Rabbi Details 'Divine DNA of Judaism'

To fully understand Judaism, noted Rabbi Mordechai Becher last week in Center City, Hebrew is an essential element. With "this incredible language," he continued, you can "walk into any synagogue in the world, and [the] Hebrew is the same. It's a beautiful thing to have that ability."

The rabbi made his remarks during a presentation titled "Hebrew: The DNA of Creation," the first of a two-part religiosity and spirituality summer series sponsored by the Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Studies that began on Aug. 5.

Becher, originally from Australia, is now a senior lecturer for the Gateways Organization, a New York-based Jewish education nonprofit group, which co-presented the evening. He is also the author of several books addressing contemporary issues in Jewish law and ethics.

Rabbi Mordechai Becher

More than 30 people gathered at the Gershman Y at Broad and Pine streets to hear the rabbi, who infused his lecture with humorous quips, such as pausing after mentioning the Zohar -- not to be confused with the similar-sounding word in the title of the recent Adam Sandler film, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" -- a work that is the central text of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.

The topic for the evening was changed several times before it was decided, just days beforehand, to offer the session on the "DNA of Creation." The original topic was to have been "Do you have to be a religious Jew to be a spiritual Jew?"

Deconstructing the Alphabet
During his lecture, Becher echoed the words of Rabbi Akiba, noting that every letter in the Hebrew language "has a meaning."

While on the surface the alphabet may appear simplistic in nature, he continued, a closer look is needed to understand the spiritual depth of the Hebrew letters and Judaism's divine beginnings.

Then, in his quick-paced manner, he delved into the intricacies of the underlying semantics of the 22-letter Hebraic alphabet -- or alef bet -- noting that everything about a letter, including its name, size, spelling, position in a word and meaning, allows for deeper discussion into the connection between the physical and spiritual world.

For example, explained the rabbi, when looking at the alef, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, you can see it's made up of three other letters: a yud, vav and a second yud.

There are several interpretations as to what this represents, he said, such as that the yud is the first letter of God's name and also of yehudim -- the children of Israel -- a symbolic meaning that everyone and everything is connected, via the connector letter vav, to God.

Another interpretation he offered was that the yud, while the smallest Hebrew letter, is an example of the universe starting out small, and everything spanning out in four directions from God's creation.

The rabbi went on to describe the spiritual meanings of several more letters, and the relationship between words and their roots.

Another example he chose was the word emet ("truth"), comprised of an aleph, mem and tav -- the beginning, middle and end letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

The philosophy behind this is that "the truth doesn't change in the past, present and future," explained Becher, adding that "the truth enables you to put everything together."

Becher offered a second lecture on Aug. 12, titled "Why is Judaism so nitpicking?," which was billed as an "inspirational look at the underlying meaning of Jewish traditions and why there seems to be such a focus on nitpicking details."