ANSWERS: 6
  • I don't think Jews believe in the Holy Spirit but I am sure that Nevets will let us know.
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit#Judaism "Most Jews consider the Holy Spirit to be a thoroughly Christian concept."
  • It doesn't seem that nevets or Chabad Rabbi are around at the moment. They would be the experts on this. I tried to get into the Jewish Encyclopedia online, but it wasn't opening...however Wikipedia did give a short comment: Judaism as a whole does not have a developed pneumatology. Most Jews consider the Holy Spirit to be a thoroughly Christian concept. "The designation of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost, stems from a Hebrew figure of speech, the ruah hakodesh ("holy spirit"). In Jewish usage, however, this concept was never identified with a separate person, but with a Divine power which could fill men, as, for instance, the prophets." - The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, 1943, 1969, see: "Trinity", pp. 308. See also: Shekhinah In the first verse of the Torah there is the reference to The Spirit hovering over the waters and intimately involved in Creation. Some translate Spirit here "wind" or "Wind", which might be true in light of a Owen Barfield context. There might be a question as to whether wind hovers or blows though.
  • The concept of "The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit" is Christian. Jews don't teach about "the Holy Spirit" as an entity. According to Jewish teachings, G-d is One. This embodies the following concepts: 1. There is only one G-d. No other being participated in the work of creation. 2. G-d is a unity. He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes. Any attempt to ascribe attributes to G-d is merely man's imperfect attempt to understand the infinite. 3. G-d is the only being to whom we should offer praise. The Shema can also be translated as "The L-rd is our G-d, The L-rd alone," meaning that no other is our G-d, and we should not pray to any other. # http://www.jewfaq.org/g-d.htm ChabadRabbi has written a must-read answer here: # http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/174196/565979
  • Nothing. They do not have the concept.
  • It’s not entirely accurate to say that Judaism doesn't believe in "Holy Spirit". It is, after all a term used both in Scripture and in Rabbinic literature. For example, in the Bible's account of Creation, it refers to the "spirit of G-d (that) hovered on the face of the waters". What Jews do not believe in is THE "Holy Spirit", in other words a component of a G-dhead that is referred to as its own entity. Judaism understands that G-d relates to the world in two primary ways: 1) The great, mighty Creator (somewhat impersonal) and 2) The "Divine Presence" (Shechina), which describes the personal, intimate relationship that G-d shows the world (the Hebrew "Shechinah" is derived from "shachen", meaning neighbor). That's probably the closest that you'll get in Judaism to a reference to G-d’s Holy Spirit. Classicaly, though, when the Talmudic sources refer to the “holy spirit”, they mean a level of minor prophecy. This is the most common usage of the term, describing when G-d inspires humans with superhuman insight.

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