The Soul of a People
by Velvel "Wally" Spiegler

In Thomas Moore's memorable "Care of the Soul", the psychologist discusses the distinction between the current goals of psychotherapy and care of the soul, an ancient but more effective system of spiritual and psychological self-help. He writes, "psychology is a secular science, while care of the soul is a sacred art". It was Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, who was credited with the first explorations of the unconscious through the interpretation of dreams, yet Jewish sources studied dreams and their significance long before Freud.

Many years ago, before this age of science and technology, people were concerned about soul. Jewish tradition, which dates back thousands of years, makes many references to the soul. In Tanach (the Jewish bible, for example, we find, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, all my being, His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His bounties" (Psalm 103). Soul talk is plentiful throughout all of Jewish literature and so it seems reasonable that Jewish tradition addresses not specifically the mind or the body, but the soul. Soul is the reason for Torah: not a history or a manual of morals, but sacred stories implemented by rituals (mitzvot) that speak to the soul. Actually, every act we do (Torah, mitzvot, prayer) within the boundries of Judaism nurtures the soul.

Today we don't talk about soul too much; we have other terms for it--life energy, aura, prana. But regardless what words we use there is a quality of life that expresses itself from the deepest recesses of each person, in what we say and do, in our body language and how we present ourselves to others. We hear phrases like "soul food", the soul of a people" or "music that has soul"; that's because soul is expressed through the senses and through the imagination, the language of the soul. Sensory stimulation of every kind, including food, art, music and literature is chicken soup for the soul. If, for example, you think certain music has soul it's because it's an expression of both the composer, the performers and the culture with whom you have an affinity.
Many claim that our commodity driven society has eradicated soul from our lives. What was once a world where neighbors were close to one another and more time was spent in contact with nature is now absorbed in soul diminishing, impersonal electronic gadgetry--television, computers, and cell phones. Have we lost our connection to life affirming, energy abundant soul? Psychologists, the modern physicians of the soul, report extensive complaints of diminished quality of life--a hunger for spirituality; disillusionment about marriage, family and relationships; a loss of values; vague depression.
 
How do we rectify this spiritless, debasing situation? I think the Jewish response lies within both Jewish mysticism, whose inquiry plunges the depths of the soul, and the imaginative writing of the rabbinic sages. Midrash, the striving to fill in the gaps left open-ended in Torah was the work of highly creative individuals who were concerned with finding meaning in the text. The Midrashic process of searching exposes the soul. Excavating the elements of life is a useful art to master for emotional well-being.
The medieval commentators also interpreted scripture in a remarkably imaginative manner. Here Rashi comments on the verse, "Who am I that I may go to Pharoah and that I may take the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exod. 6:12).  Rashi prefers to see in Moses a man the Torah calls more humble than any other, a model of humility. Where does Rashi and the other commentators get the chutzpah to invent these sort of interpretations, if not from the depths of their imaginative unconscious?

The Zohar, the monumental guide to Kabbalah is written in a narrative form. It's a Midrash on Torah.  And like the stories in Torah, each one of our lives is a chronicle of past events. These events may not have happened the way we remember them, but a synopsis of how we want to remember them, in short a fiction. Midrash is the rabbinical attempt to fill in the blanks and rewrite the story to arrive at a meaningful conclusion. Care of the soul, like the Midrashic process, implies telling and retelling our own stories until we can really understand the details well enough to rewrite it, like Midrash is rewritten.

We can learn a lot, about our lives today, from the ancient sages of the yeshivot. Our rabbis of today are the key to rekindling the writings of old, in which lie the treasures of our souls.