Sh’ma and the
Kabbalistic Hook-In
The addition of radiant circuit energy to the Sh’ma prayer creates a visceral feeling of connection to both the infinite and finite that centers in the heart.
It is significant that the Torah presents man and woman together
as comprising the image of the Divine (Genesis 1:27). This clearly
implies that male and female together form the image of God.72
—Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
Many cultures and religions embrace the ideal of universal Oneness. In Judaism, the Sh’ma prayer is the declaration of unity and the statement of faith. Its six words are the first prayer children are taught. It is to be recited privately and in public prayer services each morning and night. Its words are traditionally the last to be recited on the deathbed. Many Jewish martyrs including the great kabbalist Rabbi Akiba have died sanctifying God with the Sh’ma on their lips.
There are many interpretations of the Hebrew:
Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.
The widely used prayerbook translation of the Sh’ma is:
Hear O Israel, the Lord our God (Adonai Eloheinu), the Lord (Adonai) is ONE.
(Remember that when YHVH appears in prayer, it is pronounced Adonai.)
In chapter 8, “The Unpronounceable Name,” the symbolism of YHVH as the transcendent and unknowable Name was presented. Eloheinu means our Elohim. Because Elohim is the only Name of God appearing in the Genesis creation story, and the gematria of Elohim is the same as “the nature,” the name Elohim and its variation YHVH Elohim, associate with creation, the feminine, the Shechina and multiplicity.
In The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah, the late scholar, Leonora Leet states:
The esoteric meaning of the Sh’ma appearing most prominently in the Zohar and consistently repeated throughout the later history of the Kabbalah it that it affirms not a simple divine unity but a divine unification, Yichud, one involving a femininely conceived God who is immanent in multiplicity, YHVH Elohim, and a masculinely conceived transcendent God beyond all qualification, YHVH. The Zohar (2:216a) expresses this most simply in the statement: “This is the mystery of Hear O Israel, God is our Lord. God is One.” The mystery is that the two are united as one.
This meaning is more clearly conveyed through the following translation of the Sh’ma:
Hear: [O] Israel,
YHVH Eloheinu [and] YHVH [are] ONE. 73
A shorthand for this idea is found in the letter aleph. Aleph/one, holds within it the unification of the divine masculine (upper yud) with the divine feminine (lower yud). Together the three components of the aleph, yud/vav/yud add to gematria twenty-six, the same as YHVH. (See the end of chapter 10, “Aleph/
Redux.”)
I was pondering this concept in services one Sabbath morning and became very curious about the Sh’ma. I started counting the letters of the prayer. Would there be twenty-six? Well, no. There are twenty-five letters in the Sh’ma, not 26. But if you count the letters from either end, the thirteenth letter, the one in the middle is the letter aleph. Aleph is ONE, the symbol of unification. Aleph as gematria is twenty-six, divisible into 13 + 13.
13 = LOVE/
/Ahava
In either direction 13 + 13 is created by the letter aleph, ONE!
The letters of the Sh’ma create an infinity sign of LOVE! 74
Energy and the Sh’ma
The hook-in exercise, based on Eden Energy’s Hook-up, connects the most fundamental masculine and feminine aspects of ourselves, the central and governing meridians. Because these channels are radiant circuits, coming directly from the level of the soul and divine light, this exercise can act as a beautiful physical accompaniment to the Sh’ma, the most revered declaration of Oneness.
The Sh’ma is a statement of divine unity, affirming that the K”BH (YHVH) and Shechina (YHVH Eloheinu) are ONE. Leet goes on to state that we are One with the divine unity. All is ONE.
In our lives, we become “ONE” at the moment of conception. The fertilized egg, the zygote, is a single cell that downloads life force to spark further development. To this end, two special energies of light assist the entrance of the soul: the central (conception) vessel and the governing vessel. These two “sparks” will create the energy fields for masculine (yang) and feminine (yin) to differentiate. As the zygote begins the process of division, a front and back form. The front of the body becomes the feminine, soft belly of yin. The back becomes the masculine yang, reflecting the dynamic power of the spine and spinal cord.
In our fully-formed bodies, the yin central vessel runs straight up the center of the belly from the perineum to the back of the throat. Some say it connects directly into the earth. On its journey up the front of the body, the central meridian runs directly through chakras including the heart.
Its yang counterpart, the governing vessel, begins at the tailbone. It rises up the spine, traveling up over the head, over the crown chakra and down to the upper lip. It meets the central meridian at the back of the throat. These two channels connect to create the dynamic microcosmic orbit that circles the body. This circuit sends energy to all the meridians, the radiant circuits, and even beyond, as it enlivens the aura surrounding the body.
Keeping masculine and feminine energies in harmony grounds and stabilizes the whole energy body, and the balance enhances feelings of connection to oneself and others. When we are deep in meditation, prayer, or joy these channels connect to each other and to the other energies of light. As the radiant circuits fill the body with their light, we feel expansive, totally connected, both to ourselves and to the universe. We are truly lit up.
When you are “in the zone,” the central and governing channels create a tunnel of light that surrounds and encloses the physical body, connecting up into the cosmos and down into the earth. The hook-in reminds these radiant energies that they were once a unified part of source light.
The Energy Exercise
Place the middle finger of one hand in the navel and rest the other middle finger at the third eye (the space between the eyebrows). Gently press the fingers in and up. Breathe slowly in through the nose and out the mouth three or four times. You may feel the energies connect, possibly with an accompanying yawn or sigh.
Kabbalistic Visualization
The Sh’ma, as it is written, can be envisioned as the infinity sign of love and oneness for there are thirteen (representing ahava, love) letters, including the aleph/, when counted from from both directions.
- Close your eyes and direct the vision inward. The third eye here represents the sefira of Da’at. Da’at is the channel between mind and heart, and holds the balance of all opposites. The navel is where we are connected to our ancestors and the wisdom of the ages.
- Press your fingers in and up at Da’at and at the navel and imagine that these two points are the centers of each side of an infinity sign of love (13 + 13 = 26 = 1). The two sides connect at an aleph/ which lies over the heart.
- As you Hook-In recite the Sh’ma, or an alternative personal affirmation of Oneness. Breathe deeply in through the nose and out the mouth.
- Continue hooking-in as you slowly recite the words. Visualize the infinity sign of love/Oneness you are creating. One side extends up from the earth and the other down from heaven, meeting in your heart. The microcosmic orbit of light, your original state of oneness, is turned on as cosmic Oneness. Heaven/KB”H and Earth/Shechina connect to each other and to your essence, your heart.
Baruch Shem
It is traditional to whisper the six-word Baruch Shem prayer after saying the Sh’ma or a Holy name, such as the forty-two-letter Name in Ana B’Koach (chapter 24). The six words of the Sh’ma reflect the ultimate unity of Heaven and the Baruch Shem reflects them back from the multiplicity that is Earth. The words contain the reassurance that, although Oneness is the ultimate goal, we were created to celebrate the gifts of our individuality. As in the Tree, the word Malchut in the Baruch Shem can be interpreted as the physical world of creation.
The radiant circuit called the bridge flow connects body and spirit, individuality to unity. It is activated by drawing three hearts around the heart, symbolizing mind, body, and spirit. As you whisper the six-word Baruch Shem prayer, draw three hearts around the heart, imagining sparkling light coming out of your hands.
Baruch Shem K’vod Malchuto L’olam VaEd.
Blessed is the Name of the Holy One.
Malchut is Forever.
Do not be surprised if you experience a visceral power surge.
Healing
I am grateful to Reb Rachmiel Drizin for teaching me this healing after I incurred the strange traumatic injury to my neck at the start of my journey many years ago. I have added the energy component to the power of the words.
Refer back to Leet’s translation of the Sh’ma, which proclaims the unity of the Creation (us), YHVH Eloheinu, with the Creator YHVH:
“YHVH Eloheinu [and] YHVH [are] ONE.”
Repeat the three words of unification:
Adonai Eloheinu Adonai 
At the same time, either: trace infinity signs flipping the hands over and back, over the affected body part(s), encouraging them back to a state of wholeness at every level; or trace the three hearts of the bridge flow, as described above, over the affected area, connecting it to the intertwined light of body, mind, and spirit.
72 Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Innerspace, 67.
73 Leonora Leet, The Secret Doctrine of Kabbalah, 69.
74 The words of the Sh’ma and the paragraph that follows it in the prayer service are found in Deuteronomy 6:4–9. That the Sh’ma is a declaration of LOVE is found in its placement in the service. The prayer immediately preceding the Sh’ma begins with the word ahava/love and ends with a blessing for love. The first word of the paragraph immediately following the Sh’ma’s declaration of Oneness is V’Ahavta, you shall love, and centers that love in the heart (6:6).