Holy Spirit in Judaism

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inJESUS

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Hi all đź‘‹

we rarely (never?) discussed the Holy Spirit from a Jewish perspective.

what do Jews believe regarding God’ spirit?

:tiphat: Shalom
 
Ruah hakodesh, a/k/a the Holy Spirit, is a very different concept in Judaism. There’s no preception of it being anything like the Holy Ghost. Ruah hakodesh is more of a divine power that can enter a person. Like a different state of being, a higher state of awareness of Hashem. Like the prophets, it enables one to achieve a spiritual level whereby they can talk to and hear from Hashem. The difference being that you can experience Ruah Hakodesh without being given a message to give to others (as the prophets were given).

We believe that all the books of the Ketuvim (writings that include, for example, the Book of Daniel and Chronicles), were written by people under the influence of Ruah Hakodesh (rather than through prophecy). When King David wrote the pslams, he was invested (possessed) by Ruah HaKodesh.

Ruah in Hebrew can mean spirit or wind. As in the breath of God.

I don’t know if this is accurate, but I view it this way. SOmetimes Hashem is hidden from us and sometimes He is revealed to us. Those moments when he is revealed, we are possessed by the Ruah Hakodesh.

As an aside, Kodesh, the Hebrew word for holy, really means seperate, or apart. So the Ruah Hakodesh brings one to a seperate level of awarness.
 
Valke2, sounds very close to Christian point of view!

so the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit…is it different from Hashem or is Hashem and the Ruh the same??
 
inJESUS said:
Valke2, sounds very close to Christian point of view!

so the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit…is it different from Hashem or is Hashem and the Ruh the same??
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It’s hard to say if its different from Hashem because since we believe God is One, then nothing exists outside of Him and all concepts of seperation are ultimately artificial (including the concept of monotheism but that’s a whole other theological headache). I would say it is one way how we can experience the manifestation of Hashem’s presence in this world.
 
But it is not meant to be viewed as a seperate entity, as something existing on its own. Just as if you were to talk about God’s glory, you wouldn’t conceptualize it as a thing seperate from God.
 
Christians don’t “separate” God’s aspects from him either, but it seems like for some reason a lot of people believe they do.
 
exoflare said:
Christians don’t “separate” God’s aspects from him either, but it seems like for some reason a lot of people believe they do.
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then what is the purpose of the Holy Trinity concept?
 
the Holy Trinity is God’s nature. Yes God is One, and His Spirit is One, and His word is One. One God.

the Word of Hashem never existed “outside”/separate of Him and is hence dependent on Him. In the same way, God’s Spirit never existed outside of Him. Therefore, God’s Word and God’s Spirit , as indivisible agents of God, are eternal.

i don’t think we “separate” them in Christianity.

I can see the Judaic concept very close to Christianity.

PS: people can correct my theological use of vocab.
 
inJESUS said:
the Holy Trinity is God’s nature. Yes God is One, and His Spirit is One, and His word is One. One God.

the Word of Hashem never existed “outside”/separate of Him and is hence dependent on Him. In the same way, God’s Spirit never existed outside of Him. Therefore, God’s Word and God’s Spirit , as indivisible agents of God, are eternal.

i don’t think we “separate” them in Christianity.

I can see the Judaic concept very close to Christianity.

PS: people can correct my theological use of vocab.
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Ok. So come back to Judaism! We’ve kept your seat warm!
 
Valke2,

As you said, there are indeed 3 persons in the Trinity, but it is a mistake to assume they are somehow “separate” from each other any more than the 3 dimensions of the (one) universe. I won’t go into all the nuts and bolts of it right now, but I’m just trying to make the point not to jump to conclusions on what the Trinity is.
 
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