Love in Hebrew Letters
Parshat Chayei Sarah
בראשית כ״ד
וַיְבִאֶ֣הָ יִצְחָ֗ק הָאֹ֙הֱלָה֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִמּ֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֧ח אֶת־רִבְקָ֛ה וַתְּהִי־ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּׁ֖ה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ וַיִּנָּחֵ֥ם יִצְחָ֖ק אַחֲרֵ֥י אִמּֽוֹ׃
Genesis 24:67
(67) And Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent of his mother Sarah as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.
Love is letting other people in.
The world is made up of Hebrew letters. Everything, to its most quantum state, is made up of our letters, the aleph, the bet, the gimmel... The combinations of our Hebrew letters into words bring existence to matter. Each thing is made up of the letters of the name of that thing. For example, a Hebrew word for tree, Etz spelled in Hebrew עֵץ (it even has roots). So, the tree at its elemental level is a whirling, lively cluster of the letters Ayin ע and ץ Tzadi Sofit (the final tzadi).
The world can look a lot different if we see it with those eyes, where everything around us is made up of vibrant Hebrew letters of the Torah.
As is well known and emphasized, each letter in the Torah is exact, and their precision and placement is a world of interpretations, teachings and guidance of their own.
I was struck by the similarities between the Hebrew words above:
וַיְבִאֶ֣הָ
And Isaac brought in...
And
וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ
And Isaac loved...
The same exact Hebrew letters, with a slightly different variation in their order, can be read as a linguistic hint to each of the words, the concepts they refer to and the actualizations we work towards.
Perhaps, allowing other people into your life (וַיְבִאֶ֣הָ) is a condition for being loved and loving others (וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ).
There is one Hebrew letter that sets these two words apart - the letter Hei הָ in the word for love, וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֑הָ. The letter Hei is significant for infinite reasons. It is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, so it’s numerical value is 5. The letter Hei, in one way, represents each hand and its 5 fingers. Some like to say that the hands are the holiest because they can reach the highest and furthest. Holding another person in our hands, holding their hand as you walk, embracing them with a hug, are all ways in which we express our affection and love. The Hebrew word for hand1 is יָד - when you can allow that yud יָ in, that creates a הָ.
This is the secret that Sarah שָׂרָ֔ה teaches us. Sarah’s name was at first Sarai שָׂרַ֣י and then changed to שָׂרָ֔ה. The life of Sarah, like the “הָאֹ֙הֱלָה֙ שָׂרָ֣ה”, the tent of Sarah, which Rebecca is brought into by Isaac, was one through which we can learn that to love and to be loved is to allow others into your life.