A name is the inner essence of every woman, every personality--whether the names "Sarah,"  "Rivka,"  "Rachel," or "Leah," etc.

If there are two names or the name was changed, for example, from "Sarai" to "Sarah"  there is an explanation, kabbalistic or Biblical, for the change of name or for an added third name. 

A name with all of its Hebrew letters, is the basis of each woman's personality. The gematria [the mathematical computation of the Hebrew letters of the name] and the actual Hebrew letters themselves, play a part in defining the woman.

For instance, the first name of the matriarch Sarah was Sarai which, in Hebrew, uses the letter yud. This letter in Kabbalistic sources is connected to the sefirah of chochmah [knowledge]. This sefirah is connected to a more active, "masculine rectification". 

A brief example and description in the Bible of what we mean by "masculine rectification" is as follows:

The matriarch Sarai entered the palace of Pharoah, King of Egypt, took out the holy sparks from there, and brought plaguesupon the Egyptians  [Genesis 12]. She was barren, has no period, and was very active with Avram [Abraham's first name] in his work, spiritual and physical. Just like Avram who had a school of converts, so Sarai also had a school of converts [Rashi]. These facts show that Sarai took on a more masculine, active role.

When Sarai's name was changed to "Sarah", so was her role and personality traits. The matriarch Sarah which now had the letter "hei"  had the masculine letter "yud" removed, and had added on the more feminine letter "hei". This letter is connected to the sefirah of malchut, a "feminine receptive source."

 

In addition, an example and description in the Bible of what we mean by  a  "feminine receptive" source is as follows:

Thus the matriarch Sarah has her period, becomes pregnant, has a child and nurses all the children that she and Avraham invite to the party for Yitzach/ Isaac [the weaning party] [Genesis 21:1-9]. 

Sarah worked in her home to refine Hagar, helping  rear Ishmael. She also received prophecy, which is connected to the sefirah of malchut, a feminine receptive ability.

 

Souls of Women in the Bible

All the articles on this website deal with 4 main subjects:

  1. Name: (their meaning and gematria), the meaning of the letters and their Sefirot.

  2. Soul: Each woman's personality is based on her former reincarnation[s]

  3. Time: Each woman is connected to the time period in which she lived. Thus we include a Biblical Chronology quoting all passages which connect her to that time period.

  4. Place: Did this woman reside in the Land of Israel? Did she go out in exile? In what countries did she live? How is her rectification connected to these places?

  5. Sources used for research on each personality: Bible, Midrash, commentaries, Kabbalistic sources, Hassidic sources, and Contemporary sources.

Painting on parchment by Malla Carl

 

This information was written, published and compiled by Atarah Gur and kabbalahtorah.com. 

Copyright © 2007Atarah C. Gur