Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim:
Mark 8:25: “And after that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up, and he was restored and saw every man clearly.”
About 30 years ago I suffered from a chronic eye disease called iritis. This was an inflammation in the iris of my right eye. Eventually, I developed a cataract in that eye. Due to the nature of the cataract the doctors at that time were unable to remove it. Once I did find a doctor that would perform the surgery the cataract developed to the point where there were many complications in the surgery. They were unable to do an implant so the only way I could see out of the eye was with a special contact lens. Even then there was a membrane that blocked my vision like another cataract and they could not remove that without damaging my retina. So for thirty years I depended upon my left eye for my vision. Not too long ago I started to develop symptoms of a cataract in my left eye. It eventually progressed to the point where just a few weeks ago I lost my vision to the point I was unable to read and eventually drive.
Fortunately, modern medical science has a relatively simply solution and yesterday after a ten minute procedure my sight in my left eye was been restored to full 20/20 vision. The doctor also feels he may be able to do something to help restore the sight in my right eye.
Still I had that horrible experience of living as a blind person for a number of days while awaiting the surgery. I could not read, which included my beloved Hebrew Bible, which explains why you have not seen a devotional for a while nor had a response to some of your e-mails to me.
A day rarely passes where I do not spend time with my friends, the Hebrew Alphabet. Yet, here I was facing many days without their comfort and encouragement. One of the first things I had to do after the doctor removed the patch from my eye and I was able to see again, was to seek out my 22 friends in the Hebrew Alphabet.
Once I was alone, I stepped through the “Looking Glass” hanging from my Daleth and entered Hebrew Esoteric Land. I saw all my old friends from the Hebrew Alphabet there and they were all so beautiful. When they saw me they all gathered around me excitedly and told how they too had missed my presence.
We all join hands and began dancing in circle singing: “Dippy, dippy dum, dippy do, dippy dum.” As we sang these nonsense words the Nun Gimel and Final Nun stepped in the circle. They joined hands forming the word “Niggun.” A “niggun” literally means “tunes” or “Melodies.” A “niggun” is expressed with singing or speaking nonsense words to break down walls between the human and the Divine, to carry the singer or speaker to the gates of heaven itself. As the Nun Gimel and Final Nun lead us in the singing of our “Nigguns” suddenly my dear friends the Aleph and Shin appeared together in the center of the circle as flames of fire. Indeed Aleph and Shin spell the word for fire but it also means passion. The Aleph took my hand and instantly I felt a deep passion for the Heavenly Father, for that is what the Aleph represents – God the Father. The Aleph led me to the Shin which shows the power of God and I began to feel the power of God flow through me.
Aleph and Shin stepped back into the circle and the ever faithful broken letter, the Hei, stepped into the circle to embrace me. I instantly felt the presence of God as which is what the Hei symbolizes. Basking in the presence of God, the Beth stepped forward, took my hand and welcomed me home. The Beth, of course, is the letter for home and the heart. I then walked around the circle and shook hands with the rest of my friends who have encouraged me for over 40 years. I shook hands with Gimmel who reminded me of the long kindness of God. I thanked Daleth who opens the “doorway” or “gateway” to the presence of God. I chatted a little with “Vav” who provides a connection between heaven and earth. I smiled at Zayin who is shaped like a sword and reminds me of God’s ready protection.
I warmly greeted my dear, dear friend “Chet” who provides the knowledge of a bonding with God. Next to him is “Teth.” I don’t see too much of “Teth” as he does not appear that often but when he does he brings a special revelation of the feminine nature of God. I thanked Teth for constantly reminding me that God is not only a Father but a mother who nurtures and cares for me.
I looked up and gave my graceful friend, floating in the air, Yud, a hardy wave. Yud reminds me that God is continually sending messages from heaven to me as Yud pictures a messenger from heaven floating down to earth.
As I was looking up I bumped into the Kap and landed right in the hollow of his being. Kap looks like a backward “C” as a vessel that is waiting to be filled. Whenever I am troubled I always run to the Kap and rest inside for the Kap also represents the throne of God and inside the Kap I can enter the very throne room of God.
While relaxing in the Kap I feel a tap on my shoulder. “Uh, hum!” said the Lamed, “You forget about me?” “Lamed” I said, “I could never forget you, you represent learning and teaching from the Holy Spirit.” “What is it you learn?” ask the next letters in our round, Mem and Final Mem. “Why you are two of the letters I have missed the most for you Mem represent the revealed knowledge of God and Final Mem brings me the hidden knowledge of God. I give them both a warm greeting, but it is the hug that I save for my constant companion who provided the most comfort during my period of blindness. It is the Samek, a letter shaped like a cup with a lip. I crawl inside and I am covered by the lid and hidden from the dangers of the world. “What a comfort you were during that time my dear friend,” I say to Samek.
“So what am I?” asks the next letter, “Chopped liver?” It was my closest companion, Ayin who provides constant insight to me into my heart and the heart of God. Ayin has two points on it like two eyes that are constantly searching. One eye is on my heart and the other on the heart of God and Ayin provides a link between our two hearts. “You have been a dear friend , Ayin” I said as I shook his hand, only to be interrupted by a voice that would not stop speaking. “Quiet,” I said, I want to share a little with my friend Ayin.” “And you don’t want to hear what I have to say?” I looked up to see a smiling one tooth letter by the name of Pei. “Well, of course, we all to pause and hear what you have to say, for you are the mouth of God and I sure do not want to ignore that.” “Then you had better get down on your knees.” demands the next letter Tzdai who pictures humility. The letter Tzdai sort of looks like it is taking a Tebow pose on a bended knee. As I bow to the Heavenly Father on bended knee I hear the next letter say: “You best repent and be sanctified for your murmurings and fretting during your time of blindness.” This was spoken by the Quf who demands sanctification and purity. “You had all your friends here to remind you of the nature of your Heavenly Father and yet you fretted and worried during your time of affliction.”
I notice this was a different voice and I looked up and saw the Resh who represents repentance. At this point I repented of allowing my fears to take control during my time of trial and not allow the present of the Holy Spirit to bring comfort. “The power of God was in control the whole time, yes, even during the doctor’s ten minute procedure to restore you sight, yet you worried.” This was spoken by the Shin who represents the power and peace of God. Shin is almost the most powerful letter in the Hebrew Alphabet but for the final letter who stepped forward, strong, confident and overwhelming. It was the Taw. “You, above all letters,” I declared, “You were the key to my survival. You Taw, I give my undying thanks for teaching me about prayer and truth. I thank you dear friends, as I do all of you who I could not see, yet remained in my mind and heart to remind me of what a truly awesome and powerful God we have.”
Again we all joined hands and began dancing and singing our nigguns when all of a sudden there was a earthquake and the sound of thunder followed by bolts of lightning. All twenty two letters looked up seeing something I could not see. Mathematicians for centuries have looked for the perfect circle. Well I saw it on the mouths of those twenty two letters as they looked up seeing something that I could not behold.
“What is it?” I shouted. Taw (truth) replied: “It is the mysterious 23rd letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.”
The Talmud teaches that this 23rd letter appeared on the original tablets of the Ten Commandments. When the tablets were broken because of the idolatrous sin of Israel, all the letters flew off the tablets and returned to heaven. Eventually, they all returned except for the 23rd letter which vanished from the earth. It is believed that when the Messiah comes or as we Christian believe, when Jesus returns, He will bring the 23rd letter and restore the Hebrew Alphabet and thus this world, to it’s original balance and harmony with God. No one knows what shape this letter takes or sound it makes, but one day it will be revealed. Perhaps at the sound of the last trumpet.
For now I could only ask Taw what the 23rd letter had to say? Taw explained that the 23rd letter is a sign of promise and unrealized potential. Taw told me that God spared my life a year ago when I had emergency surgery and restored my sight yesterday to remind me of His promise and the potential He has provided for me. However, there is a shadow to the 23rd letter. That shadow is to abandon the present because a better world awaits. Taw looked at me with a stern warning and said: “The missing letter promises a better future, but that does not mean we should despise the present.”
With that I passed through the “Looking Glass” and into my own world where I found my Greek Bible opened to a New Testament passage in Mark 8:25. Jesus just healed a blind man who saw every man “clearly.” I noticed the word “clearly” in the Greek is “telaugos” which also means “shinning.” You know what I think? I think that this old boy who lived 2,000 years ago had cataracts just like me. He too looked out through the haze of the cataracts and saw images of men that looked like trees walking. When Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes, the man’s cataracts disappeared and were replaced with a brand new organic lens, not the plastic one like I have, yet he saw something I saw only for a few hours after the doctor removed my patch. I saw everything literally “shinning,”
It was like looking through a beautiful crystal. If you ever had cataract surgery you know what I am talking about. After a few hours your eyes adjust and things look normal, yet still beautiful.
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