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Why does the Torah (תורה) first mention 'soul' when describing fish and birds, not humans? The Ramban (רמב"ן)'s framework reveals that animal souls differ from human souls - they're physical matter given life-form through sensitivity to divine reality. This explains why animals can teach us values like modesty, and why dead land animals create tumah while fish don't.
Rabbi Zweig begins by analyzing the fifth day of creation, when the Torah (תורה) first introduces the concept of 'nefesh chayyah' (living soul) in describing fish and birds. This marks the first time the word 'soul' appears in creation, raising fundamental questions about what constitutes life and soul in animals versus plants that merely grow. The rabbi examines two possible interpretations of the verse 'Yishretzu hamayim shereetz nefesh chayyah' - whether it's transitive (water producing life) or intransitive (water swarming with life). Citing the Ramban (רמב"ן) extensively, Rabbi Zweig explains that human souls come from the eternal world ('Vayipach ba-apav nishmat chaim'), while human bodies come from the physical world. However, for animals, both the soul and body originate from the physical world, creating a philosophical problem: if animal souls are physical, why call them souls at all?
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Bereishis 1:20
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