BET - 2

 

The Letter BET

A Story With the Letter BET

King Ptolemy II (283-246 BCE) wanted a Greek translation of the Torah (the Septuagint). He gathered 72 Israelite elders and sequestered them in 72 different houses.1 He visited each of them and instructed, “Translate for me the book of Moses your teacher.” Miraculously, each Sage’s translation was identical, even though they each independently made certain changes to the text. The Jewish elders felt that if they gave him G‑d’s literal words to Moses, Ptolemy might be misled or use it against the Jewish people.

Significantly, the Sages all altered the first verse of the Torah. Instead of writing בראשית—“Bereishit, (In) the begin­ning, created G‑d … ” they wrote אלקים—“Elokim (G‑d) created, (in) the beginning,” thus beginning the Torah with the letter א—aleph instead of the letter ב—bet.

The First Letter in the Torah

The first word in the Torah is Bereshit and the first letter in the first word is Bet. Bet is closely related to the Hebrew word for "House" Beit בַּיִת.  

God Created In Two's

Bet is the second letter in the Hebrew Aleph-Bet. Bet is equivalent to the number 2. As such, Bet represents duality. God created the world in two's. Male & Female; East & West; North & South; Left & Right; Hot & Cold. The world is filled with opposite forces. There is only one God.  A marriage is a balancing act; and effort to become one by finding the right balance. The Right balance is found in God.  By doing so we establish and maintain a home.

The House

Before Passover, Jewish families prepare their homes by cleaning and removing all leavened foods, or chametz, from their house. (The Christian parallel is removing sin from one's home.)

God commanded the Israelites to bring the Pascal Lamb into their home for 4 days.  Then, when it was time, at the start of the 5th day they were to consume* it entirely! (5 is the number that is associated with "behold" and the concept of something Godly being revealed.) 

* The Christian can see a parallel to taking communion.

Psalms 121:8 -- "You will be guarded by God himself. You will be safe when you leave your home, and safely you will return. He will protect you now, and he'll protect you forevermore!" 

PAY ATTENTION: 

In the Bible, take note when the people are leaving or going to their houses or homes. 

House and home are significant in the scriptures. "Returning home", "going home" and "coming home" have important spiritual implications in Judaism and Christianity. So does "leaving home."

Jesus returned to heaven to prepare a place for us in His Father's house. Mark 5:19 -- "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you" 

What happens in a home and the roles of those who live in a home is important in so many ways. One's "house" speaks volumes about those who live in the home and how they live. 

Genesis 28:16-19

And Jacob arose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had placed at his head, and he set it up as a monument, and he poured oil on top of it. And he named the place Beth El, (House of G-d) but Luz was originally the name of the city..

In Judaism, the phrase "the Place" (Hebrew-HaMakom) is one of the names for God. The verse above, Genesis 28.19, is the reason that Place was marked by a Rock. That Rock became a House. Jacob named the place Beth-El, House Of God. The letter that symbolizes the word for House (Beit) is the letter ב BET. One side of the letter Bet is open because God's house, like Abraham's tent is always open. 

In it's ancient form the letter "Bet" was shaped like a tent. The Israelites traveled in tents during the Exodus.  

Numbers 24.5

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!

Here is a short video on the history of the shape of letter. (Interestingly, the Hebrew word for tent Ohel אוֹהֶל does not contain the letter Bet.)

Bet is so important that God used the letter Bet (בַּ) to start the first word in the Bible - Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁית‎ which means "In beginning." Jewish sages say the Torah, and Creation, start with a bet because the world itself begins with—I and is contained within—the letter Bet.

The word Ben (Bet Nun) pictured above in their ancient form also means Son. The letter NUN in Son has the numeric equivalent to 50 (Pentecost). 50 is Jubilee. The shape of the ancient NUN is a fish/seed. 

The first two letters in the Hebrew word Bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית‎) are Bet and Resh (בְּרֵ). They make the Aramaic word "Bar" which means "Son."  

Imagine how sad and difficult life would be without a house or home. A house (Beit) provides shelter, a critical means for survival. But there is more to life than survival. Man is not meant to be alone, and thus God created woman. Together, a father (Av-אָב in Hebrew and Abba-אבא in Aramaic) and a mother (Emma-אִמָא) make a house (Beit) into a home where they build a family by adding a son (Ben-בֵּן) and/or a daughter (Bet-בַּת). In the Torah, the legacy of the family is handed down through the Son. ("Son of"). 

The first three letters in Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁית, spell ‎בְּרֵא (Bra). Pronounced Barah. בְּרֵא (Bra) means “ "create.”

So we have HOUSE Bet (בַּ), SON Bar (בְּרֵ) and CREATE בְּרֵא (Bra) in the first 3 letters IN THE BEGINNING (Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁית) of the first WORD of CREATION in the Bible. How cool is that!! 

Getting back to just the letter Bet, one way we can find the meaning of BET is through Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is organized around each of the 22 letters in the Hebrew aleph-bet. For each letter there are 8 verses that provide us insight and understanding of the respective letter. The 8 verses associated with Bet are found in verses 9 - 16. The Hebrew word that starts each verse is printed in bold when translated into English.

Psalm 119: 9-16 
9. How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
10. With my whole heart I have sought You. Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments.
11. Your word I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin against You.
12. Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your statutes.
13. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.
14. I have rejoiced IN the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15. I will meditate on your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.
16. I will delight myself in your statutes; I will not forget Thy word.

Walking in the ways of the Lord brings us closer to God. Our home is an expression of our inner self and when we go out of our home we are a reflection of what happens in our home. 

Genesis 7.1 

And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

The phrase “come and see” appears four times in the Gospel of John. 

The world renowned Kabbalist, Michael Laitman, Ph d. writes that, "The Creator is the quality of love and bestowal. In the works of Kabbalah, "The Zohar states that the reason G‑d created the world is “So that we may know Him.” Rabbi Chaim Vital in Etz Chaim writes that “G‑d wished to reveal the complete array and perfection of His powers and deeds.” 

God created Man in His image. He put the Devine Light of the Creator in us. To achieve our connection with God we need to be like God, to walk in His ways. He commanded us to Love our Fellow. By bestowing loving kindness (Chesed) we connect with the one another and the Holy One. 

God created such a beautiful and diverse world Garden for us to live in. 

Tragically for Mankind that wasn't enough. We wanted more. So we ate from the Tree of  Knowledge of Good & Evil. So God put us outside the Garden -- outside the home God prepared for us.  But God is always calling us back. His House is always open. 

John 14:23 -- Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Epilogue:

The House of God written in the earth.