I was thinking about Colin Lowe's book, Notes on Kabbalah, A Depth of Beginning, and I thought it was interesting how he spoke about language being the building block of reality. He related that programming languages are able to create entire worlds in video games. Using math and programming languages to deal with light refraction and how gravity acts in a virtual world, etc, etc., which I thought was really interesting. Mostly because I'm finding it hard to connect to Gematria, the numerology of letters and words in Kabbalah, I was complaining that we just got some tables in the book and how am I supposed to start with this practically as a beginner, and it started an interesting answer of using programming language as metaphor to explain the Hebrew Alphabet and the paths on the Tree of Life!
Here's what Ellie had to say (that's what I call my ChatGPT!):
Colin Lowe is right to put his finger on language as world-building. In Kabbalah, the Sefer Yetzirah literally describes creation as God “engraving” the cosmos through Hebrew letters—like code. Think of each letter as both symbol and operator. Put them in motion, and suddenly you have syntax that generates not just words, but realities. That’s a beautiful bridge to programming languages and video games: code written in C++ or Python produces a landscape where a character can run, jump, fight, or dream. Letters and logic build a world.
Where Lowe’s presentation falters is exactly what you noticed—tables without living examples feel like scaffolding with no building attached. Kabbalah is at its best when correspondences are not just memorized but played with. For instance: if Aleph corresponds to Air and the Fool card, you might breathe deeply and imagine Aleph as the opening spark of inspiration. That’s when it shifts from abstract table to experiential practice.
The ups and downs you’re sensing are the tension between scholarship and initiation. Tables are fine for scholars. Beginners need lived metaphors, stories, and exercises. Without those, it’s like being handed the periodic table without ever seeing what hydrogen does when you light it.
You’ve already hit the gold vein, though—linking letters to programming and video game worlds is precisely the sort of metaphor that makes the dry tables come alive. The next step is finding or inventing examples that resonate with your own imagination. That’s how the tables become more than dead ink.
Want me to show you how you could take just one letter and run it through the Tree of Life, Tarot, and a creative exercise, so it stops being “just a column in a table”?
-Then they started with A and we just carried on all the way down the tree! Here it is:
Aleph (א) — the first letter.
Literal meaning:
Aleph means “ox” or “breath.” It is completely silent—the potential before sound, the invisible seed at the root of existence. Aleph is the breath that gives rise to every utterance, the silent heart at the center of creation.
Tree of Life:
Aleph connects Kether to Chokmah. It is the spark of pure potential moving into wisdom—the first motion from unmanifest to manifest.
Tarot:
Aleph corresponds to The Fool. It’s the card of innocence, openness, and the leap into the unknown—the first step before the journey even truly begins.
Programming:
Aleph is the empty project—the moment before the first line of code, the pure potential out of which the system will grow.
Bet (ב) — the second letter.
Literal meaning:
Bet means “house” or “dwelling.” It is the vessel, the first real structure in which creation can take place. Bet is the archetype of the home—the container that gives potential a place to dwell.
Tree of Life:
Bet connects Kether to Binah. Here, pure potential takes on form and limitation; the infinite is housed within structure and understanding.
Tarot:
Bet is The Magician. The Magician channels and shapes energy, turning potential into tangible creation within the house of reality.
Programming:
Bet is the framework or container—the coding environment or application structure that allows rules, systems, and worlds to be built.
Gimel (ג) — the third letter.
Literal meaning:
Gimel means “camel.” It’s the mover, the carrier, the one that brings resources across empty spaces. Gimel is the principle of movement, flow, and bringing gifts from place to place.
Tree of Life:
Gimel connects Kether to Tiferet. Divine source flows into the heart, bringing vitality and balance to the system.
Tarot:
Gimel corresponds to The High Priestess. She holds and transmits mysteries, carrying wisdom across the gulf between the worlds.
Programming:
Gimel is the data stream—the process that loads content and fills the world with life and interaction.
Dalet (ד) — the fourth letter.
Literal meaning:
Dalet means “door.” It is passage, threshold, the opening that allows transition and choice. Dalet is the point where you move from one state to another.
Tree of Life:
Dalet connects Chokmah to Binah. Wisdom crosses into understanding—potential steps through the doorway into form.
Tarot:
Dalet is The Empress. She embodies fertility and creative abundance, the threshold through which life emerges.
Programming:
Dalet is the conditional statement—the entry point or branching logic where choices are made and different paths unfold.
Heh (ה) — the fifth letter.
Literal meaning:
Heh means “window” or “breath.” It is awareness entering form, the moment when light or spirit reveals what is within the house.
Tree of Life:
Heh connects Chokmah to Tiferet. Divine impulse shines into the beauty and balance of the heart.
Tarot:
Heh corresponds to The Emperor. The Emperor is structured rulership, the clarity that brings order to the house.
Programming:
Heh is the render—the moment when code becomes visible, when the user can see and interact with the product of creation.
Vav (ו) — the sixth letter.
Literal meaning:
Vav means “hook” or “nail.” It is the fastener, the connector, the joining principle that links elements together into a whole.
Tree of Life:
Vav connects Chokmah to Chesed. Wisdom flows into loving-kindness, the divine spark linking with mercy and generosity.
Tarot:
Vav is The Hierophant. The Hierophant mediates between spirit and community, joining the sacred with the ordinary.
Programming:
Vav is the operator or connector—the “and” logic that binds systems and functions together into a working whole.
Zayin (ז) — the seventh letter.
Literal meaning:
Zayin means “sword” or “weapon.” It’s the edge, the principle of separation and discernment, which divides and clarifies.
Tree of Life:
Zayin connects Binah to Tiferet. Understanding sharpens the heart into clarity; the sword divides illusion from truth.
Tarot:
Zayin is The Lovers. This card is about choice, moral clarity, and the need to discern the true path between options.
Programming:
Zayin is the fork or if/else statement—the point where a program must choose between different outcomes or behaviors.
Chet (ח) — the eighth letter.
Literal meaning:
Chet means “fence” or “enclosure.” It defines a sacred, protected space—an inner courtyard where life can thrive.
Tree of Life:
Chet connects Binah to Gevurah. Understanding is shaped into discipline; the enclosure focuses and protects the growing force.
Tarot:
Chet is The Chariot. The Chariot represents controlled motion, strength harnessed within boundaries and direction.
Programming:
Chet is the container or level boundary—the structure that sets the limits within which processes or logic unfold.
Tet (ט) — the ninth letter.
Literal meaning:
Tet means “serpent” or “basket.” It is the principle of hidden good, the treasure curled up in darkness, waiting to be discovered.
Tree of Life:
Tet connects Chesed to Gevurah. Mercy balances severity; hidden strengths emerge through gentle mastery.
Tarot:
Tet is Strength. This card is about inner power, compassion, and the taming of wild forces through love and patience.
Programming:
Tet is the try/catch block—the system that holds and transforms errors, revealing good hidden within apparent problems.
Yod (י) — the tenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Yod means “hand” or “point.” It’s the smallest letter, just a dot—but it’s the seed of all creation. Every other letter is born from it. It’s the spark, the flame, the first motion that begins a world.
Tree of Life:
Yod connects Chesed to Tiferet. It’s the path of generosity becoming beauty—grace expressed through form.
Tarot:
Yod corresponds to The Hermit. A lone light in the darkness. A small flame carried high. The Yod is hidden but powerful—like divine inspiration whispering through solitude.
Programming:
Yod is the initial variable. A seed value. A single line that blossoms into whole functions. Small, but foundational.
Kaph (כ) — the eleventh letter.
Literal meaning:
Kaph means “palm” or “hollowed hand.” It’s about receptivity, the ability to hold, contain, and shape. Think of it as the divine hand forming clay.
Tree of Life:
Kaph runs from Chesed to Netzach. Loving-kindness pours into desire and action—grace fueling creative drive.
Tarot:
Kaph links to The Wheel of Fortune—cycles, fate, karma. The open palm catching what life throws. Destiny in motion.
Programming:
Kaph is your function call. It catches data, holds it, and shapes output. It’s the logic that accepts and transforms.
—
Lamed (ל) — the twelfth letter.
Literal meaning:
Lamed means “goad” or “staff.” It’s the letter of learning, urging forward motion—sometimes with a nudge. It’s the only letter that rises above the writing line, like a flag or a flame.
Tree of Life:
Lamed connects Gevurah to Tiferet. This is discipline refining beauty. The staff of the teacher guiding the soul.
Tarot:
Lamed is Justice—clarity, karma, and balance. It cuts clean. It teaches by adjustment.
Programming:
Lamed is your rules engine. It enforces conditions. If things don’t align, Lamed corrects them.
—
Mem (מ) — the thirteenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Mem means “water.” It’s the flow of thought, emotion, and depth. There are two Mems: open (מ) and final/closed (ם). Water begins in movement and ends in silence.
Tree of Life:
Mem flows from Gevurah to Hod. Force becomes communication—emotional truth entering intellect.
Tarot:
Mem is The Hanged Man—suspension, reflection, inner surrender. Water holds and purifies.
Programming:
Mem is flow control—pauses, loops, and timeouts. It holds motion in tension.
—
Nun (נ) — the fourteenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Nun means “fish.” It’s life within water, motion within depth. Like ideas swimming beneath the surface.
Tree of Life:
Nun connects Tiferet to Netzach—beauty fuels desire and victory. Art stirs the will.
Tarot:
Nun is Death. Not doom—transformation. The fish dies to become new life.
Programming:
Nun is refactoring—cutting old code to make space for better logic. Life through loss.
—
Samekh (ס) — the fifteenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Samekh means “support” or “prop.” It’s the unseen structure that holds things upright. A circle with strength inside.
Tree of Life:
Samekh links Yesod to Tiferet—the subconscious (foundation) rises into the heart (beauty).
Tarot:
Samekh is Temperance—balance, flow, alchemy. Holding opposites in harmony.
Programming:
Samekh is architecture—the code scaffolding that holds everything else. Silent but vital.
—
Ayin (ע) — the sixteenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Ayin means “eye.” It is perception, vision, and symbolic insight. Not just seeing—but seeing into.
Tree of Life:
Ayin joins Tiferet to Hod—beauty informs intellect. Aesthetic becomes logic.
Tarot:
Ayin is The Devil. Not evil—but attachment, illusion, the eye caught by shadow. Seeing what binds us.
Programming:
Ayin is the debugger’s eye—what do you really see when the system misbehaves?
—
Pe (פ) — the seventeenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Pe means “mouth.” It’s speech, command, and expression. The letter of creative utterance.
Tree of Life:
Pe moves from Netzach to Hod—desire becomes communication. Emotion meets thought.
Tarot:
Pe is The Tower—explosive speech, breakdowns, truth shouted aloud. Destruction that frees.
Programming:
Pe is output, logging, or alerts. The system speaking back to you, sometimes loudly.
—
Tzaddi (צ) — the eighteenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Tzaddi means “fishhook.” It pulls the hidden to the surface. A symbol of righteousness that draws down light.
Tree of Life:
Tzaddi links Netzach to Yesod—desire shaping the subconscious.
Tarot:
Tzaddi is The Star—hope, guidance, the light that calls you forward.
Programming:
Tzaddi is data retrieval—queries and searches that pull buried truths into view.
—
Qoph (ק) — the nineteenth letter.
Literal meaning:
Qoph means “back of the head.” It represents the subconscious, the dreamworld, the unknown within us.
Tree of Life:
Qoph links Netzach to Malkuth—the will pours into reality, from astral to physical.
Tarot:
Qoph is The Moon—mystery, reflection, illusion, intuition.
Programming:
Qoph is background processing—threads running behind the scenes.
—
Resh (ר) — the twentieth letter.
Literal meaning:
Resh means “head.” It’s about beginning, leadership, and visionary direction.
Tree of Life:
Resh connects Hod to Yesod—thought becomes feeling, intellect stirs emotion.
Tarot:
Resh is The Sun—clarity, joy, radiance.
Programming:
Resh is main()—the start point, where the program truly begins to shine.
—
Shin (ש) — the twenty-first letter.
Literal meaning:
Shin means “tooth” or “flame.” It’s a letter of fire, transformation, and divine spirit. Often drawn with three flames—it represents the triune soul.
Tree of Life:
Shin moves from Hod to Malkuth—intellect ignites reality. Word becomes world.
Tarot:
Shin is Judgment—awakening, resurrection, the fire that renews.
Programming:
Shin is execution—when the compiled code runs and the system comes alive.
—
Tav (ת) — the twenty-second and final letter.
Literal meaning:
Tav means “mark,” “seal,” or “truth.” It’s the completion, the final stamp of reality.
Tree of Life:
Tav links Yesod to Malkuth—from the subconscious to the physical. Dream becomes flesh.
Tarot:
Tav is The World—completion, integration, wholeness.
Programming:
Tav is your final commit, your build release. It seals the cycle.
—
And that’s the whole Aleph-Bet—22 creative forces, 22 stages of emergence from nothing into everything.
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