This study of mysticism in Hebrew Gematria is dedicated in loving memory to my father-in-law, Mr. Arnold Student Litman, and my mother, Mrs. Ethel Sakash Belk, may they rest in peace.

When we read the first pasuk of Lech Lecha our attention is drawn to three specific points made to Avram:

Lech Lecha - Mah Eretz Chaw {Leave, get out of your land}
Chof Tzaddi Reish Aleph Mem - Chof Lamid Chof Lamid

Oo Mee Moh Lahd Ti Chaw {[Get away] from your birthplace}
Chof Sav Dalet Lamid Vav Mem Mem Vav

Oo Mee Bays - Aw Vee Chaw {and [get away] from your father’s house}
Chof Yud Bais Aleph - Sav Yud Bais Mem Vav

Before we look at these three areas, I’d like to point out there is a dispute as t o where Avram was when he was first commanded to leave his land. One position states that he was in Ur Kasdim, the other position states that he was in Charan. For further discussion on this, please visit my article entitled The Broken Chof and The Completed Chof. Please see the link at the end of this article.

Step One: INSIGHT - Looking Beyond the Present to the Future

Lech Lecha - Mah Eretz Chaw {Leave, get out of your land}
The Gematria for Lech Lecha is 451. Avram had to give up his land in Ur Kasdim and any attachments to land in Charan. What was Avram surrendering? Both Ur Kasdim and Charan were evil, both were idolatrous, both were worshippers of the moon g-d. Leaving this evil does not seem like such a sacrifice. It is clear that Avram was willing to do this.

Lech Lecha - Mah Eretz Chaw {Leave, get out of your land}
451 = Chof 20 Tzaddi 90 Reish 200 Aleph 1 Mem 40 - Chof 20 Lamid 30 Chof 20 Lamid 30

However Avram gave up evil to journey to a land that was MORE evil. That seems strange. Why would Hashem want Avram to leave the evil of Ur Kasdim and Charan for Canaan, a land of greater evil? Then we read that when Avram arrived in Canaan Hashem said to him, “To your seed I will give this land.” Genesis 12:7

The residents of Canaan at that time were from the cursed tribe of Cham. The curse is the result of a very evil act by Cham. He castrated his father Noach. He prevented his father from having a fourth son. In response to this evil Noach said, “Cursed is Canaan.” See Genesis 9:25. We notice that the land that Hashem Eh Tain {gave} to Avram was taken from the descendants of the accursed Canaan. Avram’s seed was selected by Hashem to defeat the descendants of Canaan. The Gematria of Eh Tain is 451. Again we read the promise, “To your seed I will Eh Tayn {give} this land.”

Eh Tayn {give} as in, “To your seed I will Eh Tayn {give} this land”
451 = Nun 50 Sav 400 Aleph 1

The Torah records Canaan’s descendants as the Yevusite, the Girgashite, the Chivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, the Arvadite, the Tzemarite and the Chamasite. These were the nations that Hashem charged Avraham’s seed to destroy:

“You shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, and destroy all their carved stones, and destroy all their molten images, and tear down all their altars.” Numbers 33:52. See Josh. 3:10; 13:6

So Chassidim, the purpose for which Hashem commanded Avram to leave his land was to give his seed the land of Canaan. In other words Avram had to look beyond the present facts / situations that looked so impossible. He had to look beyond the present fact that he had no children, beyond the future fact that he would be commanded to sacrifice his son Yitzchok, beyond the future fact that Hashem would supply the ram caught in the thicket, beyond the future fact that his children would become slaves, beyond the future fact his children would be delivered and live in the wilderness, and beyond the future fact that his children would fight amongst themselves.

We are called to the same challenge as our father Avraham. We are called to be insightful like he was. We are called to his Mystical level of looking beyond the present to the future. We are called to the future day when terrorists will be defeated and destroyed. We are called to the future day when both Muslim and Jew will live and pray in peace. We are called to the future day when Muslim children will be taught to love Jewish children and when Jewish children will lovingly embrace Muslim children. We are called to the future day when a lasting peace will be established. We are called to the future day when the nations of the world will entirely embrace Spirituality, the original belief system. We are called to the future day when the third and final Bais HaMikdosh will be established. We are called to the future day when “ALL AVRAHAM’S SEED” will again occupy the land of Canaan, Eretz Yisroel. Dear readers, that day is not so far away, even though through today's lenses it seems distant.


Step Two: Moving from the Birthplace to the Observant Place!

Oo Mee Moh Lahd Ti Chaw {[Get away] from your birthplace}
The Gematria of Oo Mee Moh Lahd Ti Chaw is 546. Mystically speaking we must move from the place of our birth to the place of observance. In other words, in Judaism Hashem has NEVER TAUGHT US to hate the descendants of our half brother / half uncle, Yishmael. That is NOT part of Hashem’s plan. Hashem promised our father Avraham, “[From] the son of this slave I will make great nations because he is your seed.” Genesis 21:13 It was about this son, Yishmael, that the Malach delivered a message to Hagar from Hashem, “...I will make him a great nation.”

Oo Mee Moh Lahd Ti Chaw {[Get away] from your birthplace}
546 = Chof 20 Sav 400 Dalet 4 Lamid 30 Vav 6 Mem 40 Mem 40 Vav 6

On the other hand Hashem, the G-d of Yishmael, NEVER taught the Muslim to hate his half brother Yitzchok. They were brothers! They ended their lives living in harmony!! Chassidim, the descendants of Yishmael and Yitzchok will again live in harmony when both descendants move from the birthplace to the observant place! Both the Jewish and Muslim failing is fighting over the birthplace instead of living in harmony in the observant place. This is also a world problem. The religions of the world all have their birthplace. However their birthplace is FAR FROM THE OBSERVANT PLACE! Religion has grown and developed. RELIGION HAS EVOLVED. Originally there was only one set of beliefs given to Adam Haresha. Those original beliefs were passed on to Noach. The descendants of Noach immediately began departing from Spirituality after the flood and have continued that path of departure until now, G-d forbid!! It is time for the religions of the world to repent and return to Spirituality!! Leave the birthplace of your religion! Do what is natural. Do what is easy! Do what G-d originally commanded! Return to the original operating system given to every human from Creation by the Creator. Return to the observant place. Return to Spirituality. To learn more about Spirituality, please visit 7commands.com .

Now we see this Mystical principle in the word Shawm Ru {they observed}. We read, “The one who [they] said regarding his father and his mother, ‘I did not see them. And his brothers he did not recognize and his sons he did not know’ for that one observed Your command and kept your Covenant. [Those that did that], They shall teach Your statutes to Yaakov and Torah to Yisroel...” Deuteronomy 33:9,10

Shawm Ru {They observed}
546 = Vav 6 Reish 200 Mem 40 Shin 300

This is in regard to the actions / judgment of the sons of Levi when they did not discriminate between close relatives as they went through the camp of Kal Yisroel after thousands worshipped the molten calf. They struck down the guilty with the sword in judgment. They observed {Shawm Ru} the command and kept Your {Hashem’s} Covenant. The point is they were of the same birthplace but not of the same observant place. This is a call to the religious people of the world to rise up. This is a call to action. Every belief system... every religion has radicals... misguided followers. It is the responsibility of the observant to correct the radical and the misguided!! The radicals and the misguided MUST be moved from the birthplace to the observant place!


Step Three: DEPARTURE - Journey from the Past to the Future

Oo Mee Bays - Aw Vee Chaw {and [get away] from your father’s house}
The Gematria of Oo Mee Bays - Aw Vee Chaw is 491. Mystically we see that there are times when it is necessary to depart from the father’s religion as Avram departed from his father Terach’s religion. This resulted in something very good for the Jew and for the Muslim. Because Avram departed from Charan and from his father’s house and from his father’s practices he was given the land of Canaan. He was given Yishmael and Yitzchok.

Oo Mee Bays - Aw Vee Chaw {and [get away] from your father’s house}
491 = Chof 20 Yud 10 Bais 2 Aleph 1 - Sav 400 Yud 10 Bais 2 Mem 40 Vav 6

Now Chassidim, the point to all of this is departing from evil, hatred, racism and teachings that G-d the Creator does NOT endorse or support!! We must be deliberate and careful in our understanding of the difference between tradition and Torah! Tradition is often good if it does not support or endorse EVIL!! What do I mean?

Yaakov, the younger brother of Esav, taught us the Mystical principle of Ehs Nah Hah Law {[I] will lead on / journey}. There was great difficulty between Esav and Yaakov. Yaakov taught us to lead on gently... to journey on gently. He did not use force with his brother Esav even though he was prepared to do so. He struggled in prayer. He waged war against evil in the spiritual realm, Esav’s Malach. He carefully planned. He offered many gifts of appeasement. He honored his older brother.

Ehs Nah Hah Law {[I] will lead on [gently] / [I] will journey ahead [gently]}
491 = Hey 5 Lamid 30 Hey 5 Nun 50 sav 400 aleph 1

Esav and Yaakov had a most serious conflict. It had the potential of death and injury. Yet Yaakov used great wisdom in confronting Esav. This is the approach! We must journey from the past to the future. G-d intends for us to live in harmony. That is the future. We must each gently lead on. We must each depart the past hatred, past anger, past jealousy of our father’s house, of our environment. Our hope is in the future. However the journey to the future MUST LEAD ON / JOURNEY ON Gently as Yaakov did. See Genesis 33:14

The Gematria of Ehs Nah Hah Law {[I] will lead on / journey on [gently]} is 491. As Jews we are required to exit evil. We can do this by Avram’s example. Avram had the Mystical insight to look beyond the present to the future, the desire to move from the present birthplace to the observant place and the willingness to depart the past and gently journey on to the future. Let’s try to follow his example.

There are two final points.

First, in an article entitled The Bread and Water of Sukkos we stated, “Remember our sukkah is a reminder. Our sukkah is not only a reminder of dwelling in humble, modest booths in the BaMidbar {the Wilderness} but of our deliverance from Mitzriam. Sukkos looks FORWARD to a similar but greater deliverance by our G-d and our KING, the deliverance from death by the nations of the world at Gog and Magog. We were weak and fearful then {in Mitzriam} BUT we trusted in our DELIVERER! Sukkos reminds us that we are weak and fearful now and MUST return to that trust of our forefathers in Mitzriam. Yisroel should NOT succumb to pressures of great nations or of all the nations of the world. We must REMEMBER this is only a time clock ticking towards our final deliverance from our enemies.” Yet even though that is the situation we also have another responsibility.

“We are not content that we have been taken advantage of, yet we have the power to overlook it. We have the power to forgive. This is our opportunity to reach out from the holiness of our sukkah to those that are misguided by the religions of the world. It is our opportunity to teach Spirituality! It is our responsibility to teach of the impending judgment and to direct non Jews towards Spirituality.”

Second, in another article entitled Sacrifice we state, “Even though Noach did warn the world of the impending destruction, our sages say that he did not intercede in behalf of the sinful world. He did not appeal to Hashem’s Mercy to spare the world. He was safe. He was content to just warn the world as opposed to pleading for mercy for sinful mankind before Hashem. He was secure in the promise of Hashem for himself and his family. He was so secure that he failed to plead for mercy. This is unfortunate because there is a chance that the world could have been spared. Upon exiting the Ark and observing the world in utter chaos, Noach realized his vile failing.”

The point is we MUST NOT sit by in our long beards, black hats, white shirts and piousness. We MUST act! We must make a difference. We must do our best to be the Jews that Hashem has commissioned us to be. We MUST NOT fail in this challenge!

Wishing you the best!

Dr. Akiva G. Belk