Soul

         When we encounter the soul of another person, in that moment, we experience the shock and wonder of recognition.  Over there--within that other body, behind that other face--we see our self.  When Adam awoke in the Garden of Eden and met Eve, he exclaimed, "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!"

From that first flash of recognition, many questions flow.  What is this that we share?  If we call it soul, is this same soul in every human being who has ever lived?  Who was the first being with a soul?  Do we have the soul in common with certain individuals, or groups of individuals, more than with others?  Is there one particular person out there who, more than anyone else, is "bone of my bone?"  How do I reach that which is of me in the other person? What causes the spark of recognition to flicker on and off, tantalizing and tormenting us?  And what can we do to promote and preserve the experience of connection, of profound relatedness, that nurtures and sustains us?

            These questions bear directly on the fundamental mystery of what it means to be human, and for what purpose we are here.  The Jewish religion may be seen as an ancient and ever evolving set of responses to these questions.