and from the Ari:"I call heaven and earth to bear witness that any person, Jew or Gentile, man or woman , freeman or slave, if his deeds be worthy, then Ruach HaKodesh will descend upon him" (Tana DeBei Eliahu Rabba 9)
"The spirit known as Ruach is thus the Breath of God that enters into man's being".1
Ruach HaKodesh is commonly translated in the Tanakh (the Old Testement) as "the Holy Spirit". Ruach means "spirit" but this word also means both "cool" and "wind". This describes the experience of self-realization; we feel a cool breeze as the Shekhina blesses us and our attention ascends to a beautiful unification with G_d.
The word ruach is also very closely related to the word reach, a fragrance.2 Many when they achieve self-realization get a beautiful fragrance of rose or sandlewood.
This self-realization is available to everyone regardless of race, sex, or social status. According to your deeds and your pure desire you will be blessed.
1 and 2) From "Meditation and the Bible" by Aryeh Kaplan. Samuel Weiser, Inc., York Beach, Maine. 1978.
