Biblical passages explore the kidneys as metaphorical organs representing the hidden interior life—conscience, moral intention, spiritual yearning, and divine scrutiny of the soul. These sources pair kidneys with the heart as the seat of inward experience subject to God's examination.
בֹּחֵן לִבּוֹת וּכְלָיוֹת אֱלֹהִים צַדִּיק
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What the sources say
The Tanach consistently pairs the kidneys with the heart as the twin seats of a person's innermost life, presenting them as the faculty God alone can search: Tehillim 7:10 declares that God probes both heart and kidneys as the righteous judge of human character, a pairing echoed in Yirmiyahu 17:10, where God announces that He searches the heart and tests the kidneys in order to repay each person according to their deeds, and again in Yirmiyahu 11:20, where Yirmiyahu appeals to God as the one who tests kidneys and heart.
Within this framework the kidneys carry a specifically moral-emotional register distinct from the heart's intellectual understanding: Tehillim 16:7 describes the kidneys as the faculty that admonishes a person at night — the inner voice of conscience — while Tehillim 73:21 associates the kidneys with the seat of deep feeling, and Tehillim 26:2 invites God to test both kidneys and heart together as the full measure of the inner person.
The Gemara in Berakhot 61a gives this intuition its most explicit formulation, teaching in a baraita that each person possesses two kidneys — one that counsels toward good and one that counsels toward evil — and positioning them, in the division of inner faculties, as the organ of counsel, while the heart is the organ of understanding; the right kidney counsels toward good and the left toward evil, on the analogy drawn from Kohelet that a wise man's heart is at his right hand.
רש"ר הירש, תהלים ז י identifies the kidneys as the seat of feelings and desires, understanding God's probing of them as the subjection of our sensory and appetitive drives to divine scrutiny.
In kabbalistic thought the kidneys are mapped onto the sefirot of Netzach and Hod: Sulam on Zohar, Pinchas 213 explains that the heart rests upon the two kidneys, which function as the two Cherubim and serve as counselors — in keeping with the Talmudic teaching that the kidneys advise — by arranging the flow of divine abundance from Ze'ir Anpin to Malkhut, operating as the right and left pillars of nearness and distance.
Berakhot 10a situates the kidneys among the organs whose wondrous formation in the womb prompts the verse 'Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me,' underscoring that the inner faculties — conscience, feeling, counsel — are themselves acts of divine creation that call forth praise.
Iyov 19:27 gives a glimpse of the kidneys as the seat of the most intense personal longing, where Iyov says his kidneys are consumed within him at the thought of beholding God — a usage that places them at the furthest reach of spiritual yearning.
The Tanya's account of the inner life, while centering on the heart as the organ of love and fear that enlivens the performance of commandments (Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 16) and deriving the holy emotional traits from the intellectual faculties of the mind (Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 9:4), operates within the same broad framework in which distinct bodily organs correspond to distinct spiritual functions — the framework the Gemara in Berakhot 61a articulates with the kidneys as the organ of counsel.
Tzitz Eliezer (10:25) engages a dispute between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua — cited in Yalkut Shimoni on Mishlei — over the precise location of wisdom, with Rabbi Eliezer holding it resides in the head and Rabbi Yehoshua holding it resides in the heart, a debate that shows the broader rabbinic interest in mapping spiritual and cognitive faculties onto specific organs, the same impulse that produced the teaching on the kidneys as the seat of moral counsel.
תהילים ט״ז:ז׳
Psalms 16:7
The speaker blesses God for counsel and says that even at night the kidneys instruct him. The verse associates the kidneys with inward moral counsel or spiritual guidance.
אֲבָרֵ֗ךְ אֶת־יְ֭הֹוָה אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְעָצָ֑נִי אַף־לֵ֝יל֗וֹת יִסְּר֥וּנִי כִלְיוֹתָֽי׃
I bless GOD who has guided me; my conscience admonishes me at night.
תהילים ז׳:י׳
Psalms 7:10
The psalmist asks God, who tests hearts and kidneys, to bring wickedness to an end. The kidneys function as a poetic image of the deepest interior self subject to divine examination.
יִגְמׇר־נָ֬א רַ֨ע ׀ רְשָׁעִים֮ וּתְכוֹנֵ֢ן צַ֫דִּ֥יק וּבֹחֵ֣ן לִ֭בּוֹת וּכְלָי֗וֹת אֱלֹהִ֥ים צַדִּֽיק׃
Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; the One who probes the mind and conscience is God the Righteous.
ירמיהו י״ז:י׳
Jeremiah 17:10
God searches the heart and examines the kidneys to repay each person according to conduct. The kidneys represent inward motives and intentions, beyond outward appearance.
אֲנִ֧י יְהֹוָ֛ה חֹקֵ֥ר לֵ֖ב בֹּחֵ֣ן כְּלָי֑וֹת וְלָתֵ֤ת לְאִישׁ֙ כִּדְרָכָ֔ו כִּפְרִ֖י מַעֲלָלָֽיו׃ {ס}
I GOD probe the heart, Search the mind— To repay each person according to their own ways, With the proper fruit of their deeds.
ירמיהו י״א:כ׳
Jeremiah 11:20
God is described as testing kidneys and heart and judging according to a person’s ways. The paired organs signify the concealed moral and motivational core of a person.
וַיהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ שֹׁפֵ֣ט צֶ֔דֶק בֹּחֵ֥ן כְּלָי֖וֹת וָלֵ֑ב אֶרְאֶ֤ה נִקְמָֽתְךָ֙ מֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֥י אֵלֶ֖יךָ גִּלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־רִיבִֽי׃ {ס}
O GOD of Hosts, O just Judge, Who test the thoughts and the mind, Let me see Your retribution upon them, For I lay my case before You.
תהילים כ״ו:ב׳
Psalms 26:2
The psalmist asks God to examine and test him, explicitly naming heart and kidneys. This presents the kidneys as part of the hidden inner life that divine scrutiny evaluates.
בְּחָנֵ֣נִי יְהֹוָ֣ה וְנַסֵּ֑נִי (צרופה) [צׇרְפָ֖ה] כִלְיוֹתַ֣י וְלִבִּֽי׃
Probe me, O ETERNAL One, and try me, test my heart and mind;
תהילים ע״ג:כ״א
Psalms 73:21
When the psalmist’s heart becomes embittered and he is pierced in his kidneys, the kidneys express inner anguish and disturbance. The verse complements their role as a locus of felt interior experience.
כִּ֭י יִתְחַמֵּ֣ץ לְבָבִ֑י וְ֝כִלְיוֹתַ֗י אֶשְׁתּוֹנָֽן׃
My mind was stripped of its reason, my feelings were numbed.
איוב י״ט:כ״ז
Job 19:27
Job says his kidneys are consumed within him as he longs to see God. The kidneys here convey intense inward yearning and embodied spiritual emotion.
אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֲנִ֨י ׀ אֶחֱזֶה־לִּ֗י וְעֵינַ֣י רָא֣וּ וְלֹא־זָ֑ר כָּל֖וּ כִלְיֹתַ֣י בְּחֵקִֽי׃
I myself, not another, would do so; Would see with my own eyes: My heart pines within me.
ברכות ס״א א — ד"ה תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן
Berakhot 61a:28
The sugya discusses the heart and kidneys in relation to human impulses and bodily organization, including the rabbinic image of the two kidneys advising a person. It is a central Chazal source for kidneys as inner counsel.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שְׁתֵּי כְּלָיוֹת יֵשׁ בּוֹ בְּאָדָם, אַחַת יוֹעַצְתּוֹ לְטוֹבָה וְאַחַת יוֹעַצְתּוֹ לְרָעָה. וּמִסְתַּבְּרָא דְּטוֹבָה לִימִינוֹ וְרָעָה לִשְׂמֹאלוֹ, דִּכְתִיב: ״לֵב חָכָם לִימִינוֹ וְלֵב כְּסִיל לִשְׂמֹאלוֹ״. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: כְּלָיוֹת יוֹעֲצוֹת, לֵב מֵבִין, לָשׁוֹן מְחַתֵּךְ, פֶּה גּוֹמֵר, וֶשֶׁט מַכְנִיס וּמוֹצִיא כׇּל מִינֵי מַאֲכָל, קָנֶה מוֹצִיא קוֹל,
The Sages taught in a baraita: A person has two kidneys; one advises him to do good and one advises him to do evil. And it stands to reason that the one advising him to do good is to his right and the one that advises him to do evil is to his left, as it is written: “A wise man’s understanding is at his right hand, but a fool’s understanding is at his left” (Ecclesiastes 10:2). Tangential to the subject of kidneys, the Gemara cites that which the Sages taught in a baraita with regard to the roles of various organs: The kidneys advise, the heart understands, the tongue shapes the sounds that emerge from the mouth, the mouth completes the shaping of the voice, the esophagus takes in and lets out all kinds of food, the trachea produces the voice,
ברכות י׳ א — ד"ה רַב שִׁימִי בַּר עוּקְבָא וְאָמְרִי לַהּ
Berakhot 10a:21
In its discussion of Hezekiah’s illness and prayer, the passage invokes the biblical language of heart and kidneys as organs associated with inner orientation before God. It is useful for tracing how scriptural imagery operates in rabbinic prayer interpretation.
רַב שִׁימִי בַּר עוּקְבָא וְאָמְרִי לַהּ מָר עוּקְבָא, הֲוָה שְׁכִיחַ קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן פַּזִּי, וַהֲוָה מְסַדַּר אַגָּדָתָא קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַאי דִּכְתִיב, ״בָּרְכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת ה׳ וְכָל קְרָבַי אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשׁוֹ״? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: בֹּא וּרְאֵה שֶׁלֹּא כְּמִדַּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וָדָם. מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וָדָם צָר צוּרָה עַל גַּבֵּי הַכּוֹתֶל, וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהָטִיל בָּהּ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה קְרָבַיִם וּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם. וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵינוֹ כֵּן, צָר צוּרָה בְּתוֹךְ צוּרָה וּמֵטִיל בָּהּ רוּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה קְרָבַיִם וּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם. וְהַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרָה חַנָּה: ״אֵין קָדוֹשׁ כַּה׳ כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ וְאֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ״. מַאי ״אֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ״ — אֵין צַיָּיר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ. מַאי ״כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ״? אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר מְנַסְיָא: אַל תִּקְרֵי ״כִּי אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ״, אֶלָּא ״אֵין לְבַלּוֹתֶךָ״. שֶׁלֹּא כְּמִדַּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וָדָם: מִדַּת בָּשָׂר וָדָם — מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו מְבַלִּין אוֹתוֹ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְבַלֶּה מַעֲשָׂיו.
Other interpretations of this verse exist. The Gemara relates how Rav Shimi bar Ukva, and some say Mar Ukva, would regularly study before Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, who was well versed in aggada and would arrange the aggada before Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. Once, Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said to him: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless His Holy name”? Rav Shimi bar Ukva said to Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: Come and see that the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood, as this verse praises the formation of man in his mother’s womb. The attribute of flesh and blood is such that he shapes a form on the wall for all to see, yet he cannot instill it with a spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. While the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not so, as God shapes one form within another form, a child in its mother’s womb, and instills it with spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. And this is the explanation of what Hannah said with regard to the birth of Samuel: “There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none like You, and there is no Rock like our God” (I Samuel 2:2). What is the meaning of there is no rock [tzur] like our God? There is no artist [tzayyar] like our God. The Gemara continues to interpret the rest of that verse homiletically: What is the meaning of “there is none like You”? Rabbi Yehuda ben Menasya said: Do not read the verse to mean “there is none like You [biltekha]”; rather, read it to mean “none can outlast You [levalotkha],” as the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood: The attribute of flesh and blood is such that his creations outlast him, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, outlasts His actions.
ברכות ז׳ א — ד"ה וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי
Berakhot 7a:22
Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish teach that a single pang of remorse in one's heart is more effective than physical punishment—one regret surpasses many lashes, and rebuke to one who understands surpasses one hundred lashes to a fool.
וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: טוֹבָה מַרְדּוּת אַחַת בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם יוֹתֵר מִכַּמָּה מַלְקֻיוֹת. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְרִדְּפָה אֶת מְאַהֲבֶיהָ וְגוֹ׳ וְאָמְרָה אֵלְכָה וְאָשׁוּבָה אֶל אִישִׁי הָרִאשׁוֹן כִּי טוֹב לִי אָז מֵעָתָּה״. וְרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אָמַר, יוֹתֵר מִמֵּאָה מַלְקֻיוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״תֵּחַת גְּעָרָה בְמֵבִין מֵהַכּוֹת כְּסִיל מֵאָה״.
And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: A single regret or pang of guilt in one’s heart is preferable to many lashes administered by others that cause only physical pain, as it is stated: “And she chases her lovers, but she does not overtake them; she seeks them, but she will not find them; and she will say ‘I will go and return to my first husband; for it was better for me then than now’” (Hosea 2:9). Remorse is more effective than any externally imposed punishment listed in the verses that follow (Hosea 2:11–19). And Reish Lakish said that in the Bible, it seems that such remorse is preferable to one hundred lashes, as it is stated: “A rebuke enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred lashes to a fool” (Proverbs 17:10).
רש"ר הירש, תהלים ז י
The kidneys are the seat of feelings and desires, and God tests our physical desires through them.
כליות - מושב הרגשות והרציות, ה' מעמיד את השאיפות החושניות שלנו במבחן.
תומר דבורה א׳ — ד"ה האדם ראוי שיתדמה לקונו
Tomer Devorah 1:1
Ramak presents the human body and its powers as a template for contemplating divine attributes and ethical imitation. The chapter offers a framework for interpreting bodily organs as symbols of inner spiritual work, though the kidneys are not its sole topic.
האדם ראוי שיתדמה לקונו: הָאָדָם רָאוּי שֶׁיִּתְדַּמֶּה לְקוֹנוֹ וְאָז יִהְיֶה בְּסוֹד הַצּוּרָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה צֶלֶם וּדְמוּת, שֶׁאִלּוּ יְדֻמֶּה בְּגוּפוֹ וְלֹא בִּפְעֻלּוֹת הֲרֵי הוּא מַכְזִיב הַצּוּרָה וְיֹאמְרוּ עָלָיו צוּרָה נָאָה וּמַעֲשִׂים כְּעוּרִים. שֶׁהֲרֵי עִיקָר הַצֶּלֶם וְהַדְּמוּת הָעֶלְיוֹן הֵן פְּעֻלּוֹתָיו, וּמַה יוֹעִיל לוֹ הֱיוֹתוֹ כְּצוּרָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה דְּמוּת תַּבְנִית אֵבָרָיו וּבַפְּעֻלּוֹת לֹא יִתְדַמֶּה לְקוֹנוֹ. לְפִיכָךְ רָאוּי שֶׁיִּתְדַּמֶּה אֶל פְּעֻלּוֹת הַכֶּתֶר שֶׁהֵן י"ג מִדּוֹת שֶׁל רַחֲמִים עֶלְיוֹנוֹת. וּרְמוּזוֹת בְּסוֹד הַפְּסוּקִים (מיכה ז, יח) מִי אֵל כָּמוֹךָ. יָשׁוּב יְרַחֲמֵנוּ. תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת. אִם כֵּן רָאוּי שֶׁתִּמְצָאֶנָּה בוֹ י"ג מִדּוֹת אֵלּוּ. וְעַכְשָׁו נְפָרֵשׁ אוֹתָן הַפְּעֻלּוֹת י"ג שֶׁרָאוּי שֶׁתִּהְיֶינָה בוֹ:
Chapter 1 - That it is fitting for a person to resemble his Creator: It is fitting for a person to resemble his Creator and then he will be [configured] in the secret of the Highest Form, [both] in image and likeness. As if he is alike in his body but not in his actions, he betrays the Form; and they will say about him, "A lovely form, but ugly deeds." As behold, the essence of the Highest Image and Likeness is His actions. And what will it benefit him to have the structure of his limbs like the Highest Form, but not resemble his Creator in his actions? Therefore it is fitting that he should [make his actions] resemble the actions of the Crown (Keter), which are the thirteen highest traits of mercy. And they are hinted to in the secret of the verses (Michah 7:18-20), "Who is a power like You; He will again have mercy on us; You shall give truth." If so, it is fitting that these thirteen traits [also] be found in man. And now we will explain these thirteen actions that are fitting to be with him.
תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים ט״ז — ד"ה וְזֶה רָמְזוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה בְּאָמְרָם
Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 16:7
The chapter explains how intellectual contemplation and arousal of the heart produce practical transformation. It helps connect the biblical image of kidneys advising at night with Hasidic accounts of inward spiritual cognition and moral action.
וְזֶה רָמְזוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה בְּאָמְרָם: ״מַחֲשָׁבָה טוֹבָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מְצָרְפָהּ לְמַעֲשֶׂה״, וַהֲוָה־לֵיהּ־לְמֵימַר: ״מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ״, אֶלָּא הָעִנְיָן, כִּי דְּחִילוּ וּרְחִימוּ שֶׁבְּהִתְגַּלּוּת לִבּוֹ, הֵם הַמִּתְלַבְּשִׁים בְּמַעֲשֵׂה הַמִּצְוֹת לְהַחֲיוֹתָם לְפָרְחָא לְעֵילָא, כִּי הַלֵּב הוּא גַּם כֵּן חוּמְרִי, כִּשְׁאָר אֵבָרִים שֶׁהֵם כְּלֵי הַמַּעֲשֶׂה, אֶלָּא שֶׁהוּא פְּנִימִי וְחַיּוּת לָהֶם, וְלָכֵן יָכוֹל לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ בָּהֶם לִהְיוֹת לָהֶם גַּדְפִין לְהַעֲלוֹתָם. אַךְ הַדְּחִילוּ וּרְחִימוּ שֶׁבִּתְבוּנוֹת מוֹחוֹ וְתַעֲלוּמוֹת לִבּוֹ הַנִּזְכָּרוֹת לְעֵיל – גָּבְהוּ דַרְכֵיהֶם לְמַעְלָה מַּעְלָה מִבְּחִינַת הַמַּעֲשֶׂה, וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר לָהֶם לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ בִּבְחִינַת מַעֲשֵׂה הַמִּצְוֹת לִהְיוֹת לָהֶם בְּחִינַת מוֹחִין וְחַיּוּת לְהַעֲלוֹתָן לְפָרְחָא לְעֵילָא, אִם לֹא שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מְצָרְפָן וּמְחַבְּרָן לִבְחִינַת הַמַּעֲשֶׂה; וְהֵן נִקְרָאוֹת בְּשֵׁם ״מַחֲשָׁבָה טוֹבָה״, כִּי אֵינָן דְּחִילוּ וּרְחִימוּ מַמָּשׁ בְּהִתְגַּלּוּת לִבּוֹ, כִּי אִם בִּתְבוּנַת מוֹחוֹ וְתַעֲלוּמוֹת לִבּוֹ כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל.
Our Sages, of blessed memory, hinted at this when they said, “The Holy One, blessed is He, unites a good thought to the deed.” One would have expected them to say that the Torah regards the good thought as if it had been put into practice. The explanation, however, is that it is the revealed fear and love in the heart that are clothed in the act of the commandments, giving them vitality to soar on high, inasmuch as the heart is also corporeal, as the other parts of the body which are the instruments of the action, except that it is internal and their source of vitality; therefore it can clothe itself in their act, to be their “wings,” elevating them. However, the abovementioned fear and love that are in the intelligence of the brain and the recesses of the heart are of an infinitely higher order than that of “action” and they cannot clothe themselves in the performance of the commandments to become their intelligence and vitality, as it were, to uplift them to soar upward, were it not for the fact that the Holy One, blessed is He, fuses and unites them together with the action; hence they are called “good thought,” for they are not actual awe and love in a revealed state in the heart, but only in the intelligence of the brain and in the recesses of the heart, as mentioned above.
תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים ט׳
Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 9:4
The Tanya maps the divine soul’s faculties—intellect, emotions, and their expression through thought, speech, and action—onto the body, especially the brain and heart. It explains what each faculty is for in spiritual life.
וְהִיא אַהֲבַת ה׳ כְּרִשְׁפֵּי שַׁלְהֶבֶת מִתְלַהֶבֶת בְּלֵב מַשְׂכִּילִים הַמְבִינִים וּמִתְבּוֹנְנִים בְּדַעְתָּם אֲשֶׁר בְּמוֹחָם בִּדְבָרִים הַמְּעוֹרְרִים אֶת הָאַהֲבָה. וְכֵן שִׂמְחַת לֵבָב בְּתִפְאֶרֶת ה׳ וַהֲדַר גְּאוֹנוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר עֵינֵי הֶחָכָם אֲשֶׁר בְּרֹאשׁוֹ, בְּמוֹחַ חָכְמָתוֹ וּבִינָתוֹ, מִסְתַּכְּלִים בִּיקָרָא דְמַלְכָּא וְתִפְאֶרֶת גְּדוּלָּתוֹ עַד אֵין חֵקֶר וְאֵין סוֹף וְתַכְלִית, כִּמְבוֹאָר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר. וְכֵן שְׁאָר מִדּוֹת קְדוֹשׁוֹת שֶׁבַּלֵּב, הֵן מֵחָכְמָה־בִּינָה־דַּעַת שֶׁבַּמּוֹחִין.
זהר, פנחס רי, ועיין שם עוד
Sulam on Zohar, Pinchas 213
The heart, as the foundational principle of holiness (Malkhut), receives from the brain; the heart rests upon two kidneys representing Netzach and Hod (the two cherubim that counsel in the secret of the kidneys), which regulate the flow of divine influence from Zeir Anpin to Malkhut through the gradations of Tzaddik and Tzedek (Foundation and Kingship), and these are distant and near, right and left, becoming close under Netzach's dominion and distant under Hod's dominion, with all receiving and consuming from the illumination of the union through the sacrifice according to their respective measures until all becomes unified.
לב דאיהו עקרא וכו': הלב שהוא העיקר בקדושה, דהיינו המלכות, לוקח ומקריב אל המוח כמו שלמדנו. (באות רי"א) הלב שורה על ב' כליות, שהם נצח והוד. והם ב' כרובים. שהם יועצות בסוד הכליות יועצות (ברכות ס"א) כלומר, שמסדרים השפע, היורד מז"א למלכות, בסוד שחקים הטוחנים מן לצדיקים, שהם צדיק וצדק. דהיינו יסוד ומלכות. והם רחוקים וקרובים, ימין ושמאל. כי בשליטת הנצח שהוא ימין, הם קרובים. ובשליטת ההוד שהוא בשמאל הם רחוקים. וכולם לוקחים ואוכלים מהארת הזווג שע"י הקרבן, כל אחד כראוי לו, עד שנקשר הכל כאחד.
ציץ אליעזר, ח״י סי׳ כ״ה
Tzitz Eliezer 10:25
The passage discusses a disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua (cited in Yalkut Shimoni on Proverbs) over where wisdom is located: Rabbi Eliezer holds it is in the head, while Rabbi Yehoshua holds it is in the heart, and the passage notes that one position adopted Rabbi Eliezer's view while another adopted a different view.
On this pageThe passage discusses a disagreement between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua (cited in Yalkut Shimoni on Proverbs) over where wisdom is located: Rabbi Eliezer holds it is in the head, while Rabbi Yehoshua holds it is in the heart, and the passage notes that one position adopted Rabbi Eliezer's view while another adopted a different view.
Tzitz Eliezer is not freely available in text. This PDF surfaced in our research. Please use the feedback buttons below to help us improve.
וַיהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ בֹּחֵ֣ן צַדִּ֔יק רֹאֶ֥ה כְלָי֖וֹת וָלֵ֑ב אֶרְאֶ֤ה נִקְמָֽתְךָ֙ מֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֥י אֵלֶ֖יךָ גִּלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־רִיבִֽי׃ {ס}
Same passage as Jeremiah 11:20
כליותי - המקומות הנסתרים, ויש אומרים שהכליות נבראות תחלה, שהן כסדני הגלגל, ויש אומרים שיש להם תאות המשגל, מלשון כלתה נפשי.
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רעתך - הכשופים המסירים הבטחון מה'. חכמתך - החכמות החיצוניות.
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או מי נתן לשכוי בינה - הוא הלב, כי הוא המבין... לשון חז"ל שאמרו ר' שמעון בן לקיש אמר כשהלכתי לכרכי הים קורין לתרנגול שכוי איני יודע היאך יקשר בענין, אולי יקראו התרנגול כן כי הוא בעל לב, כמו שאמרו עז בעופות תרנגול, ועיקר הכתוב על הלב ידבר... והנה הכתוב מייחס החכמה אל הכליות להיותם מחשבות בלילה לדעת את בוראן, על כן חבר להם התרנגול המתבונן בשעות הלילה לקלס לבוראו, כדרך הללו את ה' מן הארץ רמש וצפור כנף, או כסוד פרק שירה, והנה הכליות ייסרו את האדם לדעת בוראו בלילה והתרנגול ילמד דעת כי ממנו ילמד האדם לקום חצות לילה להודות לו יתברך.
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וי"א כי נקראו כליות מגזרת נכספה וגם כלתה נפשי (תה' פד ג) כי שם כח התאוה למשגל:
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עם חלב כליות חטה - שומן חמדת חטים המובחרים וכמו ותכל דוד המלך, כלתה נפשי לשון חימוד ותאוה...
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ותעלוזנה כליותי - ...או שהכליות קרובות למעשה, שהלב חושב וכליות יועצות.
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ואלו כשרות בבהמה... ניטלו הכליות... מתיב רבי יוסי בר אבין ואיתימא רבי יוסי בר זבידא חותך מעובר שבמעיה מותר באכילה מן הטחול ומן הכליות אסור באכילה, הא בהמה גופא שריא, הוא הדין דאפילו בהמה נמי אסירא... ואיבעית אימא ניקב לחוד ונחתך לחוד. אמר רכיש בר פפא משמיה דרב לקתה בכוליא אחת טרפה, אמרי במערבא והוא דמטאי לקותא למקום חריץ. והיכא מקום חריץ לחיורא דתותי מתני. אמר רבי נחוניא שאילתינהו לכולהו טרופאי דמערבא ואמרו לי הלכתא כרכיש בן פפא, ולית הלכתא כרב עוירא... אמרי במערבה כל הפוסל בריאה כשר בכוליא, שהרי נקב פסול בריאה וכשר בכוליא, וכל שכן היכא דכשר בריאה כשר בכוליא. מתקיף לה רב תנחומא וכללא הוא, והרי מוגלא דכשר בריאה ופסול בכוליא, והרי מים זכין דכשרין הכא והכא, אלא אמר רב אשי טרפות קא מדמית להדדי... הכוליא שהקטינה בדקה עד כפול, בגסה עד כענבה בינונית.
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Biblical sources portray the kidneys (klayos) as an inner faculty associated with counsel, wisdom, intention, and moral discernment. God's examination of the kidneys alongside the heart represents divine scrutiny of the hidden interior where true character and sincere devotion reside.
Biblical sources use the kidneys as a metaphor for the innermost dimension of human consciousness—the seat of hidden motives, moral awareness, and spiritual longing. These verses explore how the kidneys represent the deepest, most concealed aspects of the human heart that only God can fully perceive and judge.
Medieval and classical Jewish sources explore how the Urim and Tumim functioned as a divinely sanctioned oracular instrument for priestly decision-making. The sources examine the mechanism by which letters illuminated to communicate God's will, the spiritual prerequisites for the Kohen Gadol to receive answers, and the instrument's role in national governance and military decisions.
These sources explore the reciprocal relationship between Hashem and Israel expressed through the concept of 'cheilek' (portion), grounding the philosophical teaching that Hashem finds joy and completeness in the Jewish people — a theme developed from Tannaitic wisdom through Chassidic interpretation and exemplified in the Vilna Gaon's response to Rav Chaim Volozhin.
Jewish sources establish head-covering as a halakhic practice rooted in reverence before God and fear of Heaven. The sources discuss its requirements during prayer and in daily life, grounding the practice in both legal obligation and spiritual awareness.
Sources establish the obligation to tear one's garment (kriah) upon witnessing the destroyed cities of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the specific blessings recited for each sight. The halakhic framework addresses when the obligation applies, how the tear is performed, and the accompanying statements of mourning.