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The Old Testament consistently uses three primary words to describe the parts of man: basar (flesh), which refers to the external, material aspect of man (mostly in emphasizing human frailty); nephesh, which refers to the soul as well as the whole person or life; and ruach which is used to refer to the human spirit (ruach can mean "wind", "breath", or "spirit" depending on the context; cf ...
Neshamah-Soul first invested soul level expresses Binah-Understanding, the developed intellectual faculties Ruach-Spirit emotional level of invested soul expresses Chesed-Kindness to Yesod-Foundation, the emotional faculties (in Lurianic Parzufim of Kabbalah these form one unit, as do each of the five corresponding levels in the Sephirot)
The concept of an immaterial and immortal soul – distinct from the body – did not appear in Judaism before the Babylonian exile, [1] but developed as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophies. [2]
Ruach (רוח): the middle soul, the "spirit". It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil. Neshamah (נשמה): the higher soul, or "super-soul". This separates man from all other life-forms. It is related to the intellect and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife.
According to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, one should pause slightly between the words "compassion" and "abundant". In Talmudic times, Jews traditionally recited Elohai Neshamah (Hebrew: אֱלהַי נְשָׁמָה, "My God, the soul") upon waking. The prayer was later moved to the morning synagogue services. [5]
It is said of the former, as of the Holy Spirit, that it rests upon a person. The difference between the two in such cases has not yet been determined. Although the Holy Spirit is often named instead of God, [10] it was conceived as being something distinct. The Spirit was among the ten things that were created on the first day. [11]
Higher levels of the soul give a person emotion (ruach), logic (neshamah) and awareness of G‑dliness (chaya). Within the category of nefesh are the nefesh habehamit and the nefesh haelokit. In yeshivah, we typically spelled the word as nefesh, although I am unsure about the rest of the world.
The ruach elohim which moves over the Deep may therefore mean the "wind/breath of God" (the storm-wind is God's breath in Psalms 18:15 and elsewhere, and the wind of God returns in the Flood story as the means by which God restores the earth), or God's "spirit", a concept which is somewhat vague in the Hebrew bible, or simply a great storm-wind.