Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah

In Western thought, we think of Mind & Body as a duality. With the recent preeminence of Artificial Intelligence, I got thinking, what is the alternative?  Turns out, it is far more complicated in many traditions. In many traditions, there are layers between the body and conventional soul. Others see the soul as united but distinct entities.

Many different traditions – Chinese, Indian, Native American, Ancient Egyptian, Jewish…

Jewish? Ok, that is interesting. There are three words that all translate to soul, three different kinds or parts of the soul: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah.
Actually there are five, but the later two are later interpretations and are poorly attested in scripture.

I have seen these variously described as a chain, or as coats that each envelop the previous ones.

According to Maimonides and Kabbalists, prophecy requires:

• A perfected Nefesh (ethical conduct),
  A harmonized Ruach (emotions and imagination),
  And an activated Neshamah (intellectual connection to divine truths).

• Higher prophets (e.g., Moses) may access Chayah, experiencing pure presence without symbols or intermediaries.

Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah teach that during resurrection:

• The Nefesh returns to the body,

• The Ruach and Neshamah descend again if the person has earned them.

• The soul reintegrates all five parts in purified form in the world to come.

This is all quite interesting. Of all of these, the one that most caught my attention was Neshamah.
It is distinct from Nefesh (basic biological actions, innermost core) and Ruach (basic human existence)

• The God-breathed part of the soul (Genesis 2:7).

• The seat of moral awareness, spiritual insight, and divine connection (Job 32:8).

• Distinct from mere “life-force” (nefesh) or “spirit-emotion” (ruach).

• A higher, often preexistent and eternally pure aspect of the human being.

• Not always fully “present”—it may hover over a person, entering more deeply as they become more righteous (Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah).

In LDS terms, you might say:

The neshamah is akin to the eternal and premortal spirit-intelligence of a person, including spirtual gifts, endowed with divine light, moral discernment, and the capacity for higher communion with God—something awakened and illuminated by the Light of Christ, and fully activated by the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

• In Kabbalistic thought, the neshamah descends from a higher world (Beriah) into this one.

• Though clothed in flesh and forgetful, it retains a yearning for God, echoing our concept of the veil.

• The neshamah is the divine memory or spark that “knows” more than we can recall. It is that part of us that recognizes truth, is stirred by eternal covenants, and is drawn to light and holiness—even when our conscious mind has forgotten why.

• It enables binah (understanding)—not just learning facts, but knowing with the soul. It requires study, but also spiritual witness. The Zohar teaches that Torah must be “known in the heart”, not just in the mind—an echo of internalized testimony.

• Higher truths cannot be imposed externally; they must resonate with the neshamah to be real. A person may have nefesh (physical drive) and ruach (emotion), but without neshamah, their actions lack deep understanding.

• “Receiving the neshamah” means becoming truly awake to truth—not believing because of others, but because it burns within.

It is as though, this concept of the Neshamah, is a part of our soul, a pre-existent part. It is as though a testimony is not just an abstract knowledge, but a literal spirit organ, or body. As if some of us have been walking around with giant mech suits, and we never comprehended the magnitude of our own blessing.

Just a few verses that take on new meaning:

Genesis 2:7

“Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (nishmat chayyim); and man became a living soul (nefesh ?ayyah).”

Job 32:8

“But it is the spirit (ruach) in a man, the breath of the Almighty (neshamah shaddai), that gives them understanding.”

Job 33:4

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty (neshamah shaddai) gives me life.”

Isaiah 42:5

“Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens… who gives breath (neshamah) to the people on it and spirit (ruach) to those who walk in it.”

Proverbs 20:27

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inward parts.”
(Hebrew: Ner YHVH nishmat adam)