Exploring the holiness of the Alef-Bet
through the secrets
and wisdom of the Hebrew letters
part 1
On August 8, 2019 we joined a group for an interactive
seminar by Shmuel and Leah Bowman, who live in Efrat. This was the program:
- Looking-in on the precision, laws, and craft of the Torah Scribe, and how the Word of God was and is conveyed from generation to generation since Moses.
- Lunch at a local restaurant
- The Craft of the Scribe. Lecture, hands-on with tools and materials. Write your own name on parchment with Scribal ink.
Shmuel is a certified Sofer STaM, a Hebrew scribe who can
transcribe sifrei Torah, tefillin and mezuzot and other religious writings. Leah
is a certified tour guide.
Shmuel שמואל is the Hebrew version of Samuel.
As we would say today, Samuel’s mother Hannah ‘dropped a
pin’ in the Bible by using a concept of modern prayer: moving your lips without
making a sound.
Shma = hear. El= God. Shaul = from lishol – to ask. So
originally the name of the son Hannah asked of God should have been Shaulel
(because I asked of God). The letter ‘m’ was added for unknown reasons, but it
became Shmuel, speaking about the relationship of God Almighty and Hannah.
The Torah scribe’s job is to make sure that throughout time,
the Hebrew letters are passed on correctly.
A sofer stam COUNTS (mispar = number) Halacha = Jewish law
(lalechet/hadracha) the commandments.
Hebrew letters must be consistent because
of the big difference in meanings a letter can make. When a letter caf becomes
a beet, the translation would be different. It’s like two ships departing at
the same time, taking the same course, but one of them goes off course just a
little. At first, you don’t notice, but after a while, they have completely
drifted apart.
The sacred Hebrew alphabet has 165 basic letters which make
up the core law of scribal letters. There are 304.805 letters in a Torah scroll (five books of
Moses).
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| Yemenite Jews arriving in Israel with their Torah scroll |
When the Jewish people began to return to the Land after
WWII, they brought their own customs, like food, dress, music and their Torah
scrolls with them.
Shmuel Zanwil Kahane, director of Israel’s Ministry of
Religious Affairs from 1949 to 1979, was asked to examine the Diaspora Torah
Scrolls, so see if they were kosher. Coming from all corners of the world, they
only found six differences in the scrolls that had been copied from generation
to generation. However, because those six letters were vowels, they did not
change the meaning of the words, and the Torah scrolls were deemed ‘kosher’.
In order to organize and make the scriptures fit on the
columns and the pages, a scribe must write and count.
The book “Tikun Korim” is used by scribes to check a
copy against the original. The right page includes the mikud and Torah
text, the left page is the same text without the punctuation.
The Torah is being read on Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays.
Mondays and Thursdays used to be market days, and after concluding business,
Jewish men would convey to a small nearby synagogue to study Torah. Today,
nearby the Ben Yehudah market you can still find small synagogues that continue
this tradition.
Western languages write above the line but Torah scrolls,
tefillin and mezuzah text are written below the line – symbolic for the
separation between heaven and earth.
A kindergarten teacher once asked Shmuel to tell the
children about the Alef Beth just before the Rosh Hashana (Jewish New
Year) holiday. On that day, Jews celebrate that the world was created from the Alef
Beth.
The Bible starts with: In the beginning – bereshit. “Bereshit
bara Elohim.”
1 In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
א
בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ.
It could have started with: resjiet/risjon = first. However,
it starts with BEresheet. (in)
The literal Hebrew translation would be: In the beginning of
God’s creating, God created the heavens and the earth.
The New Testament has a total of 60 allusions to Genesis
1–11 specifically, and when we widen the search to include all of Genesis, the
number grows to 103.
Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish tradition that does not have
to be connected to the occult. The word is used in everyday language – after
paying for groceries, you receive a kabbalah (receipt) and the change.
GIVING AND TAKING
The opposite of giving is taking, a concept not known in
Hebrew.
Latet- lekabel-kabala (I want you to receive it) but in
order to do so you need a vessel (kaf/hand) to receive it. And in order to give, the kaf כmust
be strong enough to receive it.
The concept of giving in Judaism is: I’m asking your
permission, are you ready to receive what I am to give you?
That is why the Hebrew letters gimel גand
dalet דare in that order and not the other
way around. The Gimel seems to be ‘giving’ while the right part of the dalet is
in receiving mode, like an open hand.
In Israel, if often happens that an Israeli seller takes
your hand and puts the change and the kabbalah in it.
The giver (gimel) ‘runs’ after the dalet (receiver) – there
is a relationship between them.
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| The 'gimel' (right) gives to the receiving 'dalet' (left) |
The Dalet is the doorway to a better life but only in
relationship with the gimel but only
The LAMED is the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and
the only one written above the line.
LAMED/melamed = study, teaching. The ‘m’ activates the word:
liMoed = education. The lamed (education) is central and the key to Jewish values.
Beware of the letters lamed and koef (kof = monkey). When
letters touch, e.g. a letter reesh on the line above, this can change a lamed
into a koef, altering the word.
When two Jewish men are studying Torah together this is
called a ‘chavrootah’. (chaver = friend). They are not always in
agreement, and it’s o.k. to disagree because it sharpens the questions and
finds answers. That is why Israel is so good at innovations. Monkeys imitate,
and education should not be ‘monkeyed’.
Emet and Sheker - Truth and Falsehood
EMET = truth, while SHEKER is falsehood. Speaking the truth
can be done in the open, while sheker (falsehood) often takes place in secret.
It has no feet to stand, it is very unstable on his feet, while emet has
strong feet.
Three volunteers are asked to act out the Hebrew word EMET -
אֶמֶת .
When another volunteer tries to push
them over, she finds the letters are ‘strong on their feet’.
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| Left picture: reading from right to left: the Hebrew word EMET - truth. Right picture: it's impossible to topple the letter |
However, those that act out the word SHEKER, שקר topple over the moment they get just a
little push.
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| Left picture: reading from right to left: the Hebrew word SHEKER- lie, or falsehood. Right picture: these letters topple over at the slightest push. |
Letter Peh = mouth. There are 8 scribal laws attached to
this letter. But in order to make it kosher, it needs another letter inside:
the beet (beit = house) When the beet is lacking inside the peh, the letter is
not kosher.
Beit= house, its basic elements are the roof, walls and
foundation. The language we use we learn at home. This is the place where you
can say what you really think. In Judaism, the home is where the real power
lies, where you learn values, meet God. When the house is not in order, this
too will affect your mouth.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:18
“ For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Jesus referred to the Yud (JOT) the most common letter used
31,530 times in the Torah and the Tet (TITTLE) the least common letter used
1,820 times in the Torah.
Additional reading:
History Hebrew Alphabet:
Old Testament references in the New Testament:
More on the letter Kaf:
