KABBALAH: Part 2 - Secrets hidden in the Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet is more than letters. Each letter has a number and belongs to a group of nine letters, and each letter holds a special esoteric meaning. When the letters are combined into words and sentences, the spoken and written words reveal knowledge, wisdom and understanding regardless of the conversation. Hence, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear,” takes on a new meaning!
The Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, is believed to be very old and may have been a practice of the Prophets and of the Fathers. However, the Zohar, perhaps the largest single body of written material on the Kabbalah, is rabbinical. There was a resurgence of the Kabbalah about 700 years ago.
The Hebrew alphabet contains 22 letters. Five letters are written differently at the end of words. The 22 letters plus the final form of the five letters combine to form a complete alphabet of 27 letters.
The 27 letters are divided into three groups of nine characters each in alphabetical order. The letters are given the numbers 1 – 9, 10 – 90, and 100 – 900. The letters and groups are also given special meanings. The first group represents the time before the beginning. The second group represents the time commencing with the manifestation of all things through the creation process and is our time. The third group represents the final manifestation of Life following the resurrections. This group contains the final form of the five special letters. In other words, each group of letters represents a different phase of a master plan for Life.
Each of the letters in each of the groups has a meaning that pertains specifically to the state of the process and to archetypes in that group. The first group of letters shows the different aspects of the meditative creation of the grand plan: the creation of Knowledge.
The second group of letters shows the archetypes of the creation wherein exists a plurality of both life and death,
and good and evil. This represents the time that we live in now. It can be considered the time of the creation of potential and the prototype.
The third group of letters shows the reality of the final manifestation of Life, where there is only good and abundance of Life. It shows a future with no death and no evil that is the final Manifestation of that which was conceived before the beginning in the Grand Plan.
Aleph(1), Beth(2), Gimel(3), Daleth(4), He(5), Vau(6), Zayin(7), Cheth(8), and Teth(9) contain the original pattern or knowledge(archetype) of what is to be manifested. All ideas and knowledge behind the creation of all things was first formed and is represented by the first nine letters.
Yod(10), Caph(20), Lamed(30), Mem(40), Nun(50), Samekh(60), Ayin(70), Pe(80), Tzaddi(90) are higher states of the first nine. This is middle or temporary manifestation of what is contained in the plan. This state was never intended to last forever and so contains life and death, good and evil. In this time that which is good will pass through this “fire” and be proven to surpass both evil and death. This is the time of Man (male and female.)
Qoph(100), Resh(200), Shin(300), Tau(400), Final Caph(500), Final Mem(600), Final Nun(700), Final Pe(800), and Final Tzaddi(900) represent the most exalted state conceived of in the first nine. Those that pass through the middle state and come out purified will shine like the stars and lead the rest of human kind (Man:male and female) to deathless existence. This is the time that all of creation waits for. It is the time of the Kingdom of Elahim and the revelation of the Sons of Elahim (the exalted state of Man.)
In short, hidden within the Hebrew alphabet and in connection with Hebraic mysticism lies the entire plan of Life from the time “before the beginning” until the time of deathless existence.
As noted, whenever Hebrew is written or spoken the letters prophesy “higher” knowledge, regardless of the “lower” content.
For example, the Hebrew word in Genesis 1:1 for “In the beginning” is “berashith”. The names of the letters are Beth, Resh, Aleph, Shin, Yod and Teth. However, when we add the esoteric meanings of the Hebrew letters we get:
All containers, vessels, habitations (Beth:2) were contained in the universal cosmic container (Resh:200) in order to bring about the manifestation of the dual principle of life and death, positive and negative (Aleph:1). This produced the steady-state continuity (Yod:10), which was conceived by the union of the Spirit of the Creator (Shin:300) with the initial female power (Teth:9).
There is only one universal cosmic container (Resh) and it contains all other containers. Nothing is left out, including the manifestation of the Creator. The act of creation is revealed here as an act of conception followed by birth through the union of male and female powers in the Creator.
Reflecting back on the information in the Upanishads, and in the Egyptian sources, (See Before the Beginning) there is a very strong parallel between what was written in them and what is contained in the esoteric meaning of the Hebrew word we translate “In the beginning.” This meaning implies that there were events and powers before the beginning that worked together to produce universal and unending existence. That includes the universes including the one we experience now and the promised “New Heavens and New Earth.”
It also includes the manifestation of the Creator in the container of the Spiritual Domain or Heaven and through the link of Life that is shared by All, both Elohim and Man.
In Genesis 1:1 the Creator’s name is Elohim. The Hebrew letters in that name are Aleph, Lamed, He, Yod and Final Mem. Here is what they tell us:
The dual principle of all that exists and all that does not exist, of life and death, positive and negative (Aleph:1) is linked to our conscious awareness (Lamed:30) and to universal Life (He:5) and was manifested in the temporary state (Yod:10) through the the power of what will be the final creative state of Man in both mind and body: a Son in the Family of Elahim (Final Mem:600.)
In other words, the esoteric meaning of Elahim is: The initial principle (Aleph) led to our current existence, which is linked to our conscious awareness (Lamed) of the Creator, to our Self — to universal Life (He). All that exists now is a manifestation of the initial thoughts (Aleph) in a temporary state (Yod) and was produced by the power that will eventually be in Man forever (Final Mem.)
El is All and in All and is manifested to All through all that is created. Life brings us to conscious awareness and realization. Elohim is a manifestation of the thoughts and knowledge of El. And out of El also came One who was chosen before the beginning through whom will come the final Manifestation:
Through Him [the Chosen One] all things were made. Without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was Life and that Life was the Light of Man. John 1:3-4
Starting from a principle or completed thoughts and meditations (Aleph: 1) came the manifestation of life and death, good and evil, in (Yod:10), but from this, as was designed from the before the beginning, will come the exalted state of Qoph (100) wherein there is only Life and Good.
“When the most mysterious wished to reveal Himself, He first produced a single point which was transmuted into a thought, and in this He … graved with the sacred and mystic lamp a mystic and most holy design, which was a wondrous edifice issuing from the midst of thought. This … was the beginning of the edifice, existent and non-existent, deep-buried, unknowable by name….And upon this secret the world is built.” Zohar 1:6 (1:1b-2a).
As I said this is an esoteric and mystical revelation of the entire plan of all that exists and does not yet exist, both seen and unseen: it is the knowledge and understanding of our future.
Next, we will examine the role that Hebraic sacred geometry plays in helping us see the past, present, and future hinted at in the current Kabbalah tree.
Dr. Timothy J. Sakach, Ph.D.
Elohim Connection
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Church, Discernment, Elohim, End Times, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Judaism, Kabbalah, Life, Resurrection, Spirituality, Theology, religion, spiritual
May I ask you about the two Hebrew letters that are found untranslated according to The Interlinear Bible in Hebrew, Greek and English, where the letters “Aleph” and “Tav” (or tof, I’ve seen different variations)are found after the words “In the beginning”? I noticed them and learned they are (or were) the first and last letters of the Biblical Hebrew alephbet.
I am curious because, to my amazement, in the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, Jesus calls Himself “Alpha and Omega”, Greek for “A to Z” (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). Are you aware of them? Is there any particularly noted reason for the letters being there, and not “translated”? Thank you
El Besino (Spanish for “the neighbor”)
Love thy neighbor
Love, El Besino
Dear Neighbor:
The word made of the letters, Aleph, Tau is written between the word Elohim and the word translated:”the heavens” in Genesis 1:1. It also appears before the word translated: “the earth” where it contains the conjunction “and.” There are other places in Scripture where it appears untranslated. It is classed as a “particle.” It is translated using various English particles. For example, “Enoch walked with God after he begat )( Methusaleh.” In this it is translated “with” and left untranslated where it appears before Methusaleh. In other places it is translated: of, on, into, from, for, against.
Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses, actually translates the word:
As far as the statements in the Book of Revelation are concerned, the question is, “Was the book first written in Aramaic or Greek?” We don’t know. But if translated into Hebrew, it would read, “I am the Aleph and the Tau.” Also his name would be “Eyahushuah, HaMessiah” and the word translated “God” would be “Elohim.”
The esoteric meaning from the Hebrew alphabet “Aleph(1) Tau(400)” would say, “I am the one who conceived in thought and is responsible for all that is (Aleph) and I am the archetype of all future spiritual Life (Tau),” where “archetype” means “the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies.” So He is both the originator and the prototype. He is the Firstborn, but not the only born or last born. His plan was to become like us, so that we might become like Him.
Timothy Sakach, Ph. D.
OF COURSE YOU KNOW YOUR ALEF-BEIS, BUT STILL,
GET READY TO LEARN IT AGAIN…FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!
Title: Understanding the Alef-Beis
Author: Dovid Leitner
Publisher: Feldheim
Reviewed by: A. Schreiber
For many of us - in the early, formative years - it may have been our first encounter with any “formalized learning.” And looking back, those lessons may be among the most valuable we will ever experience in our lives.
What lessons am I talking about? Learning the alef-beis. Mastering the Hebrew alphabet.
After all, once you’ve learned the alef-beis, all sorts of doors begin to open: letters combine to form words, words turn into p’sukim, p’sukim join together to become texts, and before you know it - Chumash, Mishnah, Halachah, Siddur, Meforshim – the accumulated treasury, insights, and knowledge of generations of Sages are there at your fingertips, and all because - at a very tender age - you mastered the 22 building blocks of the Hebrew alphabet.
Any alphabet, really, is an amazing learning tool. The ability to record, articulate, and communicate simple or complex thought – through an organized system of symbols - is an awesome accomplishment.
But as great as the accomplishment is, this is where Hebrew, and every other alphabet in the world, simply part ways. The Jewish nation is an Am Kodosh and the Hebrew language is loshon ha’kodesh – the sacred tongue. All languages are of human origin. Loshon ha’kodesh – the Hebrew language – is of Divine origin, as the Zohar states: “Hashem looked into the letters of the Torah and created the universe.” Having been created by the Al-mighty, the letters of the alef-beis are inherently holy; they are the spiritual building blocks of creation and contain infinite depth and wisdom.
To treat, understand, or merely employ the letters of the Hebrew alphabet – in the same manner we would any other language – would be an error of immense proportion. Imagine owning a private plane and using it exclusively for city driving. Sure, it’ll take you places (assuming you’re allowed to drive on a city street), but consider how much more that plane is capable of. Imagine how high, how far, how fast you could go. Picture all the many different places you could see or visit once those wings take to the air.
So, too, our sacred alef-beis: There is so much depth, so many facets and dimensions to these letters that we drastically short-change ourselves if we are not aware of at least some of the beauty and power these letters possess.
So, it’s time to learn the alef-beis all over again.
And just like piloting a plane calls for special driving lessons; you’ll also need driving lessons to re-learn the Hebrew alphabet. Fortunately, a marvelous and fascinating new book entitled Understanding the Alef-Beis, by Dovid Leitner, can help us immensely as we navigate from one letter to another.
The author bases his text on a host of classic seforim that deal with the alef-beis, and he is quick to point out that his book is “introductory” in nature and by no means exhaustive. Even so, he addresses a variety of engaging topics and provides a vast array of fascinating information.
One chapter deals with the sequence of letters, simple and composite letters (a reish, for example, is simple, but an alef, consisting of a vav and two yuds, is composite); the origin of the five final letters (Do you know where a final mem appears in the middle of a word and a regular mem appears at the end? And why that is?). There’s also a wonderful discussion of the Gemara (Shabbos, 104) that explains the “grouping of letters” in the alphabetic order. (Did you know that there are also 26 p’sukim in TaNach that contain the entire alef-beis, and one posuk that contains all the letters as well as the final five? Do you know where these p’sukim are?) You’ll discover all of this in Chapter one.
Naturally, we’re accustomed to the order of letters that runs straight from alef to tav, but Dovid Leitner informs us – and explains - that there are 7 different methods of grouping the letters together; in other words, another 7 sequenced arrangements of the very same letters. And of course, this is not a matter of letter or word games, but each distinct order reveals different levels and layers of meaning and understanding of Torah.
How about the shapes of the letters, large and small letters as they appear in different p’sukim, suspended letters (Have you noticed those?), full and deficient spellings, the crowns over the letters. For all this, I refer you to Chapter 3.
Now, I happen to be “mathematically challenged” so it’s to the author’s great credit that he could take a unit on gematrios (the various methods whereby the letters carry corresponding numerical values), and make that material accessible to me. To see how the numbers relate to the letters, and to see what can be learned out from this - is to see how one language is somehow mysteriously embedded within another. After chapters such as these, it becomes easy to see how loshon ha’kodesh simply bears little or no resemblance whatsoever to any other language in the world.
There is so much more to Dovid Leitner’s text that one review simply cannot cover it all – notrikon, roshei teivos and sofei teivos, letter permutations, an eye-opening discussion and examination of each and every letter, and a special chapter on the vowels (which the Medrash says have their source in a realm, even higher then that of the letters themselves) – but suffice it to say that any reader will find this to be a rich resource that blends learning, hashkafah, and novel insights in a way that will have you eagerly turning the pages of this fascinating work.
Understanding the Alef-Beis contains a wealth of varied, even complex, material, but the author’s writing style is always accessible, straightforward and pleasant, and he succeeds in making this wondrous subject available to any and all readers. Open to any page and you’ll find something that captivates and readily holds your attention.
I don’t know what your experience was like the first time you learned the alef-beis, but this second time around, I can assure you that you’re in for one marvelous ride.
Very interesting take on things. You seem to have put allot of thought into the subject.
amazing wondrous ;fills my depths -deep calling to deep