What You Do With Your Breath.

What you do with your breath, you do with your soul, and thus, your body.

In Hebrew נְשָׁמָה/neshamah/soul is from נְשִׁימָה/neshimah/breath, which is derived from the verb root נָשַׁם/nasham/to breathe.

In Psalm 150:6 we read:

‎כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ

This is often translated as, “Let every thing that draws breath praise the Lord; Hallelujah!” Yet, based on the definitions above, it might also read more clearly, “Let every soul praise the Lord; Hallelujah.”

There is a deep connection between breath and soul, as soul fills the body and breath enlivens it. The sages teach that from Psalm 150:6 we learn that with every breath, and with our body/soul, we should praise Him, not necessarily in flamboyant songs of praise, but with the obedient life, as Paul expresses, a “living sacrifice.”

Then every breath becomes praise, and the soul/body/life, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, becomes a habitation of worship in living, in song, and in every moment.

How much more then, should we thank Him for breath, in breathing, and with a body/soul immersed in faith. Holistic, all encompassing, worship.

Be well. Shalom.