Unlocking the Secrets of the Letter Mem: A Journey Through Torah and Kabbalah

The letter Mem is formed by the combination of the letters Kaf and Vav, placed side by side.

The preceding letter, Lamed, consists of Vav "riding" on top of Kaf, as previously noted. Mem integrates these two components, but in perfect harmony, where neither dominates the other. Instead, they are aligned like a train, one following the other.

The meaning of the letter Kaf, as we have seen, involves forming a pattern, bending matter into shape, while the meaning of Vav is knowledge. Therefore, while Lamed signifies learning, the merging of knowledge with action, the meaning of Mem represents the phase after harmony is achieved between plan and execution, the creation of essence.

The Talmud, in Tractate Shabbat, describes the letter Mem within the word "Ma'amar". A Ma'amar is not equivalent to speech; rather, it is the pathway from desire to reality. The world was created with ten Ma'amarot, ten plans (like "And Haman said in his heart". Saying in the heart is sometimes more significant than verbal expression; it is a plan where the planner "resolves"). A Ma'amar of Hashem is not a theoretical "plan"; it leads to actual execution, to the creation of essence.

The meaning of "Ma'amar" is translating the idea into a formula, into words. When Hashem said "Let there be light", he defined the form of reality, and so on.

The question word "Mah" (what) pertains to essence, what it is, whether on the reality level, when a person does not understand what they see, or on the conceptual level. What is happening here? What is the "Ma'amar" being realized here?

The first word in the Torah that begins with Mem is "Mayim" (water), and indeed, water is the most direct representation of essence. When a person sees an object, they must consider its nature, observe and examine what it is made of, whether it is fragile, how much it weighs. Water, however, possesses the quality of transparency, in both senses. It is formless, yet possesses very defined traits. It is a substance in which essence and form are one, and it is also the essence of all existence—there is no life or world without water flowing within the earth, our bodies, plants, and food. The name of the letter Mem is derived from the word Mayim (the ancient depiction of Mem preserved in foreign scripts, such as the letter M, resembles waves). When something loses its form, it is expressed by the letter Mem—dissolve, melt, decay, disintegrate.

Not only the question "what" expresses the essence, but also the combinations of usage letters in Beit Kaf Lamed Mem, which express contemplation of the essence: with what? how much? why? within what? like what? and what is the reason (study).

Water is referred to in the plural because they are formless; they are always many, and no drop stands alone. Thus, the letter Mem always signifies a part of a whole, a part of many. Taking "from the fruit of the ground" represents taking part from the whole. The generalization "many" always stems from some plan, some human "Ma'amar". All fruits of the land are united by human ownership and the practice of harvesting and using them. At the beginning of a word, Mem is associated with a plan, indicating a part of... and at the end of a word, it associates the word with many: one house becomes "houses", a group of houses belonging to one plan, one city, one owner, one street.

The numerical value of Mem is forty because the world is composed of ten fundamental Ma'amarot, multiplied by the four worlds: Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, representing the four stages of creation. This is also why every new creation is characterized by the number forty, such as the formation of the fetus in forty days, Moses's stay on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, the formation of a new generation in the desert over forty years, standing at the teacher's understanding until forty years, and the land being at rest for forty years.

As we will see with G-d's help, the meaning of the letter Shin is a series, many details linked together (named after teeth), and therefore, the meaning of the word "Sham" refers to the connection of a living being, for example, to the entire worldly plan, its place and role. Of course, this also applies to people or objects. The name "plate" expresses the role of the plate for people.

Meanwhile, the meaning of the word "Gasham" is an object whose plan disconnects from its reality: Gimel—to be weaned, to detach from the source of growth. The rain changes its form and its name; the sea waters become steam, the steam becomes clouds, and the clouds turn into rain or snow. Not only does the name change, but the essence, the state of matter. Such a change in essence and state is realization, turning a dream into reality, changing a spiritual concept into a tangible physical one.

The mother is the primary source of life. Aleph is the beginning, and Mem is the essence. The essence of all of us begins with our birth from our mother's womb. Mankind, too, emerges from "Mother Earth". The condition word "Im" tilts the start of realizing an idea or a deal: if the condition is fulfilled - the deal is born, the idea is realized. If not, it will not be created nor born.

The connection between the letter Lamed and Mem, as we have seen, is the logical order. Lamed is the planning of connecting knowledge with reality, and Mem is the execution, the actual birth. But what happens when their order is reversed? We encounter this in the word "Melech" (king). The king is merely a human born of a woman, but he becomes an independent power. He returns to control creation, everything around him, even his parents. He overturns the natural order, and in a way, rules over what created him. From this, we also get "Malach" (angel), an emissary, the king's representative.

The letter Reish symbolizes breaking, separation, and fragmentation, and thus the combination "Mar" signifies rebellion against the natural order of forces: a rebellious son, defiance. Authority - the imposed order of the natural hierarchy, subduing rebellion.