inaccessible by any other means. To Abulafia, the structure of the Hebrew language itself contained within it the secrets of the natural universe.
Functions of the Hebrew Language
For Abulafia, language had two essential functions. The conventional one was communication of our thoughts. The second function was for the attainment of prophecy. Hebrew was believed to be the original language, the language in which Adam named all the animals, the language through which Creation came about. All other languages were understood as in some way coming from it. Another belief was that there were seventy languages. In ancient times, some people took this literally, but by medieval times it was seen as a reference to all the other languages and to all knowledge that humans possess collectively.
Those, like Abulafia, who philosophized about human language in general, tended to think that language came about through human convention, but that Hebrew, the language of divine revelation, reflected reality on a different level. Some saw it as a revealed language, others as a language whose nature made it the ideal medium for communicating revelation.
The Kabbalistic Meaning of Letters
Abulafia wrote that different aspects of the Hebrew alphabet were filled with mystical meaning. The shapes of the letters themselves were not a matter of human convention, but were provided through prophetic insight by those who communicated God’s revelation. The names of the letters were deeply significant. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the aleph, for example, is spelled aleph , lamed , pheh . The name of the aleph, therefore, has the gematria (a form of biblical interpretation in which each Hebrew letter has a numerical value) of 111, which emphasizes its standing for “unity” (the gematria of the aleph itself is 1). In addition to the visual form and the names of the letters both being meaningful, the numerical equivalents of the letters were highly significant.
Abulafia saw the combining of letters as the construction of something, much as any living being is put together with different parts of the body. Sefer HaBahir had said that the vowels were the souls of words and Abulafia agreed with this perspective. The vowels provided various pronunciations of YHVH when using them as a meditation technique with this name. Also, the vowels indicated the head movements and breathing exercises that Abulafia practiced to accompany the pronunciation and meditation on the divine letters.
Permutations of the Divine Names
There are many elements to Abulafia’s techniques of letter combinations. He primarily worked with YHVH and with the seventy-two-letter name of God. When using YHVH, he combined each letter individually with the aleph and used five different Hebrew vowels (according to Sephardic Hebrew grammar) in changing combinations. So he might begin with aleph and yud and vocalize them with the same vowel and then proceed with different combinations from there. The vowels he used are the kholam (pronounced oh ), kamatz (pronounced ah ), khirik (pronounced ee ), tzereh (pronounced eh ), and kubutz (pronounced oo ). With great care and concentration, Abulafia put each set of letters together with every possible combination of vowels.
Abulafia saw the divine name as reflecting the structure of reality and also as being embedded in a person’s soul. The manipulation of the letters and vowels of the name would consequently change a person’s soul and consciousness. Therefore it was especially important that a person undertake these processes with maximum awareness, to avoid causing harm to oneself.
CHAPTER 3
TAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM
Confucianism is not officially considered a world religion because it is not organized as such. It is often grouped with religions, however, perhaps because it is a spiritual philosophy, a social ethic, a political ideology, and a scholarly tradition.
The belief system began in China around the sixth to fifth
Functions of the Hebrew Language
For Abulafia, language had two essential functions. The conventional one was communication of our thoughts. The second function was for the attainment of prophecy. Hebrew was believed to be the original language, the language in which Adam named all the animals, the language through which Creation came about. All other languages were understood as in some way coming from it. Another belief was that there were seventy languages. In ancient times, some people took this literally, but by medieval times it was seen as a reference to all the other languages and to all knowledge that humans possess collectively.
Those, like Abulafia, who philosophized about human language in general, tended to think that language came about through human convention, but that Hebrew, the language of divine revelation, reflected reality on a different level. Some saw it as a revealed language, others as a language whose nature made it the ideal medium for communicating revelation.
The Kabbalistic Meaning of Letters
Abulafia wrote that different aspects of the Hebrew alphabet were filled with mystical meaning. The shapes of the letters themselves were not a matter of human convention, but were provided through prophetic insight by those who communicated God’s revelation. The names of the letters were deeply significant. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the aleph, for example, is spelled aleph , lamed , pheh . The name of the aleph, therefore, has the gematria (a form of biblical interpretation in which each Hebrew letter has a numerical value) of 111, which emphasizes its standing for “unity” (the gematria of the aleph itself is 1). In addition to the visual form and the names of the letters both being meaningful, the numerical equivalents of the letters were highly significant.
Abulafia saw the combining of letters as the construction of something, much as any living being is put together with different parts of the body. Sefer HaBahir had said that the vowels were the souls of words and Abulafia agreed with this perspective. The vowels provided various pronunciations of YHVH when using them as a meditation technique with this name. Also, the vowels indicated the head movements and breathing exercises that Abulafia practiced to accompany the pronunciation and meditation on the divine letters.
Permutations of the Divine Names
There are many elements to Abulafia’s techniques of letter combinations. He primarily worked with YHVH and with the seventy-two-letter name of God. When using YHVH, he combined each letter individually with the aleph and used five different Hebrew vowels (according to Sephardic Hebrew grammar) in changing combinations. So he might begin with aleph and yud and vocalize them with the same vowel and then proceed with different combinations from there. The vowels he used are the kholam (pronounced oh ), kamatz (pronounced ah ), khirik (pronounced ee ), tzereh (pronounced eh ), and kubutz (pronounced oo ). With great care and concentration, Abulafia put each set of letters together with every possible combination of vowels.
Abulafia saw the divine name as reflecting the structure of reality and also as being embedded in a person’s soul. The manipulation of the letters and vowels of the name would consequently change a person’s soul and consciousness. Therefore it was especially important that a person undertake these processes with maximum awareness, to avoid causing harm to oneself.
CHAPTER 3
TAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM
Confucianism is not officially considered a world religion because it is not organized as such. It is often grouped with religions, however, perhaps because it is a spiritual philosophy, a social ethic, a political ideology, and a scholarly tradition.
The belief system began in China around the sixth to fifth
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