“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a person [nefesh] will sin…” Rabbi Yishmael taught: This is analogous to a king who had an orchard and there were fine first fruits in it. The king deployed guards there, one disabled and one blind. He said to them: ‘Carefully guard these fine first fruits.’ Sometime later, the disabled one said to the blind one. ‘I see fine first fruits in the orchard.’
The blind one said to him: ‘Bring and we shall eat.’ The disabled one said to him: ‘Am I able to walk?’ The blind one said: ‘Am I able to see?’ The disabled one rode upon the blind one, they ate the first fruits, and each went and sat in his place.
Sometime later, the king entered the orchard. He said to them: ‘Where are the fine first fruits?’ The blind one sais to him: ‘My lord the king, am I able to see?’ The disabled one said to him: ‘My lord the king, am I able to walk?’
The king, who was clever, what did he do to them? He had the disabled one ride on the blind one and they began walking. He said to them: ‘This is what you did and you ate the first fruits.’ So too, in the future the Holy One blessed be He will say to the soul [nefesh]: ‘Why did you sin before Me?’
It will say before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I did not sin; it was the body that sinned. Since I departed from it I am like a pure bird flying in the air. In what way have I sinned before You?’ He will say to the body: ‘Why did you sin before Me?’
It will say before Him: ‘Master of the universe, it is not I who sinned; the soul sinned. Since it departed from me, I am cast like a stone cast onto the ground. Could I have sinned before You?’ What will the Holy One blessed be He do to them?
He will bring the soul and inject it into the body and judge the two of them together, as it is stated: “He summons the heavens above, [and the earth, to judge His people]” (Psalms 50:4). “He summons the heavens above” to bring the soul, “and the earth” to bring the body. “To judge His people [amo].”22The word amo can also be read imo, which means with it. Thus, God reunites soul and body in order to judge them together.
Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: This is analogous to a priest who had two wives, one the daughter of a priest and one the daughter of an Israelite. He gave them teruma dough and they rendered it impure. He said to them: ‘Who rendered the dough impure?’ This one says: ‘That one impurified it’ and that one says: ‘This one impurified it.’
What did the priest do? He excused the daughter of the Israelite and began taking to task the daughter of the priest. She said to him: ‘My lord, the priest, why did you excuse the daughter of the Israelite and take me to task? Did you not give it to both of us together?’
He said to her: ‘She is the daughter of the Israelite and is not accustomed from her father’s house, but you are the daughter of a priest and are accustomed from your father’s house. That is why I am excusing the daughter of the Israelite and taking you to task.’ So too, in the future, the body and the soul will stand trial. What will the Holy One blessed be He do?
He will excuse the body and judge the soul. It will say before Him: ‘Master of the universe, we both sinned together. Why are You excusing the body and judging me?’ He will say to it: ‘The body is from the lower world, from a place where they sin, but you are from the upper world, a place there they do not sin before Me. That is why I am excusing the body and judging you.’