Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Our English word “inspire” is from the Latin word inspirare which means “to breathe upon,” i.e., infusing something with life. In religious terms, inspiration denotes the spiritual affect that occurs spontaneously enables a person to think, speak, and act in ways that transcend beyond one’s ordinary capabilities. The idea of inspiration clearly points to a spiritual reality that has a profound impact upon us and the world around us. In Hebraic terms, the metaphor that best conveys this process is the word ruach, which was  later redefined in ancient rabbinical writings as ruach hakodesh, or ‘Holy Inspiration.”

It is interesting to contrast the word inspiration with the word “revelation,” which comes from the Latin revelation, signifying “to removing the veil.” The experience of revelation heightens our capacity to embrace life with greater self-awareness, passion, freedom and integration. Yet as Heschel notes in his writings, revelation is never merely a personal affair of a mystical kind; it aims to transform the societal world into an ethical domain where the rights of all are respected.

When defined from this perspective, revelation and inspiration are two sides of the same coin. In the classic biblical sense of the word, revelation opens our imagination to endless new possibilities of meaning. Indicative of this is the blessing we recite every day: “Blessed are You Adonoy, the Giver of the Torah.” Rabbinic wisdom conveys a timeless truth about revelation—Sinai wasn’t a onetime event; the spirit of Sinai continues to unfold newer meanings and insights that expands and transforms human consciousness even in our present era.

Inspiration has the power to produce a revelatory experience. To a listener, or to a reader of a sacred text, inspiration can bring about a profound life change that summons the person to a embrace a radical new understanding of the Self and God,  which affects the way s/he relates to the world. The Mishnah reflects such an understanding:

“Turn it over and over because everything is in it and reflect upon it and grow old and worn in it and do not leave it, for you have no better lot than that” (Avot 5:22). Barry Levy further points out that there are other variant readings that have a direct bearing on Ben Bag-bag’s statement:הפוך בה והפוך בה דכולה בה דכולך בה  (hafok bah we-happek bah de-kola bah wekolak bah), “ . . . because everything is in it, and all of you is in it . . .” This reading suggests, every personal life experience and situation finds expression in the words of Scripture. Yes, the Tanakh has the ability to awaken the psyche and transform the soul–provided one is spiritually awake and receptive.

Sometimes revelation in the Bible occurs in an altered state of consciousness such as in a dream or a visionary experience. Maimonides felt convinced that whenever an angel appears in the Bible, it is always in the context of a dream because the human senses cannot perceive angels. [2] In contrast, inspiration usually occurs while the individual is in a wakeful state of mind.

Although the concept of inspiration is nowhere specifically addressed in the Tanakh, it is obvious  that the prophets, mystics and pious folk of our faith were profoundly inspired by the Spirit of God that engulfed them.

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Notes:

[1] Guide to the Perplexed, 2:42.

[2] See also  Ramban’s commentary  on Gen 18: 1, where he disagrees with Maimonides on this matter.