WONDERS OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE: BEREISHIT, HEALING, HOVERING SPARKS, AND ADAM

We are pleased to announce a new series of articles for this year, 5787, called Wonders of the Hebrew Language. Each week we will be highlighting several words, phrases or verses from the weekly parashah and studying them to reveal their inner dimensions and meaning using a host of time-honored linguistic Torah methods. The Hebrew letters are considered the building blocks of Creation, and these articles will God-willing open new perspectives for comprehending new depths in our holy Torah written with these letters.

PERMUTATIONS

One of the methods we use to study Torah is permutations of letters in a word. Permutations have been studied in language and in mathematics. The mathematical aspect begins with the question of how many permutations can be made from a word that has n number of letters? The answer is presented in the earliest Kabbalistic text, Sefer Yetzirah—the Book of Formation. There it says,

2 stones build 2 houses, 3 stones build 6 houses, 4 stones build 24 houses, 5 stones build 120 houses, 6 stones build 720 houses, 7 stones build 5400 houses. From here on out, calculate that which the mouth cannot utter and which the ear cannot hear. (1. 4:12)

In Modern mathematics, the function used to calculate these numbers is known as “n factorial” and is written as n!. Thus, 2! = 2, 3! = 6, etc. Modern mathematics also differentiates between permutations and combinations. A permutation is an arrangement of the letters where order matters, while in combination, order does not matter. For example, we might ask how many possible pairs of two different letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet are there? Since there are 22 letters in Hebrew, the answer will be 462 (22 times 21). This is the number of permutations. However, if we want to know how many combinations there are, we need to divide this number by 2, because with combinations order does not matter so אב is the same as בא. Thus, there are 231 combination-pairs of 2 letters in Hebrew. The Kabbalists do indeed consider both results, revealing a sensitivity to order.

Of all the Kabbalists in history, Rabbi Abraham Abulafia is probably the one to use permutations the most in his path of spiritual enlightenment. The Zohar also invests in the study of permutations, specifically, regarding the three letters that appear in God’s essential Name, Havayah (י-הוה): yud, vav, and hei. Many of the deepest Kabbalistic intentions are based on permutations, with one of the most well-known being the 12 permutations of God’s essential Name, Havayah, as they correspond to the 12 months of the year. HaRav Ginsburgh has studied the topic of permutations deeply, both mathematically and from a Torah perspective, and we have written about it in the past.

In this first installment of our new series, let us consider permutations stemming from the Torah’s first word, “In the beginning” (בְּרֵאשִׁית). Permutations of the letters of Hebrew words reveal new connections, associations, and correspondences, which in turn, reveal the Torah’s concealed depths.

PERMUTATIONS OF THE TORAH’S FIRST WORD

The Tikkunei Zohar, a classic Kabbalistic work, is fond of permutations, particularly, the permutations of the Torah’s opening word, bereishit, (בְּרֵאשִׁית). Literally meaning “in the beginning,” this word’s permutations reveal profound secrets dealing with the very mechanics of Creation. The following are but a few of these.

First, the word bereishit naturally divides into two words with three letters each, which mean “He created six” (בָּרָא שִׁית). (Tikkunei Zohar, 11, 18, 25, 46, and more; The Hebrew Letters, p.103; 913: The Secret Wisdom of Genesis, p. 117.) This composite meaning hidden in the Torah’s first word foreshadows that Creation would unfold in six days.

The first permutation we will look at is, “Have awe of Shabbat” (יְרֵא שַׁבָּת). (Ibid., Introduction, 7, and 24.) The liturgical poem Lecha Dodi that we sing on Friday nights, mentions that Shabbat was “last in deed but first in thought.” These two combinations, “He created six,” and “Have awe of Shabbat” reveal how the six active days of Creation, and the seventh day of rest, the Shabbat, are already included in the first word. Another allusion to this same idea is that the first verse contains seven words.

Another permutation of the first word means “A covenant of fire” (בְּרִית אֵשׁ). (Ibid., 3, 22, 24.) Currently, science theorizes that at the beginning of the universe all the basic forces of creation were unified by what is referred to as a plasma-like state at an exceptional heat. Only as this substance began to cool could the building blocks of particles, atoms, molecules, and elements be formed. Thus, it is no surprise that the very first thing that God created in the Torah was light, an initial manifestation of the “covenant of fire.”

Permuting the word bereishit in another way, we arrive at “the head of the house” (רֹאשׁ בַּיִת). (Ibid., 3, 55; The Hebrew Letters, pp. 38-39.) This alludes to the created universe being, as it were, God’s “house,” the place where He can fulfill His desire to dwell in the lower worlds and to relate to and to bestow His love and goodness on His creatures.

Another permutation that appears in the Tikkunei Zohar means, “happy is the daughter” (אַשְׁרֵי בַת). (Ibid., 58 and 69.) Who is this happy daughter? Kabbalah teaches that all of Creation is feminine in relation to God; so, the daughter is metaphorically Creation itself, but that is not all. The Hebrew word for daughter (בַּת) is cognate to the Hebrew word for house (בַּיִת) and in the Talmud, a wife is referred to as her husband’s “house” or, more accurately, his “home.” (Yoma 2a.) Thus, this permutation hints that all of Creation is, as it were, the daughter or wife of God and the receptive feminine energy creates a dwelling place—a home—for her Beloved in the lower worlds. In Kabbalah, our most exalted relationship with God transpires when He is intimately conceived of as our Beloved.

Yet another permutation of bereishit creates the formulation meaning “a song that desires” or “a song of desire” (שִׁיר תְּאֵב). (Tikkunei Zohar, 10. Sod HaShem Liyerei’av, ch. 21.) This permutation can also be understood using the Midrashic statement that, “God had a passion to make for Himself a dwelling place in the lower worlds.” (Tanchuma, Naso 16.) But, where we usually associate the act of Creation with God’s speech, according to this permutation, it is the product of a Divine song. Thus, this permutation alludes to one of the most profound reasons that God created the world.

CREATION AND HEALING

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is how the first verse of the Torah is usually translated into English and other languages. Yet the word for “created,” בָּרָא, has an alternative meaning of “to heal” (לְהַבְרִיא). (Yaiyn Yitzchak, Bereishit, 12.) Thus, the verse can be read “In the beginning God began to heal the heavens and the earth.”

This explanation is based on the Kabbalistic teaching that this world was preceded by another world, which broke apart due to the “shattering of the vessels,” when the powerful lights of Creation could not be properly held by the initial vessels. The Arizal called this previous world the World of Chaos (Olam HaTohu). Thus, the Torah’s account of Creation actually begins after the shattering and describes a new phase of Creation meant to heal and rectify the shattering of the vessels that preceded it. Because of this, the Arizal referred to our reality, whose Creation the Torah describes as the World of Rectification (Olam HaTikun) as it is meant to rectify the shattered vessels of the previous world.

SECRETS OF THE WORD “HOVERING”

According to the Arizal 288 “shards” containing sparks of light fell into the lower worlds due to the “shattering of the vessels,” as discussed above. One of the sources for this number is in the word meaning “hovering” (מְרַחֶפֶת), appearing in the Torah’s second verse, “And the earth was void and formless and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water” (וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱ-לֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם). The initial and final letters of the word “hovering” spell “died” (מֵת), while the value of the three inner letters (רחפ) is 288. Thus, the Arizal read this word as alluding to 288 sparks of holiness that figuratively “died” in the “shattering of the vessels.” (As explained elsewhere, “death” in the spiritual sense means the loss of one’s previous state. Thus, these sparks of holiness that “died,” fell from their original state and descended between the husks of impurity. Chasdei David HaNe’emanim, vol. 8.) Significantly the word “hovering” is the 18th word in the Torah. The number 18 is always associated with life, for the value of the word for “alive” (חַי) equals 18. In fact, 288 itself is a multiple of 18, specifically the product of 16 and 18, indicating that even though the vessels shattered and “died,” the light attached to the vessels is still alive and constantly awaiting to be restored and elevated back to its origin. This is a deep allusion to the concept of the Resurrection of the Dead that will take place in the final stages of the final and consummate Redemption.

THE INNER MEANING OF THE NAME “ADAM”

To understand the name Adam (אָדָם), the name of both the first human and humanity itself, let us first explore the meaning of the first letter of this name, an alef, the first Hebrew letter. The letter alef is sometimes referred to as the “paradox of God and man.” (The Hebrew Letters, the letter alef.) Paradoxically, the letter alef represents both unity and oneness, and at the same time, the plurality in Creation. This can be seen numerically: the value of the alef is 1, yet the name of the letter, as a word, “alef” (אָלֶף) can also be read as “elef” (אֶלֶף) meaning 1000. Thus, alef refers to both oneness and multiplicity. The alef’s form also expresses paradox, as it is constructed from a diagonal line, resembling the letter vav, with a yud above the line and a yud below it. The yud that is above the line represents the supernal, the yud below the line represents the mundane. The line both separates and unites the two yuds simultaneously (א). Yet this duality is within the context of the overall unity inherent in the letter alef.

In the Zohar, the letter alef symbolizes the “image of God” in which man is created. (Zohar 3:104b.) More of God’s names begin with the letter alef than with any other letter, and, significantly, the Torah’s name for the first human, Adam, also begins with an alef.

The same paradoxical nature found in the letter alef extends into the full name “Adam.” Adam consists of two syllables: A and dam (אָ דָם). The first syllable, the alef represents the Divine image, while the second, dam, means “blood,” symbolizing man’s physical or animal nature. This duality parallels the duality of the human soul and the body. The paradox of God and man within man is reflected in the ongoing dynamic tension between the soul and the body. The soul is rooted in the supernal realm, in the infinite and eternal nature of God, while the body is the most complex entity in the mundane realm, belonging to the finite and temporal world. Man is a composite of these two opposing entities. As human beings, and even more so as Jews, our challenge is to learn how to unite soul and body in a positive and productive manner to serve the ultimate goodness of God.

ACRONYMS OF THE NAME ADAM

Being that Adam was the first human, just as his soul is a source for the souls of all his progeny, his name too should be seen as an encapsulation of all human history. Based on this premise, the Arizal taught that the three letters of Adam’s name (אָדָם) are the initials of the three archetypal individuals that span all of history and the rectification of mankind: Adam (אָדָם), David (דָּוִד), and Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ). (Sefer HaGilgulim, 62; Torah Or 46d, The Hebrew Letters, p. 7.)

The three letters of Adam can also be understood as the initials of three words that represent the spiritual development and purpose of Divine service. The alef stands for faith (אֱמוּנָה), the dalet stands for “knowledge” or “consciousness” (דַּעַת) and the mem stands for “action” (מַעֲשֶׂה). To develop spiritually, an individual must take faith (which by its nature is super-conscious), integrate it into his or her consciousness, and then be able to apply the conscious faith through deed and action in the real world.

ACTION AS RECTIFICATION: TIKKUN OLAM

The Torah concludes the first account of Creation with the verse, “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it for on it He rested from His work, which God created for action.” (Genesis 2:3.) The Torah though is not specific about what actions Creation was created for. A bit of thought will reveal that this seems to be counter-intuitive: if Creation is now complete, what is there left to do?

The answer is that in Scripture, the verb “to make” refers to fix or “to rectify” something. (See for example Rashi on Genesis 1:7: “Made the firmament: He [God] put it in proper condition in its place.”) Though God is the Creator, He made humanity His partner in the ongoing rectification of the world. (From a class given on the 15th of Nissan 5770 in Kfar Chabad.) The word “to make” thus implies an ongoing creative process, not one definitively finished at a single, isolated point in time. God in fact purposefully left the work of perfecting and bringing Creation to its full potential in the hands of humanity, which is meant, through free choice, to become partners with God in the rectification of the world.

ABRAHAM: IN THE IMAGE OF GOD

“These are the chronicles of the heaven and earth when they were created, on the day that Havayah Elokim made earth and heaven.” (Genesis 2:4; For an in-depth exploration of this verse and its many profound meanings see Sha’ashuim Yom Yom, Bereishit.) The Sages point out that the Hebrew word for “when they were created” (בְּהִבָּרְאָם) contains the same letters as the Hebrew word meaning “with [or through] Abraham” (בְּאַבְרָהָם). (Bereishit Rabbah 12:9.) The implication being that heaven and earth were created for the sake of, or through the aspect of loving-kindness (chesed), which Abraham embodied. (Zohar 1:47b.)

The value of “Abraham” (אַבְרָהָם) is 248, equal to the concept of, “in the image of God” (בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים), the essential aspect of every human being, by which we are meant to reflect Godliness. (Genesis 1:27.) Abraham is thus the exemplar of what the archetypal “image of God” is like, and it is through and for this Godliness that the earth and the heavens were created.

Scripture describes Abraham as “he who loves God.” Kabbalah goes further to identify Abraham as the archetypal embodiment of loving-kindness. Through his actions centered on loving-kindness, Abraham became a “chariot” or vehicle through which all of God’s love for Creation entered the world. In other words, Abraham became the foundational conduit through which all that is related to love flowed into and through Creation. Chasidic teachings explain that Abraham attained this state by constantly sensing God as the Creator. Not just that God created reality at some point in the past, but that God is constantly recreating reality. That is how he himself became a conduit for God’s love, which is the creative energy at the root of all Creation.

This ties back to the earlier idea that creation is akin to health and healing. When we are able to sense the recreation of reality at any given moment, we connect with the healing energy that appears at the very inception of Creation—i.e., we connect to God’s love for Creation. Thus, Creation, God’s love for Creation, and Abraham who serves as a conduit for them are all intrinsically connected to health and healing.

Now, in a Torah scroll, the letter hei in the word “when they were created” (בְּהִבָּרְאָם) is written in a smaller size than the other letters. (The Hebrew Letters, p. 88.) One explanation for this change in typeface is that this is the letter hei that God added to Abram when he was circumcised, renaming him: Abraham. (Genesis 17:5.) Apart from the difference in meaning between Abram and Abraham, the Sages state that the letter hei is the letter with which God created our present reality (while the letter yud will be used to create the World to Come). (Menachot 12b. The Hebrew Letters, p. 83.) Before he was circumcised, Abraham was a theoretical thinker whose impact on reality was limited; in some sense, he was beyond reality (in Jewish thought his original state is identified with the concealed wisdom of the super-conscious, also referred to as “the ineffable mind”). Once he received a commandment from God to circumcise, the power of the commandment grounded his efforts to publicize God’s oneness, augmenting and cementing his impact on reality. Indeed, the word “when they were created,” is the seventh time the verb “create” (בָּרָא) is mentioned in the Torah. These seven instances correspond to the sefirot from loving-kindness to kingdom. With this Abraham became the conduit through which God’s Presence on earth could be recognized.