Tav: The Twenty-Second Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The tav is made up of three lines [which]... represent Torah study (thought), prayer (speech), and the performance of good deeds (action)....
KABBALA - CHASIDUT & JEWISH MYSTICISM
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Shin (Sin): The Twenty-First Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The three lines of the shin may be interpreted as three general dimensions of a human being: Kesser (will and pleasure), the intellect, and the emotions....
Resh: The Twentieth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The reish, at times poor and at times wicked, has the ability to do teshuvah. It can awake from its slumber and repent. The reish can truly be transformed into the rosh: the head of the Jewish people....
Kuf: The Nineteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "We all have the ability to transform the irrational to the superrational, thus directing our thought, our speech, and our action solely toward G?d and holiness....
Tzadik: The Eighteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The straight tzaddik represents the baal teshuvah, one who has worked to improve his connection to G-d and returned to his essential holy nature....
Pey (Fey): The Seventeeth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The letter pei actually means 'mouth'—peh. A mouth is something we use to speak, and...speech has tremendous power....
Ayin: The Sixteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "According to the AriZal, the ayin is a vav contained in a nun. The nun represents humility. The vav signifies Torah, which descends from Heaven to earth in its inherent design of a hook or a chute. Vav also has the gematria of six. This represents the Six Orders of the...
Samech: The Fifteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The Priestly Blessings embody the concept of the samech: infinite light and power...
Nun: The Fourteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The mission for all of us is to reveal and draw G?d’s infinite light down into this world so that we can see the true reality of the world—that everything is G?dliness and G?dliness is everything....
Mem: The Thirteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The word mem stands for mayim, which means water. Torah, the most vital element in our spiritual lives, is referred to as water, as it states: '...There is no water but Torah.'...
Lamed: The Twelfth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "Lamed means to learn and to teach… The commandment to teach...is a directive for every individual....
Kaf (Chaf): The Eleventh Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "????(anochi) is the 'I' that serves as a channel to do G-d’s will....
Yud: The Tenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "On the simplest level, the design of the yud is a point: a dot which represents G?d’s essential power...
Tet: The Ninth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The design of the tes is like a pot, a vessel with an inverted rim, representing hidden or inverted good....
Chet: The Eighth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "In essence, vav represents the male principle, the husband. Zayin represents the female principle...
Zayin: The Seventh Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The name zayin means ‘crown’ ..., 'weapons’...and zun, ‘to sustain.’ In essence, these three definitions are interrelated....
Vav: The Sixth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "Torah began in Heaven, emanating from G-d, and then traveled—and continuously travels—down to the physical world utterly intact....
Heh: The Fifth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "...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....
Dalet: The Fourth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- G?d has been kind enough to give us life...[and] sustenance. Without G?d, we have nothing....
Gimmel: The Third Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The letter gimmel represents the benefactor or the giver of charity. [Its] design is explained in the Talmud as a rich man running to give charity to a poor person....
Bet (Vet): The Second Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The three lines of the beis are often interpreted as representing the three pillars on which the world stands: Torah, prayer, and charity (including good deeds). When a person prays, studies Torah, and gives charity daily, one builds a home for G-d."...
Aleph: The First Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- “The [letter] alef has three different meanings. One is aluf, which means a master or a chief… This lets the world know that there is a Creator… The universe did not simply emerge by itself… [and] God is the Aluf, the Master of the universe. The second...
Introduction to Letters of Light: The Meaning of the Hebrew Alphabet
- Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.
- "The Mishnah states: 'With Ten Utterances G-d created the world.' As a carpenter employs tools to build a home, so G-d utilized the twenty-two letters of the alef-beis to form heaven and earth....