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Prompt

Does Rambam believe in shechina and bas kol. What are they according to him. How does his define Neshama Ruach Nefesh.
EnglishLiturgyCommentariesTanakhMishnahTalmudKabbalah

Sources: all collections; answered in English in the Scholarly style.

Important Limitation

The provided sources contain no Rambam texts on Shekhinah, Bat Kol, or Nefesh/Ruach/Neshamah. The sources are drawn from Talmud, Zohar, Sha'ar HaGilgulim, Chasidut, and other commentators — not from Rambam's Mishneh Torah or Moreh Nevukhim (except one passing reference). What follows is strictly what the retrieved sources say; Rambam's own systematic positions on these topics are not represented in the material provided.

Bat Kol — What the Sources Say

- [Guide for the Perplexed, Part 2, 42:5] — The one retrieved Rambam passage: he classifies Bat Kol as a lesser phenomenon than prophecy. Hagar, Manoah and his wife were not prophets; "the speech they heard, or imagined they heard, was like the bat-kol (prophetic echo)." This implies Bat Kol does not require prophetic preparation and is of lower epistemic standing.

- [Tosefta Sotah 13:4] — After Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) ceased; Israel then availed itself only of Bat Kol.

- [Piskei Tosafot on Sanhedrin 31:1] — "Bat Kol — when a voice goes out from heaven, another voice goes out from within it."

- [Peninei Halakhah, Emunah Umitzvoteha 17:3:3] — Bat Kol is "a divine disclosure transmitting a message, akin to prophecy," called bat kol because it is a derivative (toladah) of the divine voice of prophecy — like an echo of the original, since the divine voice itself is not heard directly (citing Tosafot Sanhedrin 11a). Generally not directed at a specific individual but is a general communication grasped by whoever is worthy.

- [Etz Yosef on Shir HaShirim Rabbah 8:9:3:25] and [Matnot Kehunah on Shir HaShirim Rabbah 8:9:3:21] — Both state identically: prophecy ceased and Bat Kol remained, "but Bat Kol does not accomplish what prophecy accomplished."

- [Rabbeinu Bahya, Devarim 33:8:2] — Lists four ascending levels: Bat Kol → Urim veTumim → Ruach HaKodesh → full prophecy. All are derivatives of the emanation tzedek.

- [Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 1:4:4] and [Rav Nissim Gaon on Eruvin 6b:1] — A Bat Kol at Yavneh declared the law follows Beit Hillel. R. Yehoshua held "ein mashgichin b'vat kol" — Bat Kol is not legally authoritative (referencing the Bava Metzia principle "lo bashamayim hi").

Nefesh / Ruach / Neshamah — What the Sources Say

These sources are Kabbalistic and Chasidic, not Rambam.

- [Sha'ar HaGilgulim 1:4] — Nefesh derives from Asiyah, Ruach from Yetzirah, Neshamah from Beriah. Not all people possess all five soul-levels.

- [Sha'ar HaGilgulim 2:1] — Order of entry: at birth, Nefesh enters first.

- [Sha'ar HaGilgulim 2:4] — Nefesh and Ruach need not reincarnate together; Ruach can descend alone for its own rectification while Nefesh remains above in Tzarur HaChaim.

- [Sha'ar HaGilgulim 4:4] — Most people merit only Nefesh; few in later generations merit Ruach or Neshamah.

- [Zohar, Lech Lecha 17:5] — Once Nefesh and Ruach are rectified, one becomes ready to receive Neshamah. Ruach becomes a "throne" (kurseyya) for the Neshamah to rest upon; the Neshamah is the supreme concealment (setima ila'a) hidden above all.

- [Ba'al Shem Tov, Kuntres Meirat Einayim 17:1] — Citing Zohar: souls are granted in ascending order of merit — Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, then Neshamah to the Neshamah.

- [Chesed LeAvraham, Maayan 2, 49:2] — Some merit only Nefesh, some Nefesh + Ruach, some all three. One who merits all three on weekdays gains all three on Shabbat.

What Is Missing

The sources provided contain no Rambam text on: - His definition or acceptance/rejection of Shekhinah - His halakhic or philosophical stance on Bat Kol beyond the one Guide passage - His own framework of Nefesh/Ruach/Neshamah (as in Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah or Shemonah Perakim)

For Rambam's positions, one must consult Moreh Nevukhim I:25, I:28, II:12, II:36–38, Shemonah Perakim ch. 1, and Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah ch. 1–4 directly — none of those texts were retrieved here.

References

  1. Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot.1:4:4
  2. Rav Nissim Gaon on Eruvin.6b:1
  3. Peninei Halakhah, Emunah Umitzvoteha, .17:3:3
  4. Piskei Tosafot on Sanhedrin.31:1
  5. Notes by Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman on Netzach Yisrael, .22:11
  6. Etz Yosef on Shir HaShirim Rabbah.8:9:3:25
  7. Matnot Kehunah on Shir HaShirim Rabbah.8:9:3:21
  8. Rabbeinu Bahya, Devarim.33:8:2
  9. Guide for the Perplexed, Part 2, .42:5
  10. Tosefta Sotah.13:4
  11. Zohar, Shemot.44:3
  12. Sha'ar HaGilgulim.2:4
  13. Sha'ar HaGilgulim.4:4
  14. The Beginning of Wisdom, .4:1
  15. Sha'ar HaGilgulim.2:1
  16. Sha'ar HaGilgulim.4:1
  17. Ba'al Shem Tov, Kuntres Meirat Einayim.17:1
  18. Sha'ar HaGilgulim.1:4
  19. Chesed LeAvraham, Even Shetiya, Maayan 4.8:2
  20. Chesed LeAvraham, Even Shetiya, Maayan 2.49:2
  21. Zohar, Lech Lecha.17:5
  22. Be'er Mayim Chaim, Genesis.2:7:42
  23. Berakhot.10a:25
  24. Tiferet Shlomo, on Torah, Vayechi.16
  25. Sulam on Zohar, Vayigash.15:1
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