This book-length meditation on the Hebrew alphabet offers profound insights into many important ideas found in Jewish thought. From time immemorial, the Hebrew alphabet has been considered to be more than a collection of individual letters. Indeed, the essence of each letter of the Hebrew alphabet can be seen as a fundamental building block of the world. Jewish scholars throughout the ages have meditated on these letters, deriving spiritual inspiration in the process. In The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters, Robert M. Haralick looks closely at each of the Hebrew characters, helping us to gain insight from this remarkable tradition. Drawing primarily upon traditional kabbalistic and chasidic thought, Haralick combines his own insights with those of great Jewish personalities such as Moshe Chayim Luzzatto and Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, as well as drawing upon classical texts, including the Bahir, the Zohar, the Midrash, and the Talmud. One of Haralick's main sources of inspiration is the ancient Jewish art of gematria, where each letter has a numerical value as does each combination of letters. Through this traditional methodology, Haralick shows his readers the many, often dazzling, ways that the Hebrew alphabet has been examined.

As a carpenter employs tools to build a home, so G-d utilized twenty-two letters of the Alef-Bais to form the heaven and earth. They are the metaphorical wood, stone and nails, the cornerposts and crossbeams of our earthly and spiritual existence.In Letters of Light, Rabbi Aaron Raskin explores the essence of these holy letters, and how by their very nature they continue to be a source of creation, reflection, prayer and inspiration in our everyday lives. Each letter is examined in terms of its graphic design, its Gematria and its Hebrew meaning. Rabbi Raskin?s insights are themselves guided by the rich foundation of Chassidus and particularly by the illuminations of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe. The result is an original and insightful examination of how Torah ? indeed the very letter of the law ? can inform every aspect of our lives, both religious and secular.

Combine the ancient practice of hatha yoga with the shapes and mystical meanings of the Hebrew letters to enhance your physical health and deepen your spiritual life. This unique guide shows both the yoga enthusiast and the yoga novice how to use hatha yoga postures and techniques to physically connect with Jewish spirituality. "If you are curious about hatha yoga, Aleph-Bet Yoga provides a safe introduction to the basic yoga postures and techniques. If you are one of the tens of thousands of Jews who already practice hatha yoga, Aleph-Bet Yoga will connect your yoga to something explicitly Jewish. With its Jewish content and intent, Aleph-Bet Yoga will enhance rather than interfere with your religious identity." —from the Introduction As we move our bodies through the Hebrew aleph-bet, turning toward the inner meaning of the letters, we can tap into the deep connections between our body, mind and spirit. Drawing on the sacred texts and mystical writings of Judaism, combined with the insights of yoga teacher Steven Rapp, Aleph-Bet Yoga is an East-meets-West experience for our whole selves. Aleph-Bet Yoga makes it easy for anyone to incorporate yoga into their life, and combines the physical and spiritual aspects of Judaism. It features step-by-step instructions, photographs clearly demonstrating each yoga pose, and insightful words to inspire and guide us in connecting the spiritual meaning of the Hebrew letters to our yoga practice.

Sefer Yetzirah (the "Book of Creation"), one of the earliest Kabbalistic works, teaches that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are the building blocks of creation. Each letter has its own significance, spiritual energy, and reason for existing. In this revised version of Rabbi Ginsburgh's best-selling The Alef-Beit, Jewish Thought Revealed Through the Hebrew Letters, he explains how each letter's name, form, and numerical value play a role in the creative process of the cosmos. He draws on the understandings of the well-known mystic, the Baal Shem Tov, in depicting how each letter has nine dimensions, with impact in three worlds--the physical, spiritual, and Divine. In every letter there is the true completion of the soul, a chance to unite consciousness with the code of creation. Includes glossary, footnotes, and index.

For more than a generation, Rabbi Michael L. Munk, as a sidelight to his busy schedule of educational and communal work, has fascinated audiences with his learned and provocative lectures on the Hebrew alphabet. In the process of opening eyes and raising eyebrows, he has convinced countless people that his contention is true: the Hebrew alphabet abounds in scholarly and mystical meaning. He has developed and proven a profound thesis. The alphabet -- if correctly understood -- is a primer for life. Ethical conduct, religious guidance, philosophical insights, all are nestled in the curls, crowns, and combinations of the Hebrew letters. This is one of those rare books that is both interesting and profound, learned and readable. The wisdom and compassion of the author is evident in those subtle ways that do not intrude on the reader, but give him the satisfaction of knowing that a rich, warm, productive lifetime of experience is flavoring the text.

"Judaism has always regarded Hebrew as a sacred language, the medium of divine communication. And its letters are no ordinary forms. The very word for letter, ot, means sign or wonder ... reveals the spirituality and power of all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, from aleph, which signifies creative energy, to tav, symbolizing wholeness and joy. Each concise, historical, and poetic letter profile, written by Judaica scholar Edward Hoffman, is accompanied by a lustrous illustration wrought in hues of olive, blue, and silver ... this insightful meditation delves into the rich mystical heritage of the letters, offering a modern link to ancient times, when contemplating the Hebrew alphabet could enlighten the inmost soul."--Publisher's description.

This book is a radical exploration of the mystical teachings in the Gospel of John. It helps the reader to experience these spiritual truths for themselves, and go beyond the everyday mind, which is dominated by the ego and realize their eternal Being, which Johns Gospel calls Logos. By approaching the teachings in a meditative state, the symbolism contained within the Greek text opens out and comes alive in the present moment. The Gospel is not a historical document; it speaks directly to each person now and the states of consciousness represented in the stories are accessible now. The book contains guided meditations to help bring this to life for the reader. This awakening concerns our relationship with the whole of life. Spiritual consciousness means that we are aware of the sacredness of our connections to each other as fellow human beings, and to the creatures of the natural world. Christ and the Logos contain both masculine and feminine in balance; at this critical time, our well-being and that of our fellow creatures is dependent on this realization. ,

Hebrew language utilizes an alternate letters in order when contrasted with English language. The Jewish alphabet is frequently called the "alefbet," in light of its initial two letters. The Hebrew letter set comprises twenty-two letters. They are intriguing and captivating to find out about in light of the fact that each letter in the Alefbet contains various implications and imageries.Each letter is a symbol, brimming with numerous and more profound implications, from strict direct significance, to internal otherworldly importance. Understanding the letters gives basic knowledge into the more profound implications of the Torah and the Holy book.The in and out significance of the Hebrew letters goes beyond the sound for which they stand. The letters form the core of the Jewish language and that of the religion.The twenty-two (22) letters of the Hebrew letters in order each has an emblematic importance. Each letter in Hebrew likewise has a specific numerical value known as "Gematria." A profound investigation on the more inciting implications of the letters can change, widen and develop our learning and can lead us to more profound degrees of otherworldly experience. This book is a small section point into a more extensive and more profound field of study, which could be followed for a lifetime.

Your Name Is Your Blessing: Hebrew Names and Their Mystical Meanings represents the first time that the secrets of the Kabbalah, the mystical teachings of Jewish spiritual leaders, were introduced to the general public for the purpose of explaining the profound meanings hidden in every person’s name. Even now, Your Name is Your Blessing remains alone in its application of Kabbalistic teachings to the choice and understanding of one’s name. A name tells a story that captures a person’s character and personality, and Your Name Is Your Blessing, Benjamin and Elaine Blech provide a guide to understanding what your name says about you and your life. The Blechs give the gematria—the total numerical value of a word, which is the starting point for kabbalistic analysis—for hundreds of names, as well as Biblical words, phrases, and blessings associated with this numerical value.

These meditations and articles were collected from various writings, as well as public and private talks, by Samuel Ben-Or Avital, and formed into a manuscript in 1982 for private publication. The manual was created for a few students who needed to learn Hebrew in a certain way so that they would have access to reading some Kabbalistic sources in Hebrew. A few instructions for the proper Sephardic pronunciation of the Hebrew Letters were added. It is with great festivity that we announce this first public edition of The Invisible Stairway. This book is a proposition to study, partly, the spiritual and cosmic essential codes of the Hebrew letters in a certain way, simple and direct. It is also meant to assist the student in reading the Biblical Hebrew TORAH properly, and not just in its distorted translations. It will open a gateway to really know what the Torah has concealed within its historic and spiritual simplicity. Courage to you who dare to learn and earn the unique way of a new understanding of the great universe and realities we live in at "these times." "This book is not a scholarly book; it is not a book 'to read.' "It is up to you to find out how to 'eat' it. "In the midst of Fame, keep me hidden." - Samuel Ben-Or Avital "Samuel Ben-Or Avital is 'the hidden Kabbalist of Boulder'." -Rabbi Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, Boulder, Colorado. "The letters are words like bodies, meanings are like soul; A letter, a word not opened, is like a dream not interpreted. Words without thoughts are like a foot without muscle." - Commentary on Exodus 20.1, Moshe Ben Ezra, Spanish Jewish Philosopher, c. 1055-1135 "We are all, without exception, crazy. The saving grace of Avital's craziness is that it is concerned with his own spirituality. This concern has consumed every day of his life, and however myopic it may appear to some, it is the matrix and meaning of Avital, the man and the artist." - Paul J. Curtis, Director The American Mime Theatre, New York, 1965. "If you seek some truth or direction in life or art, stay close to Samuel for he might just then crawl out of his shell and give you of his soul." - Moni Yakim Juilliard School, Movement Division, New York "The letters are words like bodies, meanings are like soul; A letter, a word not opened, is like a dream not interpreted. Words without thoughts are like a foot without muscle." - Commentary on Exodus 20.1, Moshe Ben Ezra, Spanish Jewish Philosopher, c. 1055-1135"