According to a rabbinic legend, the soul knows the entire Torah before it comes into the world. “As soon as it comes into the world, an angel arrives and slaps it on its mouth and causes it to forget the whole of the Torah.” The angel strikes the embryo on the philtrum, the dimple on the upper lip. It leaves the scar as a reminder of what it once knew and what it should aspire to remember.
One never learns anything new, but only recalls what it has forgotten.
(Source: Kabbalah, by David Ariel)
Lisa Says:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:54 pmVisit Lisa
My mother gave our children a beautiful picture book that tells this story. It says that it is an old story told to children. The angel is Layla, and she is with you the whole time you are in the womb. She tells you every story ever known, teaches you the languages of all the plants and animals, sings to you.. and she is with you through your birth. Right before you are born, she places her finger on your lips and says “Shhh” and you forget it all. And you have the rest of your life to relearn it all. It’s very sweetly told.