DALET

The fourth letter of the Aleph-Beit teaches us about our total dependence on God. Just like the moon which has no light of its own, our works and even our very existence is completely dependent on God's gratuitous gifts. We are enabled by God to do great things and our cooperation with Him through our free will makes us participants in the work of creation at many levels, but we need to be constantly aware of the fact that it is only through HIM and with HIM that we are able to do ANYTHING. Dalet is the letter of the 'poor man' receiving gifts from the rich man, GIMEL, the letter immediately before it in the Aleph-Beit. The letter following DALET is HEI. The face of DALET looks towards HEI, representing Divine Creativity, just as the person conscious of her own littleness looks towards God constantly for support and help. This attitude of humility is the most basic condition of entering through the door of Divine Consciousness. The name of the letter, DALET, means 'door'. The letter is surrounded by the white space which must be around each letter of the Torah. This white space of the parchment symbolizes the hidden meanings of the Torah, both the allegorical meaning and the secret meanings. The revealed meaning in the visible letters is the literal meaning and the allusions contained in the texts. These four levels of meaning are echoed in the many 'fours' that we find in nature and the history of the Jewish people. The four elements of earth, air, fire and water can be matched with the chemical elements of Oxygen (air), Carbon (fire, burning), Nitrogen (earth, power to grow) and Hydrogen (water). The atomic numbers of these elements are 8, 6, 7 and 1, adding up to 22 which is the number of letters in the Hebrew Aleph-Beit representing all Creation. On the painting four tetrahedra (four-sided solids) represent the four elements. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the Patriarchs who together with King David are considered to be the "four feet of the Divine Throne". They are the prototypes of the souls of the Jewish people. The wives of Jacob (Israel) were Leah and Rachel who, together with their maidservants Zilpah and Bilhah, were the mothers of the twelve sons establishing the twelve tribes of Israel. On the painting Jacob's blue cloak has twelve stars, representing his sons. Isaac is shown in his old age when he was blind. Abraham is young at the time when he recognizes the One God, but his beard is white to indicate his wisdom. David is with his harp. His face is sad as he remembers his sin against Urias and the loss of his son, Abshalom.