Hebrew Mysticism - The Kabbalah

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Hebrew Mysticism - The Kabbalah

Post #1

Post by William »

otseng wrote: Sat Dec 19, 2020 9:27 am
Overcomer wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:10 pm How are you finding Hebrew, otseng? I have never studied the language. It looks harder than Greek to me. What texts/sources are you using?
I'm taking the slow self-study approach to Hebrew and Greek. I'm writing my own translation of the entire Bible and gradually working through it. I'm using Blue Letter Bible and using the interlinear to look into the original languages.

Hebrew is a fascinating language. I wish someone had told me earlier what an interesting language it is. As evangelical Christians (or any Christian for that matter), we tend to deemphasize the Old Testament (and therefore don't study Hebrew). I would even dare say among Biblical scholars, most also underappreciate the Hebrew text (how many Hebrew scholars are there compared to Greek scholars?).

Hebrew is not "hard", but it is completely different than Western languages. If you get into the mindset that everything is completely opposite of English, then it's easier to learn. Instead of reading left to right, it's right to left. Hebrew is all consonant letters and has no lowercase letters. Things are generally explained functionally in Hebrew (the Lord is my shepherd), unlike descriptively like Greek (God is love). Hebrew emphasizes verbs whereas Greek emphasizes nouns. More on The Philosophy of the Hebrew Language.

What makes Hebrew interesting for me is it is a coded language. There is so much coded information in Hebrew and layers of meanings. Here is one video about it: The Hebrew Language is The DNA of Creation.
After watching the video otseng linked above, it is clear that the subject is related to Mysticism, in this case Hebrew Mysticism.

a quick online search for a definition has these two on offer;

1. Belief that union with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or the spiritual apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect, may be attained through contemplation and self-surrender.
"St Theresa's writings were part of the tradition of Christian mysticism"
2. Vague or ill-defined religious or spiritual belief, especially as associated with a belief in the occult.
"there is a hint of New Age mysticism in the show's title"

Wikipedia has a more comprehensive definition, which can be viewed here.



The video osteng linked makes some interesting claims which require closer examination.

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Re: Hebrew Mysticism - The Kabbalah

Post #11

Post by William »

ALEPH

Symbol = Image

NAME: Leader. To Teach.

SOUND: Silent [does not have a sound]

NUMERICAL VALUE: 1
Letters in Gods 'Special' Name Yod Hei Vav Hei = 10+5+6=5=26

SHAPE: Connected to the special name of God.
Yod Vav Yod [Composition of these letters]

CODE OF FIRST LETTERS/WORDS: First 3 words in Torah [Genesis]
Image
Connected to "Elohim".

MISC: Aleph spelt out is
אָלֶף
1+30+80 = 111 [Aleph numeral value = 1]
There is a connection between Aleph and Oneness.

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Re: Hebrew Mysticism - The Kabbalah

Post #12

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SOUL

The Hebrew for Soul is נפש.

The First Letter of any Hebrew word is the anchor or HQ of the overall meaning each letter in the word means.

In this case, the first letter is;

נ [Nuun]
Nuun means;

The Nuun is the symbol of faithfulness (ne’eman נאמן), soul (Neshama נשמה), and emergence. The nuun stands for humility, as it is bent both above and below. It represents the soul Neshama, the heavenly spark housed in the earthly container of the body. In Aramaic, Nuun means fish, so Nuun can be thought of as the fish that swims in the waters of the Torah, represented by Mem מ. It is connected to fertility, continuity and the ability to increase and multiply. Nuun also stands for the 50 Gates of Wisdom of Binah.
Nuun indicates constant presence and the humility of the soul. The soul is silent, bent, and humble constantly giving light but staying hidden. The Nuun shows that to be bound to the Creator’s will, not our own personal egoistic way, we must bend above and below. Nun shows the relationship between the body, which is impermanent, and the soul, which never dies. It can teach us about the nature of time and space.
Nun also represents flow, teaching us to be supple and flexible like the fish instead of resisting change. If we can be aware of the inner guide, the Neshama, we need never fear because the Creator is always present with us.


The 2nd letter is פ

פ[Peh]
Peh means;

The Hebrew letter Peh means mouth and refers to the power of speech. In Kabbalah, speech is actually considered to be a spiritual power, which can cause good or evil depending on how it is used. In a certain way, what one thinks is how one is, and what one speaks has the power to become. Violent words lead to violent actions. The quality of the speech is considered to be the quality of the life’s essence and creative existence. The Peh teaches us to view our words as precious as gold, not to be spilled haphazardly.
The shape of the Peh is a Khaf with a Yod inside of it. This represents the spiritual spark of the Neshama soul, contained inside the physical body. With words and silence we can communicate the essence of our soul and existence. This requires that the inner and outer life match – that the physical existence is fully aligned manifesting the spiritual intentions of the soul within it. As it says in the Talmud Baba Metsiah “Don’t say one thing with the mouth and another with the heart.” The Yod is also the Nekudah SheBaLev, the point in the heart which spiritual awakening begins from. However, alignment of the physical with the spiritual level is no easy task. The normal balance of a human life is perhaps 1% or less spiritual and 99% physical, but the kabbalists say that right balance between these two would actually be the reverse.
The power of the Peh is a double-edged sword. As it says in Proverbs 18:21 “Life and death are in the hands of the tongue.” Because of this, the Peh represents the requirement to govern one’s own nature. Routine speech, speech to manipulate, all the distortions of speech must give way to viewing speech as a miracle, as gold too precious to be spilled. Then speech can be used for its true purpose – to speak one’s destiny and to activate spirit through the thoughts and the speech.


The third letter is ש

ש [Shin]
Shin means;
Shin, the 21st Hebrew letter is the letter of fire and transformation. Shin literally means tooth and its shape is 3 branches of flame. These are the 3 pillars of the tree of life, reaching high like flames, purifying and changing the condition of our lives, teaching us to become aligned with the Whole of Creation. It also represents the right and left extreme opposites and the requirement to balance them by following the central pillar, the middle way.
Both the tooth and fire meanings of Shin refer to it as a process of transformation, breaking down, grinding into particles, building anew, cooking, the firing of a clay pot into a form. The whole process of transformation, healing, breaking and restoring. The fire also represents the unchangeable, the unmovable, and thus is a symbol of divine power. The spirit constantly transforms the matter, yet remains unchanged itself. Matter changes constantly, yet the spirit within does not change, so all of life is a process of learning to align with that unchangeable essence. Shin is the flame of the spirit, which we must keep always burning within us.
Finally, the Shin teaches us balance. It is composed of 3 Vavs, the 3 pillars of the tree of life. The right pillar is of kindness and mercy, the left of strict justice and truth. The world cannot continue without both, so we must balance between the two. In all aspects of life, we must find the middle way between the opposites and extremes.


This information above is the overall impression the Mystics have re The Soul...it isn't only an interface with The Mind Behind Creation. t is not considered to be a growth of something created [emergent] from the body.

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