אוֹת ה'

ה HEH — Numerical Value: 5 | The letter of breath, of the Divine Name, of revelation | 36 source entries [Translator's Note] Source lines 1–8 all describe different aspects of the letter Heh's shape and spiritual meaning; lines 11–12 are cross-references of lines 2 and 4 respectively; lines 20–21 are a single entry split across two lines; lines 26–27 are cross-references of the Gimel section's dreidel teaching. All are accounted for below. Hebrew Entry English Translation & Explanation Source ה — three forms Shape / Form The letter Heh in its three written forms, together with 2 kollelim, has the gematria of חלב (chalav, "milk") — the nourishing whiteness of Torah. [The three forms of Heh used in Kabbalistic writing each have slightly different numerical values. Their sum with the two additional units for the concept as a whole connects to chalav, symbol of the nurturing Torah, whose letters (ח-ל-ב = 8+30+2 = 40) also spell lev preceded by ches.] Likutay Mooharan 97 ה — five articulations Shape / Form The letter Heh embodies the five articulations of the mouth (ה׳ מוצאות הפה) — the five places from which all speech emerges: throat, palate, tongue, teeth, and lips. The letter Heh is itself produced with pure breath alone, the most elemental of all sounds. [The five articulation-points correspond to the five books of Torah, the five sefirot of chesed, and the five lobes of the lung. The Heh, being pure breath, carries the entire structure of speech within its single exhalation.] Likutay Mooharan 9:3; 57:8 ד → ה Shape / Form The Dalet (ד) was [originally] a Heh (ה) — and it returned and became a Heh again. The gap at the bottom-left of the Heh is the mouth through which breath and speech emerge; the Dalet lacks this opening. [Cross-reference from Section 4.] Likutay Mooharan 49:3 ה — breath Shape / Form The letter Heh embodies the aspect of hevel peh (הבל פה) — "the breath of the mouth." It is produced with pure exhalation, without any constriction or obstruction. [This entry and its cross-reference (line 12: "the breath of the mouth is the aspect of Heh") are two sides of the same teaching: Heh = hevel, and hevel = Heh. The letter and the breath are one.] Likutay Mooharan 77 ה — five books Notarikon The letter Heh (= 5) corresponds to the five books of the Torah (חמשה חומשי תורה). Likutay Mooharan 101 ה = ד + י Shape / Form (×2) The letter Heh is: (1) A Dalet (ד) together with a Yud (י) — the small floating foot at the bottom-left of the Heh; (2) Equivalently: a Yud and a Dalet — the divine point joined to the vessel. [Both formulations point to the same truth: the Heh is the Dalet (poverty/vessel) that has received the Yud (divine point/spark). When lack receives the divine spark, it becomes the letter of the Name of G-d.] Likutay Mooharan 49:5; 49:3; 97 ה → ק Shape / Form When the leg of the Heh (ה) is lengthened downward, it becomes the letter Kuf (ק). The Kuf's descending leg reaches below the baseline — alluding to the divine light that descends into and illuminates the lower worlds. Likutay Mooharan 167:4 ה׳ חסדים Notarikon The five chassadim (ה׳ חסדים, "five acts of lovingkindness") correspond to the word צדקה (tzedakah, "charity / righteousness") — which appears five times in the Torah in specific passages discussed in the source. Likutay Mooharan 67:5 ה׳ כנפי ריאה Notarikon The five lobes of the lung (ה׳ כנפי ריאה) correspond to the five books of the Torah. The lung — organ of breath, of the letter Heh — mirrors the Torah in its fivefold structure. Likutay Mooharan 8:9; 267 הויה Gematria (×5) The four-letter Divine Name (הויה — Havayah, the ineffable Name) yields multiple gematria connections: (1) Spelled out in full with Yuds (יוד קי ואו קי) = the Divine Name ס"ג [63 — the Name of Binah]; (2) Spelled out with Alefs (milui Alfin) = gematria of Adam [45 — the Name of Ze'ir Anpin]; (3) Three times (3 × 26 = 78) = gematria of חֹלָם (cholam — the vowel-dot above, representing the supernal hidden light); (4) Contains 10 letters in its full spelling and 4 letters in its simple form — 10+4 = 14 = יד ("hand") — the Name of G-d is the divine Hand; (5) Three times Havayah (78) plus three times Elokim (258) = 336 = gematria of שלו (shalev, "tranquil / at peace"). The union of mercy and judgment produces peace. And: Havayah and Elokim in their "backwards" (achorayim) spelling = gematria of רעב (ra'av, "hunger / famine"). When the "face" of the Names is withdrawn, spiritual hunger results. [These six teachings about the Name Havayah span some of Rebbe Nachman's most profound lessons. The Name = Adam (Man); the Name × 3 = cholam (the hidden light); the Name as "hand" — these are windows into the deepest kabbalistic understanding of G-d's relationship with the world.] Likutay Mooharan 6:7; II:82; II:3; 46; 62:5 ה׳זה כ׳גודל ח׳סדך ו׳כאשר נ׳שאת Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "According to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, and as You have forgiven" (ה׳זה כ׳גודל ח׳סדך ו׳כאשר נ׳שאת) [Numbers 14:19 — Moshe's great plea for forgiveness in the desert] spell חנוכה (Chanukah). The miracle of Chanukah is encoded in Moshe's greatest act of intercession. [Numbers 14:19 is the climax of Moshe's prayer after the sin of the spies — his most desperate and successful appeal to divine mercy. Within it, hidden in its opening letters, is Chanukah — the festival of hidden light and miraculous victory. Forgiveness and miraculous light are the same.] Likutay Mooharan II:7; 11 ה׳יולי נ׳בדל ג׳לגל ש׳פל Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "the primal matter is separated, the lowly wheel" (ה׳יולי נ׳בדל ג׳לגל ש׳פל) — a philosophical phrase describing the spinning of the material world — also spell ה׳נ׳ג׳ש׳, the four letters of the dreidel. [A second source for the dreidel letters (see Gimel section above): this time from a phrase describing the lowly spinning sphere of the material world — which is precisely what the dreidel embodies. The dreidel spins in the lowest world, yet its letters encode the highest redemption. Cross-references: Heh-Nun-Gimel-Shin listed twice in source (lines 26–27) as cross-references back to the Gimel section — consolidated here.] Sichos HaRan 40 היכל Gematria Haichal (היכל, "the Sanctuary / Divine Palace" = 65) equals the gematria of the Divine Name Adonai (אדני = 65). The Sanctuary is the physical embodiment of the Name Adonai. [Cross-reference from Adonai in Section 1.] Likutay Mooharan 55:7; 194; Sichos HaRan 96, 105 הלכה Roshay Saveivos Halachah (הלכה, "Jewish law / the way one walks") — its letters are the first letters of ה׳ריעו ל׳יי כ׳ל ה׳ארץ: "Shout joyfully to Hashem, all the earth!" [Psalms 100:1]. Jewish law is a shout of joy to G-d. [Cross-reference: the verse itself listed below as a cross-reference.] [One of the most luminous entries in the entire work. The word halachah — from the root "to walk," denoting the way of practical Jewish life — encodes a verse of total jubilation. Law and joy are revealed as one. Rebbe Nachman insisted that the halachos are the vessels for the light of the Torah teachings, and that study of halachah must be suffused with joy.] Likutay Mooharan II:2; 3 ה׳מעטריכי ח׳סד ו׳רחמים Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "crowning with lovingkindness and mercy" (ה׳מעטריכי ח׳סד ו׳רחמים) [Psalms 103:4] spell חוה (Chavah — Eve, the first woman). The name of Eve encodes the divine attributes of lovingkindness and compassion — she who gives life is herself a crown of mercy. Likutay Mooharan II:16 ה׳ן ת׳וי ש׳די י׳ענני Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "Behold, the sign of Sha-dai shall answer me" (ה׳ן ת׳וי ש׳די י׳ענני) [Job 31:35] spell שתיה (shtiyah, "drinking" — and the name of the Foundation Stone of the world, the Even HaShtiyah, upon which the Temple was built and from which the world was "drunk" into existence). Likutay Mooharan 61:6 ה׳נותן א׳מרי ש׳פר Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "He who grants eloquent speech" (ה׳נותן א׳מרי ש׳פר) [Job 35:4 / see source] spell אשה (ishah, "woman"). A woman embodies the divine gift of beautiful, eloquent expression. [Cross-reference from Ishah in Section 1.] Likutay Mooharan 47 העֹרף Tziroof HaOref (העֹרף, "the back of the neck") — its letters are a perfect permutation of פרעה (Pharaoh). Stubbornness — the "stiff neck" — and Pharaoh share the same letters. [ה-ע-ר-פ rearranged = פ-ר-ע-ה. The Hebrew word for the back of the neck — the body part associated with stubbornness (kesheh oref = "stiff-necked") — is a permutation of Pharaoh, the supreme archetype of stubborn resistance to G-d. Egypt and the stiff neck are the same word in different order.] Likutay Mooharan 62:5; 163 הפר / פרה Tziroof Heifer / Hefar (הפר, "to annul / a young bull") — its letters are a permutation of פרה (parah, "a cow / the Red Heifer"). The Red Heifer (Parah Adumah) purifies the impure and paradoxically renders the one who prepares it impure — the supreme mystery (chok) of Torah. [The two words — hefar (annulment) and parah (the Red Heifer) — contain the same letters. Both concepts involve reversal: annulment reverses a vow; the Red Heifer reverses impurity. Their shared letters reveal their shared spiritual root in the power of divine reversal.] Likutay Mooharan II:74 הקף × 2 Gematria Hakef (הקף, "circuit / encirclement") twice = gematria of ש"ע נהורין ("370 lights") — the 370 radiant lights of the Divine countenance (Atik Yomin) described in the Zohar. Likutay Mooharan II:7; 11 הָב / ה׳ר ש׳דה ב׳ית / השב Roshay Saveivos Hav (הָב, "give!" [Genesis 30:1, Rachel's desperate plea to Yaakov]) — its letters are the first letters of ה׳ר ש׳דה ב׳ית: "mountain, field, house" — the three levels of space in which G-d's presence is encountered: mountain (transcendence), field (open search), house (intimacy). HaShev (השב, "return! / restore!") — its letters are equally the first letters of ה׳ר ש׳דה ב׳ית: the same three holy spaces. To restore is to return to mountain, field, and house. [Both hav ("give") and hashev ("return/restore") share the same first-letter acronym — mountain, field, house. The three spiritual dwelling-places of G-d are the source of all giving and all return. [Lines 32 and 34 in the source are two sides of this same triangle.] Likutay Mooharan 10:4 ה׳ריעו ל׳יי כ׳ל ה׳ארץ Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "Shout joyfully to Hashem, all the earth!" [Psalms 100:1] spell הלכה (halachah, "Jewish law"). [Cross-reference from Halachah above.] Likutay Mooharan II:2; 3 ה׳שקיפה מ׳מעון ק׳דשיך Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "Look down from Your holy dwelling" (ה׳שקיפה מ׳מעון ק׳דשיך) [Deuteronomy 26:15 — the declaration made after bringing the bikurim / first fruits] spell קמה (kamah, "standing grain / arising"). G-d's downward gaze from above causes Israel to stand and arise below. [The very verse in which Israel asks G-d to look down from Heaven carries within its first letters the word for grain standing upright. When the divine gaze descends, Israel rises — like grain growing toward the light.] Likutay Mooharan 234 ה׳שתחוו ל׳יי ב׳הדרת ק׳דש Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "Bow down to Hashem in the beauty of holiness" (ה׳שתחוו ל׳יי ב׳הדרת ק׳דש) [Psalms 29:2] spell קבלה (Kabbalah — "receiving" / the mystical tradition). Kabbalah is bowing in the beauty of holiness. [Quintessentially Breslov: the mystical tradition (Kabbalah, from the root "to receive") is encoded in the verse about bowing in beauty before G-d. The deepest mysticism is not theoretical — it is the act of prostration before the Divine.] Likutay Mooharan 11:6 [Translator's Summary — Section 5, Heh — 36 source entries fully covered] The letter Heh is the richest section so far for shape-teachings — eight separate entries describe the form, transformation, and spiritual meaning of the Heh's written shape. The gematria cluster for the Divine Name Havayah spans five separate calculations, all pointing to the central Kabbalistic truth that G-d's Name contains the essence of Man, of light, of peace, and of the divine Hand. Three teachings stand out for their beauty: halachah encoding joyful praise; ha'oref (stiff-neck) being a permutation of Pharaoh; and Kabbalah hidden in the verse of bowing in beauty before G-d.