The Blessing Of Kosher Development

כמה דאתחיל ברכה
Sefer HaBahir, verse 3 excerpt

Traditional interpretation: "... in order that it begin with a blessing."

Liorah's interpretation: "... (to discern) how many thirst to know enabled power to develop proper abilities."

כמה - The word can mean "how many". The root means "thirst", "long".

דאתחיל - is a combination of two words joined together, "to know" דאת and "enable" חיל (to develop and concentrate power and abilities). Significantly, the word for know, here in this context, has substituted an aleph א (unity) for the usual ayin ע (nothingness) in the word "da'at". So, why does Kaplan translate the entire word דאתחיל as "begin"? Because it has the same gematria (453) as the word התחיל, also translated as "begin" as found in the immediately preceding phrase of verse 3. As explained in the earlier analysis, Choshen Mishpat, the gematria of 453 links this additional word to the sefirah Yesod, and now through the ayin-aleph substitution, to its elevation from nothingness to unity. With the elevation of Yesod, Malchut is also uplifted (geut).

ברכה - The word is translated "blessing". The root means "proper growth". In other words, one can develop one's power and abilities either in a kosher or a nonkosher manner. This blessing leads one toward proper development, which begets goodness and new words of Torah, as opposed to toward improper development, which creates evil and strife.

Making the Torah personal, in my own life, proper development is reflected in the elevation of the ayin to aleph. Ayin corresponds to my natural mazal, where I was born in the month of Tevet in the city of Danville. Ayin corresponds to both Tevet and the archetype Dan. Aleph corresponds to the archetypal soul of mashiach and a human being's "Divine stamp" (chotimah). (See links above for both correspondences.) The ultimate of personal kosher soul development is the revelation of one's personal spark of mashiach.