35. Bereshit — Abarbanel on the Torah, Section 35

The True Meaning of Ruach

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Explanation of the word ruach (“spirit” / “wind”)

With regard to the term ruach (Genesis 1:2), the author of the Guide also expounded at length on its various meanings in Part I, chapter 40, where he enumerated six distinct usages.

First, he states that it is used to denote the element of air, as in: “and the spirit of God hovered” (Genesis 1:2).
Second, it refers to a moving wind, as in: “and the east wind carried the locusts” (Exodus 10:13–14).
Third, it denotes the vital spirit, as in: “a wind that passes and does not return” (Psalms 78:39).
Fourth, it refers to the human soul that remains after death, as in: “and the spirit shall return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
Fifth, it denotes the divine influx that comes upon the prophets, as in: “and the spirit rested upon them” (Numbers 11:25).
And sixth, it signifies will or intention, as in: “a fool vents all his spirit,” and: “who has measured the spirit of the Lord?” (Isaiah 40:13).

Such is, in general, his view and his classification of the term.

The sages of the nations have taught that the Torah does not speak about the natural world in terms that would depend on debated or uncertain theories.

However, after asking forgiveness and permission—as a student speaking before his master—it seems to me that he has here transgressed the principle of “you shall not add to it nor diminish from it.”¹ For he has included meanings that are not supported by the true sense of the verses, while omitting others that are indeed valid.

To explain: the first meaning he assigns to ruach, namely that it refers to the element of air, is neither correct nor sound. For the simple element of air is nowhere in Scripture called ruach, as I have already explained above.

Moreover, the sages of the nations² have taught that the Torah does not speak about the natural world in terms that would depend on debated or uncertain theories. Thus, it does not explicitly mention the simple element of fire, since many of the ancients considered it merely a part of air. Likewise, the Torah does not mention the simple element of air at all. Even when speaking of birds in flight, it says “upon the face of the firmament of the heavens,” (Genesis 1:20) and not “in the air,” because air is not perceptible, and many of the ancients held that it did not exist but was mere emptiness. The divine Torah did not come to decide such philosophical disputes.

If, therefore, Scripture nowhere explicitly mentions the simple element of air, how can we interpret “and the spirit of God hovered” as referring to air?

Furthermore, according to his own view, the “waters” mentioned in that verse include both the upper and the lower waters, since the firmament had not yet been made to separate between them. As he himself explains in Part II, chapter 30, the waters in this verse are not the same as those later gathered into the seas, but include the upper waters as well.

If we were to interpret ruach Elohim as air, it would follow that the element of air was positioned above the celestial bodies—which he calls “waters”—and this is false.

All this demonstrates that the first meaning he assigned to ruach has no foundation.

You will also notice an unnecessary multiplication in his classification when he distinguishes between the “moving wind” and the “vital spirit,” for in terms of their shared meaning they are essentially one. The moving wind is nothing other than a subtle body in motion, generated from vapors arising from other material substances. For this reason, the north wind differs from the south wind, due to the differing or opposing materials and regions from which they originate. Hence the directions of the world are themselves called “winds,” as it is said: “I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven” (Zechariah 2:10), because winds come from them.

The same is true of the vital spirit: it too is a subtle, moving body generated from the refinement of moist substances according to the place in which it arises. That which is generated in the heart is called the vital spirit; that which is generated in the liver is called the natural spirit; and that which is generated in the brain is called the psychic spirit.

According to the view of the physicians, this is how it is understood; or, according to the opinion of the chief of the philosophers³, it is all generated in the heart and then extends to the other organs.

(Parashat Bereshit — Genesis 1:2, The True Meaning of Ruach in the Commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel)

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