כ וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים--יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם, שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה; וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל-הָאָרֶץ, עַל-פְּנֵי רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָיִם ( Read more... )

ט וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יִקָּווּ הַמַּיִם מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמַיִם אֶל-מָקוֹם אֶחָד, וְתֵרָאֶה, הַיַּבָּשָׁה; וַיְהִי-כֵן
י וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לַיַּבָּשָׁה אֶרֶץ, וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם קָרָא יַמִּים; וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב
9 And God said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it ( Read more... )

The concept of elements making up the world is common all across the world.  However, the number and specifics change in different places and traditions ( Read more... )

The thirteenth letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Beit is Mem.  Literally, Mem is Ocean or Sea, but the meaning Water permeates all uses of the letter.  Mystically, Mem is a fountain of Wisdom.  From the fountain of Kether, Crown, Water flows to Chokmah, Wisdom.  Yod is the drop of Water coming out of the fountain of Mem.  Mem has two forms.  The first is ( Read more... )

Malkuth, Kingdom, corresponds to the attribute Shiflut, Lowliness. It is here that the mystic journey begins. Lowliness is the first rung of the ladder that brings us up to G-d. In an introduction to Hasidic tales that I was reading, it talked about Shiflut and Kavanah being the two most common themes in Hasidic writings. They are two important ( Read more... )

Neptunalia Festival:Neptunalia: The Neptunalia, on July 23, honored Neptune as the god of the seas and water. In the middle of ancient Italy's really hot and dry summer season, when rivers were low and water was most scarce, Romans sought Neptune's protection of irrigation waters and works. To do this, they went out to the fields and forests and ( Read more... )