A heaven sent email

A friend hurt me the other day, albeit unintentionally. An email that I received this week has helped put the relationship back on track.

"The following sublime insight is found in S’mag (9); its source is Talmud Yerushalmi (Nedarim 9:4):
Suppose a man were walking along a path and one of his feet would trip over the other, causing him to fall to the ground and suffer cuts and bruises. Would he seek revenge of the “guilty” foot and refrain from trying to heal its wounds? Would he harbor any ill will toward that foot? Obviously not, for his feet, hands, face, etc. are all parts of one body — his own. If anything, he might reflect upon his deeds, and view his sins as the true cause of his mishap....
....The Torah states: “All the souls of the house of Yaakov who came to Egypt, seventy” (Bereishis 46:27). The Hebrew word for souls is nefashos. Yet in this verse, the singular form, nefesh, is used, alluding to the fact that in Heaven, the souls of the people of Israel are like one. Each Jewish soul, while part of one whole, is distinct and unique, like a person whose body is a single unit comprised of many individual parts, each with its own distinct and unique function. All Jewish souls will eventually be gathered in to one source, beneath the Heavenly Throne, as it is written, “And the soul of my master shall be bound in the bond of life” (I Shmuel 25:29)."
It is only in this world, where each soul is clothed in its own physical body and is involved in its own personal matters, that one sees himself as a distinct entity, apart from his fellow Jew. In truth, however, all Jews are one in a very real sense."

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