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Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Kabbalah: "Letters from Heaven:"
Spiritual Guidance from the Hebrew Alphabet
Koof and Reish
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by Avigayil Landsman |
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We continue with the overview of the letters, focusing this month on koof and reish. For each letter, we will learn the sound, the numerical value, and several words (beginning with that letter) that illuminate its meaning. We will consider how to apply the letters’ meanings to our daily lives.
Koof and reish begin a series of the last four letters, each of which is 100 times that of the first four letters. Aleph is one, koof is 100, beit is two, reish is 200. Gimmel is three, shin is 300, and dalet is four while tav is 400.
Koof: holiness
Numerical value: 100
Sound: “K” as in “cotton”
Derivation: monkey, eye of a needle
Words: kadosh—holy; koorban—sacrifice; koof—monkey
The sacred temple
invites you to enter
in every moment
Her door is
Intention
Koof is the only letter with a descender, the part of the letter that goes below the writing line. When koof is added to tzadi, you get the word tzadik, one who brings the sparks down to earth. (Tzadi + k = tzadik) The descender is a visual reminder of the importance of bringing the sparks of holiness into material expression through acts of loving-kindness. (The Alef-Beit: Jewish Thought Revealed Through the Hebrew Alphabet by Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsberg)
Aleph’s numerical value is one. It is the first letter of the aleph-beit, and the first letter in many names for God: Elohim, Adonai, El, El Shaddai. Aleph declares the unity of all. One projected into the level of one hundred is 100, corresponding to the letter koof, the first letter of the word that means holy, kadosh. One hundred is the square of ten. The Holy of Holies in the tabernacle was a square, measuring ten cubits by ten cubits. This was the only place where the High Priest could utter the Holy Name of God. We no longer know how the Holy Name was pronounced; only the letters remain. According to Jewish mystical tradition, the life span of an eagle, one of the sacred beings in Ezekiel’s vision is one hundred years.
Koof is the first letter of the Hebrew word kadosh, meaning holy. “The whole community, all of them, is holy” (Numbers 6:3) means that when the community is all one, they are holy. Aleph is associated with several names of God; koof is focused on making a place for God to dwell.
The Ishbitzer Rebbe (Rabbi Mordecai Joseph Leiner of Isbica (the Polish spelling) in Poland, born 1801 and died 1853 was the spiritual leader, part of a revival within the Hasidic movement, which sought to bring Hasidism back to its original principles: developing a pure heart, and constant attention to doing God's will. This revival avoided the "miracle working" mysticism and the external pomp surrounding some other Hasidic dynasties. He was particularly known for his saying that "everything is in the hands of Heaven.") said that the Hebrew word for holiness, which begins with the letter koof is the language of invitation. Holiness is a reminder that divinity is always facing you, if you can open your eyes to it.
My friend and teacher, Rabbi Natan Margalit suggests that instead of physically separating, holiness is putting a frame around what is already there, whether it be a moment or a place. In art, he says, one puts a frame around a painting in order to draw attention to it. You could just as easily put a frame around any scene you approach in your daily life. Cantor Robert Esformes says, “It’s like the finger pointing to the moon. Most traditions get hung up on the finger and eventually, they forget about the moon entirely!” The point is that prayers and actions serve as vehicles. Spiritual practice is a tool, acting as a harness for our earthbound selves. The important thing is to hold in our consciousness that the moon resides within us, surrounded by layers of physical needs and desires. In a state of holiness, we act from our connection to our internal moons.
The Hebrew word, kedoshin, marriage has the root word, kadosh. Marriage between two people means that they share a unique intimacy. Marriage is like the picture frame mentioned above. They remain a part of their community in all other regards, but are separate as a couple.
Holiness is a dialogue between God and us. Our experience of holiness is an instant when we are lifted out of experiencing our lives as only struggle.
Spiritual application: It is traditional for observant Jews to recite one hundred blessings each day. The Jewish liturgy has prayers for blessing various kinds of food, upon seeing comets, first blossoms in spring, or a rainbow. There are prayers for lighting candles, prayers said upon waking up, prayers to be said before going to sleep, even prayers before making love! Consider how uplifting it would be to bless one hundred things each day! It generates an attitude of gratitude, perhaps the true source of holiness. But you don’t have to be Jewish! Try blessing every encounter, every person and each activity for just one day. Perhaps you aren’t too happy when you first wake up. Blessing the fact that you are alive to experience a new day could transform what is ordinarily difficult into a transcendent moment.
You don’t even have to say the prayer aloud; it’s the experience of praying attention that matters.
Practical application: create a sacred space by arranging a few meaningful objects in a corner of a room, or on a shelf and commit a few moments to meditate there each day.
Reish: cosmic consciousness
Numerical value: 200
Sound: “r” as in “red”
Derivation: head
Words: Rosh—head; refuah—healing; Rafael—name of angel of healing; rimon—pomegranate
Mystery of the Pomegranate
The seeds glow like stars
Giving birth to new ideas
Blood of birth
Flesh of eternity
The head hatches a plan
for the Universe
The letter reish derives from a pictogram of a head in profile. Eventually, the profile was dropped, leaving the rounded back of the head. The name of the letter sounds a lot like the Hebrew word rosh, which means head.
The numerical value of reish is 200, which is hundred times two. The letter beit’s numerical value is two, the number of containment. Beit derives from a house, in Hebrew bayit, a structure of containment. The head also suggests containment, but instead of people, the head contains a person’s ideas. Just as every home contains a different family, a head contains different thoughts because two suggests duality. Unlike the beit, which is closed on three sides, the letter reish has no bottom. It pivots on one tiny point symbolizing the changeable nature of thoughts.
The Jewish new year is called Rosh Hashannah, literally head of the year. At this time, Jews reflect on the thoughts that govern their actions. The holiday offers us the time to make amends to those we have hurt through thoughtless deeds or speech, including ourselves.
Reish is the first letter in the word for healing, refuah. The angel of healing is Rafael. The name has the same root as refuah.
Pomegranate, rimon in Hebrew, is one of the seven species of Israel and figures prominently in Jewish culture as a symbol of fertility and good deeds. The Talmud compares one’s good deeds with the abundant number of seeds contained in a pomegranate.
Spiritual practice: The Torah (Bible) first describes the creation of the world. The first word of the Torah, b’reishit literally means “with the beginning of…” It contains the word reishit, beginning of. If we change the vowels the resulting word is rosh, head, or thought. When we apply these words of Torah to our own lives, we understand that we are the creators of our lives. Know that every day is an opportunity to begin anew.
Practical application: take time for healing practices, whether it be committing to a regular exercise routine, eating more healthfully, or getting a massage or reiki session.
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Avigayil Landsman,
Torah Scholar, Calligrapher, Teacher & Creator of the "Letters From Heaven" Deck
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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.
"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
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