Faith
When does the soul enter the fetus?
Question
Hello, honorable rabbi.
I would like to ask on which day the soul enters the baby’s body, since the baby is actually alive from day 41, and the seed also contains a soul if I am not mistaken.
So when does the soul arrive?
Many thanks, and Shabbat shalom.
Answer
Hello and blessings
This is explained in the Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin 91b): "Antoninus said to Rabbi: When is the soul given to a person, at the time of conception [when the angel attends to the drop and brings it before the Omnipresent to ask what will be with it; מיד נשמטה בו נשמה וחיות] or at the time of formation [when it is fully woven of flesh, sinews, and bones]? Rabbi answered him: At the time of formation. Antoninus said to him: Is it possible for a piece of flesh to remain three days without salt and not become spoiled [and here, if the soul were not given until the time of formation, how would the drop survive so that it would not spoil in the womb, since once a drop spoils it can no longer produce offspring]? Rather, at the time of conception.
Shabbat shalom - Menashe Israel
