Nephesh

They call it ‘soul’

until you study Hebrew.

Then it’s ‘throat’.

Just like hati is ‘heart’

until you learn Malay.

Then it’s ‘liver’.

Different cultures,

different ways of being.

The Hebrew

thinks with his heart,

feels with his bowels,

lives from his throat.

Perhaps that is why

the psalmist

thirsts for God.

They say the divine name has no vowels

until you learn the linguistics of Hebrew orthography.

Then it’s all vowels,

shaped by semivowels:

Breath vibrating

with the life that forms it.

To pronounce it,

the throat must be fully open,

fully alive.

Perhaps that is why

those in Sheol

cannot praise His name.

And why

the very last verse of Psalms says:

“Let all breath praise Yah!

Praise Yah!”