[Avodah] Kidneys

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

RSN asked on areivim:
: does anyone offhand know what mitzva was tied specifically to the
: kidneys? i looked online and can't find an easy source

The canonical source for mapping mitzvos to the human body is Seifer
haChareidim, but that's more gross external anatomy, not internal
organs.

However, kelayos are associated with decision-making. Thus HQBH
is the "Bochein kelayos veleiv" (which vidui borrows from Yeshaiah
11:20). Tehillim 16:7 speaks of "yiseruni khilyosai", from which evolved
the idiom "musar kelayos" to mean the pangs of regret a person feels
after doing soemthing wrong.

Berakhos 61a: Kelayos yo'atzos, leiv meivin.

Similarly, Vayiqra Rabbah 18:1, Rabbi Chiya bar Nechemiah: eilu hakelayos,
shehein choshevos, vehaleiv gomer.

More sources about the role of kidneys in thought at
http://www.aspaklaria.info/020_KAF/%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA.htm

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Every child comes with the message
micha at aishdas.org        that God is not yet discouraged with
http://www.aishdas.org   humanity.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                   - Rabindranath Tagore