Rabbi Freedman’s Shabbat Message

If one examines the eleventh chapter of the Book of Numbers, read in its entirety in this week’s sidra of Beha’alothecha, it is interesting to note that one particular word, a word not commonly used in the Torah, occurs multiple times.  The word is רוּחַ – ruach.  On closer inspection however, its usage in Chapter 11 is rather strange.  Although this word can be identified clearly in the Hebrew text up to six times, in translation it would be more difficult to compute because the word רוּחַ – ruach carries more than one meaning within the chapter and consequently it would not be obvious to someone reading it in English, for example, that the same Hebrew word is being used so many times.

Take for example Chapter 11, verse 17 where Moses is instructed to appoint seventy elders to assist with the administration of the people:

וְיָֽרַדְתִּ֗י וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣י עִמְּךָ֘ שָׁם֒ וְאָֽצַלְתִּ֗י מִן־הָר֛וּחַ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יךָ

And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the רוּחַ spirit which is upon you and put it upon them.

Now compare this verse with Chapter 11, verse 31 where following a series of complaints by the Israelites concerning their diet, quail arrive in large numbers to supplement the Manna:

וְר֜וּחַ נָסַ֣ע ׀ מֵאֵ֣ת ה’ וַיָּ֣גָז שַׂלְוִים֘ מִן־הַיָּם֒

Now a רוּחַ a wind went out from the Lord and drove the quail in from the sea.

The fact is that the Hebrew word רוּחַ – ruach is one of the most profound and multilayered terms found in the Torah and throughout Jewish tradition.  Usually translated as “wind,” “spirit,” or “breath,” רוּחַ carries meanings that range from the physical forces of nature to the divine spirit of God, and from human emotion to prophecy itself.  The richness of this single word reflects Judaism’s perception that physical and spiritual realities are often intertwined.

The word רוּחַ encapsulates one of Judaism’s deepest truths: the same invisible force that moves the winds which encircle the planet, gives life to humanity, inspires prophecy, and shapes moral character.  From creation’s first moments to prophetic visions, from Talmudic ethics to Kabbalistic psychology, ruach represents movement, transformation, and sacred vitality.

Wind cannot be seen, only felt, so too the רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ ruach hakodesh – God’s Holy Spirit.  Judaism’s message from its inception was ground-breaking, that beneath the visible world lies an unseen divine ruach sustaining creation, inspiring humanity, and guiding history toward redemption.

Each person is called upon to nurture that divine spirit within them, transforming mere existence into holy purpose.

The very idea that we are made “in the image of God” gave rise to the uniquely Jewish idea that every human being irrespective of race, religion or gender has a Godly spirit within them.  That רוּחַ, otherwise known as a נְשָׁמָה neshama or soul was not part of our physical composition – it was instead a gift from God, which He implanted into our species alone – it came from outside of nature, which is the reason why a belief in the hereafter could evolve in Jewish tradition, for had the נְשָׁמָה neshama been part of our physical existence – like all other elements in the natural world it would inevitably have decayed and eventually perished.  But in this case, being entirely spiritual and emanating from the Infinite One – it could survive beyond the grave and endure in Olam Haba – the World of Eternity, the World to Come.

The first time the word רוּחַ is found in the Bible, it becomes clear immediately that God’s presence is beyond nature, not part of it.

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָֽיְתָ֥ה תֹ֨הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְח֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹקִים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם

Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the water.  (Genesis 1:2)

In this way Judaism removed any doubt that nature and divinity were somehow conflated.  Unquestionably the pagan world of ancient Canaan held a much more primitive view.  בַּעַל Baal was the god of Spring and therefore the god of all creative activity such as the blossoming of the trees and the birth of animals.  By sharp contrast מוֹת Mot was the god of winter – a time of year in which nothing grows.

In Hebrew these two words were eventually secularised – בַּעַל baal simply became ‘a husband’ – one, who through the relationship he has with his wife, is able (with God’s blessing) to generate new life and bring children into the world.  מוֹת mot or מָוֶת movet means not ‘winter’ in Hebrew but ‘death’ – which is viewed in Judaism as a part of nature – for everything in the universe will eventually decay, die or disappear.  Only God Almighty is beyond nature – a point that even the great Jewish philosopher Benedict Spinoza failed to realise – it was an opinion that the rabbis of Amsterdam could not tolerate and it led eventually to his excommunication from Judaism on July 27, 1656.

Judaism views God as a separate, personal ‘Creator’ dwelling beyond the universe, making choices, and judging humans.  Spinoza denied this entirely, stating that in his view God was equal to the universe.  Spinoza therefore believed that there is only one substance in the entire universe, which he called “God or Nature” (Deus sive Natura).  His credo opposed traditional Judaism by asserting that God is not above nature but within it.  These views were and remain heretical.

In fact the rabbinic ruling of excommunication, known in Hebrew as חֵרֶם herem (being placed under a ban), was upheld as recently as 11 years ago.  In December 2015, the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam, under the guidance of Chief Rabbi Pinchas Toledano formally declined to lift the 1656 herem against Spinoza, maintaining the original verdict of excommunication was correct.

Rabbi Toledano argued that Spinoza’s ideas were so radical that they “tear apart the very fundamentals of our religion”.  He noted that reversing the ban would imply that the community shared Spinoza’s rejection of a personal God or that they agreed with his heretical views that God and nature are one or that the Torah was a composite document written by a variety of human authors.  Toledano also explained that Spinoza himself never requested the ban to be lifted and that he was buried in a non-Jewish cemetery.

To begin to understand Spinoza’s heresy, simply imagine that the ocean is God and that the waves represent human beings.  This would make humans part of the divine, an idea alien to Judaism, even though it found a place within Christianity which describes Jesus as the Son of God.  In Judaism the separation between man and God is critical. 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l, in his reflections on modern philosophy and Jewish thought positioned Baruch Spinoza as the “paradigm of the secular Jew” whose pantheistic identification of God with Nature fundamentally dismantles the structure of biblical faith.  Sacks argued that Spinoza was wrong because his philosophy erases the crucial, boundary-setting distinction between the Creator and the created, resulting in a system that is ethically and spiritually sterile. 

Comparing the ancient Canaanites to Benedict Spinoza, one could argue that they both saw the forces of nature as gods.  Only the Canaanites worshipped the symbols of power during their era, forces in nature such as the sun and moon etc., while Spinoza saw instead human beings who exerted enormous power over others, in war and in politics and hence his legacy was a world in which humans came to believe that they had become the greatest force in nature and were entitled to be worshipped like the gods of yesteryear.

The result of such ideas was a complete transformation in thought and practice leading to a revolution, politically, socially and religiously through the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in which the individual and individualism became ever more important. 

Traditional monotheism stressed that humans engaged with the Almighty through a series of obligations and duties which in turn led to a life filled with responsibility and concern for faith and fellowship.  However, when God is equated with mankind, that level of reverence, obedience and faith disappears and is replaced by a society which is more selfish, more self-centred and more demanding.

That is exactly why in the last two to three hundred years we have moved from a giving to a taking society, one in which rights are demanded and obligations shunned.

Spinoza by ignoring the message we learn from the word רוּחַ became, with others, the architect of the “I” society – a social structure where the rights, requirements and autonomy of the individual are prioritized over the wishes of the group or community.  In this framework, the individual is seen as the fundamental unit of society and in such a culture, society fosters a sense of self-sufficiency, though in reality it contributes to weaker social ties and social groups.  In individualistic cultures, social behaviour tends to be dictated by the attitudes and preferences of individuals. 

The core characteristics of an “I” society are individual rights, personal liberty, self-fulfilment, the pursuit of happiness and the free expression of views however objectionable or dangerous.  The harmony that was sought in an earlier age is now deemed less important and that is why we see in countries like Australia, the USA and the UK an increasingly fragile society that threatens to tear itself apart.

The buzz word here in Australia at the moment as the Royal Commission into Antisemitism continues to sit is “Social Cohesion”.  Sadly such cohesion seems but a distant dream as long as individuals and individual groups within society continue to prioritise their personal and parochial aims over that of the country at large.  An example of this phenomenon that I saw recently was a flag flying proudly from a lamp-post in the streets of London – one might expect that the flag flying would have been the Union Flag or perhaps the flag of St George – but instead it was the Palestinian flag – for one group had hijacked the political discourse and were attempting to impose their views on the majority of Londoners.  Similarly in the local elections just held throughout Britain, a newly elected councillor for England’s second largest city was asked how he could help rebuild Birmingham and restore its prosperity.  His answer was astonishing – he said, Birmingham can look after itself – I was elected to speak for the people of Gaza!

All too often the first to suffer when social cohesion disappears are the Jews.  They, being ‘the canary in the mine’ have experienced all this before – but the future does not bode well for the general population when Jews are marginalised, persecuted or driven out – it is a sign of worse to come.

What society requires is a reversal of these trends.  In Pirke Avot 4:4 we are reminded that רוּחַ ruach is always the key to a better life, not just for oneself, but for one’s neighbours too.

Said the Perek –

מְאֹד מְאֹד הֱוֵי שְׁפַל רוּחַ שֶׁתִּקְוַת אֱנוֹשׁ רִמָּה

Be of exceedingly humble spirit, for the end of each human being is the worm.

The sages were sending a warning that all the hopes of man, all his expectations and desires will eventually be thwarted by a lowly worm – the grave being the ultimate destination for all mankind.

Such morbid predictions remind us to find strength in family and community, since if humans wish to progress they need others by their side; it is a truism that no individual can go it alone – everyone needs a community around them to keep them safe, to keep them fed, to keep them well, to offer love.  That is why we should all strive to acquire a שְׁפַל רוּחַ – a humble spirit.

Ezekiel’s famous chapter (37) describing the vision of the Dry Bones uses the word ruach on ten different occasions – his words continue to remind us that רוּחַ ה’ A Godly Spirit, as he says at the outset of his oracle, provides the foundation for a good and decent life on this planet.  How do we acquire it – that too is explained by the prophet:

הִנֵּה אֲנִי מֵבִיא בָכֶם רוּחַ–וִחְיִיתֶם

Behold I will bring the spirit to you- that you may live!

This is a gift that none should refuse –for it is the secret to a life of blessing. 

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi David Freedman