Community by Design: Judaism and the Torah of Place

(1) Twenty-two Foundation Letters:/ Three Mothers/ Seven Doubles/ and Twelve Elementals./ The Three Mothers are Alef Mem Shin (אמש),/ Their foundation is/ a pan of merit/ a pan of liability/ and the tongue of decree deciding between them./ [Three Mothers, Alef Mem Shin (אמש)/ Mem hums, Shin hisses/ and Aleph is the Breath of air/ deciding between them.] (2) Twenty-two Foundation letters:/ He engraved them, He carved them,/ He permuted them, He weighed them,/ He transformed them,/ And with them, He depicted all that was formed/ and all that would be formed. (3) Twenty-two Foundation Letters/ He engraved them with voice/ He carved them with breath/ He set them in the mouth/ In five places/ Alef Chet Heh Eyin (אחהע) in the throat (Gutturals)/ Gimel Yud Kaf Kuf (גיכק) in the palate (Palatals)/ Dalet Tet Lamed Nun Tav (דטלנת)/ in the tongue (Linguals)/ Zayin Samekh Shin Resh Tzadi (זסשרצ)/ in the teeth (Dentals)/ Bet Vav Mem Peh (בומפ) in the lips. (Labials) (4) Twenty-two Foundation Letters:/ He placed them in a circle/ like a wall with 231 Gates./ The Circle oscillates back and forth./ A sign for this is:/ There is nothing in good higher than Delight (Oneg - ענג)/ There is nothing evil lower than Plague (Nega - נגע).

(5) How?/ He permuted them, weighed them, and transformed them,/ Alef with them all/ and all of them with Alef,/ Bet with them all/ and all of them with Bet./ They repeat in a cycle/ and exist in 231 Gates./ It comes out that all that is formed/ and all that is spoken/ emanates from one Name. (6) He formed substance out of chaos/ and made nonexistence into existence/ He carved great pillars from air/ that cannot be grasped./ This is a sign/ [Alef with them all, and all of them with Alef]/ He forsees, transforms and makes/ all that is formed and all that is spoken:/ one Name./ A sign for this thing:/ Twenty-two objects in a single body.

(1) Adonai said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

(7) And when Abraham our father, may he rest in peace,/ looked, saw, understood, probed,/ engraved and carved,/ He was successful in creation,/ as it is written,/ "And the souls that they made in Haran" (Genesis 12:5)./ Immediately there was revealed to him the Master of all,/ may His name be blessed forever,/ He placed him in His bosom, and kissed him on his head,/ and He called him,/ "Abraham my beloved" (Isaiah 41:8)./ He made a covenant with him/ and with his children after him forever,/ as it is written,/ "And he believed in God, and He considered/ and He considered it righteousness" (Genesis 15:6)./ He made with him a covenant/ between the ten fingers of his hands - / this is the covenant of the tongue,/ and between the ten toes of his feet - / this is the covenant of circumcision,/ And He bound the 22 letters of Torah to his tongue/ and He revealed to him His mystery/ He drew them in water,/ He flamed them with fire,/ He agitated them with Breath,/ He burned them with the seven [planets]/ He directed them with the twelve constellations.

(16) He used to say: It is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. If you have learned much Torah, your reward will be much; and the Master of your work is trustworthy to pay you the wage for your activity. And know, the giving of reward to the righteous is in the future to come.