“Surely this descent [of the Divine soul into the body & vital soul] must be for the sake of a subsequent ascent.”

– Tanya, Chapter 31

“There are three partners in man: G‑d, his father and his mother.“

– Talmud, Niddah 31a

to plunge the depths so deep yet nigh

to see that sight with my own eye

to know that not for naught I die

to prize my soul with one last try – 

to squeeze the body’s sweat to lend

a drop or two of zeal to mend

barren fields and meadow’s bend

before the drought of summer’s end –

for even angels full of praise

have no power with their gaze

to cleanse the dirt of earthbound haze

the way the body’s sparks do blaze.