#herbew

Ruach: Breath, Wind, and Spirit in the Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew word ruach (רוּחַ) is a foundational concept in biblical theology, appearing nearly 400 times throughout the Hebrew Bible. Its meanings encompass “breath,” “wind,” and “spirit,” and its usage reflects a rich interplay between the physical and metaphysical dimensions of life.

Linguistic Origins and Range of Meaning

Ruach is a Semitic term with cognates in related languages. In Arabic, the word rūḥ (روح) also means “spirit” or “soul,” underscoring a shared linguistic and cultural heritage across the Semitic language family.

In biblical Hebrew, ruach can refer to:

Wind or air currents: As in Exodus 10:13, where a strong east wind brings locusts.

Breath or life-force: As in Genesis 6:17, describing “everything on earth that has the breath (ruach) of life.”

Human spirit or disposition: Reflecting emotional or moral qualities, such as a “broken spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

Divine Spirit: Most significantly, ruach denotes the Spirit of God, as in Genesis 1:2—“the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Theological Significance

The concept of ruach is central to biblical anthropology and theology. It represents the animating principle of life, given by God and returned to Him upon death (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It also signifies divine empowerment, as when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon prophets, judges, and kings to enable leadership, prophecy, or miraculous acts.

In prophetic literature, ruach is often associated with renewal and transformation. Ezekiel 37 describes the valley of dry bones being reanimated by the breath of God, a vivid metaphor for spiritual revival.

Transition to the New Testament

In the Greek New Testament, the word pneuma carries forward the meanings of ruach. It too signifies breath, wind, and spirit, and is used to describe both the Holy Spirit and the human soul. The continuity between ruach and pneuma reflects a shared theological framework across the biblical canon.

Conclusion

it was a strange experience watching "Menatek Ha-Maim", the "Cutoff Man"; I'm not quite sure if it was because of the very high expectation, to the familiar settings (being an Israeli film), or something about its post production (or what I interpret as its effect)----

Quick Education update:

So…. Devin (she is the other American English teacher I work with at school) and I got to meet two more classes that we will be doing small groups with and let me tell you they were a shock. The first one was a mixed fifth grade class that was fun, lively and energetic. They all were very happy to see us. Devin and I both took small groups to work on homework with some of the struggling students. I took the five boys that I was given down the hallway (the teachers may run the classrooms, but the kids rule the hallways. It’s a total jungle) into a small air conditioned room with a chalk board and lots of English books. First I started with the rules. Compared to teachers back in the states I am a very easy going. I let the students develop their own rules and I encourage noise. Compared to most Israeli teachers though I am very strict I think. The kids decided that they should wait their turn to speak and always remember to bring their books and pencils. I had to add my own rule though. I couldn’t take the finger snapping and pointing that they do in the classroom. So I taught them how to raise their hand like we do in the states. I even demonstrated. I waved my left pointer finger in the air while snapping my right hand while yelling “Ani Yisraeli!” (I’m an Israeli!!), they all thought that was really funny. Then I raised my hand and said this is how we do it in America. Giggling they all practiced raising their hands like they would in an English class anywhere between LA and DC.

They were working on he, she, you, me, it. In Hebrew hee means she and hoo means he, so you can see how this would be confusing. I drew a picture of a girl on the chalk board so that I would have a feminine form as a reference and we all started naming pronouns. They would point at me and say “you” and the girl and say “she.” They could point at each other and say he, he, he. Finally we got to the homework and the kids started putting in he, she, you, it, me, and we where necessary.

After lunch I was told that Devin and I would be working together in the most difficult seventh grade class. We were told that they spoke English at a third grade Israeli level which would be a kindergarten level in the USA. We were also told that they were a big challenge. Wow was I in for a surprise. As soon as we walked in I heard screaming. There were only five boys and two girls in the class, and they were all in an uproar. One boy stole another boy’s yarmulke (Jewish head covering) and threw it at a pigeon that was being held captive by another boy. One boy in a red shirt was sitting on the table yelling at the other two at the top of his lungs in Hebrew. Their main teacher walked in and the kids did not seem to even notice, in Israel students always stand up when the teacher enters the room says good morning (or if it’s a religious school they say a prayer) and then sits down. These kids had no respect. Meanwhile the two girls sat at the back of the class talking in Russian. I did not recognize the taller one. She had pale skin and dark black hair with equally dark eyes. Either she was very tall for her age (which is certainly possible with girls at this age group) or she had been held back a level. The other girl I recognized immediately as one of the “Buu Crew” as I like to call them. The Buu Crew is this click here in the school. It’s a group of about six popular girls who are all Buckarian. The Buckarian Jews originally come from Uzbekistan and they speak a language known as Bukhori which is a mixture of Tajik, Uzbek, Hebrew, Russian, and Farsi. I was first introduced to this unique ethnic group when I went on birthright. Half of the people on my trip were Buckarians from an apartment in Queens New York. Apparently Uzbekistan was not very kind to the Jews (what country was) and so they migrated. They tend to be very dark and very tall with deep accents and a love of everything classical. Anyway… a member of the Buu Crew can easily be identified by their ripped skinny jeans, black tank tops, hair in a long pony tail, and their black slip on shoes, also when together they speak eloquently in their virtually secret language. When they meet Russian Jews and they feel like including them they ease into Russian, when the Buu Crew meets Persian Jews they slip into Persian, when they meet Israelis they meander into Hebrew… then when the Buu Crew gets tired of foreign company all the languages they speak meld back into Bukhori and when they get tired of each other they pull out their pitch black nail files and shiny black cell phones.

Back to the boys though. This was crazy; I would never put up with anything like this in the states. I could tell that I was going to be dealing with some serious “learned failure” as well as extreme behavior problems.

First thing is first though… I need to get that pigeon out of the classroom.

As soon as the pigeon was out I walked around and decided to sit next to one of the boys with at thick Arabic accent. As soon as I sat down he moved his chair about eight feet from me and took his backpack with him. Okay I get it…. Just because I’m an American does not mean that I am automatically a celebrity where ever I go. The Israeli teacher a small woman with curly hair and thick glasses shushed the class over and over trying to get them to pay attention. Devin and I looked at each other. Something had to be done we couldn’t just sit here and be bullied by middle schoolers. A couple of the boys tried to get her attention yelling in thickly accented Hebrew. She kept her ground and made sure that they knew she was the teacher. I happened to look at the two girls speaking Russian in the back. Then As the Buu Crew girl rolled her eyes the Russian girl muttered something under her breath “oy vey… Iraqis!” oh yes. There is a lot of ethnic mistrust in Israel.

So these are Iraqis? I decided to take a chance. Before I get to the next part let me say that I do not speak Arabic. I studied for a couple years in college and I know a good amount, but I don’t speak it. That’s not the point though. These boys also don’t speak Arabic. Most Jews were expelled from Iraq a long time ago and so it is their parents that speak Arabic, not them, so I did not need to sound like an Arabic speaker at this point, I just needed to sound like a serious Arabic speaking parent for five precious seconds. In my best accent using the command tense which is the easiest I said calmly but loudly

EDJLESS ALAN! (Sit down now!)

All the boys stared at me. Let me be clear I did not use an angry voice. As a teacher the worst thing you can become is an enemy. I just was clear. In those words I was saying: I am your teacher, as your teacher I want to know where you are coming from, I want to be able to teach you something, and you need to calm down for me to do it. I told them my name was Sam Hedine, except I said Sami with a middle eastern twist and Hedine more like Hadiin with the “H” being more a breath of air than an English letter, you see Arab teachers are notorious for being strict. LOL.

 Meanwhile the Buckarian girl in the back stared with wide eyes… she obviously was not used to languages she can’t understand.