts according to the characteristic of leniency.

footnotes:
²³⁷ Heb.: vaht-rahn
²³⁸ Heb.: yee-va-troo khay-yahv


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:14
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:14)

אמנם הוא כמש"ל שאינו ע"ד העונש ונקימה ח"ו. רק חטאים תרדף רעה שהחטא עצמו הוא עונשו כי מעת הבריאה קבע הוא ית"ש כל סדרי הנהגת העולמות שיהיו תלוים כפי התעוררות מעשה האדם הטובים ואם רעים ח"ו. שכל מעשיו ועניניו נרשמים מאליהם כל א' במקורו ושרשו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
However, it is as we wrote above, that this is not a method of punishment or revenge (heaven forefend), only that (Mishlei 13:21): “Evil pursues sinners,” that the sin itself is the punishment. For from the moment of creation, He (blessed be His name) fixed the order of how the worlds behave, that they should be dependent on what a person’s actions arouse, whether good or evil (heaven forefend), that all of his actions and situations create their own effects, each one in its source and root.


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:15
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:15)

והוא מוכרח לקבל דינו ע"י אותן כחות הטומאה שהגביר במעשיו. כפי ערך וענין הפגם ובזה ממילא יתוקן הפגם של העולמות ושל נפשו.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
And he necessarily receives judgment via the powers of impurity that he empowered with his actions, according to the degree and severity of the defect. And by this, of itself, will be rectified the defect in the worlds and his soul-*Neffesh.*


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:16
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:16)

או ע"י כח התשובה שמגעת עד שורשה העליון עולם התשובה עלמא דחירו ונהירו דכלא ומשם מתאצל ונשפע תוספת קדושה עליונה ואור מבהיק להתם ולכלות כל טומאה ולתקן העולמות כמקדם וביתרון אור חדש מעולם התשובה המופיע עליהם.

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
Or, via the power of repentance that reaches to its very highest root—the world of repentance—a world of complete freedom and light: from there the additional supernal holiness and brilliant light emanates and makes its impression, to finish and obliterate all impurity and to rectify the worlds back to their earlier state via the benefit of the new light from the world of repentance²³⁹ that appears over them.

footnotes:
²³⁹ Heb.: olahm ha-t’shoova


###### Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:17
[Nefesh HaChayim, Gate I 12:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Nefesh%20HaChayim/s/Gate%20I/r/12:17)

לזאת אין שייך ותרנות בזה וז"ש באבות וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים. היינו שמעצמן נכתבים ונרשמים למעלה:

**The Soul of Life, translated by Leonard Moskowitz, Teaneck, NJ 2012 [Rev. 1.5]:**
For that reason, leniency doesn’t enter into it. And this is what they said in Avot (2:41): “and all of your actions are written in a book,” that they are written by themselves and recorded above.