The Soul as a Cord: The Role of the Ethical-Kabbalistic Image in Formulating Compassionate Awe in Liqqutei amarim and Nefesh haḥayyim.
According to the image of the cord, originating in modern moral literature, the human soul is like a cord dangling from God into the human body. Human actions shake the cord from the bottom up, strengthen and weaken it, and may even cut it. This image, common in many Hasidic writings, emphasizes the...
| Publicado en: | Prooftexts Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 46 - 79 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Indiana University Press
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=195708319&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 195708319 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 02729601 29G jtl: Prooftexts issn: 02729601 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2026 vid: 42 iid: 2 pid: 211 pub: Indiana University Press artinfo: ui: 195708319 10.2979/ptx.00031 ppf: 46 ppct: 33 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 906KB tig: atl: The Soul as a Cord: The Role of the Ethical-Kabbalistic Image in Formulating Compassionate Awe in Liqqutei amarim and Nefesh haḥayyim. aug: au: Sachs-Shmueli, Leore affil: Bar-Ilan University su: Compassion Religious literature Religious symbols Metaphor sug: subj: Compassion Religious literature Religious symbols Metaphor ab: According to the image of the cord, originating in modern moral literature, the human soul is like a cord dangling from God into the human body. Human actions shake the cord from the bottom up, strengthen and weaken it, and may even cut it. This image, common in many Hasidic writings, emphasizes the deep bond between the human soul and God and the danger inherent in the flaw of sin. In this article, I will focus on how Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812) adapted this image. I will argue that it served to inspire his readers with a combined feeling of an "uncanny compassion," allowing us to broaden our exploration of awe and include a new dimension: its relation to compassion. In addition, I will go outside the Hasidic circle and examine the similarities and differences in the adoption of the image in Rabbi Ḥayyim of Volozhin's discourse of awe in the book Nefesh haḥayyim. The comparison will facilitate an appreciation of the common modern, nineteenth-century, Eastern European kabbalistic formulations of fear of sin, as well as discern and recognize Hasidic attitudes toward sin.1 pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Prooftexts is the property of Indiana University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Prooftexts holder: Indiana University Press dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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