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Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Kabbalah: "Letters from Heaven:"
Spiritual Guidance from the Hebrew Alphabet
Ayin, Pey, Tzadikd
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by Avigayil Landsman |
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We continue with the overview of the letters, focusing this month on ayin, pey and tzadi. For each letter, we will learn the sound, the numerical value, and several words (beginning with that letter) that illuminate its meaning. We will also explore the meaningful interconnections among these three letters and consider how to apply the letters’ meanings to our daily lives.
Ayin: insight
Numerical value: 70
Sound: silent
Derivation: eye
Words: ayn sof—without end; ayin—eye, spring (water)
Let me dissolve into the silent spring
Of nothing
The early form of the letter began as a pictogram of an oval with a dot in the middle. It evolved into a circle with a dot, an opened circle, a horseshoe shape and then instead of one fluid line, two strokes were used, leaving a tail. The two-stroked letter most closely resembles the Modern Hebrew letter.
There is an interesting parallel in the development of both of the ancient symbol and the letter’s spiritual meaning. Ayin’s inner meaning is insight. First we are presented with something—the dot in the eye—what we can concretely see. Then the dot disappears and like the letter, we are opened up at the top, allowing the divine flow to pour in.
The word ayin can mean either eye or spring. When we look with our spiritual eyes, springs of meanings bubble up from the depths of the earth. The form of the ayin consists of two little eyes connected by a pipeline. The rabbis say that the two eyes represent the eye of God who watches us and the eye of God’s children who look for God. Ayin also means sheep in Aramaic. In this case, we understand that the Divine Shepherd tends after His flock and the sheep look to his Shepherd.
The numerical value of ayin is seventy: seven times ten. This is significant because there are ten sephirot in the Tree of Life (Kabbalistic diagram of God’s essences). Ten also represents the completion of creation. A decade is a completion of a period of time. Seventy therefore is the spiritual energy of zayin projected into physical existence. The letter zayin has a numerical value of seven, the number of completion. Since zayin is a weapon, perhaps a sword, the lesson of zayin in to cut away illusion. Once we have successfully cut away illusion, we open ourselves to great insights.
Ayin is a source, a spring, an eye. From this we get the sense of beginnings. Since ayin’s numerical value is ten times seven, we get a sense of completion and growth. Ayin means “nothing” as well as being a concept of self-nullification. The seed (zera, Hebrew for seed, begins with zayin) must give up its form to become a plant. In order for human thought to be turned into divine thought we must let go of the world of appearances, to transform the experience of the outer eye into that of the inner eye.
The game of peek-a-boo is a perfect metaphor for revelation. The hands merely reveal the face that has been there all along. The innocent baby is enthralled by the game because (s)he is convinced that only what is concretely seen is real. We adults similarly need proof of God’s existence. In the Torah we read how God calls Moses to meet God on top of a mountain, within a cloud. Within this nebulous cloud, Moses hears what he needs to convey to his people. Moses comes to the realization that God is deep within the heart of each person.
Spiritual application: know that the best insights are opening to you—just get out of your own way! That means stop being so self-conscious about your practice. Thoughts like, “am I meditating long enough? am I sitting straight enough? only serve to distract you from the wisdom you hold deep inside. The message of ayin is to enter the silence and look inwardly--insight.
Practical application: have you had an eye examination lately? Notice all the visually stimulating things in your world! There’s so much to see! Focus your attention on where you are, what and who’s in front of you.
Pey: speech
Numerical value: 80
Sound: “p” as in “pomegranate”
Derivation: mouth
Words: peh—mouth, panim—face; Pesach—(the holiday of) Passover; patach—open; pe-ni-mi-yut—inwardness
“Oh, God open up my mouth
let my lips sing your praises”
Jewish liturgy
“These prayers are memories…of God”
~Paul Simon
After one has deep insights, one is prepared to articulate them through speech. It is a natural progression that pey, the letter of speech follows ayin, the letter of insight.
The ancient symbol for the letter pey is a representation of a mouth: a horizontal rectangle with a horizontal line crossing at its middle.
If the mind is a vessel of thought then the mouth is its spigot. No action can be initiated without first voicing one’s thoughts through speech. The whole of Creation comes about through God’s saying, “Let there be…” Throughout the Torah, when God speaks, watch out! Powerful words spoken to God also bring about results in the Torah. Jacob and Isaac compete to receive their father’s blessing. A blessing consists of words spoken with intension. The focus on their vying for a blessing reflects the intense power that words have.
Speech is powerful. How often do we demand that someone “take back” what he or she said if it were an ill wish? The blessings and prayers we speak have been scientifically proven to bring about results. Cancer patients who were prayed for had better recoveries than patients who were not prayed for. Speech therefore is responsible for liberation. First God calls the light into being, which is enslaved inside chaos; then God calls to Adam in the Garden of Eden who is enslaved by his desire; then God calls to Moses who is caught in his fear and self-doubt. Liberation is the focus of the holiday of Pesach. My friend, Dena pointed out that when you separate the letter pey from the remaining two letters, you get the words, “the mouth that speaks.” Moses, the hero of the story, speaks to his people’s oppressor, Pharaoh to demand their freedom.
Pey is also the first letter in the word panim, face. The ayin is the eye that sees the face, one’s identity. To lose face is to be ashamed of yourself, feeling you are in some way unworthy. Another related word to panim is pe-ni-mi-yut, meaning inwardness. Follow the lesson ayin for insights and you further enter the innermost dimension of thought.
Spiritual application: Speak your truth. Be careful with what you say, knowing that your words can deeply affect others.
Practical application: Have you been too shy about speaking your mind? Now’s the time to speak out. Life will change once you do.
Tzadi: alignment
Numerical value: 90
Sound: “tz” as in Minsk
Derivation: fishhook
Words: tzedek—justice; tzedakah—fair giving; tzadik—aligned person
Spiritual alignment: From me
To we
The letter tzadi derives from an image of either an anchor or a fishhook. Over time, the image rotated and developed into the Hebrew letter we have today. Both images are balanced, resembling scales of justice.
The letter pey tells us to open and the letter tzadi is what we open to—tzedek, justice. Speech initiates corrective action when justice guides it. Tzadi speaks of being aligned with a moral imperative. There are many lines in psalms that praise the tzadikim—the righteous ones. Rabbi Goldie Milgram has replaced this ambiguous word with “aligned one”. She once said in a class to think of how shmutzed up a paper looks when your printer is not aligned. It’s the same with a person. When he or she is aligned with the truth, the divine light glows from his or her face. A tzadik pursues balancing one’s basic needs with the needs of those less fortunate than him/herself. A tzadik is one who teaches through example. His or her actions spring from a personal connection with the Infinite, rather than doing good out of fear of retribution.
We read in Torah that “light is sown for the righteous” (tzadik) because they are content to walk humbly in the shadow of the Source of Life. A related word to tzadik is tzedakah, equitable distribution of resources. There is no word for charity in Hebrew. Charity is limited to donations of money while tzedakah involves the full spectrum of sustenance.
Torah says that humanity is created in the image of God—“b’tzelem Elohim.” Betzalel, whose name literally means “in the shadow (or image) of God”, built the tabernacle of judgment, where the tablets containing the Ten Commandments were stored. The foreman of the tabernacle was so named because the work of constructing the tabernacle mirrored all of God’s creation. Creating sacred space is the continuation of God’s creation. May our dwelling places be filled with the divine presence!
Spiritual application: align your ideals with Infinite Good, sensing that you are mirroring the Creator in your actions
Practical application: Advocate for the mistreated, whether it be for civil rights for people or kindness toward animals. Consider how your actions affect others. Make sure that you use your turn signal as you navigate-- through life as well as on the road.
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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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