Judaism
“ The fruit of a righteous man is the tree of life, and the wise man acquires נְפָשׁוֹת souls. ”
—Mishlei, Proverbs 11:30
The Hebrew terms נפש nephesh (literally "living being"), רוח ruach (literally "wind"), נשמה neshama (literally "breath"), חיה chaya (literally "life") and יחידה yechidah (literally "singularity") are used to describe the soul or spirit. In modern Judaism the soul is believed to be given by God to a person by his/her first breath, as mentioned in Genesis, "And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Genesis 2:7. Judaism relates the quality of one's soul to one's performance of mitzvot and reaching higher levels of understanding, and thus closeness to God. A person with such closeness is called a tzadik. Therefore Judaism embraces Yahrtzeit and not Birthday as a festive of remembrance, for only toward the end of life's struggles, tests and challenges human souls could be judged and credited - b'ezrat hashem - for righteousness and holyness.
“ For I [Hashem] will not contend forever, neither will I be wroth to eternity, when a spirit from before Me humbles itself, and רוּחַ souls [which] I have made. ”
—Nevi'im, Yeshayahu 57:16
Kabbalah and other mystic traditions go into greater detail into the nature of the soul. Kabbalah separates the soul into five elements, corresponding to the five worlds:
Nephesh, related to natural instinct.
Ruach, related to emotion and morality.
Neshamah, related to intellect and the awareness of God.
Chayah, considered a part of God, as it were.
Yechidah, also termed the pintele Yid (the "essential [inner] Jew"). This aspect is essentially one with G‑d.
Kabbalah also proposed a concept of reincarnation, the gilgul. (See also nefesh habehamit the "animal soul").
“ The fruit of a righteous man is the tree of life, and the wise man acquires נְפָשׁוֹת souls. ”
—Mishlei, Proverbs 11:30
The Hebrew terms נפש nephesh (literally "living being"), רוח ruach (literally "wind"), נשמה neshama (literally "breath"), חיה chaya (literally "life") and יחידה yechidah (literally "singularity") are used to describe the soul or spirit. In modern Judaism the soul is believed to be given by God to a person by his/her first breath, as mentioned in Genesis, "And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Genesis 2:7. Judaism relates the quality of one's soul to one's performance of mitzvot and reaching higher levels of understanding, and thus closeness to God. A person with such closeness is called a tzadik. Therefore Judaism embraces Yahrtzeit and not Birthday as a festive of remembrance, for only toward the end of life's struggles, tests and challenges human souls could be judged and credited - b'ezrat hashem - for righteousness and holyness.
“ For I [Hashem] will not contend forever, neither will I be wroth to eternity, when a spirit from before Me humbles itself, and רוּחַ souls [which] I have made. ”
—Nevi'im, Yeshayahu 57:16
Kabbalah and other mystic traditions go into greater detail into the nature of the soul. Kabbalah separates the soul into five elements, corresponding to the five worlds:
Nephesh, related to natural instinct.
Ruach, related to emotion and morality.
Neshamah, related to intellect and the awareness of God.
Chayah, considered a part of God, as it were.
Yechidah, also termed the pintele Yid (the "essential [inner] Jew"). This aspect is essentially one with G‑d.
Kabbalah also proposed a concept of reincarnation, the gilgul. (See also nefesh habehamit the "animal soul").
