The Hebrew language is different than other languages. In other languages words that are usually arbitrary describe an object. In Hebrew, however, the language itself describes the essence of the object.

Hashem gave Adam – the first man – the task of naming all the animals. Their names describe their essence. He called the dog – “Kelev” – which is an acronym for “Kulo Lev” – all heart. Recognizing this attribute, some call the dog “man’s best friend.”

“Mayim” is the word in Hebrew for water. Water in it’s natural state on earth has no definite form. It takes the form of the container. Thus the Hebrew word for water has – the word “what” (“mah” – what in Hebrew. Since it has no form – What is it?

Hebrew is also the “Mother of all languages.” Take the word Mayim – it is related to the English – for water also has the English word “what” in it. In old French water was called Aqua – which also contains the word for what in French – “Quoi?”

The word for fruits in Hebrew is “Perot” – the letter Peh in Hebrew is synonymous with the letter Pheh. Peh is a Pheh with a dot in it. Thus fruit comes from Perot. In French also fruit is fruit. There are many other examples in which words from other languages are based upon the Lashon HaKodesh – “the Holy Tongue”.

The Hebrew word for water is “mayim” it is spelled mem – yud – mem. There is a mem in the beginning. A yud in the middle. In the final mem at it and. So if you were to imagine that it is two same letters attached by one letter in the middle. This is similar to the chemical composition of water – H2O. There are two hydrogens attached to one oxygen atom.

The letters of Hebrew create sound waves that look like the letters that are pronounced. There was a study done by Yakov Guggenheim – that used software to discover this phenomenon. See the wonders of the world – by R. Zamir Cohen http://tvtorah.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=43&Itemid=44

The Hebrew name of a person also describes their essence. If a person is interested in finding out what their essence is and what their particular purpose is in life – one can examine their Hebrew name to see if there were famous Jewish Torah personalities that also had the same name and a similar goal. Also a person’s Hebrew name is also encoded in a verse of the Torah that may describe them. The Vilna Gaon mentioned that every Jewish person’s life is described in the Torah.

An article in “The Journal of Statistical Science” spoke about this – that many contemporary rabbis names and dates of their birth or deaths are found encoded in the Torah. Several books have also been written on the subject.- like – Cracking the Bible Codes by Jeffrey Satinover. See http://torahcode.org/

An example:

— The Name RaMBaM (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon or Maimonides – a tremendous Torah scholar) is encoded in the Torah. The first letter in four consecutive words starting at R’voth in Shemot 11:9 spell RaMBaM. Passage 11:9 in Shemot talks about Moses and wonders done in the land of Egypt. Moses Maimonides also lived in the land of Egypt and did wonders there also.

Also starting at Shemot 11:9 is encoded the name of one of Maimonides’ works, the MiShNaH TORaH. From the Mem in the name Moshe in Shemot 11:9 count 50 letters to find a Shin. Another fifty letters you find a Nun and another fifty, a Heh. So where is “TORaH”? Count 613 letters from the Mem in Moshe, you find a Taf. From that Taf keep counting every fifty letters, to find the rest of the word TORaH. There are also many other encodings including names (Adam, Kain, Abel, Aaron etc.), places (Israel, Babylon etc.), plants, as well as many other words. In many instances the encoded words are related to the subject ot the paragraphs that they are in. There are also other ways in which information is encrypted in the Torah.

The value of a Hebrew word can be calculated using Gematria – A method of disclosing the hidden meanings of a Torah or text according to the numerical values of Hebrew letters or of substituting other letters of alphabet for them in accordance with a set system. The numerical sum of the letters in the Hebrew word HeRaYON (pregnancy) totals 271, which is the length of a normal pregnancy in days.

Other examples:

— The numerical value of YaYiN (wine) and SOD (secret) are both equal to 70. Hence the saying, “when wine enters, secrets are out.” (Talmud)

— Jacob in his dream saw a ladder which reached from earth to heaven (Genesis 28:12). The ladder is SINAI, for SULAM (ladder) and Sinai have the same numerical value, 130 (Midrash Genesis 68:12). Thus, the Law revealed at Sinai is the ladder which leads from heaven to earth.

— The Torah says that we should give one-tenth (TaASeR) to one-fifth of our earnings to tzedakah (charity). TaASeR is spelled Taf-Ayin-Sin-Resh valued at 400, 70, 300, 200 respectively. Take a tenth of each letter thus getting 40, 7, 30, 20 or mem-zayin-lamed-chaf (MaZaLCha – luck). Thus if you give a tenth to charity, you will have luck. – (The Gaon of Vilna)

Hebrew has the power to create. Hebrew is the language that Hashem used to create the world. Like it says in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) – Chapter 5:1 “With 10 utterances was the world created; what does the Torah come to teach? And could it not have been created with the one saying? Rather, it was done to collect [payment] from the wicked that they destroy the world that was created with 10 sayings. And to give great reward to the righteous that they uphold the world that was created with 10 sayings.” We see from here that Hebrew words can also create.

bs”d

Dear Friend,

I wish you and your family, a healthy, prosperous, happy and spiritually fulfilling year.

As Rosh Hashanah is a time for Teshuva (returning to Hash-m) and atonement, I wish to offer a small suggestion.

Recently I gave a lecture entitled “Achieve your potential in life through Torah.” The basis of the lecture was that – a person is happiest when they are themselves. Thus through a person becoming oneself they ultimately reach happiness. Thus the question one must answer then is “who am I?”

In short, I discovered that the true essence of a person is their soul. By providing satisfaction to the soul, not only does one gain fulfillment, but they reach into developing their true essence as a person.

Through concentrating their efforts on the pursuit of spiritual pleasure – specifically through Torah – one ultimately becomes themselves and happiness ensues because one is acting like their true essence. Through experience, triumphs and failings I learned that, in truth, lasting satisfaction does not come through the pursuit of physical pleasure. One reaches their potential in life through spirituality — through the Torah. Ultimately this gives a person inner satisfaction.

I took some time to make a list of easy things a person can do in order to gain the satisfaction and to be victorious in judgment: If one commits themselves to even one of these things I’m almost sure that they will have a good judgment for the year. Remember by doing these you give your soul satisfaction. These are they:

1. Light Shabbat candles Friday 18 minutes before Sunset (at candle lighting time).
2. Say the Shema Yisrael and three accompanying paragraphs (found in most siddurs/prayer books) upon awakening and before going to sleep.
3. Learn five minutes of Torah every day (there are many good Torah books available in English at feldheim.com and artscroll.com)
4. Do not speak badly about people for one hour every day.
5. Learn about the laws of Jewish modesty (tzniut / tznius) – for women / for men – put on Tephillin (it’s prudent to check yours by a competent sofer/ Jewish scribe if you haven’t in a while) and say the Shema every day with them on.
6. Learn about the laws a Jewish family purity (taharas hamishpacha / taharat hamishpacha)
7. Keep a kosher kitchen at home and/or keep kosher outside.
8. Learn about the 13 principles of faith of the Rambam.
9. Recite the Shema (and first paragraph) and tell Jewish stories to children at bedtime.
10. Eat a Shabbat meal with your family (prepare the hot food before Shabbat).
11. Be in contact with Hash-m regularly by praying and/or talking with Him to help you resolve your daily concerns

Every mitzvah goes a very long way in this world and the next world. If you need any further explanation, please feel free to contact me. These are some of the best “gifts of advice” I can give you for the New Year.

May it be the will of Hash-m to bless you with all good. Shana Tova and Shabbat Shalom.

Hashem gave seven eternal laws to Adam and Noach after him and taught them to Moses for all mankind to follow. These are called the Sheva Mitzvot Benei Noach / the Seven Noahide laws. A person who follows them only because the authentic Torah followed by orthodox Jews commands them is called a Ben Noach or Benei Noach in plural. Those gentiles that scrupulously follow them are promised a portion in heaven. They are:

1)Do not kill.
2)Do not steal.
3)Do not commit forbidden immoral relations.
4)Do not blaspheme.
5)Do not commit idolatry.
6)Do not eat a limb taken from a living animal.
7)To establish courts of justice enforcing these laws.

Goal : to help a person to live eternally.

A person is composed of a body and a soul.
After life a person’s soul leaves their body.

If a person was good they will inherit a place in heaven.
Some will live forever.

The question is – what are the criteria that Heaven uses to judge a person?

It is logical to say it is a law. It is probable any person could have had access to the law. It is logical to say the law must make sense to believe in it. It makes sense to say the law must have been given in front of millions of witnesses.

The law that fits all those criteria is – The Torah given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai almost 3,300 years ago.

A Jew’s observance of the 613 commandments – as explained in the Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law by Rav Yosef Caro] – will gain them a good place in the next world.

Gentiles will be Judged based upon their observance of the Seven Noahide laws.

Here are the Beliefs that Hash-m (G-d) expects us to believe to live eternally.

Maimonides – the Rambam – who was a great Rabbi and a Doctor compiled 13 foundations from the Torah that a Jew is required to believe. If a Jew believes them – and acts in a decent manner – he will receive a portion in the world to come and will be resurrected after the resurrection of the dead. The thirteen principles of faith the Rambam that Torah requires a Jew to believe to receive a portion in the world to come are

One – To believe in the existence of Hashem (G-d). This means to believe in the existence of the Creator, blessed be He, and this is that there is a complete existence in all aspects of existence. He is the pinnacle of all of existence. From Him is the establishment of their existence and from Him is their establishment. And if one could imagine that He did not exist, then nothing else could exist. But even if all other things ceased to exist, He would still remain in existence. In other words everything is dependent upon his existence. But He is not dependent on any other existence.

Jews are to believe with perfect faith in the thirteen principles of the Holy Torah.

1) That the Holy One, Blessed Be He exists and supervises
2) and that He is One
3) and that He has no body and no likeness of a body
4) and he was before anything from before
5) and that there is no worship except to Him
6) and he knows the thoughts of people
7) and the prophesy of Moses our teacher is true
8) and that he is the master of all prophets
9) and that the Torah was given from Heaven
10) and that it [the Torah] will not change at any time, Heaven forbid
11) and that the Holy One Blessed be He punishes the wicked and pays great reward to the righteous
12) and that the king Messiah will come
13) and that the dead will be resurrected in the future.