Rabbi,
I have several questions regarding DafYomi... Here they go
1)Brechot 40
Under Halakah (c)...what is the Kabbalistic reason for dipping challah
or (bread) into salt three times. Where does that come from?
2) However, RASHI (Kesav Yad) in Menachos 75b explains that when
crumbs are broken off a peice of bread which is larger than a k'Zayis,
the crumbs are granted special status because of the size of the other half of the loaf....... My question.......... Why the special status? Is this an opportunity to elevate the sparks? is there another reason for this?3) Weekly Daf #195 The Fifth Sense.
Maharsha notes that animals, like men, have five senses, including the sense of smell, despite the fact that they have no souls.
...... Rabbi......Animals have not souls? Torah discusses Nefesh and many mystics discuss the investment of the Animal Soul or the instinctive soul..... Does this conflict?1) That is a good question. I do not know the reason of the Kabbalists (I have enough difficulty understanding the revealed parts of Torah!). Perhaps it has something to do with salt being a sign of Hash-m's covenant with the Jewish people that, in His mercy, He will never annul. By dipping bread, which represents His attribute of "Din" (judgement, for it is through His attribute of Din that He gives sustenance to all living creatures, TOSFOS YOM TOV to Mishnah on Daf 49b) into salt, which represents mercy, as it is the sign of Hash-m's covenant with us, we make an action that represents our appeal to Hash-m to sustain us with mercy. We do it three times to show that all three meals a day should be granted to us with mercy.
2) At the time that the crumbs are separated from the large piece of bread, the crumbs are considered to be part of it, since at the moment before they are broken off the crumbs are attached to it and thus assume the identity of the "father" bread. The crumbs do not have their own, individual identity, but are subordinate to the larger piece of bread.
3) There are different types of "souls," or spiritual entities (e.g. "Ruach," "Nefesh," "Neshamah"). Animals, although they do have souls of a sort, do not have the same type of elevated soul that humans have, referred to as "Nefesh ha'Midaber." See Koheles (Ecclesiastes) 3:21. The book, "Derech Hash-m" by Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato of the early 18th century (translated into, "The Way of G-d," by Rav Aryeh Kaplan), discusses this.