Hebrew Letters, Gesture & Language

Hebrew Letters, Gesture and Language: Index

A MATRIX OF MEANING: PORTRAITS OF THE HEBREW LETTERS, IN PICTURES AND WORDS
©1996, 1997 Stan Tenen

This section explores the Matrix of Meaning for the Hebrew Alphabet. The 27-letters of the Hebrew Alphabet (22 medial letters, plus 5 final-letter forms) are traditionally arranged in three layers of nine letters each. The first set of nine, Alef through Tet, represents the Archetypal; the second letter, Yod through Tzadi, represents the Inner/Spiritual; and the third represents the Outer/Physical.

From TORUS, Vol. 2, #4:
When we understand the meaning of the Archetypes, we naturally also understand the Inner and the Outer levels as well. Each level proceeds along the same idealized life-cycle starting with the Unity of the Consciousness (at each level). Each, in turn, proceeds from Unity through 7-stages until it returns to nourish the next whole level or generation of life. (For further details on the toroidal 7-stage process, see the work of Arthur M. Young.)

THE 27-LETTER MATRIX OF MEANING — DIAGRAMMATIC OVERVIEW

Illustrations in this section make use of letter-icons, one for each Hebrew letter. These icons contain keywords about each letter, designed to aid in remembering its logical placement in the Matrix of Meaning.

A MATRIX OF MEANING FOR SACRED ALPHABETS: LETTERS IN RELATIONSHIP

The most important quality of the posters and discussion in this section is that they demonstrate the operational meaning of each letter in relationship to the other letters, based on a natural model of unity — the hypersphere. At the abstract level, the 27-letters correspond to the basic pointing directions in hyperdimensional space; in principle, any quantum state vector can be specified by a combination of these pointing directions. At the personal level, the 22 letter-gestures (in the section elsewhere on this site, on Hebrew Alphabet Gesture Posters) can be used to project meaning from one's mind into the world. In many cases, spelling Hebrew root words by means of these gestures directly demonstrates the functional meaning of the word.

A dictionary of examples, and samples of correspondences between Hebrew and English words is possible, and will be presented when it's available.

Some of these posters were used in our videotape presentation, A Matrix of Meaning for Sacred Alphabets; some are from the Meru Foundation Journal, Torus, Vol. 2 #4. New material will be added as available.

LETTER PORTRAITS

Index of Individual Letter Portraits

LANGUAGE AND GESTURE

HEBREW ALPHABET GESTURE ANIMATION AND POSTERS
These posters demonstrate the hand-gestures used to form the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet.

At the personal level, the 22 letter-gestures can be used to project meaning from one's mind into the world. In many cases, spelling Hebrew root words by means of these gestures directly demonstrates the functional meaning of the word.

This animation of Stan Tenen illustrating the Hebrew letter-gestures Ayin, Gimel, Dalet, and He is courtesy Ron Engert.  Mr. Tenen demonstrates all of the 22 letter-gestures on the Meru Foundation videotapes Dance of the Hebrew Letters, The Alphabet in our Hands (part 1 and 2),and Squaring the Circle.  To order Meru videotapes, go to www.meetingtent.com.

 

The Hebrew Letters — FIRST HAND ©1996 SNT
Showing the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in various historically known fonts, compared with
the Meru Foundation font created as shadows of the FIRST HAND sculpture.
Upper body postures courtesy of Karen Ann Carty.

Hebrew Alphabet Gestures ©1996 SNT
A demonstration of the gestures used to view the Hebrew letters
as shadows of the First Hand model. Upper body postures courtesy of Karen Ann Carty.

Six Gesture-Letter Views ©1997 SNT
Close-ups of six hand-gesture letter-positions, with computer renderings of the First Hand model
showing the same letter-position by Jim Fournier

PUBLISHED ARTICLES ON LANGUAGE AND GESTURE (update 1999-2000)
Considerable research has been done on the subject of the gestural origins of language in the three years since we first published these Hebrew alphabet gestures. For those interested in this research, the articles below are highly recommended.

Excerpts from Why People Gesture When they Speak, ©1998 by Iverson and Goldin-Meadow
(Reprinted with authors' permission. Complete article published in Nature, November 19, 1998)
Research shows that persons blind from birth gesture while speaking in the same manner
and using the same range of gestures as do sighted persons --
even when speaking with another blind person.

Also highly recommended:
The Gestural Origins of Language, ©1999 by Michael Corballis
(as published on the website of The American Scientist, the Sigma Xi Journal, March-April 1999 issue)
This article presents a wide range of research, including that of Iverson and Goldin-Meadow
on the subject of gesture and language.

The Role of the Hand in the Evolution of Language, by Prof. Ullin T. Place
(as published on the website of Psycoloquy, a refereed online journal, January 2000 issue)
This important article by Prof. Place was published shortly after his death in January 2000 in Psycoloquy, an
online referred journal sponsored by the American Psychological Association.  The following is an excerpt from the Abstract:
"Section III sets out eleven pieces of evidence for the view that vocal language must have been preceded by an earlier language of gesture.
Based on those principles and evidence, Section IV sets out seven proposed stages in the process whereby language evolved:
(1) the use of mimed movement to indicate an action to be performed, (2) the development of referential pointing which,
when combined with mimed movement, leads to a language of gesture, ..."

Articles from the New York Times:
The New York Times has recently published several news articles relating to the topic of gesture and the evolution of language.  The articles below are available from the New York Times online archives.  Readers will need to join the NY Times Online Service to read these articles; this service is free, and gives access to the Times' entire online archives. (If you are not already a member of the Times Online Service, a membership screen will appear when you click on either of the links below.)

Discovery of Egyptian Inscriptions Indicates an Earlier Date for Origin of the Alphabet
Article by John Noble Wilford, published in the New York Times, 13 November 1999
The print edition of the Times published a picture in conjunction with this article which is not included in the Internet version.
This picture is referred to in the article as a glyph of a man with arms upraised, which later developed into the
letter H, the author says, "for reasons unknown."

This symbol bears a remarkable resemblance to the letter-gesture proposed by the Meru Foundation for the Hebrew letter "He."
A reproduction of this picture from the NY Times, and a comparison with the Meru letter-gesture for the letter "He" are
    posted here on the Meru Foundation website.

What We All Spoke When the World Was Young
Feature Article on Joseph H. Greenberg, from the NY Times series, Scientist at Work
Written by Nicholas Wade, published in the New York Times, 1 February 2000
Dr. Greenberg's hypothesis on how languages spread and evolve sees relationship in words with related meanings
in languages that current linguistic scholarship considers to be unrelated.  This article refers to a chart showing the close relationship
of words in several different languages having meanings related to the concepts of one, finger, or point.  Dr. Greenberg does not include
Hebrew, but the hand-gesture for the letter Yod, meaning "I," "me", "to me", and point/pointer (as an expression of personal
will or volition) as pictured on the Meru letter-gesture chart, is clearly consistent with his findings.  Yad, "hand," spelled Yud-Dalet (I-D),
fits the pattern of root letters used to spell the word meaning "pointer" throughout Dr. Greenberg's chart.
View Dr. Greenberg's Chart on Words meaning "one," "finger," or "point"
View the Meru Foundation Chart of Hebrew Letter-Gestures

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SYMMETRY GROUPS AND AUTOCORRELATION PATTERNS

THE FOUR SYMMETRY GROUPS OF THE HEBREW ALPHABET

The autocorrelation of the text of Genesis makes use of a special arrangement of the Hebrew letters. Using the "base-3 count" of each letter, which can be understood as its position in the 3x3x3 "Rubik's Cube" arrangement of the 27-letter Hebrew alphabet, one can derive the four "symmetry groups" actually used for the autocorrelation, as shown in the posters below.

Three-Fold Symmetry in the Hebrew Alphabet Matches
the Front-Back / Base-3 Symmetry Groups
A 3-lobed arrangement showing how the symmetry groups are derived

Front-Back / Base-3 "Snake" Arrangement
An alternate means of deriving the four symmetry groups.


ADDITIONAL SYMMETRIES

The Hebrew Alphabet displays additional structure when arranged on various geometric and topological forms.

The Enneagonal Trefoil Knot and the Hebrew Alphabet ©1994, 1997 SNT
16 Dec 97

Umbilic Toroid and Trefoil Knot both showing Front-Back and Base-3 Symmetry in the Hebrew Alphabet ©1991, 1997, 1999 SNT
*NEW* 7 Feb 00

An Explanation for the Triple Tagin: The Shushon Flower Arrangement of the 27 Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet:
When the letters are arranged on the 24 edges and 3 internal diagonals of a cubeoctahedral frame, the
letters with triple crowns count out a tetrahedral coordinate system and a spin axis.
*NEW* 18 Dec 99

AUTOCORRELATION PATTERNS OF VERSES IN GENESIS: Articles and Supplementary Posters

The essay and posters in this section section demonstrate and explain various ways that the letters of Genesis I.1 can be autocorrelated.  An early version of an autocorrelation pattern for Genesis I.3 is also included.

Articles

Symmetry Woven into the First Verse of the Hebrew Text of Genesis
NEW Dec 1999
This article explains the AABA "Woven" pattern found in the first verse, and also
the method by which the toroidal "autocorrelation pattern" of the letters of the first verse was derived.
Please note:  This two-page article is presented here as two graphic files, due to the heavy use of
graphics and non-English characters.

Genesis and Sepher Yetzirah
NEW Jan 2002
A discussion of how the ambiguous meaning of the supposed word, B'limah, which opens the Sepher Yetzirah,
is unambiguously and elegantly resolved by reference to the autocorrelation patterns of the first verse of Genesis.
Please note:  This six-page article is presented here as six graphic files, due to the heavy use of
graphics and non-English characters.

Posters
Genesis 1.1: Toroidal Autocorrelation ©1996 SNT

Autocorrelation of Genesis 1.1 showing AABA "Woven" Pattern ©1996 SNT

Genesis 1.1: Shushon Flower Arrangement ©1984,1996 SNT

The Menorah as an Autocorrelation of Genesis 1.3 ©1985, 1997 SNT

B'reshit 1:1 Wound on a Pole

B'reshit 1:1 -- 7-Color Torus Mapping

GENESIS 1:1 -- A HIERARCHY OF LETTERS AND WORDS

On the Hierarchical Structure of the Five Books and The Internal Structure of B'reshit
**NEW** 27 October 2003
An expanding hierarchy with the structure of an unfurling vortex funnel

The Many Words of the First Verse of Genesis
**NEW** 25 November 2001