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1 Old Greenwich, Connecticut | 2011 • 5771 Wednesday, 3:30 P.M. Letters of Light: The Mysticism of the Hebrew Alphabet Mrs. Chaya Epstein C

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1Old Greenwich, Connecticut | 2011 • 5771

Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.

Letters of Light:

The Mysticism of the Hebrew

AlphabetMrs. Chaya Epstein

C

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A Creative Force

z Avot 5:1

בעש�ה מאמרות נב�א העולם

The world was created by means of ten (Divine) utterances…

z Genesis 2:19

ויצר ה' א�קים מן האדמה כל חית השדה ואת כל עוף השמים ויבא אל האדם

ל�אות מה יק�א לו וכל אשר יק�א לו האדם נפש חיה הוא שמו:

HaShem had formed every wild beast and every bird of heaven out of the

ground. He [now] brought [them] to the man to see what he would call

each one. Whatever the man called each living thing was its name.

z Bereishit Rabba 17:15

א"ר אחא בשעה שבא הקב"ה לבראת את האדם נמלך במלאכי השרת אמר להן

נעשה אדם אמרו לו אדם זה מה טיבו אמר להן חכמתו מרובה משלכם הביא

לפניהם את הבהמה ואת החיה ואת העוף אמר להם זה מה שמו ולא היו יודעין

העבירן לפני אדם אמר לו זה מה שמו אמר זה שור זה חמור זה סוס וזה גמל

ואתה מה שמך אמר לו אני נאה להקרא אדם שנבראתי מן האדמה ואני מה שמי

א"ל לך נאה להקראות אדני שאתה אדון לכל בריותיך א"ר אחא (ישעיה מב)

אני ה' הוא שמי הוא שמי שקרא לי אדם הראשון.

Rav Acha said:

At the time that the Holy One Blessed Be He created man he took counsel

with the malachim. He said, “Let us make man.”

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They said to Him, “What is beneficial about him?”

[G-d] said to them, “[Man’s] wisdom is greater than yours.”

[G-d] brought before them animals, and wild beasts and fowl. He asked

them, “What is each one’s name?” And they knew not.

He brought them before man, [who] said “This is an ox, this is a donkey,

this is a house, this is a camel.”

“What is your name?” [G-d asked.]

He answered, “It is appropriate to call me ‘Adam,’ for I was created from

the adamah.”

“And what is my name?”

He said to Him, “It is appropriate to call you ‘Adn—’ for you are the Adon

to all your creations.”

Rav Acha said [that the verse] “I am HaShem, that is my name (Isaiah 42),”

[refers to the fact that] this is the name Adam HaRishon called Me.

z Talmud Tractate Berachot 55a

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב יודע היה בצלאל לצרף אותיות שנבראו בהן שמים

וארץ כתיב הכא וימלא אתו רוח אלקים בחכמה ובתבונה ובדעת וכתיב התם

ה' בחכמה יסד ארץ כונן שמים בתבונה וכתיב בדעתו תהומות נבקעו.

Bezalel knew how to combine the letters with which heaven and earth

were created. As it says: “I have filled him with G-dly spirit, with wisdom,

understanding, and knowledge;” and it says “HaShem founded the world

with wisdom, He established the heavens with understanding,” and it says

“with knowledge depths are opened.”

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z Shaar Hayichud VehaEmunah,Chapter 1:

וידעת היום והשבות אל לבבך כי ה' הוא האלקים בשמים וממעל ועל הארץ

מתחת אין עוד. וצריך להבין וכי תעלה על דעתך שיש אלקים נשרה במים

מתחת לארץ שצריך להזהיר כ"כ והשבות אל לבבך. הנה כתיב לעולם ה' דברך

נצב בשמים ופי' הבעש"ט ז"ל כי דברך שאמרת יהי רקיע בתוך המים וגו'

תיבות ואותיות אלו הן נצבות ועומדות לעולם בתוך רקיע השמים ומלובשות

בתוך כל הרקיעים לעולם להחיותם כדכתיב ודבר אלהינו יקום לעולם ודבריו

חיים וקיימים לעד כו' כי אילו היו האותיות מסתלקות כרגע ח"ו וחוזרות

למקורן היו כל השמים אין ואפס ממש והיו כלא היו כלל וכמו קודם מאמר יהי

רקיע כו' ממש וכן בכל הברואים שבכל העולמות עליונים ותחתונים ואפי' ארץ

הלזו הגשמית ובחי' דומם ממש אילו היו מסתלקות ממנה כרגע ח"ו האותיות

לפני ששת ימי בראשית ממש וז"ש האר"י ז"ל שגם בדומם ממש כמו אבנים

ועפר ומים יש מעשרה מאמרות שבהן נבראת הארץ בששת ימי בראשית היתה

חוזרת לאין ואפס ממש כמו בחי' נפש וחיות רוחנית דהיינו בחי' התלבשות

אותיות הדבור מעשרה מאמרו' המחיות ומהוות את הדומם להיות יש מאין

ואפס שלפני ששת ימי בראשית ואף שלא הוזכר שם אבן בעשרה מאמרות

שבתורה אעפ"כ נמשך חיות לאבן ע"י צירופים וחילופי אותיו' המתגלגלות

ברל"א שערים פנים ואחור כמ"ש בס' יצירה עד שמשתלשל מעשרה מאמרות

ונמשך מהן צירוף שם אבן והוא חיותו של האבן וכן בכל הנבראים שבעולם

השמות שנקראים בהם בלשון הקדש הן הן אותיות הדבור המשתלשלו'

ממדרגה למדרגה מעשרה מאמרות שבתורה ע"י חילופים ותמורות האותיות

ברל"א שערים עד שמגיעות ומתלבשות באותו נברא להחיותו לפי שאין פרטי

הנבראים יכולים לקבל חיותם מעשרה מאמרות עצמן שבתורה שהחיות הנמשך

מהן עצמן גדול מאד מבחי' הנבראים פרטיים ואין כח בהם לקבל החיות אלא

ע"י שיורד החיות ומשתלשל ממדרגה למדרגה פחותה ממנה ע"י חילופים

ותמורות האותיות וגימטריאות שהן חשבון האותיות עד שיוכל להתצמצם

ולהתלבש ולהתהוות ממנו נברא פרטי וזה שמו אשר יקראו לו בלה"ק הוא כלי

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לחיות המצומצם באותיות שם זה שנשתלשל מעשרה מאמרות שבתורה שיש

בהם כח וחיות לברוא יש מאין ולהחיותו לעולם דאורייתא וקב"ה כולא חד:

It is written: “Know this day and take it unto your heart that G-d is the [mighty

and just] L-rd in the heavens above and upon the earth below; there is none

other.” The verse, if understood simplistically, seems to declare that there

are no other G-ds dwelling in heaven or earth. This requires explanation.

For would it occur to you that there is a G-d dwelling in the waters

beneath the earth, so that it is necessary to caution so strongly [and negate

this thought by stating that one should] “take it unto your heart,” and come to the realization

that this is indeed not so? It is written: “Forever, O G-d, Your word stands firm in

the heavens.” The Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, has explained this

concept at length, and made it widely known that this means: that “Your word” which you

uttered, viz. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…,” these

very words and letters through which the heavens were created stand firmly forever

within the firmament of heaven and are forever clothed within all the

heavens to give them life, Note of the Rebbe: “The fact that these words

were uttered thousands of years ago presents no problem, as it is written,

“And the word of our L-rd shall stand firm forever,” and as it is likewise written,

“And His words live and stand firm forever….” This refers not only to

those creations such as the heavenly firmament which enjoy a permanent

existence, but also to those creatures which perish as individuals, with

only their species continuing to exist. In all instances, the Divine life-force

which created a particular creature must constantly be vested within it,

incessantly creating and vivifying it anew, just as it ceaselessly recreates

the heavenly firmament, as shall soon be explained. For if the creative letters

were to depart even for an instant, G-d forbid, and return to their source,

that source being the degree of G‑dliness from whence they emanate, all the heavens would

become naught and absolute nothingness, and it would be as though they

had never existed at all, exactly as before the utterance, “Let there be a

firmament.” Before that Divine utterance the firmament did not exist at

all. Were the letters that constitute the Divine utterance to depart from the

firmament, it would revert to the state of never having existed at all.

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Letters of Holiness

z Sefer Ma’amarim 5701 p. 93

… באותיות התורה והתפלה שהן דבורו של הקב"ה והם האותיות מהותו ועצמותו

ית' ועז"נ נגילה ונשמחה בך, ב"ך הם כ"ב אותיות שבהם ועל ידם הוא דבקות

נש"י באלקות, ויובן זה עד"מ להבדיל הבדלות לאין קץ באדם למטה הרי

האותיות שהוא מדבר הם מעצמותו ומהותו, דלבד זאת מה שעצם סגנון

הדבור הוא לפי מהות האדם, דבכל אדם ואדם הנה סגנון לשונו הוא לפי

מהותו… בסגנון הדבור שתלוי לפי טבעו אם קשה או רך, הנה לבד זאת הרי

כאו"א יש לו האותיות שלו דהאותיות שרשם מקדמות השכל ולכן הנה שני

חכמים אומרים ענין אחד וכל אחד מהם אומרו באותיות שלו, להיות שהאותיות

הם מעצמות ומהות האדם, והדוגמא מזה יובן להבדיל הבדלות אין קץ למעלה

דהאותיות התורה והתפלה הן האותיות דעצמות א"ס ב"ה, וזהו נגילה ונשמחה

בך שהם כ"ב אותיות שבהם ועל ידם נדבקים בעצמות א"ס ב"ה.

The letters of Torah and prayers, which are the speech of The Holy One

Blessed Be He, and they are the letters of the essence of His Being, may

He be blessed, as it says “May we rejoice in YOU = “BaCH” BaCH are

the Chaf-Beit (22) letters through which Israel’s souls cleave to G-dliness.

And this can be understood through a parable – separation here to

differentiate – with man. For a man’s letters which he speaks [come] from

his essence, and for that [reason] the style of speech is according to the

essence of each person…It is dependant on his personality, if he is hard or

soft. And also each person has his own letters in that the source of letters

is in the intellect, therefore two wise people can talk of the same idea,

each one in his own wording, for the letters came from the essence of the

person and from this example it can be understood, to differentiate, as

it relates to the Above, that the letters of Torah and Prayer are the letters

of the essence of Ein Sof, Blessed Be He, and this is “Let us rejoice and

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be happy in You (BaCH),” which are the 22 letters that with them and

through them, we cleave to the essence of HaShem blessed be He.

Some Practical Implications1. Our Hebrew names

2. Davening (at least) some things in Hebrew

3. Purifying effect of looking at the letters

Insights into the Letters From the Talmud:

z Talmud

The Rabbis told R’ Yehoshua ben Levi: Some children have come to the

study hall today, and have said things whose equal was not said even in the

days of Joshua ben Nun. They said:

z .learn understanding ,אלוף בינה alef Beit stands for – א”ב

z Be kind to the poor. Why is the foot of . גמול דלים gimmel dalet stands for – ג”דthe gimmel stretched out toward the dalet? – Because it is proper for those who do kindness to run after the needy. And why is the foot of the dalet stretched toward the gimme/? – Because the poor person should make himself available to him. And why is the dalet’s face turned away from the gimmel? – Because [the rich] should give [to the poor] discreetly, in order that he not feel ashamed before him.

z .Hei-Vav, this is the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He – ה”ו

z ,zayin-ches, tes-yud, chaf-lamed. If you fulfill the above, the Holy One – ז”ח ט"י כ"לBlessed is He, will sustain you [זן] and will show [וחן], will do-you-good [מטיב] give you a heritage [ירושה]; He will bind a crown [כתר] upon you for the World to Come

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.[לעולם הבא]

z [מאמר פתוח] The open Men and the closed mem represent revealed teaching – מ”םand concealed teaching [מאמר סתום].

z  נ”ן –  The bent nun and straight nun teach that if a faithful person [נאמן] is humble [i.e., bent], he will become an erect faithful person [in the World to Come].

z  ס”ע –  samech and ayin teach that one should support the poor [סמוך עניים]. Another version is that one should devise [עשה] memory aids [סימנים] in the study of Torah in order to acquire [i.e. remember) it.

z and a closed [פה] The bent peh and straight peh allude to an open mouth – פ-ףmouth [i.e., when no one better is available to expound on the Torah, you should “open your mouth” and do so, but if there are more qualified people than you, you should close your mouth and remain silent].’

z [צדיק] The bent tzaddi and the straight tzaddi teach that if a righteous person – צ"ץis humble [i.e., bent], he will become an erect righteous person. But this is identical to the earlier teaching of the bent and straight faithful person [נאמן]? – Scripture means to stress that it is praiseworthy for one to continue adding more humility to whatever humility he has. From here we see that the Torah was given [to those] with exceeding submissiveness.

z [קדוש] kuf stands for the Holy One – ק

z Why is the face of the kuf turned .[רשע] reish – stands for a wicked person – רaway from the reish? The Holy One, Blessed is He, says, “I cannot bear to look at the wicked one.” And why does the crown of the kuf turn toward the reish? – the Holy One, Blessed is He, says, “If he repents, I will bind upon him a crown like My Own.” Why is the leg of the Kuf suspended? – Because if he repents and seeks to ascend, he can ascend by means of this opening. But let him ascend through there [i.e., the open bottom of the kuf]? – This supports Resh Lakish’s view, for Resh Lakish said: Why does Scripture say, For the scorners He has scorn, but to the humble He gives favor {Proverbs 3;34}? If someone comes to defile himself, they open the way for him; if one comes to purify himself, they assist him.

z .[שקר] shin stands for falsehood – ש

z juxtaposed [שקר] Why are the letters of falsehood .[אמת] tav stands for truth – ת[in the Alef-Beit] while the letters of truth [אמת] are spread out [the alef and tav are at either end, and the mem is at the center of the Alef-Beit]? – because falsehood is common and truth is uncommon. And why do the letters of falsehood stand on one foot while the letters of truth have brick-like solidity? – Because truth stands firm

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while falsehood does not stand firm.

Every letter has Design, Numerical value, and Meaning.Below is a sampling of the significance of the design.

z ,The yud above is G-d, the yud below is the Jew and the vav is our faith אor the Torah, that connects them together.

z The three lines of the Beit represent east, south, and west. This represents בthat the world was created unfinished, and that we have to perfect it. The north side represents evil; we perfect the world by overcoming evil.

z Comprised of two letters, the vav and the yud, the gimmel represents the גperson (vav) giving to another (yud); here the foot of the gimmel stretched out to another.

z The dalet is the poor person whose foot faces the rich donor to be דavailable, but his face is away for discretion. The dalet is a reish with a yud attached to it, representing humility.

z The three lines of the hei represent thought, speech, and action. Action is הdetached because it requires effort to join the three together. The hei also represents teshuvah.

z Shaped like a hook, the vav represents the connection between the וhigher and lower worlds.

z The zayin is shaped like a sword and a scepter; it represents authority זand power.

z .The ches is the fusion of the vav and the zayin, the male and the female חThe ches is like the chupah.

z The tes is like a vessel with a bent head or top representing a vessel of טgood and a person bending his head in prayer.

z The smallest letter, the yud represents G-d’s essential power; it also יrepresents the soul and its flame yearning upward. Every Hebrew letter begins with a yud.

z Shaped like a bent pipe, the chaf represents our submission to HaShem’s כ,ךwill.

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z The lamed is made up of a vav and a chaf, representing the bringing of לG-dliness (vav) into man (chaf)

z The open mem represents the revealed Torah, and the closed mem מ,םrepresents the concealed Torah. The closed mem also represents the womb and pregnancy, and the open mem the birth of the child.

z The bent nun represents one who serves G-d out of fear, and the straight ן,נnun represents one who serves G-d out of love. Also, one who is bent over in humility in this world will stand straight in the world to come.

z The circle of the samech represents the circle of infinity. It also represents סthe eternal bond – like a wedding ring – between husband and wife, the Jews and G-d.

z The ayin is a vav contained in a nun. The nun represents humility and עthe vav Torah, for it descends from high to reach below. Only one who is bent in humility is a worthy base for Torah.

z The pei looks like a mouth with a tooth in it. G-d knocked out Paraoh’s פ,ףtooth when he tried to kill the Jews.

z The tzadik is a yud on top of a nun. This represents infusing the צ,ץphysicality of the world with G-dliness.

z Also has three lines representing thought, speech, and action like the קhei, but the kuf’s action goes below what is acceptable. It represents the kelipah. It is the antithesis of the hei.

z It is the antithesis of the dalet. It has thought and speech, but without רthe yud to make them G-dly. It represents the poor person who is poor spiritually as well, and who doesn’t care to do anything about it.

z :The three lines of the shin represent the three aspects of the person שketer, intellect, and emotions; the three pillars of the world, Torah study, prayer, and acts of kindness; the three forefathers and the four foremothers.

z The tav is a dalet and a nun. This spells the name Dan that was the תtribe that collected anything that was lost and returned it to the other tribes. This represents our returning to our pristine state.

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11Letters of Light: The Mysticism of the Hebrew Alphabet | Mrs. Chaya Epstein

Think, Pair, Share

The letter I connected to the most:

What I connected with:

How I apply its lesson to my life:

The letter my partner connected

to the most:

What he/she connected with:

How he/she applies its lesson

to his/her life:

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Notes: