The Letter B - Blessing and Construction, House and Inner Meaning

The letter B signifies duality and multiplicity, expressing the force of division and multiplication inherent in the creation of the world. It therefore also represents blessing, conveying the abundance that comes from the little that is present.

In its deeper spiritual root, the letter B symbolizes the creation of the world from nothing, as in the beginning, the Creator shone the light of letter A, which is a high, undivided light, and from it, by the Creator's command, came the light of letter B, containing the power of division and multiplicity, initiating the process of division and multiplication of the first light into the creation of all worlds and their components.

Indeed, the first word in the Torah where the letter B appears in a leading position (not as a prefix like in "Bereshit") is "Bara" (created). This is the essence of the letter B.

Since creation was formed through the division inherent in letter B, in the physical world, all new multiplicity is created by division, for example, a biological cell divides to create two cells, and these divide into four and so on, forming the complete structure of an organism. A rock is quarried and divided into stones, from which a house is built. Clay and earth are dug and divided from the ground; some become cement, for building and joining. Thus is all creation constructed and composed.

After the letter A, which symbolizes absolute unity, comes the letter B, which signifies the multiplicity and composition within creation. This indicates that the entire creation, composed of many parts, originates from A, the One, who is Hashem.

Its Numerical Value

The numerical value of the letter B is two, the minimal number that represents many, for all possibilities of division and multiplication in the world are rooted in the letter B.

This is why, while all numerals in the holy language are named in singular: one, three, four, five, six, etc., two is uniquely plural, as its root is the letter B, the essence of multiplicity.

On a deeper level, all creation is composed of two opposing parts whose connection creates wholeness, such as day and night, male and female, body and soul, material and spirit, heaven and earth. All oppositions in nature are meant to complete one another by beneficial connection, creating balanced wholeness, as each side contributes what the other lacks.

This explains the yearning of a woman's soul to unite with a man, and the man's soul to be with a woman – to reach completeness.

Pronunciation

B – as in house, the dwelling place of man, made of parts joined together to form a complete structure. It also hints at the dwelling of created beings, which is the world, built by the letter B, comprised of various parts.

The Midrash "Letters of Rabbi Akiva" states: "What is B? It teaches that Hashem said: I have built, I have formed, I have designed."

Furthermore, the Midrash states:

Since innerness is represented by the letter B, adding the letter B at the beginning of a word, as in: in the ark, in going, in your walk, expresses innerness and entering inwardly, in two dimensions:

In terms of place, such as: within the ark = in the ark

or

In terms of action, such as: in going = during your going; in your walk = during your walk

For this reason, the inner part of the letter P, when written in black on white parchment, appears as the shape of a white letter B. The letter P symbolizes an opening to exit and enter from innerness to outside and from outside to inner (this is also true of the mouth in the human body, as explained further with the letter P). Thus the letter B – innerness, and the letter P – opening to innerness.

With this understanding, we can comprehend why when Jacob our forefather achieved his great prophetic dream, he named the place "house" for the then desolate Temple location. As written: "And Jacob awoke from his sleep... and he feared and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of Hashem, and this is the gate of heaven.'" By means of the dream, in which he saw angels of Hashem ascending from this place to the heavenly gate and others descending from it to the earth, Jacob realized that this place's inner essence already held high spirituality and divine presence, qualifying it as the "gate of heaven," where heaven and earth meet, through which prayers ascend and blessings descend. Thus it is already the 'house' of Hashem, from a deeper understanding of the letter B – innerness, indicating that divine presence already exists here, even though physically, the location seems deserted and the Temple is yet to be built. Because the inner essence is the truth, and the structure, like the body, is merely a shell and garment.

However, we must understand why the letter B is pronounced in relation to another word even when no word follows it, such as: Beit-Elokim and not independent as Bayit.

This is wonderfully explained by the earlier mention that at creation, the first light of the letter A symbolizing the leader of the world emerged, which brought forth the letter B – the force of division and multiplicity, from which all other letters, with their illuminating powers, emerged. The letter B is the house of the letters that follow, as stated in the scripture: "House of pathways, it stands." Therefore, its name is connected to indicate that it is a house for the G, D, H, V, and all other letters.

This is why its form is open in front and closed behind and at its sides; because its light acts and illuminates from here onward, like a vessel receiving the heat of fire and transmitting it forward. Thus, the light of A passes through the back of vessel B it created, from which all letters extend. This is one of the mystical reasons for the shape of B, beyond the simple, interpretive, and hinted interpretations provided below, apart from the seventy facets dividing "as a hammer shatters the rock," in each layer of the pardes of the Torah, knowledge of which belongs to the early generations.

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