Moshe Ben-Chaim
Omphile: Thanks
for answer on clothing and cross-dressing. I have another question. A Rabbi
explained how one could see the existence of a soul. The way I
understand him is this; there is the physical world. Then there is a world
of laws and ideas. These laws and ideas are more real than the physical,
even when the physical objects are destroyed, these laws remain i.e.
are eternal. Since (only) man can access this world of ideas, he too must
have something in him that too is eternal, hence eternal. Later on,
the Rabbi explains the concept of sheol. If you listen to him
carefully, he contradicts himself by saying some people's souls will go down
to sheol (grave) i.e. get destroyed. Which is which: are some
souls subject to destruction or are all souls external?
Thank
you again.
Mesora: Although a soul has the ability to live forever, it too was created, and it too can be destroyed.
The manner, in which the Rabbi differentiated physical matter from the soul, is that physical objects decay by nature, while the soul does not. So he is comparing the "natural" functions of each, not the absolute ability of God to destroy anything.
However, the “world of ideas” meaning, i.e., “knowledge”, which emanates from God, is truly absolute and eternal, since God is absolute and eternal.