Three

The red Shin ש represents Fire אש (aiSh) in Hebrew, thus, it rises up like fire;  the blue Mem מ represents Water מים (MahyiM) in Hebrew, thus, it flows downward like water.  The sounds of these 2 Letters are also opposites -  the outward hissing of Shhh.... and the inward humming of Mmmm...

The yellow  between them also surrounds them both.  It represents the first Hebrew letter Aleph א - which represents a Breath of Air אויר (Aveer) in Hebrew.  I made Aleph yellow because it also represents Light אור (Ohr).  Both words start with Aleph and are almost identical.  This can be… more

In the Passover song ‘Who Knows One?’, when we answer “God is One in Heaven and Earth” we mean that God is both transcendent (unknowable and so far beyond us) and  immanent (right here within us) at the same time.  Really, these are not two different things.  Transcendent God (in Heaven) and Immanent God (in Earth) is One.  A good word for this is non-dual.  The red ש Shin (symbolizing Fire) in this picture is open upward towards 'Heaven'; while the blue מ Mem (symbolizing Water) is open downward towards 'Earth'.  The yellow diagonal between them hints at the Letter ו  Vav (which means '… more

"3 Mothers א Aleph, מ Mem and ש Shin are Air אויר (avir), Water מים (mahyim) and Fire אש (aish). Fire is above, Water is below, and the Breath of Air balances between them. 

Mem hums, Shin hisses, and Aleph is the Breath of Air between them. (Sefer Yetzirah)

This picture can be used as a focus for meditation.  Sit comfortably and become aware of your chest rising and falling with the Air of your Breath.  Breathe in through your nose down into your belly with your lips closed.  This is the Mem.  Open your lips and breathe out through your teeth.  This is the Shin.  Repeat… more

“3 Mothers ש מ א Shin, Mem, and Aleph in the Soul dimension are the head, the belly, and the chest.  The head is created from Fire, the belly is created from Water and in the chest is the Breath of Air that is between them." (Sefer Yetzirah 3:6)

The 3 Mothers can also hint at the 3 primary shapes in Geometry - the triangle, the circle, and the rectangle.  ש Shin is Gematria 300, or in Simple Gematria, 3.  Geometric shapes are Numbers in Space.  We see these with our eyes, and you can see that 3 is a triangle which has 3 angles and 3 sides.   Musical rhythms are Numbers in Time.  We… more

When the Sefirot are presented in the Tanya (the classic text from the first Lubavitcher Rebbe) they are called 3 Mothers and 7 Doubles.  The 3 Mothers refer to the three higher Sefirot.  The Seven Doubles refer to the seven lower Sefirot.

However, the original source of the terms Three Mothers and Seven Doubles is the Sefer Yetzirah, where the 22 Hebrew Letters are presented as three groups - 3 Mothers, 7 Doubles and 12 Simples.

In this picture I joined both together and placed א in Keter (Crown), מ in Chochmah (Wisdom) and ש in Binah (Understanding) - these… more

This picture is influenced by the amazing art of M. C. Escher.  This design is also reminiscent of Celtic Knots.  It is based on the Sacred Geometry expressed in the order of the 3 groups of the 22 Hebrew Letters - 3 Mothers, 7 Doubles and 12 Simples - found in Sefer Yetzirah.