Aleph

A
Color your Aleph pale yellow. You can color the rest of the card the opposite color,
violet. Aleph is the letter at the top left of the first sheet of letters. Besides coloring this
outline Aleph in, I recommend that everyone draw lots of alephs (and the other letters as
we come to them). Use different devices - pencils, pens, wide tip felt calligraphy pens,
paint brushes. Look at your colored Aleph as you read about it daily this week.

All of the Hebrew letters began as simple pictures for animals and objects known to the
people at that time. As far as we know, the first letter Aleph began as a stick figure of
the face of a bull or ox with its horns sticking up.

The Phoenicians turned the letter 90° clockwise onto its side:

We turned it 90° more and removed the extending side arms – yielding our capital letter
“A”, the first letter of our alphabet as well:

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Aleph has gone through continuing transformations. There is also a cursive Aleph used
for handwriting:

Aleph represents the Life Breath (Prana, Pneuma, Spiritus, Ruach...). In most cultures,
there is a word meaning both life and breath.
“The wind carries it in its belly” -The Emerald Tablet
"We were born before the wind." -Van Morrison, “Into the Mystic”
"'Til the wind that left us here returns for us at last." -Jessie Collin Young, “Get Together”
“Our hearts open wide to ride the wind back home.” -Robert Frost, “The Wind Begins to
Blow”

Aleph precedes the beginning, which occurs with the next letter, Beth. It is that which is
before all beginnings, that which takes form as all things, and that which remains when
all is gone. Aleph includes the past, present and future time of all things throughout
space as an infinite and eternal here and now.

The sound of Aleph is like a soft breath - like the breath God breathed into Adam's
nostrils to bring him to life. In Hebrew words, Aleph is most often silent.

A
The shape of our modern Aleph A is like a spiral or a pinwheel. If the letter was pinned
at the center and water poured (or wind blown) on the top left edge, aleph would spin
counter-clockwise.

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The letter name Aleph ULA means bull or ox. As a bull or ox, aleph represents the
sustaining power that makes culture and civilization possible. A bull is potent and
represents the male force that impregnates the female. An ox is strong, but not
instinctually driven/directed by sexual urges. A bull runs wild, but an ox can be directed
toward performing useful purposes that assist the process of civilization.

Earlier in human history, and still so in many natural cultures, it was the ox that plowed
the fields, ground grain and pulled carts. The ox was the motive force for agriculture, the
basis of civilization. Thus the ox represents the force that makes it possible for humans
to adapt and modify the world of nature. Those who owned bulls or oxen were rich.
Thus bulls or oxen represent the vital power of life, the creative force. This is the force
that we receive from the sun.

The word in Hebrew that means "man, generic humanity including women" is Adam,
ADM EDA. It starts with Aleph A followed by DM ED (Daleth and Mem final) which
means “blood”. Thus, we are Aleph "in the blood" of our bodies. Indeed, the process of
spiritual alchemy may be said to consist of practices that increase the amount of Aleph
in our bloodstream.

Aleph is one of the three Hebrew "mother" letters and represents the element of air. On
the Cube of Space, the mother letters are the three coordinates, connecting the
opposite faces. Aleph is the coordinate line that connects above and below. The
movement of energy in the cube path of Aleph is from the center outwards toward the
Above and towards the Below.

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Aleph is the one identity – the one self in all that is. It is to this level of selfhood that is
referred in the saying, “Before Abraham was, I am.” This is a dynamite phrase to take
into meditation. Think of the level of identity you must have and be to make such a
statement. You would have to be in the center of the Cube of Space (Tav X) where all
time is now. This is the point from which Aleph emerges and extends toward the above
and toward the below.

As a number, Aleph is 1. One is the first number, the beginning of all sequences, the
first number we can count. Thus Aleph A represents the beginning of the process of
nature and all worldly events. The number 1 also represents the absolute unity of the
One Self, God, the One Life, Source. (You may choose your own favorite name for the
ineffable.) And yet, creation begins with the next letter, Beth B. So although the letter

Beth B is the number 2, it is the first stage of creation and thus is 1. So seen, that
makes Aleph 0 – that which is before creation.

This juxtaposition of two different ideas (here Aleph being both zero and one, or Beth
being the number two yet also the first, or one) as being in some way identical is a basic
Qabalistic training method. By associated various seemingly different ideas together,
the mind is forced to “stretch” and consider both ideas simultaneously. By this means,
the mind is gradually enabled to consciously entertain multi-dimensional awareness.

Science teaches that everything is a manifestation of light. Einstein’s famous equation,

E=MC2, shows that even matter is a form of light. Add to this the mystery teaching that
this light is an expression of and is directed by consciousness and you have a good
idea of the nature of Aleph. Aleph is the fiery sky power, the radiant energy that is both
the substance and the life, the vitalizing principle, that takes form and directs all things
from within. It is the force in the air we breathe and the food we eat. We can’t really
define it, but all agree that it is “fiery” like the light of the sun.

The Chinese symbol for Chi, the life-force, is a combination of two pictographs, one for
rice and one for steam. The Chinese medicine concept is that we obtain life energy from

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the food we eat and the air we breathe. This concept of energy begin gathered from
food and from air (steam, gasses) is identical with our concept of prana, spirit, Aleph.
Advanced alchemical processes needed for completing the Great Work involve
absorbing more than physical nutrients from the food we eat and more than just oxygen
from the air we breathe.

On the Tree of Life, Aleph is the first pathway; the first emanation from Kether, the
Crown to Chokmah, Wisdom. In Kether, the One knows Itself not, It just is. The name of
God in Kether is simply Eheieh HIHA, “I am” or “I am becoming” (with no predicate).
Since there is no “other”, there can be no reference and therefore no awareness of what
Source is. Then Kether radiates out through the path of Aleph (the Scintillating
Intelligence) and forms Chokmah, the first “other”. From that vantage point, Source can
“turn around” and see Itself. Chokmah is Source’s Self-awareness, the supernal root of
our human self-awareness. In a way, Chokmah is Kether’s mirror. And Chokmah comes
into being through the action of Aleph, the adventurous first “stepping out” of the One
toward manifestation.

Since Aleph is the number 1, Aleph is also related to the first sphere of the Tree of Life,
Kether RXK, the Crown. Kether is the “root of air” and Aleph is the life-breath, air. The
symbol of Kether is a spiral, closely related to Aleph. As a pathway, Aleph begins the
“run and return” by being the first emanation of the first sphere of the Tree of Life.

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There is a teaching story, a “midrash” WRDM, a commentary on the Tanakh (Hebrew
Bible), all about the letters making the case for their being first in creation. Though first
in the alphabet, Aleph allowed the next letter, Beth, to be the first letter in the Bible in
Genesis 1:1. For this, Aleph is highly praised for being so humble. As a reward, Aleph is
chosen to be the first word in the Ten Commandments (IBNA). Beth was chosen

because it is the first letter of blessing, baruch CKRB. On account of this, having Beth
as the first letter will insure that all of creation blesses the creator. Another story
explains that Beth is first in the process of creation because Aleph is silent and remains
in the background while the sound of Beth is explosive, projecting air (Aleph) forcefully
forward. A third story tells that Aleph is the mystery of God that we, in our limited
awareness, cannot comprehend. Therefore, for our understanding, creation begins with
the next letter, Beth B.

In Exodus, there is an important name of God that translates “I am that I am”, HIHA

RWA HIHA, eheieh esher eheieh. Eheieh is the God name ascribed to Kether, the
first and highest sphere of the Tree of Life. Note that all three words making up this
name from Exodus begin with Aleph A.

Rabbi Ginsburgh says that Aleph A is made up of a Vav V with two Yods I, one Yod

above and to the right and one Yod below and to the left of the central big Vav IVI. Vav
as we will see represents a hook or a nail, the device that binds things together. Vav is
also the yoke that binds the ox (Aleph) to the wagon.

The shape of Yod I is found in every Hebrew letter. It is the basis of them all. Thus like
Aleph, Yod is also a symbol of the life force, the one life. Aleph thus seen represents the
principle of "as above, so below". The same vital animating principle "in Heaven" is what
takes form as all below "on Earth". This is also the meaning of the saying that we are
"made in the image and likeness of God". We are "stamped, impressed" (Tav) with the
image of God.

On the first day of creation as described in Genesis, God hovers/broods over the
waters. On the second day, God separates the waters above from the waters below by
“stretching” the firmament between them. On the Cube of Space, the first day/stage can
be compared with Tav brooding in the center. On the second day, Aleph moves
(stretches) out from the center toward the Above and the Below, dividing and thus

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defining the Above and the Below.

In the writings of the Chassidim, a movement within Judaism founded by Rabbi Yisrael
Ba’al Shem Tov, the water above is exalting. It is compared with the joy of being near to
God. The water below is “bitter” and is compared to the pain of separation from God. It
is taught in Judaism that water has two qualities, wet and cold. The water above has the
quality of wet; penetrating, surrounding, enveloping like the experience of exaltation
when near in consciousness to God. The water below has the quality of bitterness; the
suffering we experience when aware of our separation from God and the lowliness we
feel as humans compared with God.

Though this duality is our experience of God, in truth God is one. It is the divine paradox
that both of these are simultaneously true. We are both near to and even one with God
and yet also separate, seemingly far away, and very small in comparison with God. The
union of these two seeming opposites is graphically illustrated in the form of Aleph in

which an upper Yod and a lower Yod are connected by the nail of Vav IVI = A .
God initially decreed that the two waters remain separate. Then God changed the
decree by descending upon Mount Sinai to give the Torah to Moses. And Moses
ascended “approached the cloud” to meet God. The secret of Aleph is in this story of
how God (the upper Yod) came down and Moses (the lower Yod) went up to receive the
connecting Vav of the Torah.

The letter name Vav, as we shall study, means “nail” and is used in Hebrew as the
conjunction “and”. Both the word “and” and a nail are connectors. The Vav in Aleph
“nails” the Yod of God and the Yod of man together.

By means of the sacred teachings embedded in the Torah, humans can and do ascend
into the exaltation of nearness to God. We are a mystery; both finite and yet “stamped”
with the likeness of God, which allows us to be able to run up to God and then return.
Aleph connecting the Above and the Below is graphically illustrated in Aleph’s position
in the Cube of Space.

The “run and return” spoken of in so many Hebrew mystical works can be seen from
two directions. From Above, God runs down into creation, delivers the way for the
manifest to return to the Source, and returns to Heaven. From Below, we humans
ascend to nearness with God and get inspired by, among other activities, studying the
Torah. Then we return and do service, following God’s commandments, mitzvot
XVZM, in order to manifest more of God’s essence here in the world of manifestation.
We humans are God’s means of bringing the qualities of Heaven down to earth.

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 Correspondences

Aleph A
English equivalent: A
Number: 1
Pronunciation: Aleph is silent or a glottal stop transliterated as ‘
Letter Name, ULA Aleph-Lamed-Peh (final): The Ox (or Bull) - strong to carry the
heavy burden of the manifest. Other meanings: teaching, master, 1000 (written as an
wide Aleph )
Related Words: Pelah ALP (Aleph spelled backwards) “wonderful”.
Color: Pale Yellow
Musical Note: E
Tarot Key: Key 0, The Fool
Astrology: The planet Uranus J, co-ruler of Aquarius k, exalted in Scorpio h.
32 Paths of Wisdom: Aleph is the 11th path of wisdom.
Intelligence: Aleph is the Fiery or Scintillating Intelligence.
Path on the Tree of Life: The path of Aleph connects Kether, the Crown to Chokmah,
Wisdom.
Sphere of the Tree of Life: Aleph is the number one, the number of Kether, the Crown,
the first sphere of the Tree of Life.
Cube of Space: Aleph is the axis connecting above and below.
Mythology: Uranus is considered to be the "higher octave" of Mercury. The root of the
word meaning Uranus in Greek has the meaning “sky”. Uranus or Ouranos is the
firstborn and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth. Uranus is Father Sky. Uranus and Gaia
are the parents of most of the gods. In stories, he eats his children (his grandchildren
survive) and also is castrated (transformed from a bull into an ox).
Psychology: Superconsciousness, the state described as being “everywhere and all the
time”

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