A profound spiritual and psychological dysfunction occurs when the soul (Nefesh) operates incorrectly. The core issue arises when a person’s Intellect (Sechel) and Will (Ratzon)—which are meant to serve as tools that reveal the infinite, unifying nature of the soul—become inverted. Instead of serving the soul, they are hijacked to serve the physical body and material world, transforming into mere functional tools focused solely on physical optimization, survival, and immediate desires.
**The Problem: Subjugation to the Material**
When intellect and will serve the body rather than the soul, a person loses connection to the infinite.
- The intellect, instead of contemplating boundless ideas or the divine, becomes purely technological and tactical—focused only on making the body more comfortable.
- The will ceases yearning for greatness and becomes entirely practical, seeking only to satisfy immediate material urges.
Internal warning systems malfunction: normally, intellect and will act as alarms signaling when one is off course. But when enslaved to material habits, these “warning lights” fail, leaving a person blind to their own spiritual decline.
**Symptoms of the Dysfunction: The “Scattered” Personality**
A person in this state becomes entirely “scattered” (mefuzar), lacking any internal center of gravity. Key characteristics include:
- Total reactivity: living from stimulus to stimulus, excited only by whatever is immediately present (food, a nice car, etc.), with no stable inner core.
- The Haman archetype (from the Book of Esther): despite possessing ultimate power, wealth, and royal access, Haman has no internal center. He is entirely reactive and easily panicked—unable to tolerate even slight disrespect from Mordechai, he immediately demands execution rather than exercising patience or restraint. He is enslaved to external validation.
- The plant analogy: unlike an animal with a central nervous system (where moving one leg requires a unified command from the center), a plant reacts sporadically—different parts respond independently to light without coordination. A scattered person functions similarly.
- Living on autopilot: behavior becomes entirely habitual and mechanical. Even spiritual practices (such as prayer) turn automated, devoid of genuine thought or intention.
When intellect and will attach to matter (the physical world) without higher guidance, they weaken and become corrupted. The physical body ends up dictating terms, while the higher faculties simply follow, losing their true power.
**The Solution: The “Noah’s Ark” Strategy (Tevat Noach)**
Because the person operates entirely on autopilot with energies completely scattered, gentle adjustments or attempts to “think differently” prove ineffective. A radical, mandatory intervention is required, modeled on Noah’s Ark.
- **Radical Constriction**: The self must withdraw and compress into a single, highly restricted point (symbolized by the Hebrew letter Yud, representing Chochmah/Wisdom). All external expansion, engagement with the outside world, and outward flow of energy must cease.
- The induced-coma analogy: in severe medical trauma, doctors place a patient in a medically induced coma, shutting down consciousness and external functions so the body can redirect 100% of its energy toward basic healing and survival. A similar “induced coma” is needed for the soul.
- The Noah’s Ark analogy: when the world became entirely corrupted (“all flesh had corrupted its way”), the solution was not a quick fix but placing Noah in a sealed ark for an extended period. He was completely cut off from the outside. Opening the window or stepping out prematurely would have meant drowning. He had to remain sealed until both the external world and the internal process were ready.
**Conclusion**
When intellect and will have been hijacked by material habits, a deliberate period of intense restriction and introspection becomes necessary (often aligned with the High Holy Days and Sukkot). By forcefully cutting off external stimuli and gathering scattered energies back to a central point, the spiritual system can reboot. Intellect and will can then be reclaimed, allowing the person to re-emerge into the world with a healthy, centered soul.
