1. Gematria

This is one of the most widely known techniques. Each Hebrew letter has a number. For instance, "aleph," the first letter of the alphabet is number 1. "Yod," the tenth letter, is number 10. But "kaph," the eleventh number, is 20, not 11. The next letter, "lamed" is 30. By adding up the value of each letter in a word, we can get a numerical value for the entire word.

This is an important tool through which the Jewish mystic can relate one word to another. Here's a quick example. Chesed, the name of the fourth sphere of the Tree of Life, translates to "mercy." In Hebrew, it is spelled ChSD. (Note: When a lower case letter is used in this context, it is connected to the upper case letter before it and refers to a single Hebrew letter. Hence Ch means the letter "cheth;" Sh stands for "shin, etc. T is commonly used for the letter "teth." But there are two other letters that have a "T" type sound and they are represented differently; "tav" is shown as Tv, and "tzadhi" is shown phonetically at Tz.)

Back to gematria. Chesed is spelled ChSD. Ch (cheth) = 8. S (samech) = 60. D (daleth) = 4. Adding up all the letters gives us 72 (based on 8+60+4). Here's another word that has a value of 72: GLGVL (pronounced gilgul). We get 72 by adding G (3) plus L (30) plus G (3) plus V (6) plus L (30). GLGVL (gilgul) means "transmigration" and is the word used to describe the qabalistic idea of reincarnation. Because gilgul (reincarnation) and chesed (mercy) both equal 72, a qabalist would say that these words are mystically related.

Connecting chesed and gilgul was a classic example of gematria. But the basic idea can be broadened beyond a strict word-to-word relationship. For example, we can also relate words to numbers. Central to qabala is the idea of 32 "paths." In Hebrew, 32 is written as LB (lamed = 30; beth = 2). There's also a Hebrew word LB (lev). It translates to "heart." If we reverse it to BL, we still have 32 for purposes of gematria (although not necessarily for arithmetic). Here, we get to stretch gematria again. The letter B (beth) is the first letter of the first word of the Torah; BRAShYTh ("bereshit"), which has classically been translated as "in the beginning." L (lamed) is the last letter of the last word of the Torah; YShRAL ("Yisrael"), which is the Hebrew word for Israel.

So broadening gematria shows us that the qabalistic 32 paths of wisdom is linked to the heart and blankets the entire Torah. There's more. BL is also a word in its own right; "bal." It translates to "not." The gematria for bal also equals 32. Hence the word "not" is linked to the heart, the 32 paths of wisdom, and the bookends around the Torah. How does "not" fit in with those other ideas? For now, I'll leave that to your imagination.

There's yet another thing we can do with gematria. We can use it to link a single word to a phrase. Consider the word ALPh, which is "aleph" (the spelled out name of first letter of the Hebrew language). We get 111 by adding A (1) plus L (30) plus Ph (80). The number 111 is also the sum total of the phrase AChD HVA ALHYM (Achad ho Elohim) which translates to "He is one God." (A=1, Ch=8, D=4, H=5, V=6, A=1, A=1, L=30, H=5, Y=10, M=40; this totals to 111.)

Obviously, gematria, in its classic form, and even more so in its broader application, is a very powerful tool for establishing mystical links between seemingly unrelated ideas.

2. Notariquon

Under this less well known technique, each letter of a word is regarded as the first initial of a completely separate word. Hence one Hebrew word can serve as a set of initials for a phrase. Consider the first word of the Torah; BRAShYTh. Assuming each of those letters represents the beginning of a separate word, we can expand it as follows: BrAShYTh RAH ALHYM ShYQBLV YShRAL TVRH, which means "In the beginning, God saw that Israel would accept the Torah."

3. Temurah

This is a much more complex system in which tables of combinations are established such that each letter of the alphabet is matched with another letter. By replacing each letter of a word with its "mate" letter, a new word is formed.

4. Pictographs

Edward Horowitz, in How the Hebrew Language Grew (KTAV Publishing ISBN 0-88125-487-8) explains that most Hebrew words "go back to a root - and this root must have in it three consonants." (Note: ALL Hebrew letters are consonants. Vowel sounds are understood by those proficient in Hebrew; markings around the letters serve as cues to vowel sounds for those less familiar with the language). Horowitz goes on to state: "No matter what you do with the root, no matter into what word you turn it - that word must carry in it something of the meaning of the root."

This concept repeatedly surfaces in qabala. As an example, consider BYNH (Binah - "understanding," the third sphere of the Tree of Life). It's root, BYN also serves as a separate word, "bein," which translates to "between." This linkage can be used to shed light on the sphere Binah.

6. Initials

We saw in notariquon how each letter of a word can serve as a first initial for another word. We can also derive significance from initials in and of themselves.

The prologue of the Zohar provides a nice example of this. There's a tale, there, about how each letter appeared in turn before God asking that it serve as the start of creation (i.e., the first letter of the first word of the Torah). Before "beth" is ultimately chosen, the other letters parade before God and explain why they should be so honored, and God explains his reasons for rejecting their pleas.

Throughout this process, initials play a prominent role. Consider one example: the letter "ayin." Favoring "ayin" was the fact that it is the first letter of the word for "modesty" (AyNVH; anovo). But "ayin" was rejected because it is also the first letter of the word for "iniquity" (AyVL; auvel).

* * * * *