Symbol of Divinity

Alef is one of the 3 Mother Letters: Awareness.

It is the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. Its numerical value is 1.

Alef corresponds to the central horizontal path of the Tree of Life, the path which connects Hesed to Ghevura.

Sepher Yetzirah says about Alef: “…make Alef king over breath, bind a crown to it, and combine one with another. And with them seal air in the Universe, the temperate in the year, and the chest in the Soul, the male with אמש and the female with אשמ.”

You start to get something, right?

Alef is the king of breath. Alef is the air in the Universe. Alef is the chest in our body. Alef is the letter which created Male and Female.

If you pay attention to the shape of Alef you can understand why Kabbalists say that “It is made of 2 Yud י and 1 Vav ו“.

The Vav is in the center and the two Yud are one each side. The lower Yud symbolizes the Inferior Waters and the upper one the Superior Waters, as explained for the Mem. Alef is the bridge between them.

The sum of Vav + Yud + Yud equals 26. 26 is the Gematria of the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable four-letter proper Name of God of Judaism: יהוה. Many of the Names given to God by Judaism start with Alef.

Alef is an afflatus, the creative inspiration, the descent of the Word.

Alef teaches us (אלוף – aluph: teacher is the first word of the Bible with an Alef) the importance of the breath in our lives as mean to reconnect with the Divine, and to be aware of the Divinity.

Let’s try a simple exercise to perceive the power of this letter.

Sit comfortably, close your eyes, breathe deeply from your nose for some time until you feel more relaxed. Inhale and exhale from the nose. Do not open or use your mouth to breathe. Visualize an Alef at the center of your chest and, when the image is well depicted in your mind, start to emit “AAAALEEEEFFFF” while exhaling.