Building Blocks of the Soul : Studies on the Letters and Words of the Hebrew Language

In this intensive study of Hebrew letters and words, Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson uses gematria (interpretive Jewish numerology) to reveal the mysterious correlation between Jewish ethics and practices, and the numeric values of the Hebrew words which name and describe them. This profound and lucid exploration uncovers the deep spiritual resonance of Jewish thought, and explains a variety of theological issues using the ancient Hebrew language as a key to understanding. Rabbi Glazerson compares the Hebrew letter to the atomjust as the atom is the basic module of physical life, so the Hebrew letter is the basic component that contains the essence of Jewish spiritual life. Hence, Jews have used gematria for centuries to understand spiritual and moral teachings embedded in the Hebrew language. The book begins with a detailed explanation of gematria, including: the basic concept that each Hebrew letter has an independent numeric value; the variety of ways in which the letters of a specific word can be explicated in order to compute the word's numeric value; and the relationship between seemingly unconnected words based on their related numeric values, which is the foundation of gematria interpretation. Anyone interested in gematria will find Rabbi Glazerson's introduction invaluable in both its scope and its accessibility. Rabbi Glazerson postulates that "Hebrew, the holy language, is the source of all languages, " and he provides many examples of Hebrew words that are the roots of words in English and other languages. This hypothesis also opens a detailed discussion of specific Hebrew letters and their mystical significance, thereby providing a background for further investigation of thepartnership between Hebrew letters and Jewish concepts and activities. Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Part I: Hebrew: The Source of All Languages 12 1 The Meaning of the Name “God” 16 2 Other Meanings Behind the Letters Gimel and Dalet 20 3 Words and Letters of Light 23 4 Wisdom and Strength Related to Shin, the Letter of Light 28 5 The Absence of Light 31 6 The Number Eight and the Oil: A Link to Holiness 33 7 The “Saturated” Number Seven and the “Rich” Number Ten 36 8 The Letter Hei, Life; The Letter Mem, Death 40 9 The Strength and “Power” of פאר 43 10 The Positive and Negative Meanings of Words 48 11 The Curse of the קר 54 12 The Constricted Kaf and Samech 57 13 The Letter Kaf: a “Sum” of סם 62 14 The Holiness of Kaf and Samech 64 15 The Four Empires 66 16 The Seven Species of the Land of Israel 70 Part II: Revelations About Marriage 72 1 Guidelines to Gematria 76 2 Marriage and “Modern” Society 81 3 Marriage Elevates and Exalts 84 4 The Letters נשא Symbolize and Unify All the Worlds 86 5 The Exalted Values Concealed in נשא 88 6 Truth, Eternity, and the Perfection of Man's Stature 90 7 Marriage: Man and Woman Are United by Joining Right and Left 92 8 Kiddushin Subdues the Evil Forces of the Klipot 94 9 The Wedding Canopy (Chupah) Symbolizes the Perfection of the Quality of Yesod (Foundation) 96 10 A Man Achieves Complete Unification with His Wife’s Help 98 11 The Benefits a Wife Brings Her Husband: The Foundation of a Happy Home 100 12 Marriage: Reaching the Ultimate Perfection of Joy 102 13 The Father Has Mercy, the Mother Consoles 104 14 The Characteristics of Man and Woman 106 15 The Wife: Source of Her Husband’s Sustenance 110 16 The Shared Powers of Husband and Wife: The Source of Joy 112 17 Woman’s Understanding Is Greater than Man’s 115 18 Shin: The Central Letter of “Woman” 117 19 Woman’s Weaponry 119 20 Blessing Comes from the Wife 122 21 Beit: The “House” of Blessing 124 22 Binah: The Woman’s “Home” 126 23 The Blessing of the Letter Hei 127 24 Goodness (Tovah) 129 25 “Form”: The Embodiment of “Goodness” 132 26 Goodness of the Soul Comes from the Wife 133 27 The Goodness of Righteousness 134 28 “He Who Finds a Wife Finds Goodness” 136 29 The Goodness of Torah, the Goodness of a Wife 137 30 The Purity of Torah 139 31 The Wife: A “Wall” 140 32 The Wife: A Support to Her Husband 141 33 The Wife: A Vessel for the Perfection of Her Husband 142 34 “When Man and Wife (Are in Unity), the Divine Presence Is Between Them” 145 35 The “Ruler” Merits Peace 147 36 The Blessings of Marriage: Peace, Goodness, Torah, and Life 149 37 “Be Fruitful and Multiply”: The Foundation of the World 151 38 God’s Name Revealed Through Husband and Wife 153 39 The Wife Is “Everything” 155 40 The Wife: A Help to Her Husband 157 41 “Female”: Shield of Her Husband 159 42 Woman: The Inner Essence of Man 161 43 Adam and Eve: The Root of the World 163 44 Husband and Wife: The Crown of Creation 166 45 The Wife: The Foundation of Peace 169 46 Modesty: The Symbol of Woman 171 47 Husband and Wife: The Foundation of Righteousness 172 48 God’s Names Contained Within Husband and Wife 174 49 The Wife’s Function: Expressing Her Opinion to Her Husband and Children 176 50 Woman’s Adaptability 177 51 Matches and Marriages 179 52 Man and Woman: Completed Through Holiness 180 53 Atonement and Life Through the Wife’s Influence 182 54 The Connection Between Husband and Wife 184 55 Revelation of the Divine Presence Through “Male” and “Female” 185 56 The Function of Man: To Conquer 187 57 “A Time of Finding”: The Wife 189 58 Love: The Basis of Marriage 190 59 The Dangers of a Life Based on Emotions 191 60 Married Happiness Depends upon the Enlightenment of the “Head” 193 61 Gentle Speech: The Foundation of the Home 194 62 Truth: The Basis of Marriage 195 63 Man and Woman: The Sun and Moon 198 64 The Interdependence of Self-restraint and Modesty 200 65 Controlling Urges Makes for a Secure Home 202 66 The Impurity of Illicit Relations Damages the Married Couple 205 67 “Illicit Relations” and “Badness”: Spelled with the Same Letters 206 68 “Menstrual Impurity” and “Judgment”: Spelled with the Same Letters 209 69 The Rirual Bath 212 Part III: Riches and Righteousness 216 1 The Obligation to Acknowledge God’s Providence in Our Time 223 2 Sexual Purity 230 3 Immodesty andIts Consequences 235 4 Mockery Versus Knowledge of God 242 5 Wisdom, the Source of Wealth 248 6 The Eye: Entry Point of Desires 252 7 Amalek and Related Forces 258 8 The Relationship Between Respect for Justice and Economic Well-being 271 9 Holiness: The Source of Abundance 283 10 “Turn Aside from Evil and Do Good” 289 11 Ways of Increasing One’s Livelihood 301 Part IV: Repentance in Words and Letters 304 Introduction to the Interpretive Methods Used 308 1 The Negative Effect of Sin 314 2 The Prerequisites for Repentance 321 3 The Three Stages of Repentance 342 4 The Days of Awe 355 Index 362 About the Author 374 In this intensive study of Hebrew letters and words, Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson uses gematria (interpretive Jewish numerology) to reveal the mysterious correlation between Jewish ethics and practices, and the numeric values of the Hebrew words which name and describe them. This profound and lucid exploration uncovers the deep spiritual resonance of Jewish thought, and explains a variety of theological issues using the ancient Hebrew language as a key to understanding. Rabbi Glazerson compares the Hebrew letter to the atomjust as the atom is the basic module of physical life, so the Hebrew letter is the basic component that contains the essence of Jewish spiritual life. Hence, Jews have used gematria for centuries to understand spiritual and moral teachings embedded in the Hebrew language. The book begins with a detailed explanation of gematria, including: the basic concept that each Hebrew letter has an independent numeric value; the variety of ways in which the letters of a specific word can be explicated in order to compute the word's numeric value; and the relationship between seemingly unconnected words based on their related numeric values, which is the foundation of gematria interpretation. Anyone interested in gematria will find Rabbi Glazerson's introduction invaluable in both its scope and its accessibility. Rabbi Glazerson postulates that "Hebrew, the holy language, is the source of all languages," and he provides many examples of Hebrew words that are the roots of words in English and other languages. This hypothesis also opens a detailed discussion of specific Hebrew letters and their mystical significance, thereby providing a background for further investigation of the partnership between Hebrew letters and Jewish concepts and activities. Presents a study of Hebrew letters and words. This work uses gematria (interpretive Jewish numerology) to reveal the correlation between Jewish ethics and practices and the numeric values of Hebrew words which name and describe them. It uncovers the spiritual resonance of Jewish thought, and explains a variety of theological issues.