This sheet on Leviticus 5 was written by Moshe Sokolow for 929 and can also be found here
What distinguishes an Adam from a Nefesh?
A curious dichotomy appears throughout Sefer Vayikra. Some activities connected to the sacrificial order (korbanot) feature the noun adam, while others—our chapter in particular—utilize nefesh, inviting the question: What distinguishes one from the other?
Philologically speaking, adam derives from adamah, earth, while nefesh means breath—as in the verb vayinafash (Exodus 31:17); literally, to take a breather. The two come together most notably in Genesis 2:7, which describes God’s creation of humankind from earthly matter into which He then inspired a breath of life. (The noun nefesh is synonymous with both neshama and ru’ah.)
Perhaps this is the distinction we see: Adam signifies the physical dimension of man, while nefesh designates his spirituality.
When addressing the voluntary offering of sacrifice (1:2), bodily impurity (5:3, 7:21, 13:2), or the infliction of corporal injury (24:17, 21), the Torah speaks of adam; however, when speaking of the human proclivity to sin (4:2, 27; 5:1), swear falsely (5:4), or embezzling from the tabernacle (7:27) — all spiritual failings—it utilizes nefesh.
[Just as body and soul unite at birth, they separate at death, each returning to its point of origin. As described in Ecclesiastes (12:7) and often recited at funerals: “The matter returns to the earth, as it was, while the spirit returns to God who granted it.”]
Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University
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