Every person lives between two worlds. 

We eat, sleep, work, and manage the physical demands of daily life. But at the same time, we have a soul that longs for meaning, holiness, and closeness to Hashem.

Today’s pasuk of Nishmas brings us to that crossroads, and to the hundreds of choices we face each day as a result.

ורוח כל בשר תפאר ותרומם זכרך מלכנו תמיד – The spirit of all flesh will glorify and exalt Your remembrance, our King, always.

In the opening words of Nishmas, we speak about the neshamah—נשמת כל חי.

Here, we are speaking about the ruach.

The Kabbalah sefarim teach us that every person is made up of different spiritual layers. 

There is the neshamah, which radiates through the head; the ruach, which operates in the heart; and the nefesh, which is most connected to the liver, kidneys, and the lower part of the human body.

Each morning we say – אלקי נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא.  No matter the choices we make, the neshama remains pure. 

As for the nefesh, that part of us is deeply engaged in the physical world.

But the ruach — that is where choice lives.

ורוח כל בשר — we’re davening that all the choices we make in life, all the physical actions and decisions of daily living, should be  תפאר ותרומם זכרך מלכנו תמיד— elevated and exalted in the service of our King.

Chazal teach us that human beings share qualities with both animals and malachim. Like animals, we eat, drink, and care for our physical needs. And like malachim, we have דעת, we speak, and we stand upright.

Every one of us stands at that intersection. Will we be pulled downward by instinct, or rise upward toward kedushah?

The choice is ours.