The Secret of the Letter 'Hey': Between the Man and the Woman

Beyond the numerical value of the letter 'Hey' according to the plain and allegory, in the realm of the secret, the fifth and feminine letter, 'Hey,' expresses the fifth sefirah: Gevurah. Indeed, the root of the female is in the sefirah of Gevurah, while the root of the male is in the sefirah of Chesed. However, the letter 'Hey' also expresses the higher root of the sefirah of Gevurah, which is the sefirah of Binah at the head of the line of severity (BGE: Binah, Gevurah, Chesed). Therefore, the number of the letter 'Hey,' five, parallels the number of the letter 'Nun,' alluding to the fifty gates of Binah (as explained later with the letter 'Nun').

The letter 'Hey' also expresses the sefirah of Malchut, the tenth sefirah, representing the mother who gives birth.

In the order of the letters in the name of Hashem, the first 'Hey' (the second letter in the name of Hashem) corresponds to the world of creation (the second world after the world of emanation), representing the sefirah of Binah (the second sefirah after Chochmah). The last 'Hey' in the name of Hashem represents the world of action (the last world of the four worlds), representing the sefirah of Malchut, last of the ten sefirot.

Man and Woman

In his book "Etz Chaim," the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote that each of the four components of creation: the speaker, the animal, the plant, and the inanimate, contains the four elements: fire, spirit, water, and earth.

The inanimate is mainly earth, the plant mainly water, the animal mainly spirit, and the speaker mainly fire. Thus, the letters 'Esh' (fire) appear in both parts of the speaker: in the man and in the woman. However, in the woman, an additional feminine, delicate, and fertile letter 'Hey' (which is in the aspect of the Shechinah, the sefirah of Binah, and the sefirah of Malchut) is added, representing these qualities in the woman. Additionally, the letter 'Hey' is the letter through which the world of action was created, hence the woman by nature is skilled and tends to focus more on household matters and caring for children. Conversely, in the man, an additional letter 'Yud' (the first letter in the name of Hashem, through which the world-to-come was created) is added, as he is commanded to study Torah whenever he is free from necessary occupations for his needs and those of his household, which is his primary role.

The Talmud explains that the proximity of the letters 'Esh' (fire) in a woman indicates a sensitive and emotional nature, leading to rapid ignition. In contrast, the man is cooler, introverted, and restrained because the letter 'Yud' separates the letters 'Esh' in his name.

According to the secret, this is the explanation: the first two letters in the name of Hashem, letters 'Yud' and 'Hey,' align with the structure of the sefirot: the first letter, 'Yud,' corresponds to the first sefirah, Chochmah, while the second letter, 'Hey,' corresponds to the second sefirah, Binah. A man and woman living together could very well lead to a fire of conflict. A city with multiple chiefs is inevitably divided and contentious. However, the fire component in the man received the letter 'Yud' (Chochmah), and the fire component in the woman received the letter 'Hey' (Binah). Thus, "extra Binah was given to woman," as the Talmud states, and "Wise women build their house," because Binah guides and uses the details of Chochmah to build her house. Recent studies have shown that the implications of the spiritual structure manifest in the physical reality. The center of Chochmah (accumulation of information) is located in the right hemisphere of the brain, while the center of Binah (observing the small details and building from parts) is in the left hemisphere of the brain, exactly like the structure of the sefirot in the higher worlds. The male's root is in the sefirah of Chochmah in the line of Chesed, and the female's in the sefirah of Binah in the line of Gevurah. Therefore, women excel more than men in matters requiring attention to detail, while men excel more than women in matters requiring a sharp and swift decision based on existing data. The woman, in the aspect of a circle surrounding details and observing them, and the man as an arrow aiming directly at its goal, shooting for the target. The female implies a puncture, while the male implies remembrance or prominence. Also, the center of speech, located in the left side of the brain, functions more successfully in women. At a young age, girls begin to speak earlier than boys; women articulate faster and clearer than men, and few women struggle with speech or stammering. All is as per the root structure of male and female in the higher worlds, known to the people of Israel through what was revealed to them in the secret Torah, without the research of modern science or sophisticated research tools.

The letters 'Yud' and 'Hey' together form one of the names of Hashem: the name 'Yah.' This is what our sages, of blessed memory, said: "A man and a woman who merited, the Shechinah dwells between them. If they did not merit, fire consumes them." If they merited, meaning they build their home according to the laws of the Creator in His Torah, the name 'Yah' dwells between them: the 'Yud' in the man and the 'Hey' in the woman. If they did not merit and the Shechinah does not dwell between them, then the name 'Yah' is taken from the 'Ish' (man) and the 'Isha' (woman). The result: 'Esh' (fire) and 'Esh' — fire consumes them. A married woman is called "home" in the language of our sages, but as long as she is unmarried, she is not called a house but a daughter. When she marries, in addition to the sefirah of Binah existing within her (mainly in her adulthood) by herself, an additional sefirah of Chochmah is added through the addition of the letter 'Yud' (sefirah of Chochmah) from the man, and she is called "home."

This hint is also hidden in the words: "Yalda" (girl) and "Yeled" (boy). "Yalda"—the letters 'Dal' 'Hey.' Once she grows up and marries, she is called "home," expressed both in her responsibility for household matters and in her body being a home for the developing fetus. The "Yeled"—Dal 'Yud'—until he becomes a man. However, the letter 'Yud' enters him naturally as he matures, and the 'Esh' becomes a man, just as in the woman, the letter 'Hey' (Binah) naturally enters 'Esh' as she matures, and she is called a woman.

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