The Hebrew Letter Mem and Water

I have two books I consult to learn about the meanings of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. One is titled, “The Hebrew Alphabet: A Mystical Journey” by Edward Hoffman. The other is, “An Introduction to Gnostic Hebrew Qabal” by Murray Webber. The writings about each letter are a bit different in the two books, and I value both to provide insights in my incorporation of this material into my spiritual seeking.

Recently I have taken to randomly opening one of these book before I retire and reading the information provided for the letter revealed.

Yesterday in my Essene practice I was mindful of the Angel of Water. I opened The Gnostic Hebrew Qabal to the letter, Mem. Mr. Webber notes that Mem, spelled out with the letter Yod in between two Mems, is the Hebrew word for water.  He states that the metaphysical meaning of water is the “reflection of our un-seeable consciousness.”

Curious that I managed to “randomly” select the Hebrew letter associated with the angel I’ve been honoring that day, I go to Hoffman’s Hebrew Alphabet book to see what he has to say about Mem. Imagine my amazement to read: “Mem begins and closes the Hebrew word for water (“mayim”)         and symbolizes for Jewish mystics the vase sea of human consciousness containing depths     concealed from view.” I'm not accustomed to seeing such agreement between the two authors!

Interestingly, Hoffman goes on to tell us, “Mem also begins the Hebrew word, maggid, referring to both a wise teacher and a spirit guide. For in Jewish mysticism, when we attain a certain spiritual level, our mentors are no longer flesh-and-blood, but can appear as transcendental beings.”   

There is more of interest that Hoffman writes about Mem -- for instance, it is the letter that starts the word for angel, which he says literally means “messenger.” I find this interesting in light of the “Angels” of the Essene Gospels. We could interpret these as messengers related to the concept of nature or spiritual/mental qualities that each represent, rather than an actual Being. Of course, there are those who love the concept of Angelic Beings, and this works fine, too.

But what grabbed my attention was that, on the day of the Angel of Water, I synchronistically choose the Hebrew letter associated with that quality.  I recalled Edmond Szekely’s material from the Essene Book of Creation in which he refers to the essence of water representing the complexity of life itself. I also considered the message of water as representing the depths of our consciousness that we are not consciously aware of in our normal daily routines. The Breathwork practice that I both guide and participate in provides a way for me to access those depths. Through that deeper and wider awareness, learning about the expanded aspect of ourselves as humans can be a teaching in itself – one that does not necessarily require an outer teacher. (Though having someone else to share the experience with who may be able to shed some light on it is certainly helpful.)

These were ways I was enriched by the Essence of Water yesterday:  deeper levels of self; holder of Life; part of our physical being (our cells are mostly water – and our blood is the essential liquid circulating through our bodies), and a reference to spiritual teachings.  Becoming aware of each different aspect led to a feeling of the intricacies of connections of things I would not typically see as related.

These synchronicities feed my soul.