37. AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL (VI, 5). What is the meaning of, WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL? With every soul that He has created within you. R. Meir said: For every single breath which a man breathes he should praise his Creator. Whence [can this be inferred]? For it is said, For every breath praise thou the Lord (Ps. CL, 6).1 R. Simon said: The soul is called by the following five names: ruah, nefesh, neshamah, hayyah, yehidah2 The Rabbis say: Come and see: God fills this world, and the soul fills the body; God bears His world and the soul bears the body; God is One in His world and the soul is one; before God there is no sleep and the soul too does not sleep; God is the Pure One in His world and the soul is the pure one in the body; God is all-seeing but invisible and the soul sees but cannot be seen; let then the soul which can see but is not seen come and praise God who is all-seeing but invisible. Israel said: ‘Master of the Universe, how long will this soul that praises Thee lie in the dust, [as Scripture says], For our soul is bowed down to the dust ' (Ps. XLIV, 26)? God replied to them: ‘By your life, the end cometh and your souls shall rejoice.’ Therefore Isaiah comforts [Israel] saying, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in God (Isa. LXI, 10). R. Berekiah said: In the following ten places in Scripture God refers to Israel as a bride: Come with Me from Lebanon, my bride (S.S. IV, 8); I am come into my garden, my sister, my bride (ib. V, 1); Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my bride (ib. IV, 9);How fair is thy love, my sister, my bride (ib. 10); Thy lips, O my bride, drop honey (ib. 11)3; And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride (Isa. LXII, 5.); The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride (Jer. VII, 34); Thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride (Isa. XLIX, 18); And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (ib. LXI, 10). And corresponding to these ten Israel adorn God with the following ten garments: I put on righteousness, and it
...clothed itself with me (Job XXIX, 14); this makes two; And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail (Isa. LIX, 17) And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing (ib.): this makes five; His raiment was as white snow (Dan. VII, 9); Wherefore is thine apparel red (Isa. LXIII, 2); The Lord reigneth; He is clothed in majesty; the Lord is clothed, He hath girded Himself with strength (Ps. XCIII, 1); Thou art clothed with glory and majesty (Ps. CIV, X): this makes ten. Another explanation: ’I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.’ This can be compared to a woman whose husband, son, and son-in-law went away to a far distant country, etc., as is interpreted in the Pesikta’ on the section. ' I will greatly rejoice.