After these prefatory remarks I will say that the soul is likened to the moon, and that the sun is God, who is blessed, as it is written: ‘The Lord God is a sun and a shield.’[258] Now just as the moon, when it approaches the sun, its light becomes stronger above; even so the divine soul, when it draws nearer to God, who is blessed, and forsakes pleasures and worldly affairs, its light becomes fuller, and it attains bliss; for the way of life is upward to the wise. But when it removes itself from God, who is blessed, and clings to the affairs of the body, making God’s service subordinate, it becomes dark on the upper part, and only sheds its light from its lower part upon bodily and worldly things. This is the cause of its perdition with regards to spiritual matters which occasion and bring about its welfare. It is on account of this circumstance that our teachers of blessed memory tell us that the preservation and light of the soul depend on its being turned towards God’s countenance, and that its perdition and death are caused by its removing itself from Him; as it is written: ‘Lo, they that go far from Thee shall perish.’[259] They have taken this parable from the moon. It is for this reason that they have insisted that there should be three days for weeping, seven days for mourning, and that thirty days should elapse before one is allowed to put on clean linen or to trim the hair. This is in accordance with the three phases of the moon which we have mentioned. And a hint is sufficient for the understanding. I will say further that God has appointed these fixed times, in order to requite His mourners with comforts. For it is hereby shown to them that the Holy One, blessed be He, is gracious and merciful; if His left hand thrusts them away, His right hand draws them nigh; for He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. It therefore behooves every living being to trust in God, for though He wounded, He will heal; because he sees that the moon, though it is dead while being directly opposite the sun, revives when it moves away from it, and though it is cut down, it renews its strength and returns to the days of its youth. Even so it behooves the mourner to accept consolation, and not to weep too much for his dead, for though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. XLV. MOSES HAYYIM LUZZATTO [Italian poet and mystic. He was born at Padua in 1707, and died at Acre in 1747. He was very versatile, and wrote some poetic compositions as well as ethical and mystical treatises. As a poet he chiefly distinguished himself in the allegorical drama which was the fashion of the day. He had a vivid imagination, and his style is vigorous and charming. He also wrote on the methodology of the Talmud. His most popular book is the ethical treatise _Mesillat Yesharim_ (Path of the Upright).]