Understanding Your Middos - 36 | Water Bodily Fluids 1 | The Urinary and Reproductive Faculties

Studying The Bodily Fluids On A Deeper Level

In the previous chapter, we learned about the reproductive faculty, which is rooted in the element of water in the soul. Now we will learn about the “offspring” of water [the bodily fluids].

Chazal[1] teach (in the laws regarding liquids that can receive tum’ah, spiritual defilement) that not only can water be defiled, but even the “offspring” of water can be defiled: the fluid of the eyes (tears), the fluid of the ears (ear fluid), and the liquid of the mouth (saliva), and the fluid of “between the legs” (urine).

The eyes, ears, and mouth are on the face, which is on the head and connected to the skull, which is the source of the senses: sight (in the eyes), hearing (the ears), smell (the nose), and taste (the mouth). The fluids which stem from these parts of the body are called the “offspring” of water, and they can become defiled through tum’ah. This group of “offspring of water” is present in the upper section of the body, the skull; a second group of “offspring of water” is present in the lower section of the body, which is the urine.

Therefore, there are two groups of “offspring of water”: in the skull [the fluids of the eyes, ears, nose and mouth], and in the lower section of the body, “between the legs” [the urine].

The “Higher Waters” and “Lower Waters” of the Body

Let us see the parallel here with the four elements of fire, wind, water and earth.

Chazal attribute the four elements as having their main place in one of the sections of the body. The element of fire is attributed to the head, the element of wind to the middle section of the body (the torso), and the element of water to the lower section of the body (from the liver and down). “Fire” is in the highest place (the head), “water” is on bottom (below the liver)[2] and “wind” is in between them (the middle section of the body).[3]

We find that in the six days of Creation, Hashem split the waters, into the upper waters and the lower waters. The upper waters are therefore closer to fire [Heaven] and are connected with it, whereas the lower waters are found below on this earth. The “skies”, or rekia (the firmament) which separate the “lower” and “higher” waters, is essentially the air (wind). That is a brief description of this matter.

Just as there are “lower” and “higher” waters in the side of holiness, so are there “higher waters” and “lower waters” in the body, both of them being holy: the “higher waters” are in the head, in the brain, and the “lower waters” are in the lower section of the body. The holy “higher waters” are in the brain, which can house holiness [the power of holy thought], and there are also holy “lower waters” in the lower section of the body.

The same is true for the side of impurity: there also impure “higher waters”, and impure “lower waters”. This is what Chazal mean that there are bodily fluids which can become susceptible to defilement (tumah). The fluid of the eyes, ears, and mouth are the impure “higher waters” in the body. The fluid of “in between the legs”, urine, which can also become defiled, is the impure “lower waters” of the body.

In summary, the “higher waters” and “lower waters” of the body exist both in the side of holiness as well as in the side of impurity. Here we will try to understand the lower waters of the body which are “in between the legs”, the urine, which are the impure “lower waters”.

The Relationship Between the Urinary and Reproductive Faculties

The Gemara[4] says that there are two “pipes” in the body which release the lower bodily fluids: the reproductive faculty, which releases bodily fluid that enable reproduction, and the urinary tract, from which urine is released. The Gemara says that there is almost nothing separating these pipes from each other, and if a person strains this area by withholding urination, the fluid in the urinary tract can leak into the reproductive tract and it can cause infertility.[5]

In the times of the Gemara, withholding urination was endangering to the body and it could cause infertility. The Gemara says that there were a few students who became infertile because they didn’t want to leave the room when their teacher was delivering the shiur, and since they withheld from urinating, they became infertile as a result. Therefore, the Gemara permits urinating in public if one has no other alternative, due to the danger that can result from withholding urination.

The Gemara[6] says that normally one should urinate in a modest fashion, “in a fence within a fence, in a cave within a cave.” As an ideal course of action, urination must be done discreetly and modestly, but if there is a danger to the body, the Gemara permits urinating in public, and although this goes against modesty, in such a case, modesty is overweighed, in favor of enabling reproduction.

These are the two pipes within the body: the reproductive tract, and the urinary tract. The reproductive faculty is entirely about “Yisrael is holy”, for “Yisrael does this act (of enabling reproduction) in a modest fashion”, it is an act which is entirely done in modesty. But urination, while ideally requiring a modest fashion, must be done even in an immodest fashion, if it will prevent reproduction. From the fact that Sages permitted urinating in public when there is no alternative – which the Sages said very clearly - it is apparent that urination must be done even if it will be completely immodest.

Water Enters The Body Modestly, and Exits The Body Immodestly

First let us understand the simple meaning of this matter.

In the words of the Gemara quoted above, the Sages state that one should not drink water in public, but when it comes to urination, if he must urinate and he has nowhere discreet to go, he may urinate in public. Drinking is the way in which one receives water, and urination is the way water is released from him. When a person drinks, the water enters the mouth, which is on the face, connected to the skull, the highest part of the body.

Although the body’s water\fluids can also be released from the eyes, ears, and nose, the main place in the body where water is released from is the reproductive organ, the place in the body where the “Bris Kodesh” is stamped upon. That is where the water of the body leaves and goes outward, and when it leaves, it leaves from a low place in the body. Water enters a high place in the body, the mouth, and leaves from the low place in the body, the reproductive and excretory system.

Water must enter the body discreetly, for one is not allowed to drink water publicly, and although it should also leave the body in a discreet manner, it may leave the body even in an indiscreet manner, when one is in an endangering situation. But water enters a higher place in the body and is released from a lower place of the body. Even in the higher place of the body where it enters, there can also be excrement of the body, for the eyes, nose, ears and mouth all produce excess fluids, but the main place of the body where excess fluids are excreted are in the lower section of the body.

The Gemara says that when davening, one must distance himself from urine, but one is not required to distance himself from the urine of a child when davening. What is the difference? A child has no da’as (understanding) yet. The tum’ah (spiritual defilement) in urine, which we may not pray in front of, is essentially because it is excess fluid of the brain that gets sent downward into the body. Therefore, only in an adult, who has da’as, is urine regarded as the excess fluid of the brain that is impure. But in a child, who has no da’as to begin with, the urine is not regarded as coming from the brain, because he has no da’as.

When water enters the body, it is in the mouth, connected to the head, which contains the brain, which has wisdom and da’as. These are the “higher waters” of the body, and of this it said, “Thirsty for water”, which refers to the “water” that is Torah (water is also linked with wisdom in many places in the words of Chazal).

But since a person’s da’as has become a mixture of good and evil ever since partaking of the evil da’as of the Eitz HaChaim Daas Tov V’Ra, the water in the body becomes excess fluid of the brain. This is the depth behind distancing oneself from urine while praying. Urine is the excess, impure fluid of the brain, which must be released from the body.

The reproductive organ stems from a “droplet” in the brain, which is the holy fluid of the brain. The urinary tract, which releases this very fluid as well, is linked to this very same place. But the reproductive organ releases the brain’s fluid in a way that is pure and holy – depending on how purified a person has become, and there are varying levels of how pure it can be; but in general, it enables reproduction, the continuation of life. Urine, however, is the excess and unnecessary fluids of the body.

Both urine and semen release the brain’s fluids. Since urine also stems from the brain’s fluids, and urine releases the impure fluids of the brain, urine really contains the “excess thoughts” of a person. This is because there is a mixture of evil da’as that enters the brain as a result from the Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra, and this becomes excess fluid of the brain which needs to be released outward from the body.

Machshavah\Thought and Medameh\Imagination

The Vilna Gaon and others said that there are two root mental powers of the brain: machshavah (thought) and medameh (imagination).

Within machshavah\thought, there is seichel iyuni (analytical thought), seichal hadibri (word-oriented thought), seichel hamaasi (action-oriented thought), while medameh\imagination contains seichel behami (“animalistic” intellect; immature thinking), which entered man since eating of the Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra. The medameh, the imaginative thoughts that entered the brain since eating of the Eitz HaDaas, is essentially the “ra” (evil) of the Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra, while machshavah\thought is the “tov” (the good) in the Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra.

We find that medameh-thoughts are released outward from the body, via the means of urination. (There is also higher medameh-thoughts that are purified, which the prophets reached, which is a holy form of medameh that doesn’t need to be rectified, hence, it does not need to be released. Here we are talking about lower, impaired medameh-thoughts, which need to be released). Thus, we can now understand that by distancing oneself from urine while praying, one distances himself from impaired medameh.

Urine is thus the release of the evil da’as contained in the Eitz HaDaas Tov V’Ra, thus if one does not have da’as (such as a child), there is no requirement to distance oneself from such urine.

There is a subtle difference between two kinds of medameh: of the element of earth, and of the element of (impaired) water. There is earth-adamah-medameh (imagination rooted in the element of earth), and there is also impaired medameh rooted in the element of water. Earth is not one of the active elements, because it was formed from the snow which was formed from the water, earth is but a result of water. It is a changed form of water. Therefore, earth is not considered to be an active element. That is the “medameh” in the element of earth – to imagine something that does not exist – because earth really does not exist as its own reality.

Earth is nothing but a changed form of water. This is the “adamah”, the earth, that is “medameh”, the imagination – it does not exist in and of itself. It is an extension of water, not its own element, thus earth is associated with the imagination, for it is its own imagined reality.

The Relationship Between Imagination and The Reproductive Process

For this reason, the reproductive process as well is affected by medameh\imagination. Without medameh, a person wouldn’t be able to start the process of marital intimacy.

Intimacy must be done at nighttime, a time where people go to sleep and have dreams, which is a time where imagination is active. Marital connection is called da’as (knowing, usually referred to as an intimate kind of knowledge), which includes the faculty of medameh\imagination, as well as machshavah\thought.

The totally impaired part of the medameh leaves the body through urination, whereas reproduction comes from a fusion of machshavah\thought and medameh\imagination. The person first thinks to engage in reproduction, and then he makes use of the imaginative faculty to further this process. In this way, the “refined” parts of medameh are put to use; whereas the totally “unrefined” parts of medameh leave the body through urination.

Impaired Urination (Shoses\Trickling) - The Release of Impaired Imagination

The Gemara says that upon urinating, one should not let the drops trickle on his clothes, because it might cause others to think that he cannot bear children, which will make people that his children are not his own. The Gemara also says that if a person cannot bear children, the urination trickles (shoses\trickling), and if he can bear children, the urination is straight (kiluach). Thus, when someone has a problem with reproduction, his urine trickles, which is called “shoses” (trickling).

Reproduction is all about the concept of continuation. The word shoses\trickling from the word “shis”, which means 6, alluding to the 6 days of the week, which end with Shabbos. The depth behind the problem with urine that trickles, which symbolizes a lack of reproduction, is that there is no continuation. This current world is the 6,000 year period, which is also called medameh, the imagination, for in the future we will see that we are now “like dreamers”. Medameh is therefore like the concept of shoses\trickling, because it does not continue forever – it ends at some point.

We explained that reproduction is a result of two forces – machshavah\thought and medameh\imagination, the two abilities which are rooted in “b’tzalmeinu” (“In our image”) and “k’demuseinu” (“In our likeness”). If the “b’tzalmeinu” aspect is stronger, the “medameh” is rectified. If the “k’desmuseinu” aspect is stronger, the machshavah (faculty of thought) falls to the level of medameh (imaginative thought), and these are the kinds of marital unions which the Gemara says results in a miscarriage.

On a deeper level, this is when the machshavah (the level of thought) falls into the level of medameh (the level of imaginative thought), which becomes like “shoses” – the droplet “trickles” downward, instead of being released in a straight line, which is called “kiluach”.

So there is the concept of “kiluach” (urination in a straight line), and the concept of “shoses” (urination that trickles). The urine is called “mei raglayim”, the waters of “between the feet” – it is associated with the feet, and the urine can either come through “kiluach” or through “shoses”.

Thus, the unrefined parts of medameh\imagination exit the body through the urine, the “lower waters” in the body.

Medameh\imagination is essentially an unstable force, for when a person lives all the time with imaginative thoughts, he is spacing out all day, living in his fantasies, whereas machshavah\thought is a kind of thought that allows for concentration. Medameh\imagination in contrast, gives birth to another medameh, and another medameh, etc. They are like feet that keep walking without pause, which is an impaired kind of walking. Hence, the drops in the brain that are affected by  medameh\imagination leave the body through urine, which are called “mei raglayim”, the waters of “between the legs”, referring to an impaired kind of “legs” that keep walking without stopping.

In contrast, machshavah (thought) is a stable kind of thought process, which is consistent, and “the secret of holiness is consistency.”[7] A Torah scholar thinks wherever he goes[8] – for thought is consistent. Thought is the upkeep of the existence of everything. The “legs” or “feet” of machshavah are a rectified kind of “legs” or “feet”, and therefore machshavah does not leave the body through mei raglayim [but through the reproductive process, which emits the refined parts of medameh\imagination along with machshavah\thought].

When a person leaves the stable thinking process of machshavah, his mind immediately enters into the medameh, the imagination process, which then enters him into other things, and then to another thing, then to another thing, with no orderly thought. That is the nature of the imagination, which is an impaired thought process.

Thus, machshavah\thought is orderly, whereas medameh\imagination makes a person leave orderliness. The feet can keep going as long as they are walking on the ground, and they naturally follow the order of Creation, which is to keep walking, without interruption. But when a person leaves orderliness, this is called the “feet” of medameh (as opposed to the feet of machshavah), which are impaired. This is reflected by the act of eating from the Eitz HaDaas, which made mankind  enter into medameh\imagination, which removed Creation from its normal order and plan. Hence, medameh\imagination interrupts the orderly flow of things.

When a person sins, it is because a ruach shtus (spirit of folly), entered him[9], which is really the force of medameh, the imagination. The word “shtus” (folly) is also related to the word “shoteh” (fool), and to the word “shoses” (trickling), an allusion to impaired urine. Whenever a person leaves chochmah\machshavah (wisdom\thought), he enters ruach shtus\shoteh\shoses\medameh.

This is the depth behind the concept of “mei raglayim” (urine, which is called the fluids of “between the feet”) – these are bodily fluids which have fallen to the level of the “feet” of medameh, they are the unrefined parts of the imagination, as opposed to the “feet” of machshavah\thought.

Urine – The Release and Rectification of Impaired Imagination

Earlier, it was explained based upon the words of the Gemara that water enters the body in a modest fashion (for one should not drink water in public), and it may exit immodestly (for one may urinate in public if he has no other alternative). It has been explained here that impaired medameh\imaginationseparates from machshavah\thought, by exiting the body, through urine – and when it does so, it exits in an immodest fashion.

Simply speaking, this is because in the way Hashem created a person, a person cannot hold in his urine for too long, so he must urinate even in public, and if he doesn’t, he damages his reproductive faculty and he becomes infertile.

The deeper meaning of this, though, is because medameh\imagination (represented by urine) can only be revealed publicly, and that is when we see how it is entirely a non-reality.

Getting Rid of Imaginative Thoughts: Releasing Them Through Verbalization

This leads us to the following insight.

When a person is in middle of fantasizing about something, and he wants to stop imagining - if he keep the imaginative thoughts to himself, the imagination continues to thrive, for the imaginative thoughts remain afloat in the air, before they are released. As soon as he talks about the imaginative thoughts, there is “daas is hidden in the lips”, the daas contained in his power of speech can separate between the parts of the imagination that are stable and the parts that are unstable. This is the simpler understanding of how verbalizing an imaginative thought can take away the fuel of the imagination.

The deeper understanding of how this works, though, is because medameh is revealed when it is released outward and it is made public. Medameh is built on non-existent images and expands upon them. Medameh is also rooted in earth; the role of earth is to reveal the potential of something, through the growth process. When imagination is released outward, it is revealed that it was nothing, a non-reality.

For example, if there is a dead fetus, it will seem to others that there is a person about to be born, but when it is born, it is revealed that this was an imagined reality, a medameh, because it becomes revealed to all that there was no living person here. It only appeared to be a living person, but when it comes out, it is revealed that it is not alive. Thus, as long as medameh is kept inside, it appears to have a reality. When it exits outward, it is revealed to all that it was a non-reality.

The Destruction of The Evil In Our Times

All of the evil in the world today, especially in our generation, is being released outward; its potential is being activated, it is being revealed out in the open. As long as the evil remains in its potential state, it only appears, to our imagination, that it is has some substance to it; evil “appears” to have some reality to it, and we consider it as an existent force. But when we see the evil being released from its potential state and it becomes active, we then see how there is really no substance to it.

Thus, medameh [the root of all evil] can only exist as long as it remains in its potential state. When it is released totally, we see that it doesn’t exist and that it is a non-reality. Evil, or medameh, when it is released outward, ceases to exist. It only “exists” when it remains in its potential, imaginative state.

When Imagination Is Good, and When Imagination Is Evil

On a subtler level, in potential, imagination is good, but when it is activated, it is evil. If imagination is used on a “potential” level – i.e. when one knows that it is just a “potential” force in the soul of “imagination”, and it is not regarded as a reality - then it is good; but when used on an “active” level – like when one considers his imaginative thoughts to be real as if they are taking place in reality – only then does imagination become evil.[10]

In Conclusion

Thus, the body’s urine represents a rectification of the imagination: it releases the excess fluids that began in the brain which are impaired imaginative thoughts that stem from evil, and when “imagination” is released from its hidden, potential state into its active state, it is revealed to all as a non-reality. That is what rectifies the imagination.