soul
At a glance
In short
The soul has five names, each for a different aspect of it (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9), and Rabbi Klein's thesis is that they are not mere synonyms. Nefesh is the soul, which the Midrash ties to blood, the lifeline of physical existence; in Tanach it also means blood, one who has died, will, the self, and a name. Ruach is spirit. Rambam explains that it is primarily air, from which it came to mean wind and direction, and that it is also the life-giving spirit. It also means prophecy and temperament, and the Midrash makes it the soul's wind-like aspect. Neshamah, the higher soul, means only the soul; the Midrash ties it to breathing, and Ibn Ezra holds that only man has one. Chayah is the soul's transcendence, which lives on when the body dies, and yechidah its uniqueness (the Midrash). The authorities map the soul's parts onto the faculties, the organs and the stages of life in different ways, and they differ over who has chayah and yechidah at all.
Distinctions
Nefesh (נפש)
Root נ-פ-ש; the commonest word in Tanach for the soul, its cognates occurring over 750 times. Rambam (Moreh 1:41) notes that it carries multiple meanings; Rabbi Klein holds that each of them relates back to the soul in one way or another: blood (Bamidbar 19:13, Devarim 12:23; Bechoros 6b, Niddah 9a); one who has died, having lost his nefesh (Vayikra 19:28, 21:1; Bamidbar 9:6); death, often described as the nefesh leaving (Bereishis 19:17, 35:18; Bamidbar 21:4, 23:10), though rabbinic literature typically speaks of the neshamah leaving the body instead; will or wants (Rashi to Bereishis 23:8, Shemos 15:9, Yirmiyahu 15:1, Mishlei 13:2), the nefesh receiving satisfaction when one's wants are fulfilled (Rashi to Chullin 120a); and the self, "my nefesh" meaning "myself" (Rashi to Yechezkel 32:10, Yirmiyahu 51:14, Tehillim 35:3, Shabbos 105a, Sanhedrin 96a). It sometimes also means "name," as when Hashem speaks of His own nefesh by which He swears (Rashi and Radak to Tehillim 24:4; Ibn Janach, Sefer HaRikmah p. 180); on that basis Rabbi Reuven Margolios writes that a tombstone is sometimes called a nefesh (Eruvin 53a, 55b; Sanhedrin 48a), since the deceased's name is typically engraved on it.
- Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim traces it to the two-letter root פ-ש, growing, increasing or expanding (Yirmiyahu 50:11, Chavakuk 1:8, Malachi 3:20): the incorporeal soul, which does not atrophy with age as the body does, its horizons always expandable, always with the potential to attain more.
- Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg offers a similar idea, even connecting nefesh to פ-שׂ, which also means expansion (HaKsav VeHaKabbalah to Shemos 23:12, 31:17 and Devarim 12:23; see also Rashi to Iyov 35:15).
- Rabbi Aharon Marcus gives two etymologies. First, nefesh is neshef, blowing (Shemos 15:10, Yeshayahu 40:24), its letters reordered as נ-ש-ף, which ties nefesh to neshamah and neshimah, breathing; the unspoken basis of that link is the interchange of פ and מ. Alternatively, it comes from the two-letter root נ-ף, movement, recalling the constant movement of breathing, as in napach, blowing (Bereishis 2:7, Yeshayahu 54:16), nafah, sifting, nofef, waving (Yeshayahu 10:32, 30:28, 13:2), and nafatz, spreading (Bereishis 9:19, Shmuel I 13:11).
A verb cognate means to rest: when Hashem rested on the seventh day the Torah says vayinafash (Shemos 31:17), which Rashi explains as resting, since one who stops working gives his nefesh a chance to relax and catch its breath (neshimah). In Modern Hebrew nofesh is a vacation.
- Rav Hirsch (to Shemos 31:17; see also his remarks to Bereishis 1:20, 9:4) defines the nefesh as a creature's unique individuality or personality, and so explains the link to rest: at work one toils in something outside oneself, while at rest one withdraws into one's own personality, and only then can one's individuality shine forth.
- Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin explains the rest sense through his glassblower (Nefesh HaChaim 1:15): the nefesh is the molten glass, the last stop of the Divine "air," so the verb cognates of nefesh also mean resting and stopping.
Its function:
- in the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9) the nefesh is blood or bodily homeostasis, the lifeline of physical existence (Vayikra 17:11, Devarim 12:23).
- Maharsha: the natural aspect of a person's consciousness.
- the Vilna Gaon (Yahel Ohr, as he is quoted): the survival instinct. In a separate discussion the Gaon has the nefesh, which directly powers life, show outwardly as the physical desire for bodily pleasures and inwardly as a metaphysical battery that keeps a person alive, which he identifies as the chayah.
- Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (Nefesh HaChaim 1:14; Ruach Chaim to Avos 1:1): man's deeds, the most physical expression of his will (Vayikra 18:29, Bamidbar 15:30).
- Ibn Ezra (Shitah Acheres to Bereishis 2:7), Rabbeinu Yonah and the Gaon: the liver, the nefesh's desire for bodily pleasures, which Ibn Ezra ties specifically to the reproductive system; but Rashi (to Tehillim 25:1, 86:4) writes that one's nefesh is his heart.
- Rabbi Yosef Karo: food, the first of the three things a husband owes his wife (Shemos 21:10), since the nefesh is the most physical part of the soul and is sustained by material repast.
Nefesh rechavah, "a wide nefesh" (Avos 5:19, a mark of Bilam's disciples), is, as most commentators explain, one who is desirous and lustful. Rashi (to Tehillim 27:12, Koheles 6:7, Iyov 6:11) ties nefesh to one's desires, and Radak (Sefer HaShorashim) writes that since the nefesh is the seat of desire, the Torah attributes man's sins to it (Vayikra 5:1, 5:15, 22:6).
Ruach (רוח)
Root ר-ו-ח; with its various senses it appears in Tanach some 390 times.
- Rambam (Moreh 1:40): primarily the elemental air (Bereishis 1:2); borrowed from that for the winds (Shemos 10:13, 10:19), and, since the winds blow from four directions, for a direction or corner (Yechezkel 42:16, 42:18); also a life-giving spirit (Tehillim 78:39, Bereishis 7:15), which as such is what remains of a person after death, since it cannot be physically destroyed (Koheles 12:7).
- Raavad (to Sefer Yetzirah): ruach plainly does not mean the wind or air a person breathes, but a kind of spiritual engine that powers man and is energized directly by Hashem.
Moshe twice calls Hashem אלקי הרוחות לכל בשר (Bamidbar 16:22, 27:16), as the One who grants that life-giving spirit. Ruach also means prophecy, a Divine influx of information (Bamidbar 11:17, 11:25; Shmuel II 23:2), and, like nefesh, a person's likings and wants (Mishlei 29:11, Yeshayahu 19:3) and his temperament (Iyov 15:13, where it means anger).
- Rabbi Pappenheim folds all these senses into the two-letter root ר-ח, air: as air is light and almost indiscernible, ruach is the soul as something abstract and undetectable by the physical senses. From the same root he explains revach, open space, which is typically filled with air, and yareach, the moon, so called because its movements control the winds.
- Rav Hirsch (to Bereishis 8:21, Shemos 30:25) relates ruach to reyach, smell (ר-י-ח), and compares reichayim, millstone, and rokach, pulverization (ר-ק-ח, yud and kuf interchanging): reyach is primarily the tiny particles that emanate from things that smell, and so it relates to pulverizing and grinding, which reduce large objects to small bits. Rav Hirsch does not explain how this relates back to ruach.
- Rabbi Marcus writes that ruach derives from reyach because the winds carry smells from place to place.
Its function:
- in the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9), the soul's wind-like property, flying up to Heaven when one sleeps and coming back down into the body as he wakes.
- Maharsha: the spiritual aspect of consciousness.
- the Gaon (Yahel Ohr, as quoted): the emotional. In the Gaon's separate discussion the ruach is the drive for worldly, material pursuits, outwardly going out to seek profit and inwardly scheming up plans for gain.
- Nefesh HaChaim 1:14: man's speech, less physical than his deeds but still somewhat tangible (Shmuel II 23:2, Yeshayahu 11:4).
- Ibn Ezra, Rabbeinu Yonah and the Gaon: the heart, the ruach's desire for emotional pleasure such as wealth and honor.
- Rabbi Yosef Karo: clothing, since the ruach is slightly less physical and is fueled only by more abstract sustenance, the satisfaction of honor or wealth.
- In the glassblower of Nefesh HaChaim 1:15 the ruach is the blowpipe, the conduit that bridges the neshamah and the nefesh.
Ruach gevohah, "a high ruach" (Avos 5:19), is, as most commentators explain, a haughty person.
Neshamah (נשמה)
Root נ-ש-ם. Unlike nefesh and ruach, it refers only to the soul and has no other meaning, and Rabbi Klein suggests that this is seemingly why it appears only 25 times in Tanach. A survey of those occurrences shows that its cognates never refer to animals, because only people have a neshamah (Ibn Ezra to Bereishis 7:21, Koheles 3:21; see also Radak to Yeshayahu 42:5).
- The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9) connects it with neshimah, breathing, deriving from Tehillim 150:6 that one must thank Hashem for every breath. Shoresh Yesha adds that the מ of its root נ-ש-ם interchanges with ב or פ, each giving a word for blowing: mashiv haruach with a ב, neshef with a פ.
- Rashi (to Yoma 85a) seems to define death as the point at which a person no longer breathes, which, Rabbi Klein notes, may have halachic implications for the brain-death controversy.
- Radak (Sefer HaShorashim) derives tinshemes, a non-kosher predatory bird often translated "owl" (Vayikra 11:18, Devarim 14:16), from the root נ-ש-ם of neshamah and breathing, because one who sees it starts breathing heavily (presumably, Rabbi Klein adds, out of fright).
- Ibn Ezra (to Bereishis 7:21, and Shitah Acheres to Bereishis 2:7) reports that other sages relate neshamah to shamayim, since man's soul comes from Above, and allows that even if there is no etymological connection the two can still be connected thematically.
- Rabbi Pappenheim gives both words one root, ש-ם, anything abstract that the material senses cannot perceive, as in sham, there, and shem, name: shamayim is the wholly spiritual part of Creation, beyond sensory perception, as the neshamah is a person's spiritual essence, which cannot be seen or perceived physically. Rabbi Mecklenburg calls this a person's geist.
Its function:
- in the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9), the sum total of a person's characteristics and personality, his personhood or unique individuality. (Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky said that a person's neshamah returns to the body in the morning only after he answers Barchu in the morning prayers.)
- Maharsha, and the Gaon (Yahel Ohr, as quoted): the intellectual aspect. In the Gaon's separate discussion the neshamah shows outwardly in a person's facial countenance and inwardly in his age.
- Nefesh HaChaim 1:14: man's thoughts, the most abstract expression of his will.
- Ibn Ezra, Rabbeinu Yonah and the Gaon: the brain, the neshamah's yearning for religious and spiritual connection.
- Rabbi Yosef Karo: conjugal intimacy, since the neshamah, the least physical part of the soul, is energized by a wholly transcendent Divine lifeline invisible to the eye, just as intimacy belongs in the most private of settings, away from the eyes of others.
- Rabbeinu Yonah: the nefesh and ruach are man's instinct for thriving and surviving in a physical way, and are present in animals too; the third part, the neshamah or yechidah, the intellectual dimension, is what sets man apart.
- Radak (to Bereishis 2:7) differs from Rabbeinu Yonah, who holds that man actually has a nefesh and a ruach: the terms nefesh and ruach primarily apply to lower creatures, and refer to man's neshamah only in a borrowed sense.
- Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (Nefesh HaChaim 1:15): none of these words refers to a perceivable physical phenomenon; neshamah, though cognate with neshimah, is not respiration but Hashem "blowing," so to speak, a spiritual life-force into man, and in his glassblower parable it is the first step, the closest to Hashem.
Chayah (חיה) and yechidah (יחידה)
In the Creation narrative Tanach uses nefesh of sea creatures, birds and land animals (Bereishis 1:21-30); of man it says that Hashem blew a nishmas chaim into his nostrils, making him a nefesh chayah (Bereishis 2:7), which Targum Onkelos famously renders ruach memalela, "a verbal ruach." In these passages chayah and chaim enter the lexicon as a term for the soul. Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (Nefesh HaChaim 2:17) calls the chayah "the neshamah of the neshamah," and in many sources it is paired with the yechidah.
- In Cheshek Shlomo Rabbi Pappenheim traces chayah and chaim to the two-letter root ח-י, life (chai), and takes ח-ו as an extension of it, also meaning life; Rabbi Klein suggests the link is likely the interchange of ו and י (hayah, "was," is havah in Aramaic; see also Rashbam to Bamidbar 21:14 and Ibn Ezra to Amos 5:5). As a result Pappenheim explains chaveh, speech (Tehillim 19:3, Iyov 32:17), since putting a thing into words gives life to an idea that until then existed only in thought; Chavah, mother of all life (Bereishis 3:20); and chavah, a farm (Bamidbar 32:41), which provides life and sustenance through its products.
- Rabbi Aharon Marcus connects chayah to hayah, "was, existed": living is the most complete form of existing.
- In Yerios Shlomo Rabbi Pappenheim traces chayah to the single letter ח, which denotes rest, peace, harmony, the lack of strife or contradiction: life is a state of equilibrium among all the components of the body, and can exist only while they all coexist.
Rabbi Klein holds that yechidah in the sense of soul does not appear in Tanach, and that the word occurs there once (Shoftim 11:34), of Yiftach's daughter, an only child, meaning something unique and unparalleled. Rabbi Pappenheim's lexical work concerns Biblical Hebrew, but Rabbi Klein draws on it for yechidah: Pappenheim explains ח-ד as singularity or unification, as in echad, one, and yachad, together, a single unit made of sub-units joined as one; chad or chidud, sharp, since its force is focused on one point; and chidah, a riddle, which requires sharpening the mind and bringing all its energy to bear on one question.
- The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 14:9): chayah is the transcendent nature of the soul, which continues to live when the body dies, and yechidah is its uniqueness, man's only limb that has no counterpart; Rabbi Klein holds that these clearly allude to the etymologies above.
- The Vilna Gaon (Aderes Eliyahu to Bereishis 2:7): chayah is the overall holistic life-force.
Rabbi Yitzchak Karo, uncle of Rabbi Yosef Karo, explains the five names with two models. By the parts of the body they power: the neshamah, the head and brain (nervous system); the chayah, the respiratory system; the yechidah, the hands, which make man unique among the animals, since they have natural weapons while his hands let him defend himself with a whole arsenal; the ruach, the heart (circulatory system); and the nefesh, the legs (ambulatory system). By the stages of life, citing a tradition (similar to Rabbi Falk's model below): at birth the soul is called neshamah, since the baby first begins to breathe; at ten, ruach, since he is now imbued with a Good Inclination that helps him fight off the Evil Inclination (Mishlei 18:14); at twenty, nefesh, an expression of rest or respite, since the battle between the inclinations calms down a bit; from thirty to forty, chayah, since he can be assumed to have performed so many mitzvos that their merits serve as the basis of his life-force; and from forty, when the Evil Inclination can be almost completely subdued, until death, yechidah, since the Good Inclination is there "alone." Rabbi Karo himself differs slightly from this tradition, dividing the five periods as birth to 13, 13 to 25, 25 to 40, 40 to 60, and 60 until death.
The authorities differ over who has chayah and yechidah.
- The Vilna Gaon (Aderes Eliyahu to Bereishis 2:7): man as he stands now has no yechidah, but in Messianic times he will.
- The Shelah (Rabbi Yeshayahu Horowitz), similarly, writes that not everyone can be cognizant of his chayah and yechidah during his lifetime; only bnei aliyah, those upwardly mobile in a spiritual sense, merit connecting with them.
- Rabbi Alexander Sender Shor: an ordinary person has a nefesh, ruach and neshamah, but some have more and some less; a prophet, at the pinnacle of spiritual awareness, has chayah and yechidah besides, while one who sins "kills" a part of himself and loses his neshamah, and if he goes on sinning his ruach as well, until he is left with only a nefesh, like an animal.
- Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk gives a different model: the first three are given at three stages of life, the nefesh when the child is conceived and can move in utero, the ruach at birth, and the neshamah when the child begins to nurse. The chayah is not given to everyone: after maturity, the repeated performance of mitzvos and letting the Good Inclination guide one ready a person to receive it. The yechidah no one ever received during his lifetime except Moshe, though the perfectly righteous can receive it after death.
Also discussed in
Radak on these roots
Sefer HaShorashim
ח-י-ה
To live, and to keep alive; health; חַי, of meat, is raw. חַיָּה is the neshamah, which lives for ever, and the animal soul; an animal; a company; a cluster of houses.
Living, health, and Chavah
וְחָיְתָה נַפְשִׁי בִּגְלָלֵךְ (Bereishis 12:13), that my soul may live on your account. Likewise the name חַוָּה, for הִוא הָיְתָה אֵם כָּל חָי (Bereishis 3:20), she was the mother of all living, the yud turned to a vav so that it should not be confused with זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ, the chayah that you shall eat. It is also health: עַד חֲיוֹתָם (Yehoshua 5:8), until they were well, and וְיִמְרְחוּ עַל הַשְּׁחִין וְיֶחִי (Yeshayahu 38:21), let them rub it on the boil, and he will be well. Where the verb takes an object it is to keep alive or to let live, as מְכַשֵּׁפָה לֹא תְחַיֶּה (Shemos 22:17), you shall not let a sorceress live. בְּקֶרֶב שָׁנִים חַיֵּיהוּ (Chavakuk 3:2), in the midst of years keep it alive, he explains: Yisrael, which is Your work, keep it alive in the midst of the years of troubles. חַיַּת יָדֵךְ מָצָאת (Yeshayahu 57:10), you found the life of your hand, he explains: it was as pleasant to you as food is to a man, and so you did not grow sick.
Reviving a ruined city
וְיוֹאָב יְחַיֶּה אֶת־שְׁאָר הָעִיר (Divrei HaYamim I 11:8), and Yoav revived the rest of the city, means that Yoav closed in the rest of the city: the city was built from the Millo round about, and Yoav built the wall of the rest of it. The pasuk speaks in terms of life because a ruined city is as though dead. So too הַיְחַיּוּ אֶת־הָאֲבָנִים מֵעֲרֵמוֹת הֶעָפָר וְהֵמָּה שְׂרוּפוֹת (Nechemiah 3:34), will they revive the stones out of the heaps of dust, burnt as they are? Elsewhere the same is said in terms of healing: כִּי־עָלְתָה אֲרוּכָה לְחֹמוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַם (Nechemiah 4:1), that healing had come up to the walls of Yerushalayim, and וַיְרַפֵּא אֶת־מִזְבַּח (Melachim I 18:30), and he healed the mizbeach, the mizbeach of Hashem that had been torn down.
The wild animal and the tame
On זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ (Vayikra 11:2), this is the chayah that you shall eat, he says the behemah is taken in under chayah. But אֲשֶׁר יָצוּד צֵיד חַיָּה אוֹ עוֹף (Vayikra 17:13), who hunts a chayah or a bird, is of the chayah alone and not the behemah, since the behemah has no covering of its blood.
The soul
The neshamah is called חַיָּה, he says, because it lives for ever and is not as the body is; and the animal soul is called חַיָּה too, as וְזִהֲמַתּוּ חַיָּתוֹ לָחֶם (Iyov 33:20), his soul makes him loathe bread. וְחַיָּתָם לַדֶּבֶר הִסְגִּיר (Tehillim 78:50), and He gave their חַיָּה over to the pestilence, may be read in this sense too, of their souls. Some explain it as their cattle, and take the pasuk to speak of the pestilence among the livestock.
Raw, and this time next year
Of meat חַי is raw: וְלֹא יִקַּח מִמְּךָ בָּשָׂר מְבֻשָּׁל כִּי אִם חָי (Shmuel I 2:15), he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw. כָּעֵת חַיָּה (Bereishis 18:14) he reads as this same time in the coming year, when it will be living. So too כֹּה לֶחָי (Shmuel I 25:6), thus for the living: for the living time, that is, the coming year, when you will be alive; life is ascribed to the time because life continues in it. Some explain כֹּה לֶחָי as to the rich man, since a poor man is counted as dead, and so נֶגֶד הַחַיִּים (Koheles 6:8), before the living, as before the rich; Radak says there is no need to take it out of its plain sense. Yonasan renders כֹּה לֶחָי as כְּדֵין לְחַיָךְ, so for your life, which Radak explains: so may it be all your days. Chazal call a midwife a חַיָּה (Kiddushin 74a), where they say three are believed about a firstborn, his father, his mother and the midwife; on their usage, Radak says, כִּי חָיוֹת הֵנָּה (Shemos 1:19) may be read as midwives: they need no other midwives, being midwives themselves. Chazal also call a woman giving birth a חַיָּה (Yoma 73b), from which, Radak says, it is good to read כָּעֵת חַיָּה as meaning that at this time she will be bearing a child.
The land of the living
On אֲשֶׁר נָתְנוּ חִתִּיתָם בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים (Yechezkel 32:24), who set their terror in the land of the living, וְנָתַתִּי צְבִי בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים (Yechezkel 26:20), and I will set desire in the land of the living, and בְּאַרְצוֹת הַחַיִּים (Tehillim 116:9), in the lands of the living, Chazal explain (Avos d'Rabbi Nosson 34) that Eretz Yisrael is called the land of the living, as it is called ארץ צבי, the land of desire; and Chazal say likewise (Kesubos 111a), ארץ שמתיה חיים, a land whose dead live. All of them can also be read in their plain sense.
A company, and a cluster of houses
חַיָּתְךָ יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ (Tehillim 68:11), Your company dwelt in it, and וְחַיַּת פְּלִשְׁתִּים (Shmuel II 23:13), the company of the Pelishtim, are a company of men, and חַיַּת קָנֶה he explains as the company that carries reeds, meaning spears. אַל־תִּתֵּן לְחַיַּת נֶפֶשׁ תּוֹרֶךָ (Tehillim 74:19), do not give to the company the soul of Your turtledove, has a word missing after the construct: do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the company of the enemies, the turtledove being Knesses Yisrael, likened to a turtledove as Scripture likens her to a dove. Some take לְחַיַּת as a noun from יְחִיתַן (Chavakuk 2:17), will break them, which is a sense of breaking. A cluster of houses standing together, unwalled, which could not be built up as a city, is called a חַיָּה as well, as וַיֵּאָסְפוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים לַחַיָּה (Shmuel II 23:11), the Pelishtim gathered at the cluster; and with a vav for the yud, חַוֹּת יָאִיר (Bamidbar 32:41), the clusters of Yair. Rabbi Yonah explains it so, and says the Arabs call such a cluster by the same word.
וְחָיִתָה אַתָּה וּבֵיתֶֽךָ (ירמיה לח, יז), וְחָֽיְתָה נַפְשִׁי בִּגְלָלֵֽךְ (בראשית יב, יג), חָיוּ מִן־הָֽאֲנָשִׁים הָהֵם (במדבר יד, לח), לֹֽא אָמוּת כִּי־אֶֽחְיֶה (תהלים קיח, יז), י"י עֲלֵיהֶם יִֽחְיוּ (ישעיה לח, טז), תרגום יונתן יְיָ עַל כָּל מֵיתַיָא אֲמַרְתָּא לְאַחָיָאָה וּקְדָם כּוּלְהוֹן אַחְיֵיתָא רוּחִי וְאַחְיֵיתָנִי וְקַיֵימְתָּנִי. וַיְחִי יַֽעֲקֹב (בראשית מז, כח), אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תִֽחְיֶינָה (יחזקאל יג, יט). והשם אַלְמְנוּת חַיּֽוּת (שמואל ב' כ, ג). ומשקל אחר וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁאִירוּ מִֽחְיָה (שופטים ו, ד), כִּי לְמִֽחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶֽם (בראשית מה, ה). ומשקל אחר חַיַּת יָדֵךְ מָצָאת (ישעיה נז, י), כלומר ערב היה לך כמו המזונות לאדם על כן לא חלית. והתאר כִּֽי־חָיוֹת הֵנָּה (שמות א, יט). וכן חַוָּה, כִּי הִוא הָֽיְתָה אֵם כָּל־חָֽי (בראשית ג, כ), בהתחלף היו"ד בו"ו כדי שלא יתערב עם זֹאת הַֽחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּֽאכְלוּ (ויקרא יא, ב). והפעל הכבד [הִפְעִיל] הִנֵּה הֶֽחֱיָה י"י אוֹתִי (יהושע יד, י), אֹֽתְכָה הָרַגְתִּי וְאוֹתָהּ הֶֽחֱיֵֽיתִי (במדבר כב, לג), לְהַֽחֲיוֹת רוּחַ שְׁפָלִים (ישעיה נז, טו). וכבד אחר [פִּעֵל] וְנַפְשׁוֹ לֹא חִיָּֽה (תהלים כב, ל), הַֽחִיִּיתֶם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה (במדבר לא, טו), וּנְפָשׁוֹת לָכֶנָה תְחַיֶּֽינָה (יחזקאל יג, יח), בְּקֶרֶב שָׁנִים חַיֵּיהוּ (חבקוק ג, ב), פירוש ישראל שהוא פעלך חיה אותו בקרב שני הצרות. ובא מלת חַיֵּיהוּ שלם בלמ"ד הפעל שלא כמנהג כי הוא כתוב בשני יו"דין. ואפשר שיהיה שם כמו חייו. וכן מָגֵן גִּבֹּרֵיהוּ (נחום ב, ד) כמו גִּבּוֹרָיו, וְיוֹאָב יְחַיֶּה אֶת־שְׁאָר הָעִֽיר (דברי הימים א' יא, ח). ופירוש יְחַיֶּה אֶת־שְׁאָר הָעִֽיר שסגר יואב שאר העיר, כי דור בנה מן המלוא ועד הסביב ויואב בנה חומת שאר העיר. ואמר בלשון חיות כי העיר ההרוסה כמו מתה. וכן הַיְחַיּוּ אֶת־הָֽאֲבָנִים מֵֽעֲרֵמוֹת הֶֽעָפָר וְהֵמָּה שְׂרוּפֽוֹת (נחמיה ג, לד). וכן במקום אחר בלשון רפואה כִּי־עָֽלְתָה אֲרוּכָה לְחֹמוֹת יְרֽוּשָׁלַם (נחמיה ד, א). ועוד וַיְרַפֵּא אֶת־מִזְבַּח י"י הֶֽהָרֽוּס (מלכים א' יח, ל). אֲשֶׁר חִיּוּ מִנְּשֵׁי יָבֵשׁ גִּלְעָד (שופטים כא, יד), מְכַשֵּׁפָה לֹא תְחַיֶּֽה (שמות כב, יז), לְחַיּוֹת זֶרַע (בראשית ו, ג), וּלְחַיּוֹתָם בָּרָעָֽב (תהלים לג, יט). ונקראת הנשמה חַיָּה לפי שהיא חיה לעולם ואיננה כמו הגוף. וכן הנפש הבהמית נקראה גם כן חַיָּה, וְזִֽהֲמַתּוּ חַיָּתוֹ לָחֶם (איוב לג, כ), וְחַיָּתָם בַּקְּדֵשִֽׁים (איוב לו, יד), וְחַיָּתֹי [וְחַיָּתוֹ] בָּאוֹר תִּרְאֶֽה (איוב לג, כח), וְעוֹד בַּֽחַיִּים חַיָּתָם (יחזקאל ז, יג), וְאִישׁ בַּֽעֲוֹנוֹ חַיָּתוֹ (שם). ויש לפרש מזה וְחַיָּתָם לַדֶּבֶר הִסְגִּֽיר (תהלים עח, נ). ויש מפרשים בהמתם ואמר זה על דֶּבֶר המקנה. ובענין הבריאות עַד חֲיוֹתָֽם (יהושע ה, ח), וְיִמְרְחוּ עַל־הַשְּׁחִין וְיֶֽחִי (ישעיה לח, כא), אוֹ כִי יָשׁוּב הַבָּשָׂר הַחַי (ויקרא יג, טז), פירוש הבריא, וּמִֽחְיַת בָּשָׂר חַי (ויקרא יג, י), פירוש בריאות בשר החי. וְלֹא־יִקַּח מִמְּךָ בָּשָׂר מְבֻשָּׁל כִּי אִם־חָֽי (שמואל א' ב, טו), פירושו נא. וכן אֲזַי חַיִּים בְּלָעוּנוּ (תהלים קכד, ג), נִבְלָעֵם כִּשְׁאוֹל חַיִּים (משלי א, יב), כְּמוֹ־חַי כְּמוֹ־חָרוֹן (תהלים נח, י), ועוד נפרש הפסוק בשרש סִיר. כָּעֵת חַיָּה (בראשית יח, יד), פירוש כעת הזאת השנה הבאה שתהיה חיה. וכן כֹּה לֶחָי (שמואל א' כה, ו), לזמן החי כלומר בשנה הבאה שתהיו חיים. ותולה החיות בעת ובזמן להתמדת החיים בו. ויש מפרשים כֹּה לֶחָי לעשיר כי העני חשוב כמת. וכן מַה־לֶּֽעָנִי יוֹדֵעַ לַֽהֲלֹךְ נֶגֶד הַֽחַיִּֽים (קהלת ו, ח), נגד העשירים ואין צורך להוציאו ממשמעו. ויונתן תרגם כֹּה לֶחָי כְּדֵין לְחַיָךְ כלומר כה יהיה כל ימיך. ולדעת רבותינו ז"ל שקראו למילדת חַיָּה כמו שאמרו (קידושין עד, ע"א) שלשה נאמין על הבכור אביו ואמו וחיה יתכן לפרש חָיוֹת הֵנָּה (שמות א, יט) מילדות, כלומר אינן צריכות למילדות אחרות כי הן עצמן מילדות. וכן קראו ליולדות חַיָּה כמו שאמרו (יומא עג, ע"ב) והחיה תנעול את הסנדל וזולת זה. וטוב הוא לפרש מזה כָּעֵת חַיָּה (בראשית יח, יד) כלומר כעת הזאת תהיה יולדת, ופירוש אחר כן וְהִנֵּה־בֵן לְשָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ (שם). אֲשֶׁר נָֽתְנוּ חִתִּיתָם בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים (יחזקאל לב, כד), וְנָֽתַתִּי צְבִי בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּֽים (יחזקאל כו, כ), אֶֽתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵי י"י בְּאַרְצוֹת הַֽחַיִּֽים (תהלים קטז, ט), פירשו בהם רבותינו ז"ל (אבות דרבי נתן פרק לד) ארץ ישראל נקראת ארץ החיים כמו שנקראת ארץ צבי. וכן אמרו רבותינו ז"ל (כתובות קיא, ע"א), ארץ שמתיה חיים. ויש לפרש כלם כמשמעם. זֹאת הַֽחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּֽאכְלוּ (ויקרא יא, ב), בהמה בכלל חיה אבל אֲשֶׁר יָצוּד צֵיד חַיָּה אוֹ־עוֹף (ויקרא יז, יג), על החיה לבד לא על הבהמה כי אין לבהמה כסוי הדם. חַיְתוֹ־יָעַר (תהלים נ, י), הו"ו נוסף כי הראוי כמו גְּעַר חַיַּת קָנֶה. ונקראות העדה חַיָּה, חַיָּתְךָ יָֽשְׁבוּ־בָהּ (תהלים סח, יא), חַיַּת קָנֶה (תהלים סח, לא), וְחַיַּת פְּלִשְׁתִּים (שמואל ב' כג, יג). ופירוש חַיַּת קָנֶה העדה בעלת הקנים והם הרמחים. אַל־תִּתֵּן לְחַיַּת נֶפֶשׁ תּוֹרֶךָ (תהלים עד, יט), חסר הנסמך ופירושו אל תתן לעדת האויבים נפש תורך, והיא כנסת ישראל המשולה לתור כמו שהמשילה ליונה. ויש מפרשים לְחַיַּת שם מן וְשֹׁד בְּהֵמוֹת יְחִיתַן (חבקוק ב, יז) שהוא ענין השבר, ויהיה לחית שם בשקל פַּנַּג, אַכּד, אַחַד, שהם גם כן פתחין. וכן קבוץ הבתים ביחד כמו פרו וכיוצא בו שאינו מוקף ולא יכלו לבנותו כעיר יכנו אותו לקבוץ הבתים לבד חַיָּה, וַיֵּֽאָסְפוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים לַֽחַיָּה (שמואל ב' כג, יא). ובתמורת היו"ד בו"ו חַוֹּת יָאִֽיר (במדבר לב, מא). וכן פירש רבי יונה ואמר כי כן קראו בלשון ערב לקבוץ הבתים ביחד אל חי.
י-ח-ד
The sense of one: the only one, the soul as the single one, and many joined together so that they look like one; and to make one.
The only one
רַךְ וְיָחִיד לִפְנֵי אִמִּֽי (Mishlei 4:3), tender and an only child before my mother, and וְרַק הִיא יְחִידָה (Shoftim 11:34), she was his only child. Both belong, he says, to the sense of one.
The soul as the single one
The soul is called יְחִידָה, מִיַּד־כֶּלֶב יְחִידָתִֽי (Tehillim 22:21), my only one from the power of the dog, because it stands single over against the parts and powers of the body, which are many and are not of its kind.
Many that look like one
יַּחַד יָבֹאוּ גְדוּדָיו (Iyov 19:12), his troops come on together, is also from one, since many joined look like a single thing. Radak's own view is that the vav of יַחְדָּו is the mark of the plural set over a singular, as in עָלָיו, upon him, and אֵלָיו, to him. Though יחדו mostly has no yod, עָלָו [עָלָיו] בַּשָּׁמַיִם יַרְעֵם (Shmuel I 2:10), upon him He thunders in heaven, is found without one too, and three places have יַחְדָּיו with a yod (Yirmiyahu 46:12, 46:21 and 49:3); it is said so, he writes, because singleness and plurality are gathered together in it.
The verb that makes one
יַחֵד לְבָבִי לְיִרְאָה שְׁמֶֽךָ (Tehillim 86:11), make my heart one to fear Your name.
בִּקְהָלָם אַל־תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי (בראשית מט, ו), זכרתי אותו בשער אָחַד. רַךְ וְיָחִיד לִפְנֵי אִמִּֽי (משלי ד, ג), וְרַק הִיא יְחִידָה (שופטים יא, לד), ידוע. והם מענין אחד. ונקראת הנשמה חידה, מִיַּד־כֶּלֶב יְחִידָתִֽי (תהלים כב, כא), לפי שהיא יחידה כנגד חלקי הגוף וכחותיו שהם רבים ואינם ממינה. יַּחַד יָבֹאוּ גְדוּדָיו (איוב יט, יב), וְיַחְדָּו יִהְיוּ תַמִּים אֶל־רֹאשׁוֹ (שמות לו, כט), וגם זה מענין אחד כי כשיתחברו רבים נראים כאחד. ועל דעתי כי זו יַחְדָּו הוא סימן הרבים על יחיד כמו עָלָיו, אֵלָיו. ואף על פי שאין בו יו"ד ברוב הרי מצאנו עָלָו [עָלָיו] בַּשָּׁמַיִם יַרְעֵם (שמואל א' ב, י) בלא יו"ד. וכן יחדיו נמצאו ביו"ד שלשה, יַחְדָּיו נָפְלוּ שְׁנֵיהֶֽם (ירמיה מו, יב), כִּֽי־גַם־הֵמָּה הִפְנוּ נָסוּ יַחְדָּיו (ירמיה מו, כא), כִּי מַלְכָּם בַּגּוֹלָה יֵלֵךְ כֹּֽהֲנָיו וְשָׂרָיו יַחְדָּֽיו (ירמיה מט, ג), ולפי שנתקבץ בו היחידות והרבוי נאמר כן. והפעל הכבד [פִּעֵל] יַחֵד לְבָבִי לְיִרְאָה שְׁמֶֽךָ (תהלים פו, יא). בַּרְזֶל בְּבַרְזֶל יָחַד (משלי כז, יז) כתבנוה בשרש חָדָה.
נ-פ-ש
The soul; at times the body; the will and the desire; the dead, so called because death is the soul's parting from the body; the breath; and as a verb, to rest.
Where it means the body
Sometimes it comes in the masculine, when the body is meant by it: אֶחָד נֶפֶשׁ מֵֽחֲמֵשׁ הַמֵּאוֹת (Bamidbar 31:28), one soul out of five hundred, and כָּל־ נֶפֶשׁ אַרְבָּעָה עָשָֽׂר (Bereishis 46:22), all the souls, fourteen. בַּרְזֶל בָּאָה נַפְשֽׁוֹ (Tehillim 105:18), the iron entered his soul, is said so because the soul is afflicted by the affliction of the body; and so בְּגֹעַל נַפְשֵׁךְ (Yechezkel 16:5), in the loathing of your soul, where the soul is your body.
The dead
The dead are called nefesh because the cause of death is the parting of the soul from the body: וְעַל כָּל־ נַפְשֹׁת מֵת לֹא יָבֹא (Vayikra 21:11), he shall not come upon any souls of the dead, and הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּמֵת לְכָל־ נֶפֶשׁ (Bamidbar 19:11), one who touches the dead of any soul. So too מֵֽאֲשֶׁר חָטָא עַל־ הַנָּפֶשׁ (Bamidbar 6:11), for that he sinned by the soul, that is, by the dead. Some of Chazal (Nazir 19a) explained that same phrase of his having pained himself by keeping from wine: he sinned against the soul that desires, withholding its desire from wine altogether.
Will and desire
Because the soul is the mistress of the will and the desire, the sin and the trespass are hung upon her: נֶפֶשׁ כִּֽי־תִמְעֹל (Vayikra 5:15), a soul that commits a trespass, and וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי־תֶֽחֱטָא (Vayikra 5:1), and a soul that sins; and the touching of the body likewise, נֶפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר תִּֽגַּֽע (Vayikra 22:6), a soul that touches, since the body acts in partnership with her. So too אַֽל־תִּתְּנֵנִי בְּנֶפֶשׁ צָרָי (Tehillim 27:12), do not give me over to the soul of my adversaries, that is, to their will and their desire, and לֶאְסֹר שָׂרָיו בְּנַפְשׁוֹ (Tehillim 105:22), to bind his princes at his soul, that is, by his own will, without leave of the king.
Breath, and rest
It is said of the breath and the vapour that goes out from the mouth, נַפְשׁוֹ גֶּחָלִים תְּלַהֵט (Iyov 41:13), his breath kindles coals; and Ibn Ezra explained לָכֵן הִרְחִיבָה שְּׁאוֹל נַפְשָׁהּ (Yeshayahu 5:14) the same way, therefore the grave has widened her breath. The verb is שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ (Shemos 31:17), He ceased and rested, and וְיִנָּפֵשׁ בֶּן־אֲמָֽתְךָ (Shemos 23:12), and the son of your handmaid may rest, that is, that his soul may rest.
Her own; and the soul as a figure
וְשִׁלַּחְתָּהּ לְנַפְשָׁהּ (Devarim 21:14), you shall send her away to herself, is that she is to belong to herself and not stand in another's authority. And by way of a figure it says that Hashem swore בְּנַפְשׁוֹ (Amos 6:8), by His soul, and so אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נָשָׂא לַשָּׁוְא נַפְשִׁי (Tehillim 24:4), who has not taken My soul in vain, and וְנַפְשׁוֹ אִוְּתָה וַיָּֽעַשׂ (Iyov 23:13), and His soul desired, and He did it.
נֶפֶשׁ תַּחַת נָֽפֶשׁ (שמות כא, כג), בשש נקודות. נֶפֶשׁ שְׂבֵעָה (משלי כז, ז), הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִֽוא (במדבר ה, ו). ופעמים בא בלשון זכר רוצה לדבר בו על הגוף אֶחָד נֶפֶשׁ מֵֽחֲמֵשׁ הַמֵּאוֹת (במדבר לא, כח), נֶפֶשׁ שְׁנָיִם (בראשית מו, כז), כָּל־נֶפֶשׁ אַרְבָּעָה עָשָֽׂר (בראשית מו, כב). וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי־תֶֽחֱטָא וְשָֽׁמְעָה קוֹל אָלָה (ויקרא ה, א). והקבוץ וְעַל־הַנְּפָשׁוֹת אֲשֶׁר הָֽיוּ־שָׁם (במדבר יט, יח), לְהָמִית נְפָשׁוֹת (יחזקאל יג, יט). ובקבוץ הזכרים מְצֹֽדְדוֹת אֶת־נְפָשִׁים (יחזקאל יג, כ). בַּרְזֶל בָּאָה נַפְשֽׁוֹ (תהלים קה, יח). אמר כן לפי שהנפש מעֻנה בעינוי הגוף. וכן בְּגֹעַל נַפְשֵׁךְ (יחזקאל טז, ה), גופך. ואמר על דרך משל נִשְׁבַּע י"י אלהים בְּנַפְשׁוֹ (עמוס ו, ח), וכן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נָשָׂא לַשָּׁוְא נַפְשִׁי (תהלים כד, ד) וְנַפְשׁוֹ אִוְּתָה וַיָּֽעַשׂ (איוב כג, יג). וְשִׁלַּחְתָּהּ לְנַפְשָׁהּ (דברים כא, יד), כלומר שתהיה לעצמה ולא תהיה ברשות אחר. וכנה המת בנפש כי סבת המיתה בהפרד הנפש מן הגוף ואמר וְעַל כָּל־נַפְשֹׁת מֵת לֹא יָבֹא (ויקרא כא, יא), הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּמֵת לְכָל־נֶפֶשׁ (במדבר יט, יא). וכן מֵֽאֲשֶׁר חָטָא עַל־הַנָּפֶשׁ (במדבר ו, יא). ויש מרבותינו ז"ל שפירשו (נזיר יט, ע"א), מֵֽאֲשֶׁר חָטָא עַל־הַנָּפֶשׁ על שצער עצמו מן היין הנה חטא על הנפש המתאוה שמנע תאותה מן היין מכל וכל. נֶפֶשׁ כִּֽי־תִמְעֹל (ויקרא ה, טו), נֶפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר תִּֽגַּֽע (ויקרא כב, ו), וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי־תֶֽחֱטָא (ויקרא ה, א). לפי שהיא בעלת הרצון והתאוה תלה החטא והמעל בה, וכן נגיעת הגוף כי פעל הגוף בשתופה. וכן אמר אַֽל־תִּתְּנֵנִי בְּנֶפֶשׁ צָרָי (תהלים כז, יב), כלומר ברצונם ובתאותם. לֶאְסֹר שָׂרָיו בְּנַפְשׁוֹ (תהלים קה, כב), כלומר ברצונו שלא ברשות המלך. ויאמר נפש על הנשימה וההבל היוצא מהפה נַפְשׁוֹ גֶּחָלִים תְּלַהֵט (איוב מא, יג). וכמוהו פירש רבי אברהם אבן עזרא ז"ל לָכֵן הִרְחִיבָה שְּׁאוֹל נַפְשָׁהּ (ישעיה ה, יד). והנפעל שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ (שמות לא, יז), וְיִנָּפֵשׁ בֶּן־אֲמָֽתְךָ (שמות כג, יב), כלומר שתנוח נפשו.
נ-ש-ם
Breath: every living thing's, it seems to him, though Ibn Ezra finds the word only of man. Also the תִּנְשֶׁמֶת, a kind of bird and a creeping thing.
Breath of every living thing, it seems
It seems to Radak that the spirit of every living thing is called נשמה, which is why the word stands joined to רוּחַ, spirit: כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת־רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו (Bereishis 7:22), all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, that is, everything that has breathing of spirit, which is to say movement.
Where the breath fails
וַיְהִי חָלְיוֹ חָזָק מְאֹד עַד אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נֽוֹתְרָה־בּוֹ נְשָׁמָֽה (Melachim I 17:17), his sickness was so heavy that no breath was left in him: he had no breathing, his movement came to nothing and his breath was stopped. At Daniel 10:17, where no breath was left in me, Radak says the words are put strongly beyond their measure, since the one saying them was speaking.
Hashem's breath, and speech
מִנִּשְׁמַת ־אֵל יִתֶּן־קָרַח (Iyov 37:10), by the breath of Hashem ice is given, is said after the manner of וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כָּל־צְבָאָֽם (Tehillim 33:6), and by the breath of His mouth all their host. וְנִשְׁמַת ־מִי יָֽצְאָה מִמֶּֽךָּ (Iyov 26:4), and whose breath went out from you, is like whose word, since speaking is by breathing: from whom did you receive these words that you spoke?
Ibn Ezra narrows it
Ibn Ezra writes on כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת־רוּחַ חַיִּים (Bereishis 7:22), all that has the breath of the spirit of life, that it goes back to man, since we find the word of no one but man. Ibn Ezra adds that many said it is called so because it comes from the heavens; and if those are two roots, there are many like it.
The bird and the creeping thing
וְאֶת־ הַתִּנְשֶׁמֶת וְאֶת־הַקָּאָת (Vayikra 11:18), and the tinshemes and the ka'as: the tinshemes is one of the kinds of birds, and they said it is named so because whoever sees it is appalled. Rashi writes that it is the one called צואיט"א. The same name is among the creeping things, וְהַחֹמֶט וְהַתִּנְשָֽׁמֶת (Vayikra 11:30), and the chomet and the tinshemes, and Rashi writes that this one is called in la'az טלפ"א.
וְאֵת כָּל־הַנְּשָׁמָה הֶֽחֱרִים (יהושע י, מ), כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת־רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו (בראשית ז, כב), דומה כי כל רוח בעלי חיים יקרא נשמה ולפיכך נסמך אל רוח, כלומר כל שיש לו נשימה רוח כלומר תנועה. וכן וַיְהִי חָלְיוֹ חָזָק מְאֹד עַד אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נֽוֹתְרָה־בּוֹ נְשָׁמָֽה (מלכים א' יז, יז), כלומר שלא היתה לו נשימה ונתבטלה תנועתו ונעצרה נשימתו. וכן וַֽאֲנִי מֵעַתָּה לֹא־יַֽעֲמָד־בִּי כֹּחַ וּנְשָׁמָה לֹא נִשְֽׁאֲרָה־בִֽי (דניאל י, יז), אבל המאמר ההוא על דרך הפלגה שהרי היה מדבר. מִנִּשְׁמַת־אֵל יִתֶּן־קָרַח (איוב לז, י), על דרך וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כָּל־צְבָאָֽם (תהלים לג, ו). וְנִשְׁמַת־מִי יָֽצְאָה מִמֶּֽךָּ (איוב כו, ד), כמו דבר מי, כי הדיבור בנשימה ופירושו ממי קבלת אלה הדברים שדברה. ורבי אברהם אבן עזרא כתב כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת־רוּחַ חַיִּים (בראשית ז, כב), שבה אל האדם כי לא מצאנו נשמה חוץ מנשמת האדם. ורבים אמרו שנקראת כן בעבור שהיא מן השמים, ואם הם שנים שרשים נמצא כמוהו רבים. וְאֶת־הַתִּנְשֶׁמֶת וְאֶת־הַקָּאָת (ויקרא יא, יח), עוף ממיני העופות ואמרו כי נקרא כן שכל הרואה אותו ישום. וכתב רש"י ז"ל כי הוא הנקרא צואיט"א. וגם כן זה השם בשרצים וְהַחֹמֶט וְהַתִּנְשָֽׁמֶת (ויקרא יא, ל). וכתב רבינו שלמה כי היא הנקראת בלע"ז טלפ"א.
ר-ו-ח
Relief, the opposite of distress. And רוּחַ: spirit, of prophecy or an angel; will; air; the wind, and from it a side; the soul; and breath.
Relief
וְרָוַח לְשָׁאוּל (Shmuel I 16:23), and Shaul had relief, and אֲדַבְּרָה וְיִרְוַח לִי (Iyov 32:20), let me speak and find relief. The noun is רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה (Esther 4:14), relief and rescue, and וְרֶוַח תָּשִׂימוּ (Bereishis 32:17), and you shall put a space; another form is כִּי הָיְתָה הָרְוָחָה (Shemos 8:11), that there was respite, and לְרַוְחָתִי לְשַׁוְעָתִי (Eichah 3:56), for my relief, to my cry, which he explains: do not hide Your ear from my cry, that I cry to You for my relief. In the heavy form, וַעֲלִיּוֹת מְרֻוָּחִים (Yirmiyahu 22:14), and spacious upper rooms. The sense, he says, is known: it is the opposite of distress.
At the רוּחַ of the day
Rabbi Yonah wrote לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם (Bereishis 3:8), at the רוּחַ of the day, from this sense, which Radak explains: at the time of the day's רוח, that is, the coolness of its air. It may also be read from the wind that blows, in its plain sense: at the turn of the day, when the wind blows; and מתהלך, going about, in the pasuk then goes back to the wind or to the voice, as in קוֹלָהּ כַּנָּחָשׁ יֵלֵךְ (Yirmiyahu 46:22), her voice goes like a serpent.
Wind, and what is winnowed by it
It is air: וְרוּחַ לֹא יָבוֹא בֵינֵיהֶם (Iyov 41:8), and air shall not come between them. It is the wind that blows: וְרוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה וְחָזָק (Melachim I 19:11), a great and strong wind, and רוּחַ קָדִים (Shemos 10:13), an east wind. From this comes אֲשֶׁר זֹרֶה בָרַחַת (Yeshayahu 30:24), winnowed with the רַחַת, the tool grain is winnowed with, because it is waved into the wind. Rabbi Yaakov ben Elazar wrote וְהוֹרַדְתִּי בָרִיחִים כֻּלָּם (Yeshayahu 43:14), and I will bring them all down בריחים, from this sense: they are ships, called so because they go by the wind; and so Yonasan renders it, וְאַחֲתֵית בִּמְשׁוֹטִין כּוּלְהוֹן, and I brought them all down with oars. וַעֲלִיּוֹת מְרֻוָּחִים (Yirmiyahu 22:14) may also be read from this: upper rooms the wind enters, made for the days of summer, which is why it says וְקָרַע לוֹ חַלּוֹנָי, and he cuts him out windows.
The four winds and the four sides
והבאתי אל עילם ארבע רוּחוֹת (Yirmiyahu 49:36), and I will bring four winds upon Eilam, is explained as four kingdoms: the navi likens them to wind, as a strong wind wrecks and breaks the high cedars, and he means truly four, since evil will come on them from every side and every corner. From this sense a side is called רוּחַ, there being four winds to the four sides: מָדַד רוּחַ הַצָּפוֹן (Yechezkel 42:17), he measured the north side, and לְאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת מְדָדוֹ (Yechezkel 42:20), he measured it on the four sides. וַיִּהְיוּ הָרִמֹּנִים תִּשְׁעִים וְשִׁשָּׁה רוּחָה (Yirmiyahu 52:23), and the pomegranates were ninety-six רוּחָה, accented on the syllable before the last, means that on one side the pomegranates were so many. Some explain from this סוֹבֵב סֹבֵב הוֹלֵךְ הָרוּחַ (Koheles 1:6), round and round goes the רוּחַ, as said of the sun, which circles and goes along the side.
Spirit, prophecy and angel
Another sense: כֹּל אֲשֶׁר הָיָה בָרוּחַ עִמּוֹ (Divrei HaYamim I 28:12), all that was in the spirit with him, and וְרוּחֲךָ הַטּוֹבָה נָתַתָּ לְהַשְׂכִּילָם (Nechemiah 9:20), You gave Your good spirit to instruct them. וַיֵּצֵא הָרוּחַ וַיַּעֲמֹד (Melachim I 22:21), the spirit went out and stood, is the spirit of prophecy or an angel; so וְסוּסֵיהֶם בָּשָׂר וְלֹא רוּחַ (Yeshayahu 31:3), their horses are flesh and not spirit, means not an angel, since an angel is a thing of spirit; and so שְׁלָחַנִי וְרוּחוֹ (Yeshayahu 48:16), He has sent me, and His spirit, means and His angel.
Will, breath and soul
It is will: וְרוּחַ לָבְשָׁה אֶת עֲמָשַׂי (Divrei HaYamim I 12:19), a spirit clothed Amasai, is the spirit of will and desire; so עֵקֶב הָיְתָה רוּחַ אַחֶרֶת עִמּוֹ (Bamidbar 14:24), because another spirit was with him, and עַד יֵעָרֶה עָלֵינוּ רוּחַ מִמָּרוֹם (Yeshayahu 32:15), until a spirit is poured upon us from on high, the will of the Creator. וּשְׁאָר רוּחַ לוֹ (Malachi 2:15), and an excess of spirit was his, is the surplus of will and of good spirit that Avraham Avinu had. אֶל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה־שָׁמָּה הָרוּחַ לָלֶכֶת יֵלֵכוּ (Yechezkel 1:12), wherever the spirit would be to go, they went, means wherever their desire and will would be to go, they went. אַבִּיעָה לָכֶם רוּחִי (Mishlei 1:23), I will pour out my spirit to you, may be read of this sense as well. It is the soul: וְהָרוּחַ תָּשׁוּב אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר נְתָנָהּ (Koheles 12:7), and the spirit returns to Hashem who gave it, the name being given sometimes to each of the three souls and sometimes to the neshamah, the highest, alone; or to the one seated in the heart, which is where anger lives, so it says אַל תְּבַהֵל בְּרוּחֲךָ לִכְעוֹס (Koheles 7:9), do not be hasty in your spirit to anger; and כָּל רוּחוֹ יוֹצִיא כְסִיל (Mishlei 29:11), a fool lets out all his spirit, that is, all his will. It is also said of breathing: רוּחִי זָרָה לְאִשְׁתִּי (Iyov 19:17), my breath is strange to my wife; and וּבְרוּחַ שְׂפָתָיו יָמִית רָשָׁע (Yeshayahu 11:4), with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked, is by the speech of his lips, since speech leaves the mouth with breath and vapour. His father explained וַהֲרִיחוֹ בְּיִרְאַת (Yeshayahu 11:3) from this sense: his speech will be in the fear of Hashem; and likewise לְרַוְחָתִי לְשַׁוְעָתִי (Eichah 3:56): do not hide Your ear from my words and from my cry. Radak himself explains that pasuk from relief.
וְרָוַח לְשָׁאוּל (שמואל א' טז, כג), אֲדַבְּרָה וְיִרְוַֽח־לִי (איוב לב, כ). והשם רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה (אסתר ד, יד), וְרֶוַח תָּשִׂימוּ (בראשית לב, יז), בסגול. ומשקל אחר כִּי הָֽיְתָה הָֽרְוָחָה (שמות ח, יא), לְרַוְחָתִי לְשַׁוְעָתִֽי (איכה ג, נו). ופירושו אַל־תַּעְלֵם אָזְנְךָ לשועתי שאני משוע אליך בעבור רוחתי. והפעל הכבד [פִּעֵל] וַֽעֲלִיּוֹת מְרֻוָּחִים (ירמיה כב, יד), ענין הרוח ידוע שהוא הפך הצוקה. ורבי יונה כתב מזה לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם (בראשית ג, ח), כלומר בעת רוח היום, ורוח היום הוא קרות אוירו. ואפשר לפרשו מענין רוח הנושבת כמשמעו, כלומר לעת פנות היום שנושב הרוח, ומתהלך שב אל הרוח או אל הקול. וכמוהו קוֹלָהּ כַּנָּחָשׁ יֵלֵךְ (ירמיה מו, כב). וענין אחר רוּחַ י"י דִּבֶּר־בִּי (שמואל ב' כג, ב), כֹּל אֲשֶׁר הָיָה בָרוּחַ עִמּוֹ (דברי הימים א' כח, יב), וְרֽוּֽחֲךָ הַטּוֹבָה נָתַתָּ לְהַשְׂכִּילָם (נחמיה ט, כ). וַיֵּצֵא הָרוּחַ וַיַּֽעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי י"י (מלכים א' כב, כא), הוא רוח הנבואה או מלאך. וכן וְסוּסֵיהֶם בָּשָׂר וְלֹא־רוּחַ (ישעיה לא, ג), ולא מלאך לפי שהוא רוחני. וכן אֲדֹנָי אלהים שְׁלָחַנִי וְרוּחֽוֹ (ישעיה מח, טז), ומלאכו. וְרוּחַ לָֽבְשָׁה אֶת־עֲמָשַׂי (דברי הימים א' יב, יח), פירוש רוח הרצון והחפץ. וכן עֵקֶב הָֽיְתָה רוּחַ אַחֶרֶת עִמּוֹ (במדבר יד, כד), עַד־יֵֽעָרֶה עָלֵינוּ רוּחַ מִמָּרוֹם (ישעיה לב, טו), רצון הבורא. וּשְׁאָר רוּחַ לוֹ (מלאכי ב, טו), יתרון רצון ורוח טובה היה לו לאברהם אבינו. ועוד נפרש הפסוק בשרש שָׁאַר, אֶל אֲשֶׁר יִֽהְיֶה־שָׁמָּה הָרוּחַ לָלֶכֶת יֵלֵכוּ (יחזקאל א, יב), כלומר אל אשר יהיה חפצם ורצונם ללכת ילכו. ויש לפרש מזה אַבִּיעָה לָכֶם רוּחִי (משלי א, כג). וְרוּחַ לֹֽא־יָבוֹא בֵֽינֵיהֶֽם (איוב מא, ח), אויר. וְרוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה וְחָזָק (מלכים א' יט, יא), רֽוּחַ־קָדִים (שמות י, יג), הרוח הנושבת ומזה נגזר אֲשֶׁר־זֹרֶה בָרַחַת (ישעיה ל, כד), בשקל מְלֹא כַף נָחַת (קהלת ד, ו), והוא הכלי שמזרים בו התבואה לפי שמניפין אותו אל הרוח פל"א בלע"ז. וכתב החכם רבי יעקב בן אלעזר מזה וְהֽוֹרַדְתִּי בָֽרִיחִים כֻּלָּם (קהלת מג, יד), והם הספינות ונקראו כן לפי שהולכים ברוח. וכן תרגם יונתן וְאַחֲתֵית בִּמְשׁוֹטִין כּוּלְהוֹן. ויתכן לפרש מזה וַֽעֲלִיּוֹת מְרֻוָּחִים כלומר שיכנס בהם הרוח עשויין לימי הקיץ. וזהו שאמר וְקָרַֽע לוֹ חַלּוֹנָי (ירמיה כב, יד). והבאתי אל עילם ארבע רוּחוֹת מארבע קצות השׁמים (ירמיה מט, לו), פירוש אַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיוֹת. ודמה אותם לרוח כמו שהרוח החזקה משחתת ומכילה הארזים הגבוהים. ורצונו לומר באמת ארבע כי מכל צד ומכל פנה תבוא להם הרעה. ומהענין הזה נקראת הפאה רוח לפי שהם ארבע רוחות לארבע הפאות. לְכָל־רוּחַ אֱזָרֶה (יחזקאל ה, יב), מָדַד רוּחַ הַצָּפוֹן (יחזקאל מב, יז), אֵת רוּחַ הַדָּרוֹם מָדָד (יחזקאל מב, יח), וַיִּֽהְיוּ הָֽרִמֹּנִים תִּשְׁעִים וְשִׁשָּׁה רוּחָה (ירמיה נב, כג), מלעיל, ופירושו לרוח אחת היו הרמונים כך. לְאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת מְדָדוֹ (יחזקאל מב, כ). ויש מפרשים מזה סוֹבֵב סֹבֵב הוֹלֵךְ הָרוּחַ וְעַל־סְבִֽיבֹתָיו שָׁב הָרֽוּחַ (קהלת א, ו), והוא אומר על השמש שיסוב וילך הפאה. וְרוּחַ כָּל־בְּשַׂר־אִֽישׁ (איוב יב, י), רוּחוֹ וְנִשְׁמָתוֹ אֵלָיו יֶאֱסֹֽף (איוב לד, יד), פעמים היא קרואה כל אחת משלש הנפשות כן, או הנשמה והעליונה בלבד. וְהָרוּחַ תָּשׁוּב אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר נְתָנָֽהּ (קהלת יב, ז). או השכונה בלב והיא בעלת הכעס לפיכך אמר אַל־תְּבַהֵל בְּרֽוּֽחֲךָ לִכְעוֹס (קהלת ז, ט), כִּֽי־תָשִׁיב אֶל־אֵל רוּחֶךָ (איוב טו, יג), הֵנִיחוּ אֶת־רוּחִי בְּאֶרֶץ צָפֽוֹן (זכריה ו, ח), כָּל־רוּחוֹ יוֹצִיא כְסִיל (משלי כט, יא), פירוש כל רצונו. ויש שיאמר על הנשימה רוח רוּחִֽי זָרָה לְאִשְׁתִּי (איוב יט, יז), לֹֽא־יִתְּנֵנִי הָשֵׁב רוּחִי (איוב ט, יח). וּבְרוּחַ שְׂפָתָיו יָמִית רָשָֽׁע (ישעיה יא, ד), פירוש בדבר שפתיו כי הדבר יוצא מהפה ברוח והבל. אַבִּיעָה לָכֶם רוּחִי (משלי א, כג). ואדוני אבי ז"ל פירש מזה וַֽהֲרִיחוֹ בְּיִרְאַת י"י (ישעיה יא, ג), דבורו יהיה ביראת י"י. וכן פירש מזה לְרַוְחָתִי לְשַׁוְעָתִֽי (איכה ג, נו), אַל־תַּעְלֵם אָזְנְךָ לדברי ולצעקתי.
Radak, Sefer HaShorashim, Berlin 1847. Public domain, digitised by Sefaria from the National Library of Israel.
Sources
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Take a Breather (Part 1)," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 27 June 2020.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Anatomy of a Soul (Part 2 of 3)," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 4 July 2020.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "The Chayah and Yechidah (Part 3 of 3)," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 11 July 2020.
Cited in the essay: Bereishis 1:2, 1:20 with Rav Hirsch, 1:21-30, 2:7 with Targum Onkelos, Ibn Ezra's Shitah Acheres, Radak and the Vilna Gaon's Aderes Eliyahu, 3:20, 7:15, 7:21 with Ibn Ezra, 8:21 and 9:4 with Rav Hirsch, 9:19, 19:17, 23:8 with Rashi, 35:18; Shemos 10:13, 10:19, 15:9 with Rashi, 15:10, 21:10, 23:12 with HaKsav VeHaKabbalah, 30:25 with Rav Hirsch, 31:17 with Rashi, Rav Hirsch and HaKsav VeHaKabbalah; Vayikra 5:1, 5:15, 11:18, 17:11, 18:29, 19:28, 21:1, 22:6; Bamidbar 9:6, 11:17, 11:25, 15:30, 16:22, 19:13, 21:4, 21:14 with Rashbam, 23:10, 27:16, 32:41; Devarim 12:23 with HaKsav VeHaKabbalah, 14:16; Shoftim 11:34; Shmuel I 13:11; Shmuel II 23:2; Yeshayahu 10:32, 11:4, 13:2, 19:3, 30:28, 40:24, 42:5 with Radak, 54:16; Yirmiyahu 15:1 with Rashi, 50:11, 51:14 with Rashi; Yechezkel 32:10 with Rashi, 42:16, 42:18; Amos 5:5 with Ibn Ezra; Chavakuk 1:8; Malachi 3:20; Tehillim 19:3, 24:4 with Rashi and Radak, 25:1 with Rashi, 27:12 with Rashi, 35:3 with Rashi, 78:39, 86:4 with Rashi, 150:6; Mishlei 13:2 with Rashi, 18:14, 29:11; Iyov 6:11 with Rashi, 15:13, 32:17, 35:15 with Rashi; Koheles 3:21 with Ibn Ezra, 6:7 with Rashi, 12:7; Shabbos 105a with Rashi; Eruvin 53a, 55b; Yoma 85a with Rashi; Sanhedrin 48a, and 96a with Rashi; Avos 5:19; Chullin 120a with Rashi; Bechoros 6b; Niddah 9a; Bereishis Rabbah 14:9; Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim 1:40-41; Raavad to Sefer Yetzirah; Ibn Janach, Sefer HaRikmah p. 180; Radak, Sefer HaShorashim; Rabbeinu Yonah; Maharsha; the Vilna Gaon, Yahel Ohr; Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, Nefesh HaChaim 1:14, 1:15, 2:17, and Ruach Chaim to Avos 1:1; Rabbi Yosef Karo; Rabbi Yitzchak Karo's homilies, in Dr. Shaul Regev's edition; the Shelah; Rabbi Alexander Sender Shor; Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk; Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, Cheshek Shlomo and Yerios Shlomo; Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, HaKsav VeHaKabbalah; Shoresh Yesha; Rabbi Aharon Marcus; Rabbi Reuven Margolios; Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky.