Contemplating Sefer HaBahir

Journey Into Redemptive Consciousness

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Razin Setimin, Messianic Mikveh

מאי...ומאי...ומאי...ומאי
Sefer HaBahir, verse 2 excerpt

In verse 2 of Sefer HaBahir, the base word מאי is iterated 4 times. מאי is a word derived from the root מאה which means "multiply".

The root ends with the letter hey ה, the hebrew letter which is the source of all the letters of the aleph-beit. Hey ה, comprised of the letter dalet and the letter yod, די, is also the source of revelation.

From the root מאה, representing yechidah, are born the 4 "great" iterations of the word מאי, representing chayah, neshamah, ruach and nefesh. The soul levels are each immutably joined together by the letter vav ו, representing the Torah of Truth.

While the root necessarily ends with hey ה to birth "All" (כל = 50) from the Essence of Ein Sof, the words in verse 2 end with the letter yod י. There are 4 letters yod י, with a total gematria of 40. Forty is the value of the letter mem מ, the pure womb of creation, and the minimum quantity (40 sa'ah) of purifying waters in a kosher mikveh (ritual bath).

And herein rests the secret of why we are not to say "water! water!" when we reach the "place of pure marble stones" in the Pardes. There are in total 5 letters yod (4 revealed in the 4 iterations of מאי and 1 concealed in the hey), not 2 letters yod, and more importantly, the letters are all gathered together in a mikveh. They do not remain separate.

With 5 letters yod, this kosher mikveh holds 50 (5 X 10) sa'ah, the sha'ar hachamishim and the messianic soul נ.

Another interesting observation about the 4 words מאי...ומאי...ומאי...ומאי - three of them contain the letters of the Divine Name [1] associated with the coming of messianic consciousness, אום.

Sovev Kol Almin אּ

Footnote:

[1] The Hebrew Letters, R' Yitzchak Ginsburgh, on the letter נ nun: "נאמן (faithful) begins with נ, just as the full spelling of the letter נ itself, נון . When the middle letter of נון, vav ו, enters between the two middle letters (אם) of נאמן, the secret of the Divine Name אום, related to the coming of the mashiach, is formed."