While the influence of Luria on subsequent Jewish history has been overstated, his notion that non-Jews lack souls was a significant, and dangerous, innovation. It moved the exclusivity of Rashi to a new and potentially dangerous realm.

===[[Dualism ]] has room for rereading===

This dualism needs to be reread from our vantage of connection to the classic texts.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Chajes dealt with these texts by claiming that rabbinic texts were written in a binary black and white, good and evil style for didactic purposes.~~[15]~~ <ref>Z. H. Chajes, The Student's Guide through the Talmud (New York : P. Feldheim, c1960).</ref> While this is a fine approach for dealing with rabbinic texts and it should be developed further, the demonic dualism and the dehumanization texts also need to be addressed.

An example of the possibilities of rereading can be seen in the history of the statements in Tanya written by R. Schneur Zalman of Liady, the founder of the Chabad Hasidic dynasty. He clearly states at the beginning of his work Likkute Amarim (Tanya) that, as presented in Lurianic writings, gentiles do not have souls.~~[16]~~<ref>See Tanya, chapter 1; Iggeret haKodesh 25.</ref>

Nevertheless, this dualistic statement was transformed by later generations of Chabad thinkers into a historical inclusivism, in which the gentiles today are part of the messianic progress; or into a hierarchal inclusivism, in which the gentiles have greater needs to purify themselves.<ref>Yitzhak Nahmani,Sefer Torat Ha-gilgul, Nefesh, Ruah U-neshamah. (Netanyah : Y. Nahmani, 755 [171995]). In this volume Nahmani tries to downplay the dualism by rejecting the theory that gentile souls come from the evil side. Using sources from elsewhere, Nahamni argues that all souls originate in Adam, and even Esau and Ishmael have Divine lights.</ref>

== Early life ==

The first ''Sefirah'', being ''Keter'' ("Crown"), was transformed into the potentially existing three heads of the Macroprosopon (''Erech Anpin''); the second ''Sefirah'', being ''Chochmah'' (Wisdom"), into the active masculine principle called "Father" (''Abba''); the third Sefirah, being ''Binah'' (Understanding"), into the passive, feminine principle called "Mother" (''Imma''); the six broken ''Sefirot'', into the "male child" (''Ze'er''), which is the product of the masculine active and the feminine passive principles; the tenth ''Sefirah'', ''Malkut'' which is ("Kingship"), into the female child (''Bath''). This proceeding was absolutely necessary. Had God in the beginning created these figures instead of the ''Sefirot'', there would have been no evil in the world, and consequently no reward and punishment; for the source of evil is in the broken ''Sefirot'' or vessels (''Shvirat Keilim''), while the light of the ''Ein Sof'' produces only that which is good. These five figures are found in each of the four worlds; namely, in the world of Emanation (''atzilut''), Creation (''beri'ah''), Formation (''yetzirah''), and in that of Action (''asiyah''), which represents the material world.

Arizal's psychological system, upon which is based his devotional and meditational Kabbalah, is closely connected with his metaphysical doctrines. From the five figures, he says, emanated five souls, ''[[Neshamah]]'' ("Soul"), ''[[Ru'ach]]'' ("Wind"), ''[[Nefesh]]'' ("Spirit"), ''[[Chayah]]'' ("Life"), and ''[[Yechidah]]'' ("Singular"); the first of these being the ''lowest'', and the last the ''highest''. (Source: [[Etz Chayim]]). Man's soul is the connecting link between the infinite and the finite, and as such is of a manifold character. All the souls destined for the human race were created together with the various organs of Adam. As there are superior and inferior organs, so there are superior and inferior souls, according to the organs with which they are respectively coupled. Thus there are souls of the brain, souls of the eye, souls of the hand, etc. Each human soul is a spark (''nitzotz'') from Adam. The first sin of the first man caused confusion among the various classes of souls: the superior intermingled with the inferior; good with evil; so that even the purest soul received an admixture of evil, or, as Luria calls it, of the element of the "shells" (''Kelipoth''). From the lowest classes of souls proceeded the pagan world, while from the higher emanated the Israelitish world. But, in consequence of the confusion, the former are not wholly deprived of the original good, and the latter are not altogether free from sin. This state of confusion, which gives a continual impulse toward evil, will cease with the arrival of the Messiah, who will establish the moral system of the world upon a new basis. Until that time man's soul, because of its deficiencies, can not return to its source, and has to wander not only through the bodies of men and of animals, but even through inanimate things such as wood, rivers, and stones.

=== Return of the soul ===

Many members of the ultra-orthodox community in [[Safed]] and in [[Jerusalem]] can trace their lineage back to Luria.

~~== References in popular culture ==~~

~~{{spoiler}}~~

In the ''[[X-Files]]'' episode '[[Kaddish]]' (episode 15, season 4), protagonists Agents [[Dana_Scully|Scully]] and [[Mulder]] investigate the murder of an Isaac Luria and reprisal killings he apparently committed himself against his [[Neo-Nazi]] murderers after his death. He is eventually revealed to be a [[golem]].

==Bibliography==

*[http://www.ramhal.org The Kabbalah of the Ari za"l, according to the Ram`hal, synthesized 18 pages summary of the ''Etz `Hayim'']

*[http://www.kabbalah-arizal.nl/eng.html Center for Lurian Kabbalah]

==References==

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/extensions/MobileFrontend/includes/diff/InlineDiffFormatter.php:103) in /home/bpilant613/public_html/w/includes/WebResponse.php on line 42
Changes - Wikinoah English