In one earlier post, we saw that the
"Feminine" aspects of G-d, Ruach – Chochmah – Malchut, using their
first Hebrew letters (roshei teivot – “resh, “chet”, “mem”), create the acronym
RaCHaM, which is the Hebrew root word for both womb and compassion. In another
earlier post, we identified the very Essence of G-d as “Feminine”, noting that
“Atzmut” and “Mahut,” the Hebrew words for the Divine Essence, are feminine. If we add to the “resh”, “chet”, and “mem”
above the Hebrew letter “yud” as the initial letter of the Hebrew word “yechidah”
or “only one”, which is the feminine gendered word denoting continuity and
unity, and is used for the soul at One with G-d, then we allude to the
continuity of Ruach – Chochmah – Malchut and to the idea that, while
remaining One with G-d at the level of the Divine Essence, the Divine Breath
also constitutes the substance of projected creation from G-d, that all is
continuous, from the Divine Essence to every creature, even in any and every
difference.
The four letters together spell the word
"RaCHMI", a Hebrew imperative – “have mercy” – in feminine gender,
invoking the compassion of the Divine in "Feminine" aspect. Repeating
RaCHMI in mantra-like fashion is a splendid use of this word to do this
invocation. One should have in mind that the compassion being sought is from
the “Feminine” “Atzmut” or very Unmanifest Essence of G-d, the
Fathomless “Womb” from which all comes forth. One also should have in
mind that the imperative is calling upon one’s own soul – all words in Hebrew
for the soul (nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah, and yechidah) are grammatically
feminine in gender – to be compassionate to all that comes from G-d.
The four letters together also spell “RaCHMaY”,
a very ancient Feminine Divine Name meaning “One of the Womb” or “Compassionate
One”. This Name, found in the 13th Century BCE texts from Ugarit,
has been associated by scholars with Athirat (Asherah), Anat, Shapash, or seen
as an independent goddess. A contemporary shamanistic approach to
Hebrew/Israelite religion views RaCHMaY as follows: “the Womb of All Life, the
Mother of Life, and of Life Force in its many, many forms…How can one think of
Her, of what She is, and not feel awe?” (Elisheva Nesher, Shophet of AMHA, in The Goddess in America, 2016).
