Kabbalah of the Hebrew Alef Bet
Kabbalists know that the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet that were used to create the world, hold many Kabbalistic secrets and messages. The very shape of the letter, every stroke, impart strong values and lessons for young and adult. Finally these deep concepts that are in theses letters can be be taught in the classroom, and the lessons of the Alef bet can be more than just memorizing symbols and sounds. We are in the midst of creating a coloring book for children, where they can visualize and understand these deep and powerful messages and look forward to the final project!
Alef
The design of an alef is made up of three different letters: the letter yud above, a yud below; and a vav, or line suspended in between. The yud above represents Hashem, The yud below represents a Yid or Yehudim—Jewish people who dwell here on earth. The vav that connects the two yud's represents the Torah. The Torah is what unites a Jew and Hashem - only through learning Hashem can we connect and become one with Hashem.
Please Note: Because an Alef is comprised of three letters, two yuds and a vav - this lesson is best understood after learning the letters vav and yud first.
|
Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos. |
Bet
Hashem chose to begin the torah with the letter Bet. The word Bayit - House begins with the letter Bet. The letter Bet is like a big house that contains within it all that you have to know about life in this world. We can see this from the three strokes that make up the letter Bet. The line on top teaches us that one cannot see what is beyond our world, a line on bottom shows us that we can never fall our of our world and a line on the side shows us - we cannot know what came before our world. But the other side of the bet is open teaching us that the future is up to us!
Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos. |
Gimmel and Daled
The letter Gimmel and Daled actually go together Gimmel stands for Gomel and Daled for Dalim - giving generously to the poor. The very shape of the letter teaches us how to perform the mitzvah of charity.The Gimmel represents the giver, the rich man with his foot outstretched as he runs after a poor person to help him with what he needs.
Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos. |
Hei
The Maharal tells us that the hei is comprised of a dalet and a yud. The dalet is has one horizontal line (signifying width) and another that is vertical (signifying height), which together represent the physical world, the world of materialism. The yud (the detached left leg) represents G-d, and thus spirituality. The Maharal teaches us that just as the dalet and the yud come together to form the hei, so, too, one has an obligation to imbue and sanctify the physical world with spirituality and G-dliness.
Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos. |
Vav
The sixth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet is a Vav. The Vav, in hebrew, hook and it is actually designed as a hook. It is a hook that connects that which is below - wordliness, materialism etc. with that which is above - spirituality and godliness.
Visit Jewish.TV for more Jewish videos. |