 |
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Body Mind & Spirit with John Holland
Psychic Medium, Author
& Teacher
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
The BUT Doctor
Healing America's Real Crack Problem One Person at a Time
by Eddie Conner
Avant-Gardening:
Insights by Frank &
Vicky Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
The Divine Human
by Ornesha De Paoli
Awakenings
by Karen Johnson
Worshipping by Wondering with
Sankara Saranam, MA Founder of the Pranayama Institute
A Woman's Beauty
by Robin Rice,
Shaman & Author
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
In Practice:
Juliet's Marketing Wisdom
by Juliet Austin, MA Marketing Coach, Author & Consultant
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah Revealed:
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Kabbalalist
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
News Briefs
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Life's Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Healing & Alternative
Health:
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Kabbalah: "Letters from Heaven:"
Spiritual Guidance from the Hebrew Alphabet
A Journey through the letters: Part 1
|
|
|
by Avigayil Landsman |
|
|
There are endless ways that the Hebrew letters speak to our challenges and strengths. For the next few months, I will provide an overview of each letter that will include: the numerical value, the ancient derivation of each letter, its general meaning, followed by an introductory poem. Each section will briefly describe how the ancient derivations of the letters hint at their inner meanings; will give words that begin with each letter that further inform each letter’s meaning and how to apply the meaning of each letter to your life for direction and inner growth.
It is not always easy to see the connections between the original pictograms and the resulting letters because of the many changes the letters go through over the ages, but somehow the meaning shines through. Relating the letter to its origins in the world awakens our understanding that writing is more than an abstract activity; it is part of the natural world. The world itself is filled with “calligraphy.” Water leaves its marks on rocks and sand; tree rings record weather over a period of time. Even the lines on our faces are a kind of calligraphy of our life’s experience.
Learning about the origin of a letter connects us with the world again. The symbol for the ox, for example made a 180-degree turn to become what we now know as the letter A. This is similar to the relationship parents have with their children; parents so often complain at a certain point in their child’s life that they no longer recognize their child because of the changes he or she has gone through. No matter how many changes a child goes through, his or her connection still remain with his or her parents. And, although the connection of the current form of the Hebrew letter with its ancient symbol is difficult to see, the name of the letter is often very similar to the early symbol. The word bayit, the Hebrew word for house sounds a lot like the name of the letter beit, whose ancient derivation is a symbol for a house!
Our lives, like the evolution of the aleph-beit goes through many a turn. Perhaps this fact provides a link to how the letters can be used as an effective meditation tool. Meditating on each letter can be an energetic experience - an embodied aliveness, one that has the power to turn our mood around 180 degrees!
The journey through the aleph-beit is like entering a rose garden, each letter a rose bud. A rose bud looks very simple and small, but over time it slowly opens to a myriad of petals, changing form, revealing new levels of beauty. So it is with the letters. Their simple shapes when pondered over time reveal more and more hidden mysteries, offering new insights and direction.
Each letter will be transliterated, followed by its number value, ancient derivation and meaning. Italicized words indicate words that begin with the Hebrew letter.
Aleph—1
derivation: Ox
meaning: infinite possibility/unity
sound: silent
words: ahava- love; or- light
The silence of aleph gives birth
To sound
Uncontained energy
Uniting all
Through light and love
The letter derives from an ancient drawing of the ox. First, the entire body was drawn and over time through the process of reduction, just its head was drawn. The ox played a key role in civilization, as it was the power behind many aspects of farming, the source of sustenance. The role of the ox was as important in ancient times as electricity is today. The energy of an ox therefore is associated with limitless energy.
The letter aleph is made of two other letters: a diagonal vav and two yuds placed opposite each other. The letter yud is the first letter of yad, the Hebrew word that means hand. The configuration of the letter aleph can be a symbol of the hand of God reaching down to the hand of humanity. The two yuds are mirrors of each other. Their placement opposite each other along the diagonal line become a visual metaphor of the saying “as above, so below,” which suggests that God has influence over our lives and that our lives influence the spiritual realm.
Before we are born in physical form, we exist as pure energy, spinning silently in the cosmos, waiting for the time and place to continue our earthly story. Aleph is the first letter, uniting all as it spins in the infinite energy of light and love. The letter also looks like fan blades spinning wildly in space, which brings to mind the passionate movement of creativity. The letters that follow aleph are permutations of the light of love of aleph, for no matter where we are on our journey; our goal is to be connected with the ONE.
When our mind is freed of distracting thoughts and we are fully present and aware of God, we are fully “mixed into” a unifying harmony. There is no “you,” there is no “me;” there is only the ONE.
Spiritual practice:
love/ahava We all need to love as well as to feel loved by others. This is a universal truth, one that transcends all nationalities, ages, gender or religion. Love is the one binding principle that connects all people. Infuse your activity with love. Any activity becomes more potent, effective and more deeply felt.
Practical application:
Aleph signals a time of new projects. There’s lots of energy flying around and it’s exciting!
Beit—2
derivation: House
meaning: containment
sound: “b” as in “bat”
words: bayit—house; bracha-- blessing
Bringer of blessings
Housing new beginnings
Containing duality
The origin of the letter beit is a bird’s eye view of a house. The pictograms and earlier letters are open in some way. There needs to be an opening in a house to allow movement.
The number two implies relationship. Aleph tells us that we are all one, that everything is connected. Beit tells us that there is a perceived separation, as in I and thou; the Creator and the Creation. This separation allows for relationship, an avenue to reconnect. This baffling contradiction is known as the divine paradox. The first letter of the Torah is the letter beit. Rabbis through the ages have told countless stories about beit beginning the Torah. The closed side of beit indicates a before; it’s open side indicates the events that follow! Any story requires two: one to tell and one to listen.
Energy without containment is like a runaway horse, a river without banks. The house implies the duality of inside and outside. To know oneself, there needs to be an other. To establish real progress, there needs to be differentiation and discernment.
To begin our journey we need to organize and create a place for this light. The letter beit initiates the divine paradox of duality. Everything in creation is God and yet our holy spark is housed in material form. Beit houses this divine light. Before you can start a new project you need to make sure that your home, in all its forms (body, physical shelter, mind) is a nurturing place.
Spiritual practice: blessing
Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “Just to be is a blessing, just to live is holy.” When you are feeling frazzled or lonely, remember the many blessings in your everyday life, from the green earth beneath your feet, the smile of a passer-by, the sun on your face. Take the opportunity to bless someone; it is a beautiful way to connect. The power of blessings is real. Know that you are a blessing. Think of the ways you have enriched the lives of your friends and relatives, co-workers and even strangers through setting yourself as an example or just by smiling with compassion at the right moment.
Practical application:
Focus on your personal boundaries, whether they be your private thoughts, your belongings (in the broadest sense) or your home environment.
Gimmel—3,
derivation: Camel
meaning: nurture
sound: “g” as in “good”
words: gamal—camel;
gimilut chasadim—acts of loving kindness
Ripe and ready
Acts of loving kindness
Outdistance
The camel
The derivation of gimmel comes from a symbol for the camel, an animal that can go very long distances in the dry desert because of its special hump that stores liquid and food. Through the process of reductionism, the most important part of the drawing replaces the whole. I think that gimmel looks like a camel running. Marc-Alain Ouknin writes in “The Mystery of the Alphabet” that the original meaning of gimmel is “carrying the primal power beyond.”
When we come into adulthood, we are ready to leave our home and go out into the world, fully weaned and “ripe,” ready to do acts of loving-kindness. Like the camel, we store up the nurturance we’ve received so that we can go the long distance for others. This kind of generous activity is fueled from our abundant inner resources. When we give from this place, we actually create more energy and love.
Gimmel’s numerical value is three, which signifies completion. There are three stages of a woman’s life: maiden, mother, crone; a plant has three main parts: roots, stems and leaves and a story has a beginning, middle and an end. A three-legged stool or a three-wheeled tricycle is the most stable configuration.
Spiritual practice:
acts of loving kindness/gimilut chasadim. When you are filled with blessings, it is easy to give generously from your wellsprings of abundance.
Practical application:
Get involved helping others! Be open to new insights, become aware of your largesse of spirit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avigayil Landsman,
Torah Scholar, Calligrapher, Teacher & Creator of the "Letters From Heaven" Deck
|
 |
Avigayil has been a serious student of Torah for the last ten years and has written many d'vrai Torah(Torah lectures). She is the creator of Letters from Heaven, a Jewish divination system that incorporates the mystical meanings of the Hebrew letters, her chiddushim (new insights into Torah) and their application to the challenges of daily life. Her LFH readings offer seekers of all persuasions spiritual direction in finding one's authentic voice.
Avigayil is a multi-media artist who is best-known for the beaded breastplate that adorns the Woodstock Jewish Congregation's Torah. She creates personalized ketubot, beeswax Shabbat candles, shiviti plaques and other judaica as well as secular art in Sculpey, paint, and shadow boxes that combine disparate objects such as feathers, beads and wood.
Her Judaica (beeswax Shabbat and havdallah candles, havdallah spice boxes, shiviti plaques) and calligraphy cards are available for purchase at the Woodstock Jewish Congregation's judaica shop, Miriam's Well and her home. She also does private commissions.
Avigayil has taught enrichment classes in calligraphy for the Woodstock Jewish Congregation's Hebrew school. She prepares children and adults for becoming Bat/bar-mitzvah with humor and deep wisdom that come from her own unique way of living through the lessons of Torah. She has also given workshops and lectures on the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letters and Letters from Heaven at Omega and Mount St. Alphonsus.
"Avigayil Landsman's interpretations of the Hebrew letters are original, witty, steeped in scholarship, and above all a genuine opening to our own spiritual wisdom." Rachel Pollack, creator of Shining Tribe Tarot Deck
www.rachelpollack.
com
Avigayil is available for art commissions and LFH readings in person or on the phone. She may be contacted by e-mail at:
Avigayil1@earthlink.net
Website:
www.jewish-wisdom
-and-art.4t.com
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
