The very first reference to meditation in the Bible occurs immediately after Rebecca was brought back to marry Isaac, just before their first meeting. The scripture states, “Isaac came from the way of Beer Lachai Roi . . . and Isaac went out to meditate (suach) in the field toward evening” (Genesis 24:62, 63).
The word Suach ( 
) occurs only this one time in the Bible. It is very closely related, however, to the word Siyach ( 
), and the derivative Sichah ( 
), which are also translated as referring to meditation. The Talmud recognizes this relationship, stating that Suach has the connotation of some type of prayer or worship, commenting on this verse, “Sichah is nothing other than prayer.”2
One of the later commentaries, Rabbi Meir Lebush Malbim (1809–1879), clearly states that Isaac was engaged in a classical form of meditation. Beer Lachai Roi was the place where the angel had appeared to Hagar after she and Ishmael had been driven away by Sarah, and since an angel had appeared there, this place had become a shrine. Malbim writes, “This was a holy place at the time because an angel had been seen there, and Isaac went there each afternoon to meditate (hitboded).”3 It is significant to note that Malbim uses the term hitboded, which, as we have seen, refers to the “inner isolation” of meditation.
The Talmudic teaching that Siyach-meditation indicates some kind of worship or prayer is supported by a number of verses. We thus find expressions such as, “O God, hear my voice when I meditate (siyach)” (Psalms 64:2), and even more obviously, “A poor man's prayer, when he enshrouds himself, before God he pours forth his meditation (siyach)” (Psalms 102:1). Here it clearly refers to communion with God, and from the first verse, it can be verbal as well. Thus, while meditation is primarily a mental activity, the type of meditation implied by the word (Siyach) can also be verbal.
In many other places in the Bible, the word (Siyach) clearly refers to actual speech.4 In later Hebrew this is certainly the case, Sichah being a common word for idle chatter or speech not having anything to do with the task at hand.5
Still, there are also places where it refers to nonverbal meditation, the clearest example being, “I recall my melody at night, I meditate (siyach) with my heart, and my spirit (ruach) seeks” (Psalms 77:7). From this verse we see two things. First, it is evident that Siyach is a process that can involve thought alone, where one communes with his own heart. More important, we see it related to the Ruach-spirit, the level of the soul involved in enlightenment, when it is a seeking mode. The concept of Siyach is thus seen as very closely related to seeking enlightenment and exploring with one's Ruach-spirit.
Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, one of the most important commentators, takes this as a cue. In at least two places, he interprets the word Siyach to indicate “conversation with one's own heart.” One place is in his commentary on the verse, “Upon Your statutes I meditate (siyach),” (Psalms 119:15), while another is, “On the words of Your wonders, I will meditate (siyach)” (Psalms 145:5). According to Ibn Ezra, the connotation of Siyach-meditation can be to speak to oneself about God's teachings and deeds.
There is at least one place where we clearly find the word Siyach related to prophecy. The prophet Elisha had sent another prophet to Jehu, a member of the king's guard, with instructions that he overthrow King Ahab. After the prophet left, Jehu's companions asked why he had come. The Bible then says, “Jehu came out to his master's servants, and one of them said to him, ‘Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?’ He replied, ‘You know this man and his meditation (siyach)’ ” (2 Kings 9:11). Rabbi Levi ben Gershon (Ralbag) explains that “it was usual to call a prophet a madman, since during his meditation (hitbodedut), he goes into a trance and is unaware of external events.”
Although the word Siyach here is normally translated to mean “speech,” it can equally well be translated as “meditation,” as in other places. The reply, “you know this man and his meditation,” would then indicate that this individual was a prophet who often engaged in meditation, and that such people were considered mad and should be ignored.
We thus see that the root Siyach refers to a form of meditation that can be either verbal or nonverbal. In some places, at least, the Bible associates it with Ruach-spirit and prophecy. Besides this, it is also a word used for casual conversation, as well as for conversation that is not to the point.
From the context, it would seem that Siyach refers to inner directed, unstructured meditation, whether verbal or nonverbal, around one central point. One fixes his mind on one central subject, and then allows his thoughts to caress it, looking at it from all sides. This is certainly the context of such verses as, “I will meditate (siyach) on Your wonders” (Psalms 119:27), and, “I meditate (siyach) on Your decrees” (Psalms 119:48). The general object of the meditation in these verses is God's wonders and teachings, and the mind and lips probe them from every angle.
Such meditation can also consist of singing and chanting, where the mind is allowed to wander around a particular concept. This is most probably the meaning of the verse, “I will sing to God with my life, I will chant to my God with my existence, let my meditation (siyach) be sweet to Him, I will rejoice in God” (Psalms 104:33, 34). A similar concept is expressed in the verse, “Sing to Him, chant to Him, meditate (siyach) in all His wonders” (Psalms 105:1). This type of meditation may have been associated with prophecy, since, as we have seen, music was very important in attaining the prophetic state.
Another important type of Siyach-meditation involves prayer. Here the central theme of one's meditation is his own troubles or self-improvement, and again, one's thoughts are allowed to freely wander around the central subject. One's spontaneous thoughts may be verbally expressed in prayer, and this is the meaning of the above-mentioned Talmudic teaching that Siyach is prayer. It is significant to note that the prominent Hasidic master, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, uses the term Siyach in speaking of his system of spontaneous prayer, which is actually internally-directed unstructured verbalized meditation.
An important philological analysis of this word has been made by the eminent linguist, Rabbi Solomon Pappenheim (1750–1814).6 He states that the word Siyach ( 
) is closely related to the root Nasach ( 
), meaning to “remove” or to “pluck up.” The word Siyach therefore refers to speech that is not uttered for its own sake, but in order to remove other thoughts from the mind, clearing it of worries, problems, and other mundane ideas. Its main connotation is therefore that of distraction, being a process intended to remove all extraneous thought from the mind.
In this context, this word is very closely related to Hesech HaDaat (
), a post-Biblical term for “distraction of the mind.” This term is occasionally used to indicate banishing all other thoughts from the mind so that one should be better able to concentrate on a single subject. The Talmud uses it in this manner when it says, “When we say, ‘Let him distract his mind,’ we mean, ‘Let him distract his mind from all other thoughts but this.’”7
Closely related to this, and most probably from the same root, is the Biblical word Masach ( 
). This word is found only once in the Bible, relating to the guard around the royal palace, where a third of the troops served as a special barrier: “Another third part shall be at the gate behind the guard, and they shall keep watch on the house—special duty (masach)” (2 Kings 11:6). The commentaries explain that this “special duty” for which the term Masach is used, implies that they must not “distract their mind from it.”8 This means that the guards must distract their minds from all other thoughts in order to concentrate completely on the task at hand.
From all this, it becomes apparent that the word Siyach actually refers to a type of meditation where one removes all other thoughts from the mind, concentrating on one idea. In many cases, this can be the unstructured, internally directed meditation discussed earlier; but in a more general sense, it refers to contemplation on one idea and totally filling the mind with it. This is stated explicitly by Rabbi David Kimchi (Radak, 1160–1235), one of the most important of all Bible exegetes and etymologists. In his commentary on the verse, “Before my eyes are watches, to meditate (siyach) on all Your sayings” (Psalms 119:148), he states that siyach means contemplation (hitbonenut).
In this context, the word Siyach is also related to the root Sachah ( 
), meaning to “wipe off.” This is because it is a process through which one wipes off all other thoughts from the mind.
Even more important is the fact that the word Siyach is also related to the root Sachah ( 
), meaning to “swim” or “float.” The relationship between these two roots is so close, that at least in one place in the Bible, there is confusion as to which verb is intended. This is in the verse, normally translated as, “Each night I make my bed swim (A-s'cheh 
), with tears my couch melts away” (Psalms 6:7). All the major commentaries also interpret the verb as referring to swimming. However, the Targum, the ancient authorized Aramaic translation of the Bible, translates this verse, “Each night I speak of my pain.” According to the Targum then, the verb is derived from Siyach, in its definition as speech.
In this context, both the word Siyach ( 
) and Sachah ( 
) are related to the two letter base Sach ( 
), which means floating or rising. This is very close to the base Saa (
), which expresses the concept of elevation, as in the verb Nasaa ( 
), meaning to “lift.” As in many cases, it is also related to a base which has the precisely opposite meaning. Thus we see a close relationship between these words and the root Shachah ( 
), meaning “to be lowered.”
So the word Siyach also has the connotation of floating or rising to the top of a lower level. Through Siyach-meditation, the individual rises spiritually, floating through the supernal Universes. Just as a swimmer floats to the top of the water, so one engaged in Siyach-meditation floats above the mundane world, entering the realm of the transcendental.
It is most probably in this context that the Talmud states that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was expert in the “Sichah of ministering angels and the Sichah of demons.”9 It is highly significant to note that this is stated in the same context that declares that he was also expert in the “Workings of the Chariot” (Maaseh Merkava), which, as we have seen, involves the deepest mystical states. With regard to the word Sichah here, the leading lexicographer, Rabbi Nathan ben Yechiel (1035–1106), states that this means that Rabbi Yochanan knew how to commune with these spiritual beings, indicating that he knew how to “float” and ascend to their realm.10 The Zohar clearly states that this type of Sichah involves communion with the Divine Presence (Shekhinah).11
One of the most interesting relationships involving this word is the fact that the very same term, Siyach, is also used to denote a bush or tree. The most obvious place where this word is found is in the verse, “Every tree (Siyach) of the field had not yet existed on the earth” (Genesis 2:5). The eminent philologist and philosopher, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, states that in both cases, the word Siyach refers to growth, whether that of a plant or that of a thought. In this respect, it also has the connotation of upward motion, as does the concept of floating, discussed earlier. Hirsch explains that it also has the connotation of spiritual growth and elevation.12
This relationship becomes all the more significant when we realize that in many places, especially in the Kabbalistic literature, rising to the higher spiritual realms is known as climbing or ascending the ‘Tree of Life.”13 This is alluded to when the Bible speaks of the Cherubs who “guard the path of the Tree of Life” (Genesis 3:24), as discussed earlier. It is also expressed in the verse which says with regard to Wisdom, “It is the Tree of Life to those who hold fast to it” (Proverbs 3:18). The word Siyach can therefore logically be said to refer to ascending this Tree of Life.
It may be for this reason that God first revealed Himself to Moses in a Burning Bush (sneh). The Midrash clearly relates this to the idea of trees in general.14
We can very often obtain an idea of the prophetic methods from idolatrous practices which tried to imitate them. When we realize how important the Tree of Life was in the context of prophetic meditation, we can also understand how the tree became a key element in a number of idolatrous practices and meditations. Particularly important in such rites was the Asherah tree, mentioned many times in the Bible. The Bible clearly denounces these rites in such verses as, “You shall not plant an Asherah, any tree, next to the altar of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 16:21).
Realizing the importance of the tree symbolism in prophetic meditations, the idolaters attempted to emulate it. They actually planted trees which would serve as the object of their meditations and visions. Through such Asherah trees, they hoped to ascend the spiritual Tree, which they most probably saw as the Tree of Life. The very word Asherah ( 
) therefore most probably comes from the root Shur ( 
), meaning to “see” or “have a vision.”
Hence the word Siyach pertains to a “tree” in its spiritual sense, where it is used as a meditative device to commune with the transcendental. This “tree” is often said to refer to the entire array of the Sefirot, and as we have seen, ascending through this array plays a key role in prophetic meditation.15 The relationship between the concept of a “tree” and the mental process is to some extent indicated by the fact that the Hebrew word for tree, Etz ( 
), is closely related to the root Ya'etz ( 
), meaning “to advise.”16
The relationship between Siyach used in relation to communion with the spiritual, and its meaning as a tree, is clearly expressed in the Midrash. When Hagar and Ishmael were driven away by Sarah, the Bible states that Hagar “cast the child under one of the trees (Siyach)” (Genesis 21:15). The Midrash states that the tree is called Siyach because it was there that an angel communed (Siyach) with Hagar.17 It is significant to note that this took place in Beer Lachai Roi, the same place where Isaac meditated, and where the term Suach is first used.
The tree also symbolizes man's spiritual essence, as alluded to in the verse, “Man is a tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19).18 The Zohar states that the “field” in this verse is the “Field of Holy Apples,” a term denoting the Divine Presence (Shekhinah).19
The word Siyach therefore also indicates a process whereby the individual enters into his own spiritual essence, climbing the spiritual ladder of his own soul.20 The Zohar's statement that the “field” signifies a transcendental level gives additional importance to the initial verse in which the term Siyach occurs, ‘Isaac went out to meditate (suach) in the field.”
The spiritual significance of trees in this context is also evident from the commandment to take the Four Species on the festival of Succot (Booths). The Bible says, “On the first day, you shall take for yourselves a fruit from the Etrog tree, fronds of a palm, boughs of the myrtle tree, and willows of the brook” (Leviticus 23:40). The most striking feature of this commandment is the fact that all of the Four Species are derived from trees.
A number of sources, both Midrashic and Kabbalistic, explain that the Four Species reflect different elements in man, as well as different spiritual elements on high.21 It is particularly interesting to note that these species were taken specifically on the festival of Succot, which was a special time of seeking Ruach HaKodesh.22 The very word Succah ( 
) (plural Succot) comes from a root Sakhah ( 
), meaning “to see,” especially in a prophetic sense.23
The term Siyach, then, connotes spiritual elevation and growth, as well as referring to the Tree, which represents the spiritual ladder, and man's own spiritual essence. When the individual engages in Siyach-meditation, he clears his mind of all thought, and then directs it on high, floating and soaring through the transcendental realm.
This becomes all the more evident when we closely and literally look at a verse such as, “In Your mysteries (pekudim) I will meditate (siyach), and I will gaze at Your paths” (Psalms 119:15). The word Pekudim ( 
) comes from a root Pakad ( 
), meaning to “remember” as well as to “hold in trust.” This word indicates concepts “stored away in the heart,” ideas that naturally exist in man's essence, but which must be probed with insight and meditation before they can be seen.24 Like a “memory,” they are thoughts or ideas that one holds “in trust” for God, and in this context, the term is often used to refer to the Commandments. In a more general sense, however, the term Pekudim refers to concepts in man's own spiritual being, through which he can reach states of enlightenment. Thus, when one meditates on these Pekudim, he is able to actually “see” God's “Paths.”
Very often, especially in roots having two base letters, these letters can be reversed and have a similar connotation. In the case of the root Siyach ( 
), the two root letters are Sin Chet ( 
). When reversed, this yields the base Chash ( 
), from which is derived the root Chashash ( 
), meaning “to sense” or “to feel.” It is from this root that we derive the word Chush ( 
), referring to the perceptual senses. The word Siyach is thus very closely related to words meaning to “feel,” to “sense” and to “experience,” and the word itself must also be related to these concepts. Also closely related to this is the word Chashav ( 
), meaning to “think.”
As mentioned earlier, idolatrous and other occult practices often shed light on the prophetic methods. According to Pappenheim, a number of such terms are derived from the base Chash. Such terms include Nachash ( 
) and Lachash ( 
), pertaining to various types of divination, in which the individual attempts to sense things that are normally hidden from the physical senses.25 Hence the base Chash expresses paranormal vision, through which one gazes into the spiritual realm.
Pappenheim also notes that this same base gives rise to the word Choshen ( 
), referring to the Breastplate worn by the High Priest.26 This Breastplate was used as a meditative device. The High Priest would gaze at the letters engraved in its twelve stones and attain a state very closely related to that of prophecy.27 Through the Choshen, the High Priest was thus able to perceive beyond the normal limitations of his senses.
The base Chash ( 
) is also closely related to the roots Chashah ( 
) and Hasah ( 
), meaning to “be silent.” The sensitivity of the mind implied by both Siyach and Chash involves a quieting of the senses and the mind, and a silencing of the normal stream of thought.
This in turn throws additional light on the mysterious term Chashmal ( 
), mentioned in Ezekiel's vision. As discussed earlier, the Talmud states that it is a combination of the two words, Chash ( 
) indicating silence, and Mal ( 
) indicating speech. As such, it is the “Speaking Silence.” The Kabbalists also speak of it as the interface between the mundane and the transcendental, and this is also evidenced by the context of Ezekiel's vision.28 What it means then, is the mental state through which one passes when he ascends from the level of speaking, whether verbally or mentally, to one of pure mental silence and sensitivity. It is only after this barrier is passed that one can observe a prophetic vision, as we see in the case of Ezekiel.
The last thing that must be explored here is the difference between the two closely related words Siyach ( 
) and Suach ( 
). As mentioned previously, the term Suach occurs only in this one verse, ‘Isaac went out to meditate (suach) in the field.” In general, the word Suach seems to have the same form as the roots Shua ( 
) and Shava ( 
), both meaning “smooth” and “flat.” Suach-meditation is therefore very similar to that implied by Siyach, but it is a mental state that is very “smooth,” ultimately calm and tranquil. While Siyach can be said to denote climbing the Tree of Life, Suach would denote resting on its highest branches.
This can be understood when we realize that this is used only with regard to Isaac, one of the Patriarchs, individuals who reached the very highest spiritual levels. Thus, while others may strive to gaze at the Chariot (Merkava), the Midrash states that, “The Patriarchs themselves are the Chariot.”29 They were not like swimmers, fighting the current to ascend upstream, but like individuals smoothly floating on the still waters at the Source.