Matters of Interpretation

The soul must not boast that it is more holy than the body, for only in that it has climbed down into the body and works through its limbs can the soul attain to its own perfection. The body, on the other hand, may not brag of supporting the soul, for when the soul leaves, the flesh falls into decay.

Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, Schocken Books, 1947, 31.