Neshamah — The Higher Intellectual Soul
The third level of soul, tied to intellect and spiritual insight, considered the truly distinctive breath of the divine within a human being.
Neshamah takes its name directly from Genesis's description of God breathing 'the breath of life' into the first human, language Kabbalists read as marking this soul-level as uniquely divine in origin rather than simply an extension of animal vitality. Where Ruach governs emotional character, Neshamah is associated with intellectual capacity and specifically with the ability to engage Torah study at a genuinely contemplative level — it is the soul-layer through which a person can grasp abstract, non-bodily truth. Kabbalists generally treat Neshamah as present in potential from birth but requiring active cultivation through study and mitzvot to become fully operative, distinguishing it from Nefesh, which functions automatically. Some sources describe Neshamah as departing the body during sleep to be spiritually 'refreshed' at its divine source, an idea reflected in the traditional morning blessing thanking God for restoring the soul each day.
He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life
Zohar