YUD |
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The smallest of all the letters is suspended in mid-air,
like the earth 'suspended in nothingness' in space. Its smallness signifies
humility, the most basic condition for receiving God's grace. In humble
prayer and meditation one stands before God, and the form of this letter
pointing both up and down shows this state of connectedness to both the
earth and the Divine. The letter YUD is the basis of all other letters,
by its movement the others are formed. The infinitely small point travels,
leaving its mark, resulting in the creation of the whole Aleph-Beit and,
ultimately, the whole Universe, just like the total picture made on a
television screen is produced by a single beam making its mark, moving
very fast, marking single points of light and dark. (Some scientists believe
that the whole physical Universe is the result of a single particle travelling
back and forth in time.) The Holy Name of God and the name of Israel both
begin with the letter YUD. This is significant of the closeness of God
and this small nation, through whom He revealed Himself to the rest of
the world by giving the Ten Commandments and the Torah. (The first five
books of the Bible, given to Moses.) This tiny letter is also symbolic
of the TZIMTZUM, or 'contraction' of God's Infinity to a single point
which subsequently becomes the origin of our four-dimensional (or multi-dimensional)
reality, as described in the story of creation , or in the Big Bang Theory
of the Universe. The name of this letter also means 'a hand' or 'to thrust',
its multiple reference can relate to the hand of friendship joining God
and humanity, the hand raised in prayer, or a powerful hand giving direction.
The numerical value of YUD is 10. There are many biblical references to
this number, such as the Ten Commandments, the ten generations from Adam
to Noah and from Noah to Abraham, the ten temptations overcome by Abraham,
confirming him in all the virtues which elevated him to total consciousness
of the One, and the ten Sefirot which emanate from the YUD. It is required
by Jewish law to have ten men in a gathering (minyan) for communal prayer
because ten is the first number whose permutations (i.e. 10.9.8. ... 2.1=3,628,800)
are large enough to exceed 600,000 which is the number signifying all
the archetypal souls of Israel. Thus 10 men will represent all Israel.
The letter YUD was added to the name of Hosea when he became Yehoshua
(Joshua), implying a higher status and a special vocation. In the painting,
the central YUD is symbolic of the Divine Flame of Love in which God makes
Himself small to enter our hearts. From the YUD emanate the ten Sefirot,
ten Divine attributes reflected in the structure of the human soul, or
the ten channels of Divine Love manifesting itself in our world: |
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