Letter Value

Aleph A 1
Beth B 2
Gimel G 3
Qabalistic Principles Daleth D 4
Heh H 5
1. Gematria Vau V 6
Zayin Z 7
This is one of the most widely known techniques. Each Cheth Ch 8
Hebrew letter has a number. For instance, "aleph," the Teth T 9
first letter of the alphabet is number 1. "Yod," the tenth Yodh Y 10
Kaph K 20
letter, is number 10. But "kaph," the eleventh number, is Lamed L 30
20, not 11. The next letter, "lamed" is 30. By adding up Mem M 40
the value of each letter in a word, we can get a numerical Nun N 50
value for the entire word. Samekh S 60
This is an important tool through which the Jewish mystic Ayin a' 70
Peh P 80
can relate one word to another. Here's a quick example. Tzaddi Tz 90
Chesed, the name of the fourth sphere of the Tree of Life, Qoph Q 100
translates to "mercy." In Hebrew, it is spelled ChSD. (Note: Resh R 200
When a lower case letter is used in this context, it is Shin Sh 300
Tau Th 400
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
Each Hebrew letter can be seen as a stylized pictograph and that can
serve as the basis for mystical meaning. The letter shin, for instance,
can be viewed as a pictograph for a row of teeth, or upward shooting
flames. And, indeed, the letter shin is commonly associated with the
idea of tooth, and the element of fire.
5. Roots
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).