There is no sixth sense in addition to the five enumerated — sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.
-Aristotle, De Anima
by Claire Francis
However, neurologists would count, and agree on, at least nine senses. A broadly acceptable definition of a sense for neurologists would be a group of sensory cells that responds to a specific physical phenomenon, and that corresponds to a particular region of the brain where the signals are received and interpreted...
Because there is some overlap between different senses, different methods of neurological classification can yield as many as 21 senses. And this number does not include some physiological experiences such as, for instance, the sensation of hunger or thirst. Generally agreed senses for neuroscientists currently include:
Thermoception - the sense of heat (there is some debate that the sense of cold may be a separate sense)
Nociception - the perception of pain
Equilibrioception - the perception of balance
Proprioception - the perception of body awareness (close your eyes and touch your nose. Got it first time? That's proprioception in action)
“Deities which are neither able to see, to hear, to eat or to smell.” In this verse is mentioned four of the five senses. The fifth is the sense of touch and there was no need to mention that sense separately as it is included in “who cannot eat” which is the sense of taste. It would have been enough to mention one of the bodily senses, which are two, because the other three are spiritual senses, namely sight, hearing and smell. Thus we find with the Holy Blessed One: “God saw” (Genesis 6,5 and many others) “God heard” (Numbers 11,1 and others). “God smelled” (Genesis 8,21). Thus we find with David that he had to mention that the idols’ hands are unable to use the sense of touch (Ps 115:7) seeing he had not mentioned their inability to eat, because one of the physical senses would have been enough.
From this we can learn something about the importance of the five senses which are the principal tools a person employs in all their actions to fulfill the commandments, and also to commit sins. Through them a person can flourish and through them be punished, all according to how we use them.
The five senses correspond to the five Books of the Torah, and to the five occasions on which “light” is mentioned in the story of creation, and to the five names by which the soul is known. For they are the completion of the body, which is the sanctuary of the soul, and the soul reveals its activities by means of these five senses. This is why scripture condemns idolatry by pointing out that these idols cannot use any of their senses. Since they are lacking the use of their senses, what strength or power do they have to save? How can they say to their gods in times of distress: “arise and save us!”?
The infinite wisdom of the Creator made these five different organs of a person the seat of these five senses and made them gateways to the intellectual soul. Even our “scientists” admit that the manner in which these senses have been “planted” in humanity is phenomenal and reflects the wisdom of the Creator. The sense of touch extends throughout the body. The sense of smell extends beyond the boundary of our body. The sense of hearing covers a wider area than the sense of smell, enabling us to perceive things even further distant. The sense of sight stretches even further than hearing, for a person needs it the most. And all of this is a great matter for all to investigate, and learn the completeness of the human being through the five senses, for they are the work of God.
ומחמשה חושים אלו השנים גופיים והשלשה רוחניים מצאנום בהקב"ה, וירא ה' וישמע וירח ולא כן השנים, ומה שהיו החושים חמשה כנגד חמשה חומשי תורה וכנגד חמשה אורות שבבראשית וכנגד חמשה שמות שיש לנשמה, והנה הם שלמות לגוף שהם היכל הנפש והנפש מראה פעולותיה על ידם, ובעלי הטבע החוקרים אמרו כי מחכמת היצירה באדם היה שנבראו בו ה' אצבעות ביד להיות משרתים לחמשת החושים, כל אצבע ואצבע משרת לחוש שלו. הגודל לקנח הפה. האצבע לנחירים, ואמה לחוש המשוש למשש בכל חלקי הגוף בהיותו ארוך מכלם, קמיצה לקנח העין, זרת והוא קטן שבכלם הוא לקנח האזן, ומחכמת הטבע שכל אצבע ואצבע הולך לחוש שלו בכונה. ובסדר האצבעות אמרו חז"ל זו זרת זו קמיצה זו אמה זו אצבע זו גודל. וכבר באר שם ברייש כתובות שחמש אצבעות הללו כל אחד ואחד למצוה. זרת למדידת החשן, קמיצה למנחת כהן, אמה לבנין וכלים, אצבע להזאה (ויקרא ט״ז:י״ד) והזה באצבעו, גודל והיא העבה מכלם לבהן ידו של אהרן לטהר המצורע, נמצאת למד ה' אצבעות שבאדם שבהם צורך הדיוט וצורך גבוה...
...And the natural scientists said that it was from the wisdom of the design of nature that human beings were created with five fingers on each hand to serve the five senses. Each and every finger has its own sense to serve. The biggest (the thumb) is for wiping the mouth, the index finger for the nostrils, the middle finger for the sense of touch to feel all the parts of the body because it is the longest of all (and can reach everywhere), the ring finger to wipe the eye, and the pinky, which is the smallest of all, to clean the ear. So it is from the wisdom of nature that each and every finger goes to its proper sense organ instinctively and unconsciously. About the order of the fingers our sages z”l said:”This pinky [is for…], this ring finger [is for…], this middle finger [is for…], this pointer [is for…], this thumb [is for…].” And they already explained at the beginning of tractate Ketubot that each of these five fingers had their own mitzvah: This pinky for measuring the hoshen – the High Priest’s breastplate; this ring finger for the priest’s meal-offering, this index finger [amah –‘the cubit measure’] for building and tools; this index finger [ha-‘etzba’] for sprinkling (the blood of the sin offering)– “he shall sprinkle it with his finger [be-‘etzba’o],”and this ‘biggest’ which is the widest of all of them, namely, the thumb of Aaron’s hand for purifying someone stricken with skin rot. So you find yourself learning that the five fingers on the human body meet the needs of both the individual and of God...
(1) But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse, A twig shall sprout from his stock. (2) The spirit of God shall alight upon him: A spirit of wisdom and insight, A spirit of counsel and valor, A spirit of devotion and reverence for God. (3) He shall sense the truth by his reverence for God: He shall not judge by what his eyes behold, Nor decide by what his ears perceive. (4) Thus he shall judge the poor with equity And decide with justice for the lowly of the land. He shall strike down a land with the rod of his mouth And slay the wicked with the breath of his lips.
The Messiah was blessed with six virtues, as it is written: “And the spirit of the Eternal shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Eternal” (Isaiah 11:2); and it is written: “And his delight [vahariḥo] shall be the fear of the Eternal...” (Isaiah 11:3). Rabbi Alexandri says this teaches that God burdened the Messiah with mitzvot and afflictions like millstones [reiḥayim]. Rava says that he will smell [demoraḥ] and then judge, as it is written: “And he shall neither judge after the sight of [lemareh] his eyes...; and with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide equity for the meek of the earth” (Isaiah 11:3–4). Bar Koziva ruled for two and a half years. He said to the Sages: I am the Messiah. They said to him: With regard to the Messiah it is written that he will smell and judge, so let us see ourselves whether he can smell and judge. Once they saw that he was not able to smell and judge, they killed him.
(7) God יהוה formed the Human from the dust of the earth, blowing into his nostrils the breath of life: the Human became a living being.
(4) And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die, (5) but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” (6) When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate.
by Rabbi Evan J. Krame
Of the five senses, Jewish tradition says that the sense of smell is bursting with holiness. Not sight or sound or touch or taste. These senses were corrupted in the Garden of Eden. But the sense of smell remained as it was, with the potential for expanding holiness.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve defiled four out of their five senses. They heard the serpent’s alluring words, the fruit was “a delight to the eyes”, they touched it by taking from its fruit, and they tasted it. But the sense of “smell” remained untarnished. Accordingly, this sense denotes inner purity and deep attachment to God. As we know, God blew life into Adam through his nostrils. Smell retraces the holy, unadulterated level of our innermost soul – the neshama – that is free of defilement.
With each of the burnt offerings to God in Leviticus, there is a pleasing odor. Whether the smell of animal or grain or incense, the smoke rises to heaven to remind God of God’s love for us. God gave life through the nostrils (Genesis 2:7). creating an association of smell with our life force. We reenact the giving of life through the nostrils when we smell the incense at the end of Shabbat in our Havdalah ceremony.
