The Letter He: Symbol of Fertility and Special Gentleness

As mentioned, the letter He holds the power of turning potential into action, and thus also the ability for fertility and childbirth. However, due to its unique gentleness in pronunciation, the letter He also represents special gentleness and delicacy, and noble softness. In these qualities, it also expresses the female.

Therefore, when the holy language wishes to denote something special, the letter He is placed at the beginning of the noun. This is the definite article.

The Sixth Day

"Resh Lakish said: What does it mean when it is written, 'And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day'? Why is the extra He needed? It teaches us that Hashem made a condition with the works of creation and said to them: If Israel accepts the Torah, you will survive. If not, I will return you to chaos."

Therefore, the definite article He in "the sixth day" at the end of the creation narrative implies the sixth (6th) of Sivan when the Torah was given. Acceptance and observance of the Torah by Israel is the condition for the world's existence, as it is the purpose of creation. Without fulfilling this purpose, creation has no meaning. Thus, all words that denote individual or group distinction, like: he, she, they, them – start with the letter He.

Since the root of special gentleness in our world is embedded in the letter He, the woman, who is naturally characterized by her gentleness, softness, and pleasantness, received the letter He in her name—in addition to the letters 'esh', while the man received the letter Yod in his name (see more on this below).

For this same reason, the letter He at the end of a noun transforms it from masculine to feminine. Such as: boy – girl, youth – young woman, king – queen.

The female ability to bear children is also, for this reason, tied to the illumination of the letter He. Thus, Abraham and Sarah conceived only after the letter He was given in their names. As elucidated in the sacred Zohar: "Abram does not beget, Abraham begets. Everywhere, the letter He is intended and suitable for offspring and fruits, and thus the name [changed to Abraham] caused it."

Although other letters are also considered 'female', the letter He is unique among them due to its distinctive power in fertility and childbirth, to the point where the sacred Zohar places it first among the female letters, noting that they derive their strength from it. The Zohar even refers to it as "the fairest of women". The "women" here being all the female letters. Yet the letter He – fairest of women: "Among women – those letters which are considered female. And which is [the fairest of women]? The letter He, for it is the expansion and beauty of all, to nourish and distribute portions to all its upper hosts."

The Letter of Sustenance

The secret of sustenance, yield, and growth, which are also forms of fertility, is also embedded in this letter. As the Zohar states: "Among all the letters, there is none capable of bearing except the letter He. This letter is designed for producing fruits and plants more than all other letters, and because of this, it is open on all sides." Therefore, the Zohar emphasizes how important it is to take care and pronounce the letter He correctly in the blessing of Hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz – "because bread is delivered by that letter." This means that not only human fertility but also earth’s fertility and human sustenance are related to this letter. When a person praises the Creator in the blessing of "Hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz" and carefully pronounces the letter He in "Hamotzi", they draw down to themselves and to the world a flow of blessing and sustenance.

This secret of the letter He is hinted at in the verse: "Heh lakhem zera". The literal meaning is regarding Joseph speaking to the Egyptians during the famine years. Yet on a deeper level, it hints at the essence of the letter He, as if to say: "The letter He for you is seed!" Indicating that its nature is abundant fertility in childbirth and sustenance.

Exalted Above All Blessing and Praise

It must be understood that when a person blesses and says: "Blessed are You, Hashem", surely the intention in the blessing is not to 'wish' any matter to the Creator, as one blesses a friend wishing for health and sustenance. After all, He is perfectly complete and exalted above all blessing. Also, it should not be said that the words "Blessed are You" are in the sense of praise and glory. Rather, the root of the word 'blessing' is B.R.K. and it means addition and multiplication. Like "And He will bless your bread" "And He will bless the fruit of your womb", where surely the intention is not for praise of the bread and fruit of the womb, but for the abundance of addition and multiplication, in sustenance and fertility.

And we bless in this language – "Blessed are You, Hashem", because Hashem set in the nature of creation that by the speech power of the crown of creation, man, who expresses his recognition that the source of the bounty descending to the world is the blessed Creator and not "my strength and the might of my hand made me this wealth" – to connect himself at that moment and with him all of Israel, to the infinite light of Hashem, thereby bringing down great abundance to himself and to the entire people.

The words: 'Blessed are You, Hashem', mean 'You, the downpour of plenty'. That is, You are the source of all the good abundance descending to the world in all areas. You, the master of all, past, present, and future. The writing of the name Hashem conceals the three words: was, is, will be. And we pronounce Hashem's name as "Adonai", to signify that you are the master of all, the king of the world, the creator of the fruit of the tree, or the fruit of the ground. And so in every blessing.

And this sheds light, even a little, on the formula of the request in the sublime vision reported by the high priest and sacred Tanna, Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, who merited this on Yom Kippur while in the Holy of Holies, as narrated in the Talmud:

"It was taught: Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha said, once I entered to offer incense in the innermost sanctum, and I saw Akteriel Yud-Hey Hashem Tzvaot seated upon a high and exalted throne [these words and names contain a highly elevated parable of a very high revelation. For Hashem is not a body and has no form of a body] and He said to me 'Ishmael, my son, bless Me.' I said to Him: 'May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger, and Your mercy prevail over Your attributes, and You conduct Yourself with Your children through the attribute of mercy, and enter for them beyond the line of judgment.' And He nodded to me with His head."

In this grand and amazing vision, the request: "Ishmael, my son, bless Me" is particularly puzzling. Does Hashem need a blessing? Moreover, after this request, Rabbi Ishmael prayed before Him and made a request for Israel, not blessing Him? And what does the agreement expressed by nod of the head mean (this expression is certainly written as a parable, to express satisfaction and agreement)?

Rather, "bless Me" means: make my blessing come upon you through the power of your prayerful words. And "bless Me" in the sense of 'activate Me' on your behalf. For thus I ordained in creation: that your cleaving to Me through the act of blessing will automatically bring down good abundance upon you. Like a person saturated with pleasing scents delights in the goodness of others and wishes to have them near just to enjoy his fragrance, thus, distinguishedly, Hashem delights in those who cleave to Him and partake of His good treasures, thus achieving the perfection of their creation's purpose. Not only that, but closeness to Hashem through heartfelt blessings and prayers is essential for the good of the person. And we were commanded in the verse "And to serve Him with all your heart", and we received the interpretation of the verse: "What is the service of the heart? This refers to prayer." If time passes, and a person does not pray to their Creator sincerely, then Hashem awakens them in different ways, like a baby who sleeps a deep sleep for long and does not nurse from its mother, and she awakens it in different ways until it awakens and nurses for its good. Therefore, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and ceased to pray sincerely as they did during the bondage, Hashem brought them to distress near the Red Sea, as in the parable written in the verse: "My dove in the clefts of the rock" until they cried out, and thus they returned to their cleaving to the infinite light of Hashem for their good. This is a great and mighty principle for a person who sees that suffering comes upon them. Besides natural efforts, one should inspect their deeds and consider that perhaps their entire purpose is to awaken them to prayer from the depths of the heart. This is what is said "And pour out a blessing for you until no room remains" – "room" alludes to the letter He composed of Daled with Yod inside. To say the blessing poured out without end is found in the letter He. However, it is important to remember that to activate the illumination of the letter for good livelihood and childbirth, one must also correct their ways. And this is a fundamental principle with the letters in a person's name: the letter itself is a conduit of the power inherent in it. Yet, to channel the good abundance through this conduit to the person, and to nullify harsh decrees, a change in their deeds for the better is required, along with heartfelt prayer. As Chazal stated in the Talmud: "Four things tear up the decree of a person. And they are: charity, outcry, change of name, and change of deed".

Honor of the Woman – The Gate to Sustenance

It is explained in the Talmud: "A person should always be careful to honor his wife. For blessing is not found in a person's household except because of his wife. This is what Rava told the residents of his city Mechoza: Honor your wives so that you may become wealthy." And this needs explanation. Why does one who honors his wife with flattering speech, praise and encouragement, beautiful clothing and jewelry, and is careful not to hurt her feelings, merit to become wealthy?

However, the explanation is that since the letter He is the root of the woman, it is also the root of sustenance as explained extensively above (and likewise in the Sefirot, the letter He corresponds to the Sefira of Malchut which is likened to the birthing female), and when a person honors his wife, he acts at her spiritual root to draw down abundance and blessing to himself. This is a secret that many err by not knowing it, and they delay and do not marry due to economic reasons, reaching an advanced age and failing in various areas, and also economically they do not succeed in establishing themselves. They do not understand that, on the contrary, one should take a wife, honor her properly, and sustenance will come to him. Likewise, many married men who seek salvation for their difficult economic situation do not realize that it may very well be due to a lack of respect for their wife.

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