R. Jose, interposing,
said: ‘How is it that a man whilst the spirit of life is in him is not a source
of defilement, whereas after his soul leaves him he becomes a source of defilement?’
R. Isaac replied: ‘Assuredly this is the law, and the explanation given is that
the evil tempter, in the act of taking away the spirit of a man, defiles it,
and thus the body is left in a state of defilement. This, however, is not the case
with idolatrous nations. For since they carry defilement during life, as their
souls are derived from the side of defilement, when this defilement is removed
the body remains without any defilement whatever. For this reason whoever forms
an attachment with a woman of any of the idolatrous nations becomes defiled,
and the offspring born from such an attachment receives a defiled spirit. It
may be asked why, seeing that the father is an Israelite, the offspring should
receive a defiled spirit. The reason is that as soon as the father attached
himself to that woman, defilement entered into him. Now if the father became defiled
through the unclean woman, how much more must the offspring born of her be
defiled to its very spirit. Such a man, moreover, transgresses the precept of
the Torah, contained in the words, “For thou shalt bow down to no other god;
for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. XXXIV, 14), i.e. He
is jealous for the sanctity of the holy covenant.’ (ḥaye Sarah 131a-b in The Zohar [trans. Harry Sperling
and Maurice Simon; London: The Soncino Press, 1934], 2:23-24)
