10. When that time comes, WHEN THE SOUL must depart FROM THE BODY, the soul does not leave the body until the Shechinah shows Herself to it. Then it goes out from the body in joy and love of the Shechinah to meet Her. If a man is righteous, he cleaves and bonds himself to Her. If not, the Shechinah departs FROM HIM and his soul is left behind, mourning over its separation from the body. It is similar to what is said about the cat which will not be driven away from the fire: 'Sharpen Your knife and it shall follow you,' FOR IT WILL THINK THAT YOU ARE GOING TO CUT MEAT, AND SO IT WILL BE DRIVEN AWAY FROM THE FIRE. THUS, THE SOUL DOES NOT WANT TO SEPARATE FROM THE BODY BUT WHEN THE SHECHINAH SHOWS HERSELF TO IT, IT LEAVES THE BODY.
11. Afterwards, both the soul and the body are punished by the hand of THE ANGEL Dumah. The body is sentenced to the grave until it returns to dust, and the soul IS SENTENCED to the fire of Gehenom in several trials until its time comes to be punished. After being punished, the time comes for it to be purified. The soul comes out of Gehenom and is cleansed of its sins like an iron whitened in the fire. ANGELS ascend with it until it arrives at the Lower Garden of Eden, where it is cleansed in the water and perfumed with its spices, as it is written: "Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense" (Shir Hashirim 3:6). It stays there until that time is over when it must be far from the righteous IN THE UPPER GARDEN OF EDEN.
12. When the time comes for it to ascend TO THE UPPER GARDEN OF EDEN, it ascends stage after stage until it is brought as a sacrifice on the altar, MEANING IT IS BROUGHT TO THE NUKVA OF MALCHUT, WHICH IS CALLED AN ALTAR. This is the meaning of, "This shall be the Torah of the leper; in the day of his cleansing he shall be brought to the priest" (Vayikra 14:2), NAMELY the supernal Priest above, WHO IS THE ANGEL MICHAEL. This is the fate of a soul that has not been defiled much in this world and that can still be healed, AS IT IS SAID ABOVE. Otherwise, "THAT WHICH IS crooked cannot be made straight" (Kohelet 1:15).
13. "This shall be the Torah of the leper." Rabbi Yitzchak opened the discussion with the verse: "the sun also rises and the sun also goes down" (Kohelet 1:5). We have learned this verse and explained that it speaks of the soul of a man. When the soul is with man, then "the sun also rises." However, "the sun goes down," REFERS to the time when he departs from the world. If he is in a state of repentance, then it "hastens to its place where it rises again" (Ibid.). If he is righteous, it is written: "And when the sun goes down he shall be clean" (Vayikra 22:7), MEANING THAT WHEN "THE SUN GOES DOWN," HE DEPARTS FROM THIS WORLD. HE IS PURE AND HE "shall afterwards eat of the holy things" (Ibid.).