Love Is the Answer
“Who we are is Divine Love, and that is Infinite.”
—Wayne Dyer
It is time to bring together many of the concepts we have explored so far: the Hebrew letters, gematria, the unpronounceable Name, the Tree, the Partzufim, the infinity symbol, the letter aleph, the balance of opposites, and the union of the Shechina and the K”BH. Where they all merge is love.
Love has the power to heal the world. In Power vs. Force, a classic treatise on consciousness, Dr. David Hawkins scientifically calibrated recognized levels of consciousness from the lowest, shame: level 20, to the highest, enlightenment: 700 to 1,000.46 According to Hawkins, the tipping point to higher consciousness is 200; below 200, the primary impetus is survival. He wrote that we could easily solve all the problems our world now faces if mankind were to raise its collective consciousness much above 200, the level of integrity and courage. Luckily, higher levels of consciousness disproportionally balance out lower levels. The higher the level of consciousness a person possesses, the more negativity they cancel out. In fact, Hawkins wrote that only 15 percent of the world’s population actually calibrates above 200 but this small minority has the weight to counterbalance the remaining 85 percent. One person can truly make a difference.
According to Hawkins, truly spiritual states appear at a calibrated level of about 500, love. We generally think of love as an intense emotional state. It can include physical attraction, desire, and attachment, and can fluctuate depending on circumstances. The love referred to here is a higher love. It is an emulation of the goodness of divine love. It is an unvarying, healing, all-inclusive state of being that brings true happiness.
We can begin to understand this higher level of love by kabbalistically examining the nature of our being. Although most people are genetically clearly male or female, we all have masculine and feminine aspects to our psyches. They can represent the tension of all opposites within us. Their conflicts can prevent us from finding the wholeness and inner peace necessary to fully manifest the gifts of our souls. The Tree of Life provides a template for examining the tension of opposites.
You may recall from earlier chapters that, in the Tree, the expansive sefirot of the right side are considered masculine. In relation to the right, sefirot of the left side are considered constricting and feminine. Creating balance between sefirot that lie opposite each other in the left and right columns activates the sefirot of the central column. For example, in the right column, the sefira of Chesed overflows with lovingkindness and compassion. The partner of Chesed in the left column is Gvura. Gvura is the sefira of judgment and boundary-making. I mention these two sefirot because bringing Chesed and Gvurah into balance has been especially challenging for me. My Gvurah is stronger than Chesed and shows up as judgment and boundaries that restrict the flow of compassion. When these two right/left attributes are in balance, and compassion has appropriate boundaries, the sefira of Tiferet, beauty, which lies between them at the heart, is activated. When I am conscious that I am judging and consciously open to compassion, I can actually feel my heart open. For others, Chesed is stronger and their overcompassionate natures result in an imbalance of giving to others. Their Gvura boundaries need strengthening. Finding the balance between the relationship of right and left, masculine and feminine, is a repair, a tikun, that can transform our lives.
When the sefirot of the central column such as Tiferet are activated by the balance of left and right, the central column becomes the channel of enlightenment, and brings down aur chadash, the new light of higher consciousness. As Hawkins showed, the doorway to spiritual states, the state of higher consciousness, is love. Bringing in this new light for the healing of the world is the main intention of kabbalistic study, meditation, and prayer. That is why, according to the Zohar, the healing of relationships is the highest level of tikun, repair.
The Tree is a template for examining relationships at every level:
in the self, with others, and with God.
The Self
A model of love in the Tree is the relationship between the partzufim of Z”A/man and NOK/woman.
Recall that:
Ze’er Anpin/Z”A, the archetype of son/man, is also called the Six, because it is composed of six sefirot. Six is also associated with the letter vav/
because the gematria of vav/ is six. Z”A, vav/, and six all represent the masculine.
Nukva/NOK is the archetype of daughter/woman. She is symbolized by the letter zayin/
, gematria seven, and represents the feminine.
Placing six and seven, as vav/masculine and zayin/feminine, in an infinity sign helps us to visualize these complex ideas in a simple way. Six and seven can represent all the opposite aspects within our selves. First we must become aware of our sixes and sevens. Then, when sixes and sevens harmonize and consciously balance, they add to thirteen.
6 + 7 = opposite parts of you in balance
6 + 7 = 13
13 is the gematria of love/ahava/
Therefore, creating balance creates love.
Repair of the self, balancing our sixes and sevens and restoring love is a journey that can take many paths. Good deeds, prayer, meditation, therapy in its many forms, and kabbalah/energy exercises are all ways to facilitate our growth by bringing in the light that illuminates and repairs our dark places. Every reconnection of six and seven creates a field of thirteen, of love.
Thirteen is also the gematria of the word Echad/ONE/
so every connection of six and seven encourages the creation of oneness, of wholeness.
13= Love= ONE=1.
In addition to being the gematria of “love” and “one,” the number thirteen has an additional dimension in Kabbalah. Thirteen channels connect the higher lights of the superconscious with the conscious levels of soul. Called the thirteen midot, Attributes of Mercy, they are channels of love, compassion, mercy, kindness, and empathy.47 They are described in the Zohar as the “thirteen-petaled rose”—the greatest secret of life, the key to repairing whatever is broken. The thirteen midot are also considered a very perfected, elevated, exalted integration of masculine and feminine through the sefirot of chesed and gvurah, which find balance in Tiferet, the heart.
Relationship with Others
When your balanced 6 + 7 = 13 parts
connect with
another’s balanced 6 + 7 = 13 parts
LOVE connects with LOVE
Together they are 26.
26 is the gematria of the Name YHVH/
.
YHVH ~ 1
26 = 1
26 ~ YHVH ~ ONE
Every balanced, loving relationship creates 26, an expression of YHVH.
Balanced relationships are a source of Oneness.
|
You |
Another |
|||||
|
Echad |
Echad |
|||||
|
13 |
+ |
13 |
= |
26 |
= |
1 |
|
1 |
+ |
1 |
– |
YHVH |
~ |
1 |
|
1 |
+ |
1 |
= |
1 |
Every connection of 13 and 13 equals 26 = 1.
YHVH is the manifestation of LOVE
that connects us all in the fabric of existence,
and
It all adds up to ONE.
The Cosmic Connection
As we continue to do the work of personal growth and repair, more and more internal conflicts, sixes and sevens come into the balanced state of thirteen, love and oneness. Although conflicts may arise, the increased level of wholeness created within forms a framework for compromise and resolution of new issues. On the path to manifesting the unique gifts of our souls, remember that conflicts can be regarded as klipot surrounding divine sparks. Resolving the conflict reveals the sparks, which contain the necessary lessons of the journey. Each time a six and seven resolves into thirteen, we become more conscious, meaning we become more able to bring in, contain, and contribute more of the light of our unique gifts to the world.
When conflicts arise in relationships, personal wholeness encourages compromise and resolution, for there is less baggage to be triggered or defended. As we honor our own mistakes as sources of growth, we can also find the space within ourselves to honor the other’s process, their unique path, and what the relationship is meant to teach us. The space for the other to be self-expressed is a reflection of the divine pulling back, the tzimtzum that made the creation possible.
On a higher level, the 6/Z”A stands for the K”BH and the 7/NOK represents the Shechina. As below so above. When our sixes and sevens unite into thirteen, Shechina, the God within us comes into union with the K”BH, the transcendent God. Every connection creates more love. Person by person, relationship by relationship, the cosmic spiritual “internet” expands. We are individuals and yet we are ONE.
One of the greatest minds of our generation, Jean Houston, refers to uniting the love within ourselves to the love of the cosmos:
I believe that accessing the depth of love within ourselves and feeling it united with the flowing love of the cosmos will open our lives to new dimensions … That union of love with love will free us to be who we really are—living, breathing human expressions of the eternal power and care of the universe.48
“Love within ourselves … united with the … love of the cosmos” can be visualized using the Flower of Life. The Flower is an ancient symbol of sacred geometry representing a basic geometric blueprint of existence. The Flower helps to illustrate the interconnectedness of all life.
The Flower of Life
Imagine yourself as a self-expressed and balanced individual, a petal in this infinite web of life.
You = a petal = half of an infinity sign
Each person/petal = 6 + 7 = 13 = LOVE/
Every connection in the Flower is a connection of 13 + 13.
Every connection of 13 + 13 adds to 26,
26 is the gematria of YHVH/
YHVH/ is ONE
Every connection of 13 and 13 equals 26 = 1.
YHVH/ is the connection of love and love. Love is the greatest power in creation, whether it is inside us, in our relationship to others, or as a reflection of our connection to the Creator.
Is this a metaphysical “God particle” astrophysicists seek? Whenever LOVE joins LOVE, the result is a manifestation of YHVH/ that is equal to ONE. Our personal work is carried through our relationships and connects us to the power of God’s infinite love. In the end, when every soul has been repaired, we will all be connected through YHVH, through love, and we will all be ONE with each other and with the Creator.
Aleph/
Redux
Revisiting the aleph/one provides a beautiful way to conclude this chapter on love. Recall that the gematria of the deconstructed aleph=26.
Yud = 10
Vav = 6 
Yud = 10
According to the Zohar, the yud/
above the vav/ (diagonal line) symbolizes Heaven/K”BH and the yud/י below the vav represents Earth/Shechina.
Recall also that yud/yud/
is a divine Name that incorporates the divine masculine and feminine. This Name is symbolized in the letter aleph. Instead of using vav/6 and zayin/7 to represent masculine and feminine, the upper and lower s of the aleph, as divine masculine and feminine, can be placed in an infinity symbol. Vav, the connector between them in the aleph, can either be written in the center or understood as the connection between them.
When the componant letters of the aleph are symbolized by an infinity sign, they also represent, the union of heaven and earth/K”BH and Shechina.
In the practices in Part 2:
They each have a gematria of 1.
They each also have a gematria of 26.
They each are a source of 13 + 13, love and love. They appear frequently in the practices because “love is the metaphysical glue that holds all of existence together.” 49
Fun with Gematria
Raz/
is the Hebrew word for mystery, and though as mystery, it will always remain essentially unknowable, let’s use gematria and see what lies at its core. You may recall that aur/light/
and Ein Sof/infinity/
both share the same gematria, 207. Raz also has a gematria of 207, so light, infinity, and mystery are deeply connected.
Write the words aur and raz one over the other, like the relationship of numbers in a fraction.
light/aur 
mystery/raz 
The letter resh/
is found in both words. As if reducing a fraction to find its lowest common denominator, cross out the Resh/ on both top and bottom.
In aur/ this leaves vav/ + aleph/
In raz/ this leaves zayin/
Remember that:
vav/6/ represents the (Divine) masculine
and
zayin/7/ represents the (Divine) feminine.
Aleph connects vav/6 and zayin/7. Aleph, the equivalent gematria of YHVH, is the bridge to 6 + 7 = 13, to love. Aleph, the ONE, can be regarded as the force at the center of the mystery of light. It is an infinity sign that holds (divine) masculine and feminine, opposites, within itself and is the place where two can unite without losing their individuality.
Love/infinity/YHVH/mystery/inspiration/divine marriage/
oneness and multiplicity in balance:
Aleph and its beautiful symbolism is a foundation of Part 2.
46 David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD, Power Vs Force, 55–74. The levels were calibrated using applied kinesiology. The methods of determining the data are thoroughly discussed in the book.
47 Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy are found in the book of Exodus (32:10) after the incident of the Golden Calf, when God threatened to destroy the people of Israel rather than forgive them. God taught Moses the Divine Attributes of Mercy for the people to use whenever they needed to beg for divine compassion. Reciting them is an important part of the atonement process of the Yom Kippur service.
48 Email communication, 5/5/17.
49 Rabbi David Cooper, Ecstatic Kabbalah, 52.