Ber'eisheet 5782 - In the Beginning and the letter Aleph
Torah Portion B’reisheit (In the beginning) 5782
It is so exciting to be stepping into a new cycle of the Torah.
Each year we get another opportunity to refresh our learning, to look with new eyes on the Living Word and to gear our hearts up to learn new revelations and dig just that much deeper to find what Father has hidden for us.
This Torah cycle I would like to start looking at the letters of the Hebrew Aleph Bet so that we can begin to understand the depth of HaShem’s Word and the glean just a small taste of the multi- dimensional layers that Father has hidden in each word of the Torah.
It was after all HaShem's Words that brought this entire world together with these letters when He spoke life into being. The sages say – “The universe was created so that man could live out Adonai’s Torah, so it could be fulfilled.” This was the mission of the creation. We exist to carry out God’s will as instructed in His Torah.
Psalm 119: 89 – 91 Your Word is settled in Heaven forever, O YAHWEH. Your faithfulness endures to generation and generation; You founded the earth, and it stands. They stand by Your judgments to this day, for all are Your servants.
Colossians 1: 16 – 17 For all things were created through Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible; whether imperial thrones, or dominions, or angelic orders, or authorities, all things were in His hand and have been created by Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things are sustained
We need to see the Hebrew language as more than just letters! The Hebrew letters are all the raw material of all that was and is created. Throughout Scripture the letters are used to praise HaShem and so it would make sense for us – His children, the keepers of His Torah to understand the letters He used.
The ancient Hebrew script was used by the Jews before the exile into Babylon around 586 B.C.E.
Every letter is a picture with a meaning and a numerical value. The aleph is the head of all the letters.
Zephaniah 3: 8 Therefore, wait for Me, declares YAHWEH, for the day I rise up to the prey. For My judgment is to gather the nations, for Me to gather the kingdoms, to pour My fury out on them, all My hot anger. For all the earth shall be burned up with the fire of My jealousy. (Psalm 79:6, Revelation 16:1) For then I will give a clear lip to the peoples, to call all of them by the name of YAHWEH, to serve Him with one shoulder
The letter Aleph
Aleph has the value of 1
It means one and only, implies divinity and monotheism – in other words one God. The aleph is spelled with the letters: aleph (numerical value of 1), the lamed (30) and the pey (80) and this adds up to 111.
When you change the vowel points around the word aleph become eleph which then means 1000.
The Strongs number for aleph is: 505 same as 504 – the ox’s head this is why the letter is an ox’s head.
This can also mean a friend, gentle, captain, chief friend, a governor.
Lamed means to teach – the word aleph means to learn or to teach – the idea of guiding and teaching. It can also imply master. HaShem is the ALEPH.
How does all of this wonder of the aleph tie into Bereisheet?
“In the beginning”g that starts with the second letter of the Alephbet?
Why doesn’t the first word of the beginning start with aleph?
Why is it silent?
Bet – is the first letter. It has a floor, a wall and a roof and an opening and it also looks a little like a 2.
It means house. The first letter beit in Genesis is always written oversized. The sages say that beit being a house contains all of HaShem’s words and the letters of His Word come marching out of the door of the house (Hebrew reads right to left.) Beit is a picture of the home of HaShem’s Word himself.
This is HaShem’s house and it is HaShem who is doing the speaking.
So, what is behind this wall of the house?
According to the sages – the aleph is behind the wall of the house.
Aleph is a silent letter.
Aleph is the first letter of Adonai
Aleph is the first letter of Elohim
Aleph is the first letter of Av – “Father”
Av is father.
The master of the house is our Father in Heaven.
His son, Yeshua HaMashicah was present in the very beginning, when the Ruach was hovering over the deep – under the covering of His Father.
Grant Luton Beriesheet Torah Portion Teaching, www.bethtikkun.com
There are 6 alephs in the first 7 words of Genesis:
The sages say that God created 6000 years of time for him to live out his days on this earth – where God works among the human race and the 7000th year is where he rests!
“With this opening statement, the Torah is establishing that it is not merely a rulebook, a list of things to do or not to do. It is G‑d’s blueprint for creation, our guide for realizing the purpose for which everything in heaven and earth was made. Every creature, object and element; every force, phenomenon and potential; every moment of time was created by G‑d toward a purpose.” (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
One of the interesting facts about the Torah and the beginning of the Torah is that is contains no laws.
Torah has been incorrectly translated as the law – it means training – to hit the mark.
Genesis is a front row seat to the picture of HaShem walking with man in intimacy – think of Adam, Avraham and Moshe. It is all about new beginnings. A new season!
We have been taught to translate this phrase as ‘in the beginning’. Only to our minds does there need to be a beginning and an end is, but there is no ‘beginning’ and no ‘end’ with HaShem. HaShem is eternal. From His perspective – which is the perspective from which Torah is trying to teach us to view the world, what happened in Genesis 1:1 was not the beginning, any more than the closing chapters of Revelation is the ‘end’. It was a part of time that was our beginning but certainly not His.
The Word ‘Reshit’ means to tremble or shake.
Applied to the text of Genesis 1:1, we might say: “In shaking, God created . . .” or “in trembling, God created . . .” It is possible that the events of Genesis were shaped out of eternity by HaShem intentionally causing a shaking of the eternal elements of the dominion in which He alone exists!
Have you ever wondered why the very first words of the Torah began with an account of HaShem’s trembling creation?
Is it so that we could try to place in context the fullness and the sovereignty of the God we serve that could bring forth this life with just His spoken words?
Do we fully comprehend the majesty of Who we serve?
Our HaShem who brings forth life, teaching and guidance from the very beginning – and to me it is so poignant that He didn’t start the very first word with an aleph because He wants us to search for Him as we study. He wants us to search for the Creator of all things!
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2
May this new cycle bring you much joy and incredible revelation of the master of the House – Your HaShem, Adonai Elohim, the King of all Kings and your El Shaddai.
Baruch Hashem!
Michelle