Heart and Soul

ואהבת את ה בכל לבבך
And you shall love G-d with all your heart and with your every breath and with all your excess.
ולא תתרו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם
And you shall not turn after your hearts and after your eyes following which you lust.

I am struck by a contrast presented in the use of the word 'heart' in these two verses. In the first the heart is a tool of devotion to G-d, in the second it is a seducer drawing the devotional away. These two verses then present a dichotomy of the heart's role within the life of man. What is the true character of the heart and how is it to be discovered?

The heart plays a major role not only in Biblical metaphor, but in modern idealism as well. Following a tradition whose endurance would be difficult to determine, the heart is generally considered to be the seat of emotion within the human self, and often intuition is attributed to it as well. In this role it has been perceived positively within western culture as demonstrated by such phrases as 'follow your heart',  and it's inclusion in many songs about love and fulfillment such as 'a dream is a wish your heart makes', 'when you wish upon a star...anything your heart desires will come to you', and many others.

The Torah, however, disagrees with this adage and exhorts us not to follow our hearts, but to be wary of their leading us astray. Evidently the judgement of the heart is not to be trusted. Yet the same unreliable heart is called upon to be the the primary vehicle of our service to G-d! It seems that at times the heart must be trusted and followed, but only when it draws one into Godly devotion, rather than away from it.

So what distinguishes these two hearts from one another?
When Maimonides refers to the heart, he uses it to recall man's intellectual capacity. We are used to thinking of our intellect, intuition, and emotion as separate; a separation reinforced by the employment of separate terms to describe our thoughts in each. We keeps our minds and our hearts and our guts distinct. Yet, the Bible never refers to people thinking with their heads or their guts, only their hearts. The heart is a term inclusive of all human metaphysical experience.

Service of G-d is performed with all your heart, because it is the only thing that can encompass your entire heart, for your heart is your entire being. The heart is the agent which pumps blood, which was considered to be the dwelling of the soul, throughout the body. The heart is thus the very life-force itself. It encompasses no single aspect of man's being but the totality of his emotional, intellectual, spiritual, in short- intangible self. No other service,  no performance can engage all of man's senses as does dedication to G-d. Love of G-d converts academic pursuits into emotional ones, emotional pursuits into spiritual ones.

Yes, the heart is complex, and so must our treatment of it be, sometimes following sometimes eschewing, but never quite devoting ourselves to it or severing from its influence.

11 Shevat 5773

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwQon45bm9k