24 Teves: Eternal Life, Part II: Essential Life

ETERNAL LIFE, PART II: ESSENTIAL LIFE Life is the union of body and soul. The soul is essentially alive—it is spiritual and G-dly; yet, by itself, the body is essentially lifeless, dust and dirt. Therefore, life is a constant struggle between the body and the soul; the soul wishes to leave the body and return to Heaven. The body wishes to be rid of the soul and return to dust. When Moshiach comes and G-d’s essence is revealed in the physical world, this will change. The soul will no longer seek to escape the body, for it will see how G-d is to be found in the physical world even more than in Heaven. As a result, the soul’s very essence will cleave to the body, giving it eternal life. When we find the G-dliness in everything that we do, we infuse even the most mundane act with essential, eternal life. Sichos Kodesh, Acharon shel Pesach 5716, Se'if 12 Sichos Kodesh, 16th Tammuz Hisvaaduyos 5745, vol. 2, pg. 1123