אַאַמוּ"ר כּוֹתֵב שֶׁשָּׁמַע בְּשֵׁם רַבֵּנוּ הַזָּקֵן, שֶׁכָּל הַמְּחַבְּרִים עַד הַטַ"ז וְהַשַׁ"ךְ, וְהֵם בִּכְלָל, עָשׂוּ הַחִבּוּרִים שֶׁלָּהֶם בְּרוּחַ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ, וְעִנְיַן רוּחַ הַקּוֹדֶשׁ אִיתָא בְּקָרְבַּן הָעֵדָה סוֹף פֶּרֶק ג' דִּשְׁקָלִים שֶׁזֶּהוּ שֶׁמְּגַלִּים לוֹ רָזֵי תּוֹרָה, שֶׁזֶּהוּ מִבְּחִינַת הֶעְלֵם דְּחָכְמָה.

My revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab], writes1 that he heard it cited in the name of the Alter Rebbe2 that all the Torah authors until, and including, the authors of Turei Zahav3 and Sifsei Kohen,4 composed their works by ruach hakodesh, Divine inspiration.

The author of Korban HaEdah,5 at the end of ch. 3 of Tractate Shekalim, explains ruach hakodesh as a revelation of the secrets of the Torah. This revelation comes to an individual at the [preconscious] level of thought which [in the language of the Kabbalah] is called he’elem deChochmah [lit., “the latent dimension of wisdom”].

Probing Beneath the Surface

The Rebbe Rashab perceived an additional meaning in the concept that certain texts were written with ruach hakodesh: they include insights that reach deeper and further than the author himself had intended.6

For example, in yeshivos and rabbinical courts, the writings of various sages are carefully analyzed to derive the necessary laws, and conclusions are often drawn from the subtlest nuances of a sage’s words. A student may thus wonder if the sage really intended all the concepts that are attributed to him.

However, the author of Urim VeTumim7 explains that the sage’s own intention is not of exclusive importance. Since such texts were written with ruach hakodesh, the author’s intention is not the sole determining factor of what his words mean. His words are G‑d’s words, as it were, and not merely his own. It is thus possible that they convey inferences to concepts that he had not knowingly considered himself.