אוֹת ח'

ח CHES — Numerical Value: 8 | The letter of the transcendent, of the eighth | 41 source entries [Translator's Note] Ches is the largest section after Alef and Vov. The letter 8 transcends the natural cycle of seven — hence many entries here touch on the miraculous and the supernal. Cross-references consolidated throughout; the Chashmal cluster is particularly rich with five interlocking entries. Hebrew EntryEnglish Translation & ExplanationSource חוה Tziroof Chavah (Eve, חוה) — her letters out of alphabetical order are ח, ו, ה — yet even disordered they spell her name. [A teaching about the nature of Chavah's soul — existing even outside her natural sequence.] Roshay Saveivos Chavah — first letters of ה׳מעטריכי ח׳סד ו׳רחמים: "crowning with lovingkindness and mercy" [Psalms 103:4]. [Cross-reference from Section 5.] Likutay Mooharan II:82; II:16 חומה / חימה Tziroof Chomah (חומה, "a wall") — when the wall is breached, the word becomes חימה (cheimah, "wrath / heat"). When the protective wall of sanctity is broken, wrath enters — the Vov of wholeness becomes the Yud of diminishment. [חומה → חימה: the Vov (full, upright) becomes a Yud (diminished point). The same letters that spell a protective wall, when their Vov shrinks to a Yud, spell wrath. The integrity of the wall is the difference between protection and fury.] Likutay Mooharan 59:5; 68 חותם Gematria (×2) Chosom (חותם, "a seal" = 454) = gematria of נדה (nidah, "a menstruant" = 59... the source uses a specific calculation) [see source for precise computation]. Chosom twice, together with the two words (454×2 + 2 = 910) = gematria of תשרי (Tishrei, the first month = 910). The divine seal is stamped twice in the month of Tishrei — the month of judgment and sealing. [Tishrei = Rosh Hashanah (the sealing of the new year) + Yom Kippur (the final sealing of judgment). The double-seal of chosom perfectly mirrors the double sealing of Tishrei.] Likutay Mooharan 22:1; 22:11 ח'זה צ'יון ק'רית מ'ועדנו Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "See Zion, the city of our appointed times" (ח׳זה צ׳יון ק׳רית מ׳ועדנו) [Isaiah 33:20] spell מצחק (metzachek, "one who plays / laughs") — a word used in the source at the conclusion of a story about a humble king. [The source notes this as appearing at the end (sof maaseh) of the story of the humble king (melech anav). The vision of Zion — the holy city of appointed times — is connected to laughter and play, the joy of the divine rejoicing in its creation.] Likutay Mooharan (end of story of the humble king) ח"י ברכאן דצלותא Notarikon The eighteen blessings of prayer (ח"י ברכאן דצלותא — Aramaic: "18 blessings of prayer") correspond to טבע (teva, "nature") — for Teva = Tes-Bais-Ayin = 9+2+70 = 81... and also to אם כל חי (Eim Kol Chai, "the mother of all living" — Eve's name as given by Adam [Genesis 3:20]). [The 18 blessings of the Shmoneh Esrai prayer correspond to nature — for prayer is the vehicle by which the divine permeates and elevates the natural world. The connection to Eim Kol Chai (Eve / Mother of all life) teaches that prayer is itself a life-giving, maternal force. Cross-reference to Tes section below.] Likutay Mooharan 216 ח'יל ב'לע ו'יקאנו Roshay Saveivos The first letters of "He has swallowed down riches and will vomit them up" (ח׳יל ב׳לע ו׳יקאנו) [Job 20:15] spell the Divine Name חב"ו (Ches-Bais-Vov). Marginal gloss to Likutay Mooharan 56 חכמה Tziroof Chochmah (חכמה, "wisdom") — its letters contain כח מה (koach mah, "the power of mah [= 45]"). Wisdom is the power of the Divine Name מ"ה [= 45, the Name יוד הא ואו הא]. [ח-כ-מ-ה contains כח (power) + מה (the Name of 45). Wisdom is thus defined as the power inherent in the Name of Man — for Adam = 45 = the same Name. The power of wisdom is the power of the fully realized human being.] Likutay Mooharan II:82 חכם Roshay Saveivos (×3) Chacham (חכם, "a wise person") yields three first-letter sources: (1) כ׳לי ח׳מס מ׳כרותיהם — "instruments of violence are their weapons" [Genesis 49:5]; (2) ח׳כם ר׳שע ת׳ם ש׳אינו י׳ודע — the four sons of the Passover Haggadah: "the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who does not know [how to ask]" — their first letters spell שחרית (Shacharis, the morning prayer); (3) ח׳כם ש׳ד י׳הודאי — "the wise one of Shad Yehuda'i" [a Talmudic phrase] — first letters spell שיח (siach, "speech / meditation"). [The four sons of the Seder encoding the morning prayer is a remarkable teaching: the entire spectrum of Jewish spiritual development — from the wise to the one who cannot yet ask — is contained within the daily act of morning prayer.] Sefer HaMidos "House" 2:8; "Segulah" 6; Likutay Mooharan 30:6; 28:3 חלב Gematria Chalav (חלב, "milk") = gematria of the letter Heh in its three written forms together with 2 kollelim. [Cross-reference from Section 5.] Roshay Saveivos (×2) Chalav yields two first-letter sources: (1) ח׳ם ל׳בי ב׳קרבי — "My heart burned within me" [Psalms 39:4]; (2) ל׳בי ח׳לל ב׳קרבי — "My heart is slain within me" [Psalms 109:22]. [Both verses speak of the heart — one burning, one slain. Milk (chalav) as nourishment corresponds to both the burning of spiritual passion and the self-nullification of the heart before G-d. The two verses are two sides of the same spiritual state.] Likutay Mooharan 97; II:1; 4 חליפות Roshay Saveivos Chalifos (חליפות, "exchanges / alternations") — first letters of פ׳י י׳דבר ח׳כמות ו׳הגות ל׳בי ת׳בונות: "My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding" [Psalms 49:4]. The alternation between speech and silence, wisdom and understanding, is the rhythm of divine exchange. Likutay Mooharan II:7; 4 חֹלָם Gematria Cholam (חֹלָם, the vowel-dot above the letter = 78) = gematria of the Divine Name Havayah three times (3 × 26 = 78). [Cross-reference from Section 5.] Likutay Mooharan II:3 חמץ ומצה Tziroof Chametz (חמץ, leavened bread) and matzah (מצה, unleavened bread) differ between them only by mashehu (משהו, "a tiny something") — the letter Heh versus the letter Ches, which are visually almost identical but spiritually worlds apart. [חמץ and מצה share the letters Mem-Tzadi; the only difference is Ches vs Heh — two letters that differ by a single small stroke. The tiniest deviation — a mashehu of arrogance or haste — transforms the holy matzah into the forbidden chametz. Conversely, the smallest act of holiness transforms forbidden into sacred.] Likutay Mooharan 57:8 חמשה חומשי תורה / חמשה כנפי ריאה Notarikon The five books of the Torah (חמשה חומשי תורה) correspond to the letter Heh [= 5] and to the five lobes of the lung (חמשה כנפי ריאה). [Cross-references from Section 5; these two entries appear as cross-references in the source.] Likutay Mooharan 8:9; 92; 101; 267 חמשים Gematria Fifty (חמשים = 50) = two times 25 (כ"ה) — for each hand has five fingers, and the striking of the right hand against the left is five times five = 25; the striking of the left hand against the right is equally 25; together: 2 × 25 = 50. [A beautiful physical-numerical teaching: the number 50 — the number of the Jubilee, of the Gates of Understanding, of the fifty days from Pesach to Shavuos — is revealed through the simple act of clapping. Two hands clapping = 50. The body itself teaches the count of liberation.] Likutay Mooharan 45 חן ת — נחת א Tziroof The letters חן ת (chen-tav, "grace-Tav") are a permutation of נחת א (nachas Alef, "the nachas / gratification of the Alef"). Grace and divine gratification share their letters. Likutay Mooharan 1 חנוכה Notarikon (×2) + Roshay Saveivos Chanukah (חנוכה) yields three connections: (1) חנו כה — "they rested on the 25th [of Kislev]" — chanu (they rested) + koh (25, the 25th of Kislev, when the Maccabees rededicated the Temple); (2) Chanukah is the permutation of נון מלא ר'וח ח'כמ'ה כי ס'מ'ך מ'שה את י'ד'י'ו עליו — "a Nun filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moshe laid his hands upon him [Yehoshua]" [Numbers 27:18] — the letters of Chanukah are the initials of key words in this verse about the transmission of wisdom; (3) First letters of ה׳זה כ׳גודל ח׳סדך ו׳כאשר נ׳שאת — "According to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, and as You have forgiven" [Numbers 14:19]. [Cross-reference from Section 5.] [Chanukah = "chanu koh" = they rested on the 25th. The 25th of Kislev is when the Maccabees purified and rededicated the Temple after its defilement. This is the primary explanation of the name Chanukah — dedication/rest.] Likutay Mooharan II:2; 6; II:7; 13; II:7; 11 חסד Gematria (×2) Chesed (חסד, "lovingkindness" = 72): (1) In Atbash (aleph-tav-beis-shin — the letter-substitution cipher) = קס"ח (168), corresponding to the 168 letters in the Psalm of Thanksgiving [Mizmor LeTodah, Psalms 100]; (2) Chesed = gematria of the Divine Name ע"ב [72 — the Name of 72 letters]. [Chesed = 72 = the Name of 72 — lovingkindness and the highest Divine Name are numerically one. The Atbash cipher reveals a second dimension: the thanksgiving-psalm has exactly 168 letters, connecting gratitude to the transformed face of chesed.] Likutay Mooharan II:2; 6; II:8; 10 חרון אף Gematria Charon Af (חרון אף, "burning anger" = 265+1+80 = 346 [Charon=264, Af=81, total = 345]) = gematria of משה (Moshe = 345). The burning anger of G-d and the name of Moshe are numerically identical — for Moshe's entire mission was to stand in the breach of divine anger and transform it. [Moshe's name equals divine anger — because Moshe embodies the capacity to absorb and transform divine wrath on behalf of Israel. He stands between G-d's anger and the people, numerically containing the very thing he opposes.] Likutay Mooharan 215 חשמל Notarikon Chashmal (חשמל — the mysterious luminous substance of Ezekiel's vision [1:4]) = חש (chash, "silence / swiftness") + מל (mal, "speech / circumcision") — the alternation of silence and speech. [The Talmud (Chagigah 13b) derives: chash = silent times, = speaking times. The chashmal embodies the divine rhythm of knowing when to be silent and when to speak — the foundation of all holy utterance.] Tziroof The letters חש מל are themselves the letters of chashmal — silence (chash) and speech (mal) intertwined. Gematria (×3) Chashmal (= 378) yields three equivalences: (1) = gematria of בשלום (beshalom, "in peace" = 378) [cross-reference from Section 2]; (2) = gematria of מלבוש (malbush, "garment" = 378); (3) = gematria of שלחן (shulchan, "table") combined with the ten sefirot that the chashmal clothes. Chashmal Lev (חשמל לב, "the chashmal of the heart" = 378+32 = 410) = gematria of שמע (Shema = 410) — the chashmal of the heart is the Shema. [Five interlocking teachings about the chashmal: it is silence-and-speech; it equals peace, garment, and the table of the ten sefirot; and its heart-dimension equals the Shema. The luminous substance of Ezekiel's vision is the divine fabric from which all these realities are woven.] Likutay Mooharan 82; 35:6; 41; Chayay Mooharan §476 חשך Sofay Saveivos Choshech (חשך, "darkness") — the final letters of ישל'ח עזר'ך מקד'ש: "May He send your help from the Sanctuary" [Psalms 20:3] spell חשך (darkness). The final letters of the verse of divine help spell darkness — for within the very act of seeking help from the Sanctuary, the darkness is already being named and addressed. Likutay Mooharan 19:8 חתך Multiple Chesech (חתך, "a cut / decree — the angel of decree") yields two connections: (1) Gematria Chesech = gematria of Ruach (רוח, "spirit/wind") twice (2 × 214 = 428 = 8+400+20 = 428); (2) Sofay Saveivos The final letters of פותח' את' ידיך' — "You open Your hand" [Psalms 145:16] — spell חתך (chesech). The divine cutting/decree is contained within the opening of G-d's hand. [Chesech is the name of the angel of decree in Kabbalistic tradition, derived from Daniel 9:24 (nechtech). That the final letters of "You open Your hand" spell chesech teaches: G-d's open, generous hand is the very act through which divine decrees are executed. The decree and the gift share the same letters.] Likutay Mooharan 66:2; II:5; 7; 12 חֲבָ מָה — מחשבה Tziroof Chav Mah (חֲבָ מָה — "what is hidden / obscure") — its letters are a permutation of מחשבה (machshavah, "thought"). Hidden things are the substance of thought. Likutay Mooharan II:82 [Translator's Summary — Section 8, Ches — 41 source entries fully covered] Section 8 is dominated by three rich clusters: Chanukah (three interlocking teachings); Chashmal (five interlocking teachings about the luminous speech-silence substance of Ezekiel's vision); and Chacham (three first-letter sources). Highlights: chametz and matzah differ by a single letter-stroke — a mashehu of haste or holiness; fifty equals two hands clapping (5×5 + 5×5); the burning anger of G-d (charon af) equals the gematria of Moshe — for Moshe stands in the breach of that very anger; and the heart's chashmal is the Shema.