Understanding the Hebrew Letter Ayin: Vision and Insight

The letter Ayin represents, as its name suggests, the eye. The eye carries within it the power through which we see. What is unique about vision is the direct perception of the object itself, as much as a person can get close to it. We can hear explanations, imagine concepts, but only through the physical eye can we fully perceive an object. Hearing is the absorption of ideas and symbols that explain a concept. Vision is an immediate encounter, the absorption of the object itself.

The depth of vision lies in the direct perception of the object. So when a person reads a written explanation about an object, although they use vision, they do not see the object. Whereas when a person hears music, they are experiencing it directly through hearing, seeing only moving strings with their eyes.

Hence, abstract wisdom is considered a form of vision: "Straight in his eyes," as well as "Straight in the eyes of Hashem," is something perceived through wisdom. Whoever knows what is right and wrong in the world "sees" with their mind's eye the truth and the right thing, perceiving the object in its essence.

When Hashem wants to impart wisdom to a person, He does not need to translate it into words and definitions. Instead, He elevates the person to a higher level where they can see and understand this wisdom on their own. This is a vision, not a hearing process, similar to one person showing a physical item to another. In fact, when Hashem transmitted the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel, the event is described with the phrase: "And all the people saw the voices," because there was no breakdown into symbols and definitions, but a spiritual vision of the concept itself.

The first word in the Torah beginning with Ayin is "above." Every creature's ability to comprehend reality is limited. An angel, for instance, sees more and understands more than a person and is therefore above them. Animals understand less than humans, and thus humans are above them. The one who is superior is considered above the one who is inferior. Therefore, Hashem is described as dwelling in the heavens, even though, in a physical sense, He is not above us. He is everywhere, but since He is exalted and sees everything, He is above us. Similarly, angels are considered in the heavens because Hashem is above them in the highest realm, so to speak, but they are above us. They see and observe us from an external perspective.

The Talmud in Tractate Shabbat describes the letters Samech and Ayin as supporting the poor. The letter Dalet expressed material poverty. Still, the letter Ayin represents the general condition of the poor in the world, where others are above them. The poor suffer from deprivation; others are above them. The humble put themselves below others, "and my soul shall be as dust to all." As if others are angels and he is human, or others are human, and he is like a donkey...

The numeric value of Ayin is seventy. This number represents the power of vision and intellectual understanding. It's fascinating to note that the Sanhedrin, who were tasked with seeing and understanding the depths of the Torah and the issues of the generation, and were thus called "the eyes of the congregation," comprised seventy elders of Israel.

In the root "or," the letter Ayin expresses vision and direct perception of reality. When a person is awake, their eyes are open, and they are aware of what happens around them. The skin is the outer part through which a person senses, touches, and grasps reality in practice. Even a razor is called so because it reveals the skin, and treachery is named thus because its essence is the ability to see things that others did not see and exploit them to entrap them.

In this meaning, the letter Ayin sometimes functions in negation, like in the word "hidden," meaning something exists but is not visible, and words like עצָם (atzam – strong), תעה (ta'ah – wander), טַעַת (ta'at – mistake), darkness, and ערל (arell – uncircumcised), a person covered by a layer that prevents perception, like the foreskin of the heart. From here comes also the word fog, an obscure covering that accompanies spiritual visions to conceal them. The past is called so because it is not visible (Ayin), having already gone (Bet), and the future is also invisible (Ayin) because it is beyond (Dalet) our grasp (Tav).

In negative terms, the one who does not see is "blind," distorted perception of reality is "crooked," a distorted sense of morality is "injustice," a distorted perception of religion is "sin." When a person does not know how to walk the path, they "distort" it ("my paths have been distorted").

From this meaning also come words like "crooked," "depth," which is a distortion in the earth, "twisted," also a distortion, as in the verse: "And the crooked shall be made straight" (Isaiah 40, 4), "stubborn," a person whose path is twisted, like "twisted and convoluted," bowl, meandering, a path with a distortion (Ayin) that prevents progress (Lamed), limping, a person with a distorted walk, and also distorted speech, like: "lisp," "insult," and "mock."