Shalom! My question is: Is the Holy spirit, or the Ruach ha-Kodesh a woman? Is the Ruach considered to be another person? I’m somewhat confused about this issue–could you please answer my questions?.
Answer:
Ruach ha-Kodesh is neither male nor female. It is rather a state of spiritual elevation whereby a person is able to know things beyond the reach of ordinary human senses and intellectual grasp. For instance, the statement in the Scroll of Esther that refers to the inner thoughts of the wicked Haman prompts (according to one opinion) the Talmudic statement whereby the Scroll of Esther was written with Ruach ha-Kodesh. Without the Holy Spirit resting on the author, how could he know what was in the heart of Haman?
Ruach ha-Kodesh is terms “Holy” because it is Divinely inspired, a supernatural phenomenon derived from Divine holiness rather than from forced of evil — ruach ha-tum’ah. The soul of each Jew has its source in the elevation of the Divine, and although we are distant from this elevated level, people with Ruach ha-Kodesh are those able to somehow draw the loftiness of their soul into their consciousness.
