According to the Zohar's introduction to Parshat Bechukotai, the letter yud once waged war with the letters kaf and samech. The Ari z"l explains that the letter yud represents one's soul (nefesh), the samech, one's spirit (neshamah) and the kaf one's life force (ruach). The word kis (pocket) contains all three combatants and therefore signifies all three life forces. And it is true that one is challenged and struggles to properly execute commandments which involve monetary loss.

An absence of kis causes one's naron (nefesh, ruach and neshamah) to diminish. Our verse employs the strong language 'command' because maintaining the strength of one's soul requires extreme diligence. When a person is hungry, his body screams out for sustenance. However, one's naron is unlike his physical body, if it is hungry it does not call out. Thus great diligence and a proper spiritual diet is required to maintain a healthy naron.

A parable demonstrates the tenuous nature of the naron. A man once bought a fat chicken on Sunday for Shabbat which he gave to his wife for safekeeping. Tuesday of the same week, he bought a fat rooster which he also gave to his wife. When the wife placed the rooster in the chicken coop she noticed how emaciated the chicken had become -- she realized that she forgot to feed the chicken. When she told this to her husband, he warned her not to forget to feed the rooster. She alleviated his fear by telling him that if the rooster becomes hungry he will cry out and cackle. She will thus be constantly aware of his needs and never forget to feed him. The chicken, on the other hand, does not call cry out as does a rooster.

Our souls are chickens and our bodies are roosters. Our bodies cry out when hungry yet our souls don't cackle when unfed. To assure our individual spiritual survival, we must always be attentive to the requirements of our souls.