Divine Speech: How the Ten Utterances Create Reality
Powerful Divine Words have shaped our universe since creation began. Every word has power. But what if letters and speech aren’t just methods of communication but fundamental elements that make up our world? Jewish mystical tradition reveals an astonishing concept: everything that exists was created through mysterious “letters” of divine speech.
Powerful Divine Words in the Ten Utterances
When we speak, we use letters to express our thoughts and feelings. But have you ever considered that words are manifestations of something deeper?
In Jewish mystical tradition, the “Ten Utterances” aren’t simply phrases from Genesis. They’re named so only in relation to the created world, but in themselves, they are powerful streams of divine energy creating reality.
Imagine how human consciousness works: when you want to express kindness, your mind first forms a thought that then manifests in action. Similarly, figuratively speaking, divine attributes descend to the created world through special “channels” — letters and utterances.
Letters — Powerful Divine Words as Creative Forces
What’s the connection between the word “light” and light itself? In our world, it’s merely conventional. But on a spiritual level, there are 22 different streams of creative energy — corresponding to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet — from which everything is created.
When “Let there be light” was said, it wasn’t just a command. These Powerful Divine Words formed a special combination of spiritual forces creating specifically light, not something else. From the same source of divine kindness (Chesed), water and many other creations were made, but through different “letter” combinations.
How Powerful Divine Words Create Worlds
Worlds are divided into two categories:
- Hidden worlds — created and sustained by concealed forces, similar to the letters of thought in the human mind
- Revealed worlds — emerge through the revelation of these hidden forces, just as our speech reveals what was hidden in our thoughts
When hidden forces are revealed to enliven the manifest worlds, they are called “utterances” or “the word of God.”
Letters Transcending Intellect
An amazing paradox: although letters seem like the simplest elements, divine “letters” are immeasurably higher than human intellect. After all, humans themselves with their intellect were created through the utterance “Let us make man in our image.”
These supreme letters aren’t just symbols but streams of life-force united with the divine essence itself. They surpass the wisdom of created beings as the sun surpasses its reflection on earth.
22 Channels of Creation
In divine wisdom, it was predetermined to create the world through exactly 22 different streams of energy — no more, no less. These 22 types correspond to letters which in the human world are “fixed in the mouth and tongue,” as taught by the ancient book “Sefer Yetzirah.”
Even the form of written letters indicates the structure of these streams — how divine energy flows and transforms, creating the diversity of our world.
Practical Significance
Understanding these Powerful Divine Words opens a profound view of the world:
- Everything that exists isn’t a random collection of atoms but a manifestation of meaningful creative force
- Each creation has its unique spiritual “code,” its combination of letters
- Words and speech have a deep connection with the essence of things
Just as letters in the human soul come from the depths of mind and feelings, these Powerful Divine Words are manifestations of higher attributes, united with their source.
This article is based on the eleventh chapter of “Tanya – Part II – Gate of Unity and Faith” by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, one of the greatest Hasidic thinkers and founder of the Chabad movement.
Afterword: The text of this article has not been approved by any sage, Torah scholar, or rabbi and is merely a simplified adaptation of the sacred text for general understanding. For comprehension of true wisdom and a deeper understanding of the original text, you should refer to the sources.
This and all other article texts of the Mega-Charity.Org resource express only the personal opinions of the authors who compiled them. They are intended only for general and superficial understanding of the real sources of wisdom. References to which are provided.
