As part of the religious decorations in many synagogues around the world one often finds the verse, “I place Havayah before me at all times,”[1] usually in its Hebrew form:
שִׁוִּיתִי י־הוה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד
The plain meaning of these words is that we should be ever aware of God’s Presence, not only in the world in general but in our daily lives.
But beyond its normative meaning, in Kabbalah, this verse is interpreted more literally to indicate that God’s essential four-letter Name—י־הוה, which may not be pronounced but is connoted Havayah[2]—should constantly be placed before our eyes. In a more non-literal approach, it invites us to seek Havayah, God’s essential Name, in the form and processes of every aspect of reality.[3] We are therefore instructed to use this holy Name of four letters as a constant model and paradigm through which we may come to understand the Divine as it manifests in all areas of reality.
For example, the four letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah, make up the three primary Hebrew words used to describe the passage of time: the past “was” (הָיָה), the present “is” (הֹוֶה), and the future “will be” (יִהְיֶה). This reveals that God’s signature can be found in every moment of time.
Similarly, many aspects of space and material reality are based on the number four—the number of letters in the essential Name, which is why it is also known as the Tetragrammaton. Thus, they too bear an imprint of the four-part structure of God’s essential Name. For instance, the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West), the four basic elements of matter in antiquity (fire, earth, water, and air), the four basic forces of nature according to modern physics (gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force), the four states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, and active combustion), the four parts or levels of Creation (inanimate, vegetable, animal, and human), and so on.[4]
In addition to the physical universe, the four letters of God’s Name—yud (י), hei (ה), vav (ו), and hei (ה)—manifest throughout the spiritual worlds as well. In Kabbalah, we are taught that there are four worlds simultaneously expressing and encompassing all levels of created reality, from the spiritual to the physical: the World of Emanation (Atzilut) corresponds to the yud; the World of Creation (Beriah) corresponds to the hei; the World of Formation (Yetzirah) corresponds to the vav; and, the World of Action (Assiyah) corresponds to the final hei.[5]
Yud: Ten and Yom Kippur
A beautiful allusion to the four letters of God’s Name is also found within four major components of the holiday of Yom Kippur. The yud, the first letter of God’s Name, numerically equals 10, corresponding to the date of Yom Kippur, the tenth of Tishrei, the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance. It was on the tenth of Tishrei that Moses descended from Mt. Sinai with the Decalogue inscribed on the second Tablets of the Covenant. The second tablets were a sign from God that He had forgiven the people for the disastrous Sin of the Golden Calf, which caused the first tablets to be broken. Thus, Yom Kippur is forever linked to that moment of forgiveness and atonement.
The letter yud in God’s Name is associated with the sefirah of wisdom (chochmah).[6] Torah, in Kabbalah, is considered to come from wisdom.[7] The fact that the Decalogue engraved on the two tablets was given to the people on Yom Kippur, the tenth day of Tishrei and the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance, all reveal on a deep level the Torah’s source in wisdom.
Another deep connection between the number ten and Yom Kippur relates to how at the time of the holy Temple in Jerusalem, the High Priest would pronounce the Ineffable four-letter Name of God ten times on Yom Kippur.[8] Despite there being a lack of physical space to move, when the people heard the Name being pronounced all would instinctually bow down. Miraculously there was room for everyone. This was in fact one of ten miracles that occurred in the Temple.[9]
The letter yud, the smallest of the letters, is referred to as the “little that holds much.”[10] That people who were standing with no room to move were able to all find room to bow down is a manifestation of the power of the yud, the “little that holds much.”
Hei: The First Number Five and Yom Kippur
The value of the second letter of God’s essential Name, the hei, is 5, corresponding to the five prayer services of Yom Kippur. We pray three prayer services daily (Shacharit, Minchah, and Aravit) and add a fourth (Mussaf) on Shabbat and festivals. The only time of the year we conduct a fifth prayer service (Ne’ilah) is on Yom Kippur. Each prayer relates to one of the five levels of soul (nefesh, ru’ach, neshamah, chayah and yechidah),[11] of which the fifth, super-conscious level of soul, the yechidah, is considered more accessible on Yom Kippur than any other time of the year. This exalted level of soul relates to the last prayer of Yom Kippur, Ne’ilah.
The first, or upper hei in God’s essential Name is associated with the sefirah of understanding (binah).[12] The inner experience of understanding is joy.[13] Despite Yom Kippur being a very serious day, it is also considered one of the most joyous of the year due to the atonement and forgiveness of the day.[14] The sefirah of understanding also relates to the joy that is born from contemplation. The Hebrew word for contemplation is hitbonenut, which stems from the same root as understanding. Yom Kippur is dedicated to deep reflection on our unique relationship with God and on His compassion. Ultimately Yom Kippur is a day of great joy as we draw close to God in prayer and soul elevation.
Understanding is also associated with the concept of purity, an important image reflected in various verses included in the prayers throughout the day.[15] The High Priest would immerse in a mikveh five times during the Yom Kippur service in the Temple.
Vav: Six and Yom Kippur
The value of the third letter in God’s essential Name, vav, is 6, corresponding to the six divisions, or aliyot, of the Torah reading on Yom Kippur. Significantly, this is the only day of the year when the Torah reading is divided into 6 parts.
According to Kabbalah, the letter vav is related to the sefirah of foundation (yesod) and thus to the procreative marital energy.[16] This is reflected in the fact that the afternoon Torah reading service of Yom Kippur deals exclusively with the topic of forbidden marital relations.[17]
Furthermore, in Kabbalah, the number six and the letter vav in God’s Name relates to the six cardinal emotional attributes or sefirot that exist within each person, referred to in Kabbalah as Zeir Anpin.[18] On Yom Kippur, we attempt to rectify our relationship with God, as He manifests through these six emotional faculties by seeking forgiveness from our family, friends, and others whom we have wronged over the past year, taking upon ourselves to change our behavior towards others in the future. This is one of the reasons that we are prohibited from eating and drinking or conducting business and working, etc., so that, as the Sages formulated in the Yom Kippur liturgy, it will be a day free of jealousy, bickering, etc. and set the best possible stage for restoring connections and communication.
Hei: The Second Number Five and Yom Kippur
The last letter of God’s four-letter Name is another hei, whose value, again is five. It corresponds to the five prohibitions of the day: eating and drinking, bathing, anointing with oil, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations.[19]
The final hei of God’s essential Name is associated with the sefirah of kingdom (malchut), which is considered a feminine energy.[20] This helps explain the following verse regarding the service of the High Priest on Yom Kippur: “With this shall Aaron come into the Sanctuary: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.”[21] The word meaning “with this” (בְּזֹאת) is written in the feminine form even though it clearly refers to the bullock and the ram mentioned later in the verse, which are both masculine. From this linguistic anomaly the Sages learn that the feminine form is used to allude to the fact that the High Priest must be married to perform the Yom Kippur service (“with this” alludes to marriage).[22]
The requirement that the High Priest be married confirms the importance of the unification of masculine and feminine energies in general and especially the foundation of marriage in Jewish life. A wife is many times called “the house/home” and relates to the feminine aspect of kingdom.[23]
Yom Kippur is the concluding day of the Ten Days of Teshuvah. In the Zohar,[24] teshuvah (תְּשׁוּבָה) is analyzed as a composite word that stands for, “return the [letter] hei” (תָּשׁוּב ה). The implication is that teshuvah, which means “return,” reunites the final hei of God’s Name with the first three letters. This detachment symbolizes personal and national exile and disposition in great need of rectification and healing by returning the feminine energy of kingdom and reconnecting it with its source (but in a face-to-face relationship, as expounded in length elsewhere).[25]
Towards the Future
The above connections between the four-letter Name of God and Yom Kippur are but one example of the almost infinite number of ways we can see the letters of God’s essential and ineffable Name sealed into reality and Jewish tradition. The more we learn to recognize these correspondences, the more we come to appreciate the deeper meaning of the phrase from Psalms quoted at the beginning of this article: “I place Havayah before me at all times.”
[1]. Psalms 16:8.
[2]. Havayah is the word formed when the letters of God’s essential Name are permuted. In modern Hebrew, this has come to be understood as a word meaning “being” (הֲוָיָה).
[3] . HaRav Ginsburgh’s first published book, Sod Hashem Lireiav, is based on this idea. In it, he goes through hundreds of examples that demonstrate how the four letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah, serve as a model for analyzing every part of reality, from the physical to the spiritual. Since publishing this book, many of HaRav’s Ginsburgh’s teachings continue to use this paradigm.
[4]. The Hebrew Letters, the letter dalet.
[5]. Sod Hashem Liyerei’av, Arba’ah Olamot.
[6]. Sod Hashem Liyere’iav, Klalut Eser Sefirot.
[7]. Zohar 2:121a. This idea is echoed in the midrash that states, “The low-hanging fruit of supernal wisdom is Torah” (Bereishit Rabbah 44:17).
[8]. The Hebrew Letters, the letter yud.
[9]. Avot 5:5.
[10]. The Hebrew Letters, loc. cit.
[11], Bereishit Rabbah 14:9.
[12]. Sod HaShem Liyerei’av, loc. cit.
[13]. Ibid.
[14]. Ta’anit 30b.
[15]. For example, Ezekiel 36:25.
[16]. Sod HaShem Liyerei’av, loc. cit.
[17]. Leviticus 18:1-30.
[18]. Sod HaShem Liyerei’av, loc. cit.
[19]. Yoma 73b.
[20]. Sod HaShem Liyerei’av, loc. cit.
[21]. Leviticus 16:3.
[22]. Yoma 2a, 13a. For a more expansive understanding see Amudeha Shivah, Acharei, 1.
[23]. Shabbat 118b.
[24]. Zohar 3:122a.
[25]. Mivchar Shiurei Hitbonenut, vol. 7, Tu B’Av. See also Sha’ashuim Yom Yom, Ki Teitzei. See also last week’s issue on the Nesirah.
