Faith
What Is the Difference Between Neshama and Nefesh
Question
The Holy One, blessed be He, created Adam with a body and a neshama. I asked whether animals have a neshama, and my second question is: what is the difference between neshama and nefesh?
With blessings.
Answer
Shalom
Most animals, aside from human beings, possess only an animal nefesh, and do not have a neshama, unless, in a case where a human neshama that requires rectification and refinement is reincarnated within them.
The neshama dwells in the brain, and it is a lofty spiritual being in which the power of intellect resides. By contrast, the nefesh dwells in the heart, and it is the power of desire within a person.
The nefesh itself is divided into several parts, and the nefesh of a Jew is not the same as the nefesh of a gentile.
And for now, we will leave it at that - Menashe Yisrael
