Mystical Significance of Hebrew Letters

David Abram’s selection, “Animism and the Alphabet” conveys that human’s disconnection from the natural world is partially at fault with the alphabet, it also asserts that alphabet originates from the natural world. Abrams supports his ideas by mentioning several great thinkers throughout history including Plato, Socrates and others. Abram’s also compares modern ways to the customs of indigenous people. The main purpose of Abram’s paper is to convey the idea that people have disconnected from the natural world, and one of the main reasons for this is the alphabet. The alphabet is not portrayed as a bad thing, but as a tool that has both

Within many known religions, the devotional practices has been known to acquire great importance. The essence of practicing what you preach has scolded many religious groups, introducing true beliefs, righteousness, and a wider connection to the supreme being . In the book entitled “ Living religions” by Mary Pat Fisher, clarified and firm descriptions were introduced about religious rituals. Surprisingly; the author utilized small parts of modern concepts, limiting the reader from a full comprehension of religious practices today, therefore; I will only discuss the basic and traditional rituals. To elaborate; in this paper, I will be providing an opinionated but also, comparative description of the major practices and rituals that undergo in both the Abrahamic and indigenous religions.

"Everything is named or numbered, but few people are conscious of the degree to which names and numbers influence their experience, progress, and communication," declared Juno Jordan, the "grandmother" of numerology (qtd. in Lagerquist and Lenard 4). Numerology, the language of numbers and moreover the study of how they relate to our lives, speaks about the hidden worlds contained within the simplest numbers. Numerology attempts to analyze numerical information, and makes a determination of the implications and associations that these numbers have (Kelly 10). This metaphysical science has its roots in the ancient cultures of Greece, Rome, and Egypt, and also has ties to the Hebrew Kabbalah; it has unlocked the

The monotheistic religion of Judaism is a very complex and in many cases, strictly traditional way of life for over 13 million people all around the world. Many of their core beliefs are very similar to Christianity; however, an abundance of their rituals and practices are unlike any other religion. Even after visiting a Jewish Synagogue it is still difficult to mentally grasp and have a true understanding of everything Judaism stands for. Because of the many traditions and beliefs Judaism possess, it is not easy to define. The seven dimensions of religion created by the world renowned religious scholar Ninian Smart helped establish a simple way to break down and describe the essence of faith for any

What remains fascinating to me from this book is the Israelites ability to preserve these massive collections of psalms even after the destruction of the temple and subjection to a foreign religion in Babylon for a long time. Their discipline to pass on these psalms from one person to another through singing and reciting demonstrate how significant these psalms were to them. What adds value to this book more is the author’s ability not only to introduce the psalms, but offer tips to the readers on how to read the psalms better to understand them

Religion is a fundamental element of human society. It is what binds a country, society or group of individuals together. However, in some instances it destroys unity amoungst these. Religion is a belief in a superhuman entity(s) which control(s) the universe. Every religion has its differences but most strive for a just life and the right morals. The three major groups are the primal regions which consist of African, Aboriginal and Native American religions, Asian which consist of South Eastern Asian religions and Abrahamic religions which consist of Middle Eastern religions. The foci of this essay are the differences between the Abrahamic religion, Christianity, and the Asian region Buddhism as well as making reference to the Islamic

Many cultures around the world have beliefs and traditions unique to their way of life. One of the main influences in their culture stems from religious beliefs, that almost always explains the fundamental questions of human existence, purpose and relationship with spiritual beings and nature. These timeless origin stories seem to address these questions in vibrant, creative and powerful ways. They all point to some power, force or being that is responsible for man’s existence and purpose, and in turn determine man’s relationship with them in this world. There is certainly a correlation and influence of the origin stories and their corresponding cultures.

Mevlana Jalal al- Din Rumi is one of the most influential Islamic mystics of all times. It is no surprise that even seven hundred years after his death; he remains to be the best selling poet in North America. His poetry reflects the teachings of Islam and his opinions on various matters such as faith, prayer, love, free will etc. are assembled in a book called “The signs of the Unseen”. Occasionally, commentators dissociate Rumi poetry’s from Islam but the fact is that Rumi’s entire writings are inspired from the Quran and sayings of Prophet (PBUH) and represent the essence of Islam.

Lamentations records prayers by Jeremiah representing Israel and Judah crying out to God. The destruction of Jerusalem happened in 586 B.C. There are five poems in five chapters. There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Chapters one, two and four have twenty-two verses. Each line of these chapters begins with the Hebrew letter corresponding to the letter of the alphabet. The first lines of these chapters begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second lines begin with the second letter, and so on for all the lines. In chapter three there is a different style. It has sixty-six verses, so each letter begins for three lines not just one with the letters in the Hebrew alphbet.

The Near Eastern Gnostic myth “The Creation According to Mani,” focuses on the constant battle between good and evil. On the side of Light stands creation, in that creation contains goodness, and the fundamental principles that accompany both Heaven and Earth. The Father of Greatness exists as the original creator of man because Primal Man stands as his follower and warrior in the fight against Darkness. The success of Primal Man reflects directly on the power and strength of the Light. With the Light also are the Sh’kinas –embodiments of Intelligence, Knowledge, Thought, Deliberation, and Resolution. They are what separate the primitive from the enlightened –essentially the difference between the Light and the Darkness. The depravity of

This dual and apparently contradictory experience of the self-concealing and self-revealing God determines the essential sphere of mysticism, while at the same time it obstructs other religious conceptions. The second element in Kabbalah is that of theosophy, which seeks to reveal the mysteries of the hidden life of God and the relationships between the divine life on the one hand and the life of man and creation on the other. Speculations of this type occupy a large and conspicuous area in Kabbalistic teaching. Sometimes their connection with the mystical plane becomes rather tenuous and is superseded by an interpretative and homiletical vein which occasionally even results in a kind of Kabbalistic casuistry. The Kabbalah is only one of many forms of Jewish mysticism during its nearly two millennia of development. Since the thirteenth century it has emerged as the most important current, and in subsequent centuries all Jewish mystical expressions were made, through the symbolism provided by the Kabbalah. In the period of the development of the early Kabbalah it was not the only Jewish mystical system; it achieved this status only after the Zohar became the authoritative text of Jewish mysticism. It

The Letter to the Hebrews was clearly written in regards to a specific group of Christians who were under some type of dilemma in regards to their religion (Rayburn 1490). Most everything else about this letter though is unclear. The true author of the letter, audience, and location of this audience all remain uncertain to this day.

Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and because every Hebrew letter has a number correlation alef represents the number one, or in Hebrew, echad. The numerical value of the word echad is thirteen which also is the numerical value of the Hebrew word for love, ahavah. One can conclude then that the alef is not just a representation of the unity between mankind and G-d as I mentioned before but also a representation of G-d’s love for his creatures. The two yuds numerical value sum is twenty and the vav six totaling to twenty-six. Twenty-six is the numerical value of one of the ineffable names of

Many important languages learned during this fall semester included Aramaic, Biblical Hebrew and Greek. They are the three most common languages found in first-century Palestine. The Bible was written in those three ancient languages. The languages began centuries apart. They all began in European or Middle Eastern countries, such as Iraq, Israel, and Greece. Language was essential for communities to communicate with each other, promotion of growth with an exchange of ideas and creativity.

The essay shall explore the concept of the jahiliyyah and demonstrate the importance and impact it has to understand the origins and development of Islam. The Jahiliyyah is a core and critical part of the foundations of Islam, that certain elements of the jahiliyyah were borrowed, adopted and developed; whilst other elements were discarded as Islam evolved. It is important as aspects of the jahiliyyah period continues to have an influence after the advent of Islam. Elements of the jahiliyyah such as the geographical location; the political, social and religious life; pre-islamic literature, rituals of the Ka 'ba and the role of Women have shaped the understanding of Islam.