Gematria and the tanakh Brian Pivik ii Cover Art by Joey Mazzotta

Gematria and the Tanakh Brian Pivik ii Cover Art by Joey Mazzotta detunedDESIGNS © 2011 All rights reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written.

Gematria and the Tanakh

Brian Pivik

Cover Art by Joey Mazzotta ::detunedDESIGNS:: © 2011

All rights reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner

whatsoever without the written permission of the Publisher

© 2011 Brian Pivik All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-257-09404-2

“ Numbers constitute the only universal language ”

- Nathanael West

“For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of

mathematics.”

- Roger Bacon

Table of Contents

Table of Contents i 

Acknowledgments 1 

Introduction 2 

What is this Book? 2 

So What is Gematria? 3 

Chapter One: Types of Gematria 5 

Mispar Ragil (Standard Gematria) 5 

Mispar soduwriy (Ordinal Value) 7 

Mispar katan (Small Number) 8 

Mispar hakadmi (Preceding Number) 8 

Mispar musaphi or kolel value (Standard + Letters) 8 

Mispar hameruva haklali (Squaring of the Total) 8 

Mispar hameruba haperati (Squaring of the Letters) 9 

Mispar shemi or miluy (Filling) 9 

Temurah 9 

Atbash 9 

Aiq Bekar 10 

Achas B'tay-ah 10 

Notariqon 10 

Notes About the Text 11 

Hebrew Language Conventions: 12 

How to Read this Book: 13 

Chapter 2: Gematria and the Tanakh 15 

100 127 

200 191 

300 247 

400 297 

500 335 

600 365 

700 406 

800 451 

900 480 

1000 503 

2000–2001 571 

601,730 585 

Biblical and Midrashic Bibliography 587 

Hebrew Language Bibliography 588 

Traditional Jewish Gematria Bibliography 588 

Judaic Kabbalah Bibliography 589 

Western Hermetic Gematria Bibliography 589 

Guide to the Comprehensive Index 591 

COMPREHENSIVE INDEX 593 

In particular, I’d like to thank and ask for forgiveness to my family for all the time taken to write this tome To my mother, Carol, thanks for giving me the love of reading & curiosity about the world that’s kept with me To my father, Walter, thanks for the hard work ethic & desire to see things through to the end To my brother, Chris, for making me laugh in hard times and always sticking with me through thick and thin And finally and most especially, many thanks to my lovely wife Virginia Your love and your deep respect for the Most High is inspiring hkwrb

Introduction

This book has been one of the most important parts of my life for the last thirteen years Ever

since I first read Kabbalah by Gershom Scholem, and my subsequent inquiries into this mysterious tradition, I felt that an incorporative, comprehensive listing of the Hebrew and Aramaic gematria1 from the

Tanakh was missing from the corpus of literature devoted to biblical exegesis Disappointed every time I

searched for a word that numerically matched a given term in a lexicon, I was frustrated by the lack of results as well as the time wasted trying to find words Even worse, there were few books out there to

answer my questions What word meant what in the Tanakh? Is this word in the present or past tense; is

it singular or plural?2 Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible helped answer some of my questions,

although the words listed were in alphabetical and not numerical terms and only contain the roots of most words I decided that with the help of this book along with several other indispensable texts such as

Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia, The Spice of Torah-Gematria, and various lexicons and commentaries, I could

create an exhaustive numerical concordance the Tanakh, as well as other traditions (including those used

by the Golden Dawn and its subsequent organizations and personalities, as well as some important Talmudic references), thus completing my goal of one book to supplement others In effect, I could help

create the most comprehensive listing of Hebrew and Aramaic terms in order of gematria equivalency to

date Above all, I have endeavored to keep this book easy to use and geared toward anyone with any

interest in gematria whatsoever Over the course of this creating this text, I have taught myself Biblical

Hebrew/Aramaic, graduated from the University of Wyoming with my Master's in Literary Criticism, and above all, learned valuable lessons about the nature of humanity All of these and the people met along this path have contributed to the writing of this text I could not begin to thank them all by name, and their mention in this context may embarrass them, but they know who they are, and I thank them all deeply

What is this Book?

I have tried to incorporate an extensive reading of the adverbs, nouns, verbs, and adjectives that make up the entire Biblical Hebraic language Also, a comprehensive listing of all persons and places in

the Hebrew Bible is given This book is not a word-by-word literal gematria of the Hebrew Bible (see Spice

of Torah: Gematria for an example of this type of analysis) As this book cannot possibly give all

permutations of every word without going beyond the scope of the limits of page length, etc., there is still

1 Gematria (gemahtria – emphasis on the middle syllable) is the singular, gematriot is the plural

2 Given the fact that there are only two tenses in Biblical Hebrew, I have decided to call them either past or present and forgo any discussion of the meanings of perfect and imperfect tenses, which would require more space than necessary Instead, I refer the reader

to the bibliography

a great deal of work to be done Overall I find that one's investigation into the various gematriot of a word

lead one to discover that the entirety of permutations is important to the overall interpretation, and that while there seems to be an amalgam of associations, all of these can be found to give meaning to the text

or word in question

While I have borrowed extensively from the texts noted above, most notably Godwin's and Locks's works, all the information contained within those texts are easily referenced in other places, thus most of their work (and my own for that matter) is public domain One more note about the difference

between this work and Locks: while Locks's excellent gematria book covers the entirety of Torah by taking

each word as itself, I have relied upon the concordances and lexicons easily available to the interested reader Thus, the words you will find in this text are the roots and basic terms that are used in the Tanakh,

but not necessarily the words themselves For instance, the word mowrag (grwm - 249), meaning "threshing

instrument" or "thresher," is used in 2 Samuel 24:22, "And Arunah said to David, 'Let my lord the king

take it and offer up whatever he sees fit Here are oxen for a burnt offering, and the threshing boards

and the gear of the oxen for wood.'" However, the term used here is actually Mygyrwmhw, vehamuriygiym (320 or 880), which literally means "and the threshing instruments," but the root of the word is mowrag

With a little ingenuity and basic knowledge of Hebrew/Aramaic, one may find new words from either the Bible or Modern Hebrew to match almost any number in this text

So What is Gematria?

Gematria is a time-honored tradition in Judaism that dates back to the Talmudic interpretation of

the Tanakh through the Baraita of 32 Rules.3 It is not, however, a strictly Jewish practice Rather, the

Babylonians and the Gnostics of the early Christian era used the concept of gematria, and was widespread

in the Magi literature and interpreters of dreams in Hellenistic Greece.4 One example of non-Biblical use

of gematria is Sargon II, the Assyrian King, who built a wall near Khorsabad 16,283 cubits long to match

the numerical value of his name Gershom Scholem, the seminal Kabbalistic scholar of the 20th century

feels that the rise of Jewish gematria was a new introduction resulting from the use of Greek letters during the time of the Second Temple (Kabbalah, 337)

Whatever its origins, gematria is currently used by various groups and individuals to "prove" or

"disprove" various points (usually theological) While non-Biblical in practice (as far as we can discern), the early development of Kabbalah led to the increasingly abstruse interpretation of Biblical passages The growth of esotericism in Judaism led to a surprisingly large variety of interpretive methods, one of which

3 Scholem, Gershom Kabbalah pp 337 The Baraita of 32 Rules examines Genesis 14:14 among other passages, wherein Abram gathers 318 men, which is the numerical equivalent of his servant's name, Eliezer ( rz(yl)), meaning that the 318 men were really

only one Other Talmudic references to gematria: Shabbat 70a, 145b, 149b; Eruvin 65a; Yuma 54a; Succah 28a, 45b; Megillah 15b;

Moed Katan 17a, 19b, 28a; Nedarim 32a (2x), 32b (2x); Makkot 23b-24a

4 Gematria was referred to as "τό ίσψηФου"

was gematria In Judaic hermeneutics (the study and interpretation of sacred texts), there are four methods

of interpretation: Peshat, meaning "plain sense" or "literal" reading Peshat draws upon context, grammar, philology, history, etc to explain the passage(s) given Derash is the method that translates "to seek" and is

almost exclusively the method employed by the writers of the Midrash It employs a great deal of homily

and parable to expand upon a given text Remez literally means "hint" and this system seeks the allegorical meaning of a text, philosophizing upon the words and their meanings Finally sod, meaning "secret," is the

method that suggests words cannot express meaning or truth Truth is beyond ordinary human

conception and cognizance Therefore, the sod interpreter reads the Tanakh as a sort of codebook, and various wordplays (such as gematria, notariqon and all the methods given below) help interpret a text

In the medieval era, Hermetic scientists, magicians and mystics appropriated the language and methodology of the world of Kabbalah The influence of the Kabbalah on the development of western mystery traditions is well documented and highly important to understand when dealing with the mindset

of many references within this text I refer the interested reader to the bibliography under the section

"Western Hermetic Gematria Bibliography," which lists many works on the subject On the other hand,

there are also many Judaic references in the bibliography that give a more strict religious interpretation of the terms and numerical equivalencies in this book In many cases, the relationships between Hermetic and Rabbinical interpretations do not overlap, as Christian mystery traditions influence the former far more than Judaism These varied meanings often lead the reader to rethink oft-cited numerical proofs, and as such are valuable for comparison However, I make no claims that either is more correct than the other is Hebrew, as a sacred language, gives meanings through the relationships of words and phrases, no matter if they are modern Hebrew or medieval "appropriations" of the language It has been said that Hermetic philosophers use the square peg of Christianity to fit into the round hole of Jewish Kabbalah,

but as far as gematria is concerned, I leave conclusions up to the reader

How are we to come up with those conclusions, then? By comparing two or more words or phrases in Hebrew or Aramaic with the same numerical total, we can draw conclusions about their relationship through further analysis As an obvious example, the number 130 contains two phrases which relate on an

esoteric level: sullam and Sinai Obviously, the latter refers to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments The former word (sullam) is the word for "ladder," used in Jacob's famous vision From

the two, we infer that the way to heaven and inspiration is the "ladder" of the Law given by Moses In many cases, the relationship is not so easily inferred, but must be carefully interpreted in relation to the words and a variety of methods The following section explains these, and outlines the most important forms of gematria interpretation

Chapter One: Types of Gematria

There are many types of gematria, and this book (despite its length) could not possibly include all variations of every word in the Tanakh I have included all the following types of gematria in the book with

an analysis of YHVH, the Tetragrammaton, personally feeling it is the most important name of God in the Tanakh The following list is by no means exhaustive, as there are many and various types of interpretation from the shape of the letters to the breath sounds.5

Mispar Ragil (Standard Gematria)

This book is based on Mispar Ragil – within these pages are the root words used in the Tanakh In this system of gematria, every letter in a Hebrew word or phrase equals a letter The chart on the following page

outlines the standard usage of the Hebrew letters and their equivalents, which can be found in nearly every

work relating to Kabbalah or gematria

5 For a great introduction to this type of interpretation, see The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet

As one can discern from the chart, some letters have a larger value (Kaf, Mem, Nun, Peh, Tzaddi) This is because when those letters are used at the end

of words, they take the final (and thus larger) numerical value of that letter However, the final letters were a late addition to Biblical Hebrew, an innovation of the later prophets, who introduced them for the purpose

of easier reading.6 When the numerical value of the final letters are taken into account, this is

called Mispar gadol in Hebrew In this text, I have given both ragil and gadol for each word.7

In gematria exegetical practice,

two or more words or phrases or any combination thereof with the same numerical equivalency create an association with one another This association is not concrete, but abstract in the sense of the perception, knowledge, wisdom and theological background of the reader One may say that the interpretations given are of no use because of their abstract qualities, but it is the argument of the author that any information that adds to the meaning of a sacred text is by no means worthless After all, if one stays true to the essential meaning of the words, then it is difficult to wander too far astray One other important item to keep in mind is that many numerical equivalencies may have one or more exceedingly "holy" or "good" association and one or more that is "unholy." The typical explanation for this is that of the Delphic Maxim, or more familiarly the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, which states, "As above, so below," meaning that two apparently opposing forces can exist within one paradigm because the heavenly or "holy" association has its opposing force below One common Kabbalistic theme the reader will find alongside

"holy" terms is that of the Qlippoth or "shells," who are associated with the broken vessels of Lurianic

6 See Talmudic texts: Shabbat 104a, Megillah 2b, Bereshit Rabbah 1:15, BaMidbar Rabbah 18:17, Tanchuma, Korach 12, Pirkey Rabbi Eliezer 48

7 An important note on this in the text – I have rendered words that have final letters in both manners, e.g "Mr+," terem is listed as

" mr+" for numerical equivalent 249 and "Mr+," for number 809 This has been done not only for ease of reference, but because the finals were such a late innovation to Biblical Hebrew

Kabbalah There is not enough room here to go into full detail, and the many books in the Bibliography will help the reader to greater understand this theory

Example of standard Gematria interpretation:

In Genesis 32:5, Jacob sends a message to his brother, Esau, saying: "I sojourned with Laban." The Hebrew for "I sojourned" is ytrg, "garti," gimel =3, resh=200, tav=400, and yod=10, totaling 613,

which is the number of commandments specified in the Torah By this it is inferred that Jacob was

really stating: "Although I sojourned with Laban, I kept the 613 commandments."

In mispar ragil, the numerical equivalent of YHVH is 26 (yod=10 + heh=5 + vav=6 + heh=10)

Mispar soduwriy (Ordinal Value)

Mispar soduwriy uses the ordinal values of the letters thus:

Mispar katan (Small Number)

Here, the numerical equivalents for each letter are rounded down from the tens and hundreds, giving each letter a limit from 1 to 9 This obviously limits the numerical amount that a word or phrase is given

Mispar hakadmi (Preceding Number)

In this type of gematria, all the preceding letters' value are added to an individual letter's value For example, the letter Heh (5) would be 1+2+3+4+5, resulting in a total of 15 This type of gematria results in

a higher value for words and phrases in Hebrew For example, hwhy = (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 [Yod]) + (1+2+3+4+5 [Heh]) + (1+2+3+4+5+6 [Vav]) + (1+2+3+4+5 [Heh]) = 106

Mispar musaphi or kolel value (Standard + Letters)

This gematria uses the number of letters in a word added to the standard value of the number

hwhy= 26 + 4 letters = 30

Mispar hameruva haklali (Squaring of the Total)

The total of a word's numerical equivalent is squared

hwhy= 26

262 = 676

Mispar hameruba haperati (Squaring of the Letters)

In squared number gematria, the value of a given letter is multiplied by itself

hwhy = 102 + 52 + 62 + 52 = 186

Mispar shemi or miluy (Filling)

Each letter has the numerical value of the sum of the Ragil values of all the letters that make up the names of the letter In this method the Name YHVH ([yod + vav + dalet] + [heh + alef] + [vav + alef] + [vav + heh + alef]) equals 45, or ([yod + vav + dalet] + [heh + heh] + [vav + vav] + [heh + heh]) equals

52 This use of filling can be very complex, because there are various ways to spell each letter in Hebrew

Temurah

Temurah is a means whereby various letters in a word are substituted for other letters, creating an

entirely new word The system of Temurah is actually found in the Hebrew Bible at least twice, in the book

of Jeremiah Here, 25:26 and 51:41 speak of "Sheshach," K##, which is actually a reference to Babylon –

see Atbash below I have given the most common types of Temurah along with the divine name YHVH

and its permutations both here and in the text of the book itself

In this system of gematria, the first letter of the alphabet (Aleph, )) is substituted for the last letter (Tau, t), the second letter (Bet, b) is substituted for the penultimate (Shin, #), and so on, according to the following chart:

ky+xzwhdgb) lmns(pcqr#t

This simplistic use of the Hebrew alphabet uses the first letters of a phrase in Hebrew to create a

new word According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, notariqon was used "in haggadic interpretation only, not in

halakic matters" (340), meaning that interpretation was limited to non-legal text, and legal text was out of

bounds for this type of interpretation The most common example of notariqon is the word Tanakh, a

notariqon for T orah (Pentateuch), N eviim (Prophets), and K ethuvim (Writings) – i.e the Hebrew Bible or Old

Testament Another example of this is the word Amen, Nm), which is a notariqon for El Melek Ne'eman,

Nm)n Klm l), meaning "Lord, Faithful King." Notariqon can also be used for the last letters in a phrase that spell out a word For example, YHVH can be spelled from the last letters of the phrase Mi Iolah

Lanuw Heshememah, hmym#h wnl-hl(y ym from Deut 30:12, which translates to "Who shall go up for us

to heaven?" The first letters of this phrase also spell the word milah, hlym, which means "circumcision."

As the reader can infer, many meanings come about through the combination of biblical exegesis and

notariqon

9 There is no reason for assuming that a final letter within a word is incorrect, for the Tanakh also contains instances of the same

Notes About the Text

Overall, I have tried to apply all standard transliterations of the text into English This has often clashed with the transliterations given in other books and works about Kabbalah When it interferes with standard transliterations, I have either changed the transliteration for ease of pronunciation or stayed with the most familiar term Above all, I have endeavored to keep the transliterations easy to pronounce

You will also notice that the Masoretic Points common to modern Hebrew are missing from this book This is because points were added long after the words were written merely for ease of reading and also tend to complicate the format of this book – even today, Torah scrolls are unpointed The transliterations of some words are multiple, simply because the (mental) vowels were added to the words themselves, and thus there are different meanings This does not mean that two words with two separate transliterations and two meanings are directly interchangeable, but rather that the words take on a spiritual relationship with each other, leaving a mystically-inclined reader to see varied meaning in even one word

For example the Hebrew term Chalaq means "to divide," but when the vowel points are different, and it is pronounced Cheleq, it can mean "flattery," or even "portion." Again, we are dealing with a very ancient

language here, and even when modern Hebrew or even Biblical scholarship illuminates meaning, there are various translations that can occur This does not obscure meaning, but indeed helps create it

Explanation of my Transliterations of the Masoretic Points and Letters:

Gematria does leave itself open for different meanings, and of extreme interest to the beginner is

knowledge of the Hebrew itself I recommend three books written for college-level students who may not

be able to take Biblical Hebrew These are Biblical Hebrew (vols 1 & 2) by Menahem Mansoor and Kittell's

Yale Language Series (see the bibliography for further information) Together, these books provide a student

with the willpower to learn Hebrew in several self-guided steps For the purposes of this book, I find it necessary to explain some of my transliterations For example, ytrsyw meaning "and I will chastise" is

spelled ve-Yisartiy when transliterated here This is merely for ease of understanding for the beginner, as

the prefix -w means "and." In all cases when the word is to be properly transliterated, there is no space nor

dash between the prefix "ve" and the rest of the word This adaptation has been used merely for reading convenience, and the proper spelling of the word is "veyisartiy." The same motive is applied for the prefix

heh, or "the." When using inseparable prepositions (see below), one can see that several meanings make

themselves apparent in Biblical text

Common Hebraic conventions that may be useful to the reader/gematria-minded person are given below Remember that using the rules below change both the meaning and the gematria of a given word

How to Read this Book:

I have tried to examine the elements of Hebrew language through gematria in an easy-to-read

format However, due to the length of this book, I had to abbreviate and shorten some elements of Hebrew and rely on the knowledge of the reader Someone who is familiar with Jewish or Western Esoteric Kabbalah will find the terminology recognizable Even then, the design of this book may confuse, and so I give these short examples for the easier interpretation of the reader:

1 For each number with a corresponding Hebrew letter, there is a short explanation of the numerical significance, in terms of the letter, etc I have provided a short area for the reader to insert his or her own remarks in the "notes" section There are also many excellent books listed in the bibliography, which explain various methods of interpreting letters Indeed, the reader is encouraged to begin his or her own "book of letters," which can easily be done with various word processing or spreadsheet programs These can be as lengthy as necessary

There is no end to the analytic methods of gematria

2 I culled the various Western Esoteric References mostly from David Godwin's excellent

Cabalistic Encyclopedia I have not referenced the page numbers from his book, as the items

there are easily found in the sections of his book I must stress that my book does not replace his, as the divisions of his book called "Transliterated Hebrew" and "Hebrew" are still indispensable for their reference My book is merely to serve as an addendum Another

excellent reference for those items the reader is unfamiliar with is Hulse's The Eastern Mysteries

The information for both books is found in the Bibliography

Examples from this book along with explanations:

David's mighty men

Aquarius

the exile with Zerubbabel (Neh 12:2);

descendant of the kings of Judah, perhaps of Shechaniah (1 Chr 3:22);

descendant of David who returned from exile with Ezra (Ezra 8:2); one who helped to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem (Neh 3:10); priest who signed the covenant (Neh 10:1, 4)

devotion; pit

cr)b dx) ywg Goy 'echad b'aratz –"One nation in the land"

(1 Chr 17:21)

Value

The italicized text is the transliteration of the Hebrew

Non-final

letters

Any time a semicolon is used, the next definition is separate from the previous Here, each semicolon separates a person

Quotation marks are only used when a phrase of two

or more words in Hebrew is quoted

This is the definition

or description of the Hebrew text

This book does not give every reference to a word or phrase in the Tanakh, as there are many uses of words and phrases that would complicate this book to the extreme

southern Judah; town east of the Jordan River (see also Iim)

people, people of unwalled villages (meaning dubious – Judg 5:7, 11)

Any references will have a footnote to the number it equals

cross-Any time a word is questionable

as to meaning,

I give all the Biblical references to the word

Chapter 2: Gematria and the Tanakh

000 –The associated number of Ain Sof Aur (according to A.C.)10

00 –The associated number of Ain Sof (according to A.C.)

0 –The associated number of Ain (according to A.C.)

–Tarot Card: The Fool (The 11th Path; Alef; Air – G.D.) 11

1 ) Alef –First letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The 1st Path is the Sefira Keter, Crown

–Unity; the monad

–Mystic number of 1st path (Keter)

–Tarot Card: The Magician (The 12th Path; Bet; Mercury – G.D.)

The letter alef is the first letter and the first number of the Hebrew numerical system It represents unity and the geometric symbol of the single point Alef represents the unity of God and the singular nature of the Jewish deity Elohim, the sacred name of God begins with an alef, and begins the name of the first human, Adam Also, the introduction to the Ten Commandments begins with alef:

Mydb( tybm Myrcm Cr)m Kyt)cwh r#) Kyql) hwhy ykn), "I am God your God

who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex 20:2)

Because the Torah begins with bet, not alef, it is intimated that there was a time not recorded in the Bible, and this is the basis for Isaac Luria's theory of the contraction or tzimtzum of God.12

In its shape, alef is similar to a human being with two arms upstretched and two legs down The Zohar thus says that it represents the "image of God." In this way, the translation of alef as "ox" is apt, as it represents the human and physical nature of our everyday world The shape of alef is also similar to two yods (one on top and one

on the bottom) and one vav Thus, the numerical value of one is also twenty-six, the number equivalent to the

Tetragrammaton, YHVH In this way, we see that God and man are both represented by this letter When the

Tetragrammaton is seen in the Torah scroll, the Name Adonai is pronounced instead, a Name that begins with alef Indeed, the letter is a paradox and a deep mystery It is no coincidence that alef (Pl)) spelled backwards becomes

Pele' ()lp) or "mystery."

NOTES:

10 All references from 777 by Aleister Crowley – hereafter referred to as "A.C."

11 All Tarot references from The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie – hereafter referred to as G.D

12 Excellent examinations of Luria's theory can be found in nearly every introductory book on Kabbalah – see the bibliography

2 b Bet –Second letter of Hebrew alphabet; when used as a

prefix, it often connotes "in" or "with"

–The 2nd Path is the Sefira Chokmah, Wisdom

–Duality; the duad

–Tarot Card: The High Priestess (The 13th Path; Gimel; Luna – G.D.)

The number two is represented by bet, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet The letter begins the

Tanakh, and is thus very symbolic and important in gematria It is also the only other letter besides alef that occupies

only one number In other words, there is no combination of letters that equal the number two There are no

words that have only two alefs, thus bet is the only letter equaling two Duality is a concept associated with the

relationship between God and Israel, the Oral and Written Torah, the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, the two genders of human beings, and heaven and earth

Bet is composed of three vavs, which gives it the internal numerical value of thirty, a number also equaling

hwhy plus the number of letters in the name

Bet begins the word Berakah, or blessing Thus, the Talmud relates that the Tanakh begins with bet because

in that way, the entire world blesses God with the pronunciation of the letter The letter also begins such notable

words as Beriy'ah (Briah), or creation, Ben, or son, and Beth, or daughter There are of course, a number of other important words Arguably the most important is the word Bereshit, ty#)rb This word can be translated in other ways than "In the beginning," including "At the beginning," or "With beginning," etc.13 Because the Tanakh begins

with the second letter, it is implied that there was a "pre-beginning" that existed before the creation of the world

What exists before the universe? God, the alef

NOTES:

13 For an excellent example of the various types of Kabbalistic interpretation of this first word of the Hebrew Bible, see chapter three

"In the beginning" of David Sheinkin's book Path of the Kabbalah, which examines this in great detail

3 b) Ab –Father (of an individual, of God as father of his

people), head or founder of a household;

ancestor; originator of a class, profession or art;

of producer, generator; of benevolence &

protection; term of respect & honor; ruler or

chief; a title of Chokmah; the first two letters of

the 42-letter name of God, corresponding to

Keter; the initials of Alef Bet (the alphabet); 1st Gate of the

231 Gates14

Av –11th month of the Jewish Calendar – it is associated

with Leo and the tribe Judah

Eb –Freshness, fresh green, green shoots,

greenery; fruit, fresh, young, greening (Aramaic)

Bo' –Come

g Gimel –Third letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The 3rd Path is the Sefira Binah, Understanding

–The Triangle; the triad

–The number of persons in the Christian Trinity

–The number of elements mentioned in the Sefer Yetzirah (air, water, and fire)15

–The number of the three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

–The number of divisions of Jews: kohanim, leviim and Yisraelim16

–The number of the parts of Tanakh: Torah, Neviim and Kethuvim

–The number of alchemical elements (sulfur, mercury, salt)

–The number of Mother Letters (Alef, Mem, Shin)17

–Mystic number of 2nd Path (Chokmah)

–Tarot Card: The Empress (The 14th Path; Dalet; Venus – G.D.)

Three is very important for Jewish mysticism, as can be seen in the above symbols that are all related to

three Triads allude to the conjunction of two opposing forces coming together in a third force A Midrashim relates

a triad through Solomon's words: "Have I not written for you threefold things of counsel and knowledge?" (Prov

22:20) To this the Midrash states, "This verse refers to the Torah, which was written with an Alef-Bet that forms sets of three letters, alef-bet-gimel" (Tanchuma Yisro) Another clarification from Anaf Yosef is needed to explain this midrash: "The twenty-seven letters of the Hebrew Aleph-Beis (twenty-two regular plus five final letters) can be divided into sets of three When they are set in triplets the gematria of the middle letter of each triplet is the average

of the other two" (Munk, 76) In this way, a triad is again a representation of the completeness of two opposing

forces, cf Hegelian philosophy To approach this same concept from a different perspective, consider that gimel can

be translated "camel," and that an ancient Midrash written by Rabbi Eliezer relates that the third person in the Creation story (nachash) was a camel rather than a serpent Thus, when he relates that the serpent is represented by a

camel, he is intimating the importance of the number three to this story

Gimel, the letter representing three, is related to gamol, a word that means "nourish until completely ripe,"

whether of a child growing or of a plant or animal In this way, the letter represents the beginning of Torah study,

study of Kabbalah or any such study that begins with small steps that must be practiced and nurtured to the point of

second nature reaction In other words, when one is learning to see and act upon everything through a Kabbalistic

viewpoint, one is attuning themself to the gimel

The Jewish Encyclopedia mentions that three was very important to early peoples, especially in regard to its use

in the three regions, "heaven, earth, and water, respectively represented in Babylonian mythology by the divinities

14 The 231 Gates are essentially the maximum number of permutations of any two Hebrew letters without repetition See Sefer Yetzirah

for a full explanation

15 All Sefer Yetzirah references are from R Aryeh Kaplan's edition

16 Kohanim = priestly caste; Leviim = levites; Yisraelim = Israelites

17 Sefer Yetzirah, pp 23-32

Anu, Bel and Ea." The comparison to the creation story of Genesis comes easy with this information as well

Some biblical passages where three is very important are:

1 Kings 17:21

1 Chr 21:12

Dan 6:10

NOTES:

4 )b) 'avo' –I will come

g) 'ag –To spell letters, to curse, swear; the initials of

Elohim Gibor; 2nd Gate of the 231 Gates

)g Ge' –Proud

d Dalet –Fourth letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The number of letters in the Tetragrammaton

–The 4th Path is the Sefira Hesed, Mercy

–The square; the tetrad

–The number of elements (fire, water, air, earth)

–The number of cardinal points (north, south, east, west)

–The number of seasons in the year

–The number of worlds of the Kabbalah (Assiah, Briah, Yetzirah, Aztilut)18

–The number of matriarchs: Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, and Leah

–The number of Jacob's wives: Rachel, Bilhah, Zilpah, and Leah

–The number of cups of wine of the Seder

–The number of cardinal virtues (fortitude, justice, prudence, and temperance)

–The number of human limbs

–The number of levels of Biblical interpretation (literal, allusion, allegory, and secret)19

–Tarot Card: The Emperor (The 15th Path; Heh; Aries – G.D.)

Four is represented by the letter dalet, of which R Yitzchak Ginsburg writes "the full meaning of the dalet is

the door through which the humble enter into the realization of G-d's dwelling place below" (67) This means that

in Jewish Kabbalistic thought, the dalet is related to Malkut as well as the means to get to Malkut The shape of dalet

is similar to a man bent over, bowing, and thus represents the selflessness that humans must have in order to begin the movement from physical to spiritual This letter can be translated "door," as in the door to the higher levels of spirituality, "a poor man," representing the fact that one must be humble in order to attain these levels (as in the

Hebrew word dal or ld, meaning pauper), "lifting up," intimating the soul's movement to a spiritual ideal, and

"elevation," indicating the same as the latter About the letter, the Sefer Bahir states, "What is this like? Ten kings

were in a certain place All of them were wealthy, but one was not quite as wealthy as the others Even though he is

still very wealthy, he is poor (Dal) in relation to the others" (11) R Kaplan says about this passage, "(Dalet) is said

to represent Malkhut-Kingship, the last of the Ten Sefirot While each of the other nine give to the one below it, Malkhut-Kingship, being the lowest, cannot give Like the absolutely destitute, it only receives, but cannot give" (103) For a more in-depth examination of the relationship between humility, poverty and giving, see the discussion

of dalet in R Michael Munk's book, The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, pp 78-84, which provides a more thorough

explanation of the associations given here

NOTES:

18 According to Isaac Luria, there are actually five worlds of the Kabbalah

19 See Introduction for a fuller explanation

5 )g) 'Age' –Agee, one of David's mighty men

d) Edh –Mist, vapor; 3rd Gate of the 231 Gates

gb Bagh –Spoil, booty; back; food, delicacy, bread; 22nd

Gate of the 231 Gates

bg Gab –Elevation, top; convex surface, back; back

h Heh –5th letter of Hebrew alphabet; when used as a

prefix, it means "the"

–The 5th Path is the Sefira Giburah, Severity

–The pentagon; the pentad

–The number of senses

–The number of total elements (including Spirit)

–The number of fingers on one hand

–The number of toes on one foot

–The number of human limbs counting the head

–The number of lumbar vertebrae in the human spine

–The number of vanities in Ecclesiastes

–The number of times "Bless God, my soul" is stated in Psalms 103, 104

–The number of final letters in Hebrew

–The number of orders of architecture (Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite)

–Tarot Card: The Hierophant (The 16th Path; Vav; Taurus – G.D.)

–The number of books in the Torah

The Hebrew letter heh represents the number five, and is very important for gematria, especially concerning

its use in the divine Tetragrammaton It is the first letter of the Name that we encounter in the alphabet, and is also

used by itself to represent Ha-Shem (the name), like so:

’h

When used in this manner, observant Jews will pronounce the divine name Adonai, or whenever the

Tetragrammaton is used

Not only does heh represent an entire ½ of the Tetragrammaton, it is also symbolic of God's ability to

forgive sinners, as the left leg of the letter is opened, symbolizing the path through which one can return to the one God

Heh was given to various Biblical characters, from Abram to Sarai The reader should take note of the

numerical changes in their respective names

NOTES:

6 h) Ah –Ah!; the initials of Adam HaAretz; 4th Gate of the

231 Gates

db Bad –Alone, by itself, besides, apart, separation, being

alone; linen, white linen; empty talk, idle talk,

liar, lie; bar, limb, arm; a measure of weight (Bad); 23rd

Gate of the 231 Gates

gg Gagh –Flat roof, roof, top, housetop; cover of an altar

bd Dob –A bear (see also bwd)20

)h He' –Behold!, lo!; even as, like as (Aramaic)

w Vav –Sixth letter of Hebrew alphabet; when used as a

prefix, it means "and"21

–The 6th Path is the Sefira Tiferet, Beauty

–The hexagon; the heptad

–Mystic number of the 3rd Path (Binah)

–Number of days the earth was created in Genesis

–Number of alefs in the first verse of Torah

–The number of orders of the Mishnah

–The number of directions the world was sealed with (Sefer Yetzirah 4:3)

–Tarot Card: The Lovers (The 17th Path; Zayin; Gemini – G.D.)

Six is the number of days the earth was created in Genesis, and so represents physical completeness Since

Tiferet is also the sixth sefirot, we can see that the importance of this ordinal number, and of the letter vav

Vav can be used for two different changes in the Hebrew language Firstly, it is prefixed to a word to mean

"and." This indicates its usage as a joiner, and thus links sentences into paragraphs and chapters, even joining books together Its second use is termed "conversive" and changes the tense of a particular word from past to future or vice versa.22 For example, the Hebrew rm)yw is translated "and he said," with the vav preceding the root rm), meaning "say" or "command." The yod here is a prefix, indicating the masculine gender Thus, the two uses of the

vav are valuable for the meaning and interpretation of any given Biblical verse or name of an entity

Interestingly, R Ginsburgh gives another in-depth examination of the letter in its full spelling, stating that the Tabernacle's curtains were held together by "Mydwm(h yww, 'the hooks [vavs] of the pillars.'" He goes on to

explain that this term is used a total of six times in the Hebrew Bible, and gives and excellent comprehensive meaning for the usage of this phrase (Ginsburgh, 100)

NOTES:

20 bwd (12)

21 For a more in-depth examination of the various meanings of the prefix vav, see Munk's book The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, p 99

22 For an excellent discussion of the vav conversive, consult the books listed in the bibliography under "Hebrew Language

Bibliography."

7 db) Abad –Destroy, perish

Avad –Perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed; you

perish, will perish; to perish, vanish (Aramaic)

Ovad –Void, lost Oved –Destruction

gg) Agag –Agag, king of Amalek, spared by Saul but slain

by Samuel

Adonai HaAretz

w) ‘O –Desire; either, or, rather; whether, not the least; if,

otherwise, and, then; 5th Gate of the 231 Gates

forth, to be stirred up; in it, with her, with it, upon him; 24th Gate of the 231 Gates

dg Gad –Gad, seventh son of Jacob and an ancestor of a

tribe of Israel (associated with Aries); Gad, David's seer who frequently advised him (1 Sam 22:5; 1 Chr 21:9-19); Gad, a Babylonian deity; fortune; 42nd Gate of the 231 Gates;

coriander; who advised him (1 Sam 22:5; 1 Chr

21:9-19); Gad, the territory settled by the tribe of Gad

(according to A.C.)

meanings according to A.C.)

gd Dagh –Fish

z Zayin –7th letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The 7th Path is the Sefira Netzach, Victory

–The heptagon; the heptad

–The number of Hebrew words in Genesis 1:1

–The number of traditional planets (Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)

–The number of days in the week

–The number of weeks of counting the Omer

–The number of lamps of the menorah

–The number of rabbinic mitzvot

–The number of vertebrae in the human neck

–The number of spinal chakras in Yoga

–The number of deadly sins, popularized by Heironymos Bosch's painting by the same name

(envy, covetousness, lust, pride, anger, gluttony, and sloth) –The number of liberal arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and

astronomy), according to Nicomachus Capella

–Tarot Card: The Chariot (The 18th Path; Chet; Cancer – G.D.)

Seven is used almost exclusively in reference to the holiness of God It is the last day of the Creation story,

the climax (or some say anti-climax) to the story, rounding out the holiest day of the week, Shabbat Nearly every

reference in Biblical or post-biblical texts to the number seven relates to God and his dominion Even Christian writers like John of the Apocalypse used this symbol to the point where its use is clichéd However, it is important

that whenever one comes across this number, the student of gematria should be attentive

The mathematical value of seven is interesting, especially as described by R Michael Munk:

Within the common decimal method – which is also the basis of the Torah's counting system – the following set of properties is common to one and seven: (a) neither of these numbers can be expressed as the product of any two whole numbers other than itself and one; (b) neither is a prime factor of any other number between one and ten The combination of such properties can be found in no other number between one and ten (105)

Using simple deduction and association, one can see the similarities between the significance of one and seven Both represent God in one form or another, and both share properties that no other number between one and ten share

NOTES:

8 hb) Abah –To be willing, consent

Abeh –Entreat, longing, desire Ebeh –Reed, papyrus

amours (only in plural)

Ohab –Loved object; love

z) Az –Then, at that time, before, because of that; 6th Gate

of the 231 Gates

temple)

wb Bow –To go in, enter, come, go, come in, within, split,

insert, sexual union, in it, him

Vo –In itself, in the is, that in it, on it, in it, with it,

upon him; 25th Gate of the 231 Gates

hg Geh –This, such; 43rd Gate of the 231 Gates

Do'eg –Doeg, servant of Saul who executed the priests

of Nob on Saul's orders (see also g)wd)23

dd Dadh –Love; beloved, breast, teat, nipple; pleasures of

love

Dod –Beloved, love, uncle (see also dwd)25

x Chet –8th letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The 8th Path is the Sefira Hod, Splendor

–The octagon; the ogdoad

–The number of trigrams in the I Ching

–The number of days of Chanukah

–The number of Sefirot on the Sufi Tree of Life

–Tarot Card: Strength (The 19th Path; Teth; Leo – G.D.)

Eight is the number assigned to the letter chet, a symbol of transcendence According to R Michael Munk,

"the number eight symbolizes man's ability to transcend the limitations of physical existence" (112) Thus, the number is heavily involved wherever humanity reaches beyond the mortal, such as the Temple services in Biblical

times, the day of circumcision, the days of Hannukah, the list goes on and on Chet means "fence," and is often

referred to as a doorway to the spiritual It should rather be thought of as the first gate into a new world of such life

as well as holiness Its form is said to consist of the previous two letters, vav and zayin, along with a bridge, called the chatoteret, or "hunchback." The combination of these two letters equals seventeen, which when reduced to its

digit sum, equals eight

Chet begins important terms such as chavvah, or "life;" chen, or "grace;" cheta', or "sin;" chuppah, or "wedding

canopy." The relationship of such terms to the meanings of the letter given above are an exercise for the reader

9 dd) 'Adad –Hadad, an Edomite

familiar spirit

of Adam Chavvah (Adam and Eve); 7th Gate of

the 231 Gates

Oach –Howling animal

treacherously; fortune is come (only in relation

to Gen 30:11)

Beged –Treachery, deceit; garment, clothing (used

indiscriminately)

zb Baz –Booty, spoil, robbery, spoiling; to prey, plunder,

conquer, shutter, tread upon; give away, squander, treat lightly; cut into pieces; prey, spoil; 26th Gate of the 231 Gates

Ge'ah –Pride Ge'eh –Proud

wg Gav –The back; the middle (Aramaic); 44th Gate of the

231 Gates

Gev –Among, back, body, middle

ygh)26

dh Hed –A shout of joy, shout

bz Zav –Issue

+ Teth –9th letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The 9th Path is the Sefira Yesod, Foundation

–The number of squares in the magic square of Saturn27

–The number of months of pregnancy

–The number of blessings of Musaf on Rosh HaShanah

–Number of blasts of the shofar

–Tarot Card: The Hermit (The 20th Path; Yod; Virgo – G.D.)

Nine is the penultimate number before the completion of the sefirot Teth, the 9th letter, begins the word

Tov, or "good," the first word containing a teth in the Hebrew Bible The shape of the letter is indicative of a womb

in many Talmudic texts, which also relates to its association with the sefira Yesod In this way, we see that good is

one of the "curses" of the Genesis story.28 Note that there are also nine months in a pregnancy

Kabbalah teaches that nine represents the qualities of truth and eternity, identical with divine properties Several Hebrew words' numerical equivalents can be reduced to nine: tm) (emet, truth – 441); tyrb (berith,

covenant – 612); rw) (aur, light – 207); tb# (Shabbat – 702) All of these words, along with others in their

numerical categories, represent various aspects of the above

26 ygh (18)

27 All references to magical squares or "kameas" are taken from Regardie's The Golden Dawn

28 Again, I refer the reader to the many examinations of the Creation story told from a Kabbalistic bent These will illuminate and impress with their ingenious and sometimes all too eye-opening perspectives

NOTES:

10 )wb) 'avo' –I will come

+) 'at –Whisper; gentleness, softness; secret, charmers,

enchanter, fortuneteller, soothsayer, diviner; 8th Gate of the 231 Gates

withdrawal, separation; alone

Bedad –Father of Hadad, a King of Edom

Gates

Gaboahh –Haughty, height, high(-er), lofty, proud,

as food (probably a kite or vulture)

wd Daw –62nd Gate of the 231 Gates

hh Hah –Alas!

Heh –Window; 5th letter of Hebrew alphabet

(Judg 7:25; 8:3 – see also Oreb)29

gz Zag –Name of some insignificant product of the vine,

husks? or skins? (meaning uncertain – Num

6:4)

bx Chob –Bosom

)+ Ta –To sweep away

y Yod–10th letter of Hebrew alphabet

–The 10th Path is the Sefirah Malkut, Kingdom

–The decagon; the decad

–Mystic number of 4th Path (Hesed)

–The number of Sefirot

–The number of fingers

–The number of toes

–Pythagorean "divine tetrarkus"

–The number of utterances through which the world was created in Genesis

–The number of things created on the first day

–The number of generations from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham

–The number of nations given to Abraham

–Number of Commandments

–Number of plagues of Egypt

–Tarot Card: The Wheel of Fortune (The 21st Path; Kaf; Jupiter – G.D.)

Finally we arrive at ten, the number associated with the sefirot and the number most related to completion

For example, we can see that there were ten utterances by God that created the world

29 Oreb (272)

Yod begins many important words in Hebrew, all of which are important Kabbalistic terms Yetzirah, Yom, Yetzer, Yisrael, Yaakob, Yehudah and the Name hwhy of course There is also an important addition of the letter to

the Ten Commandments In the first reference to them (Ex 20:12), the word Ya'arikown, which means "may be

long" is spelled Nwkr)y In the second version (Deut 5:16), it is spelled Nkyr)y According to R Munk, the

inclusion of the Yod here "alludes to the fact that the promise of long life does not apply to life in This World The

omitted y, on the other hand, implies that the bliss of the World to Come is concealed from man on earth" (126)

NOTES:

11 wd) 'Iddow –Iddo, official of Casiphia who provided Levites

for Ezra

Jer 29:22 – see also b)x))30

y) Ai –Where?, whence?; which?, how? (in prefix w/other

adverb); island; not; alas!, woe!; howling beast, jackal; coast, island, shore, region; impossible;

9th Gate of the 231 Gates

Baveged –In the garment

pieces; 28th Gate of the 231 Gates

Gedad –To cut down, hew down (Aramaic)

bwg Gowb –Grasshopper; locust; Gob, site of several battles

during Israel's wars with the Philistines – may be the

same as Gezer or Gath

Guwb –Husbandman; to dig; ditch, trench

xg Goach –Break forth, labor to bring forth, come forth,

draw up, take out; 46th Gate of the 231 Gates

zd Daz –63rd Gate of the 231 Gates

wh Hoo –He, she, it; that

How –Alas!, ah!; he, she, it (Aramaic); 79th Gate of the

231 Gates

dz Zed –Arrogant, proud, insolent, presumptuous

gx Chag –Festival, feast, festival-gathering, pilgrim-feast

b+ Tab –Good (Aramaic)

–The 11th Path is between Keter and Chokmah and corresponds to Alef, Air, and the Tarot card

The Fool – G.D

–The number of magic (A.C.)

–Tarot Card: Justice (The 22nd Path; Lamed; Libra – G.D.)

–The sum of the first and tenth sefira

–Prime number

Abaddoh –A lost thing, something lost, a perishing

want, to be greedy, prefer; to sign, mark, describe with a mark

30 b)x) (12)

Awah –Desire, lust, will (not necessarily evil)

yb Biy –If it please, pray excuse me, excuse me please; to

dwell within, in me, at me, with me, by me; to pray, please; the Temple's innermost sanctuary;

29th Gate of the 231 Gates

gwg Gog –Gog, descendant of Joel; prince of Rosh, Meshech,

and Tubal; Gog, a nation in the north +g Gat –47th Gate of the 231 Gates

sorrow

Duwb –Pine away, sorrow

become, be (Aramaic)

Hiva' –He Hu’–He; a name of God and title of Keter

zh Haz –80th Gate of the 231 Gates

ww Vav –Nail, peg, hook, pin; 6th letter of Hebrew alphabet

hz Zeh –This, this one, here, which, this that, the one the

other, another, such, this is; lamb, sheep (may be

a typographical error for "seh" – 1 Sam 17:34)31

Zoh –This

Chobab –Hobab, father-in-law or brother-in-law of

Moses – see Num 10:29 & Judg 4:11 (in the latter Jethro is called the brother-in-law of Moses)

dx Chad –One (number), same, single, first, each, once;

sharp

–The 12th Path is between Keter and Binah and corresponds to Bet, Mercury, and the Tarot card

The Magician – G.D

–The number of signs in the Zodiac

–The number of pairs of ribs in the human body

–The number of thoracic vertebrae in the human spine

–The number of Israelite tribes

–The number of Ishmaelite tribes

–The number of Jesus' disciples

–Tarot Card: The Hanged Man (The 23rd Path; Mem; Water – G.D.)

31 Seh, (305)

desire or uneasiness)

'Abiy –Abi, daughter of Zechariah and the wife of Ahaz

and mother of Hezekiah

'avi –Father, my father

Talmud Aguddah –Band, binding

sharp

Echad –One (number); one of

Oyeb –Enemy (either personal or national)

Bo'i –I came

healing, health

Gehah –Medicine; to cure

dwg Guwd –To invade, attack, overcome

yg Gay –Valley

Gi –The second two letters of the 42-letter name of God,

corresponding to Chokmah; 48th Gate of the 231

Gates

Goy –Nation, people, namely gentile people or nation

De'agah –Carefulness, fear, heaviness, sorrow, anxiety

gwd Davvag –A fisherman, fisher

devise, plot, speak; to remove, drive out

Hegeh –A rumbling, growling, moaning; to separate; to

imagine

(Gen 36:35-36; 1 Chr 1:46); the last of Edom's early kings (1 Chr 1:50-51 – see also Hadar)32; member of the royal family of Edom who opposed Israel's rule of Edom (1 Kings 11:14-

22, 25); an ancient Syrian god of storms

32 Hadar, (209)