invisible influence of God as the first cause of every the רוח הקדש thing Holy ? His answer was, That Holy Spirit is Himself the primitive cause of all that is holy and good and of all Divine knowledge. His versa, Amsterdam Ed.) : ,109 .xxx., p 8 תקוני הזהר) words were these איהו רוח המשיח כמה דאתמר ואיהו רוח הקדש ואיהו רוח חכמה ובינה רוח עצה וגבורה רוח דעת ויראת י"י : i.e., "It is the Spirit of the Messiah, as it is said, Yea, it is the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord." (Is. xi. 2.) $ 5. THE HOLY SPIRIT, HAS ALL THE DIVINE רוח הקדש ATTRIBUTES: HE IS OMNIPOTENT, OMNIPRESENT, AND OMNISCIENT. p. 50, that ,ס' יצירה I have been instructed in ,that is ; רוח מרוח the Holy Spirit, is רוח הקדש ,the living God אלהים חיים Spirit of Spirit, which is who is a Spirit. It follows, therefore, that the Holy Spirit must have the same Divine attributes as God; hence we read in Psalm cxxxix. 7-10: אנה אלך מרוחך ואנה מפניך אברח : אם אסק שמים שם אתה ואציעה שאול הנך : אשא כנפי שחר תנחני ותאחזני אשכנה באחרית ים : גם שם ידך ימינך : ואמר אך חשך ישופני ולילה אור בעדני : גם חשך לא יחשיך ממך ולילה כיום יאיר כחשיכה כאורה : i.e., "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me," &c. , the Holy Spirit, being God, I am taught by our prophet Isaiah, xl. 13, that He is Almighty, and ordereth all things in heaven and earth after His sovereign will: מי תכן את רוח יהוה ואיש עצתו יודיענו : i.e., "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor, has taught Him?” That the П, the Spirit of the Lord, is the Holy Spirit, Jonathan ben Uziel teaches me in his ,מן תקין ית רוח קודשא :Targum, rendering it thus i.e., "Who has directed the Holy Spirit?" WHAT IS THE OFFICE $ 6. THE HOLY רוח הקדש OF SPIRIT? After having been taught by my teachers what the office of , the Keeper of Israel, was and is in the economy of God, my mind became engrossed with the thought of what office the Holy Spirit has. I found that pm, the Holy Spirit, in the divine dispensations, had to rule, to guide, and to instruct men in all that is holy and good; but that man, before and after the deluge, had, with only few exceptions, resisted and rebelled against Him. In Genesis vi. 3, we read as follows: ויאמר יהוה לא ידון רוחי באדם לעלם בשגם הוא בשר והיו ימיו מאה ועשרים שנה : i.e., “ And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh," &c. Modern writers, as quoted by R. Aben Ezra, take it to be the soul of man which is called the Spirit of God, but not so my venerable and ancient teachers. The Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan ben Uziel has these words: הלא יהבית רוח קדשי בהום מן בגלל די יעבדון עובדין טבין והא אבאישו עובדיהון : i.e., "Have I not given My Holy Spirit in them, in order that they should do good works, but behold, they have corrupted their works?" § 7. HOW CAN I KNOW GOD FROM HIS WORD. Many who read the Word of God, and study it day and night, continue nevertheless to have very confused and imperfect ideas of the nature and government of God, though possessed of vigorous understandings and much learning. R. Simeon ben Jochai gave me this lesson, that none can know God, that, Three Spirits,' can be one, except 1 See page 33. the Holy Spirit, reveals this secret to רוח הקדש him. His words are these : הא תלת שמהן אינון • היך אינון חד ואף על גב דקרינן אחד אינון חד ? היד אינון חד ? אלא בחזיונא דרוח קודשא אתיידע וג' : i.e.," But how can three Names1 be one? Are they really one, because we call them one? How three can be one, can only be known through the revelation of the Holy Spirit," &c. (See part ii., § 7, p. 22, 3.) § 8. THE HOLY SPIRIT, WAS, FROM רוח הקדש THE BEGINNING, THE GUIDE OF THE ISRAEL OF GOD. In Deut. xxxii. 12, it is said: יהוה בדד ינחנו ואין עמו אל נכר : i.e., "So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him." When I compare this passage with Isaiah lxiii. 14, I find that this was the Lord, the Holy Spirit. כבהמה. בבקעה תרד רוח יהוה תניחנו כן נהגת עמך לעשות לך שם תפארת : i.e., "As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst Thou lead Thy people, to make Thyself a glorious name." These words are thus explained by Aben Ezra : ואחר צאתם מהים הוליכם השם במדבר • כבהמה שהיא יורדת בבקעה לאט : כן רוח השם נחה את ישראל : 1 The signification of Names or Name, see p. 18, Note 5. W in the rabbinic language often signifies God. i.e., "After having come out of the sea, has God led them through the wilderness; as a beast safely descends into the valley, so did the Spirit of God lead Israel." ,י"ה"ו"ה the Holy Spirit, here called רוח הקדש Jehovah, which He is, was Israel's guide. But Israel, in the wilderness, sinned against the Holy Spirit, and had to bear His judgments, as we read, (Is. lxiii. 10): והמה מרו ועצבו את רוח קדשו ויהפך להם לאויב הוא נלחם בם : i.e., "But they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit, therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them.” An Inference. Only a living and substantive Being can be vexed, and not an inanimate and unintelligent power or attribute; therefore the Holy Spirit must be, as He is, one of the three лn, Beings, in the , the only true God. § 9. A, THE HOLY SPIRIT, HAS SENT THE PRO- In Isaiah xlviii. 16, we read: 78 MNYI b, i.e., "And now the Lord God, and His Spirit, hath sent Me." To the three, or, Beings, in the |