The Kabbalah of Healing

We are in a month of holy-days, aware of the brokenness in us and our world. The sound of the shofar shakes us to the core. We bear many losses and recognize better values. We went to the ocean and allowed the wind to sweep away what no longer serves us: worries, blame, coldness of the heart.  

We are getting better at facing the unknown. We feel the fatigue of mundane disputes that are not for the sake of heaven. We want to honor ourselves in a new way. We are ready to go deeper to heal ourselves, to connect with an inner guide who will show us signs that we can trust, understand and follow.  

I go about this process with the twenty-two Hebrew letters, understood as signs and wonders by some of the sages. Since early times, these letters have fascinated many with their transformative power and universal vision. And they are here again.

How do they work? It’s simple. First, contemplate a wish or question, and then randomly draw a letter from the cards I have included with my book, “Meditations on the Hebrew Letters – A Guide for the Modern Seeker.” Read what is written under the letter. For instance: “What letter will help me start a new relationship with my sister?” When we draw a letter—whether we know it or not—there is an immediate synchronicity between our question and the power of the letter. The result is magical: we receive a meaningful answer. These letters are blessing, healing, repairing and inspiring. Their insights bring change.

When you draw an alef, or your name has an alef, it’s a call to realize who you are: one who is gifted with the ability to reconcile.

For Rosh Hashana, letter “alef” is very clear, simple and deep with her message: take responsibility to create balance in your life. How? By not identifying with one side or the other—allowing opposing forces to dance and complete each other. Just as day needs night, opposite forces cannot exist without each other. Look at alef’s sacred geometry. Can you see four triangles going in four different directions? They are the contradictory forces of life, pulling us in different directions—the way life is designed to be. When you draw an alef, or your name has an alef, it’s a call to realize who you are: one who is gifted with the ability to reconcile.

In the Sukkah, when we place our cards on the table, face down, let’s say we ask a question and draw the letter “samech.” We gaze at her colorful circular portrait. She is sod—secret. She whispers “go forward” without looking back. Once we make one small change, all 360 degrees of the circle are affected.  

In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the map of consciousness showing how the Divine Abundance descends to our world, the letters connect the emanations/sefirot to each other. They are sound vibrations that keep the world in existence. The Jewish people were called to witness the Divine on earth by the power of speech: We bless everything in our life and in Creation. Kabbalists say that the twenty-two letters were created before the creation of heaven and earth. We understand this from the first verse of Genesis: B’resheet bara Elohim et (In the beginning, God created et). The word “et,” spelled “alef tav,” indicates all the twenty-two letters. Etto appear everywhere in Torah; it’s a word with no particular meaning or grammatical usage. This word is spread here and there in the text like seeds of light. It’s a sign of blessings present throughout the text.

These twenty-two tools of creation are what the Creator uses to create and maintain the world—hour by hour, year by year. The letters invite us to emulate this divine mode. The work with them is deep and transformative, yet light and playful. Drawing a letter, you enter the realm of sacred play.

Gilla Nissan is a teacher and author. To purchase her new box set, “Meditations with the Hebrew Letters—A Guide for the Modern Seeker,” visit TheHebrewLetter.com or write to: Gilla@TheHebrewLetter.com