Hebrew Alphabet
Question
Good evening, I'm fascinated by The Hebrew language. I've been reading the Tanakh and using an interlinear bible to understand it with more depth. Do individual Hebrew letters have meaning, that when combined, create a deeper meaning? Or is that not based upon reality? The word shachah when broken into its individual letters seems to illustrate its meaning beautifully. I.E. worship is what you consume( teeth) and pay attention too, in order to find refuge, protection, and comfort. Is this a reality or a coincidence?
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
Yes. The Hebrew language and its letter are all holy. It consists of 22 letters of which are consonants. There are no vowel letters int he Hebrew alphabet. The are no uppercase or lowercase designations in the Hebrew alphabet. Every Hebrew letter has a numerical value which is used, among other things, to reveal secrets of the Torah. The first ten letters of the alphabet have a numerical value of 1-10 respectively. The next nine letters have a numerical value of 20, 30, 40 and so one. The final three letters of the alphabet have a numerical value of 200, 300, and 400. The Ba’al Haturim commentary focus heavily on Gematria and deriving different interpretations of the Torah form it.
As you correctly note, secrets of the Torah can be derived from many words which depend on the word, the number of letters that make up the word, and he shapes of such letters. Vowels and sounds are formed by a system of dots and markings, usually under the letter, which also reveal secrets and hidden messages of the Torah.
Hebrew is the language that G-d used to create the world! The Zohar teaches that every Hebrew letter is responsible for the creation of different worlds that we cannot even understand. Every Hebrew letter distributes spiritual light, especially the letters as written in a Torah scroll.
When a person prays, and studies Torah special attention should be made to focus on the letters and doing so is said to help one’s prayers be received and to be more successful in one’s Torah studies.
Allow me to make it clear that all of the above is based on Kabbalistic teachings which are difficult to fully understand.