When Jacob Met Rachel
The Root of your Soul and what it has to do with your name
By Orna Ben-Shoshan
Each soul is incarnated into the material realm in order to complete specific assignments. How can we detect the true essence of the soul (its root) and learn about the genuine tasks it took upon itself? What is the significance of giving a name to a new born baby, and how it corresponds with its primordial spiritual name? All according to the wisdom of the Kabala.
Interpreting the “Blue Print”:
“A new baby arrives to the world and brings and epistle to his parents: the epistle specifies the potential and fate the newborn carries with him. It is the parent’s assignment to detect the newborn’s inherent potential and find him a compatible name.” The sacred Kabala has specific methods of analyzing a person’s fate by tracking the root of the soul. It uses certain letter combinations appearing in the name, and highlighting the letters related to the name(s) of God. As in numerology, there is a similar field within the Kabala that relate to the numeric value of each letter. This wide field of expertise is called “Gimatria” – a name of Aramaic origin.
When looking at the presence of certain letters in a name, it is possible to reveal a person’s fate in a given lifetime - the wider picture can be exposed. A person’s name conceals many codes that will interpret his essence, taking into consideration that the name given to him by his parents was not coincidental. In fact, a person’s name hints about the divine root of his soul and was given by the creator. Therefore – a universe of knowledge can be revealed by analyzing a person’s name combined with his mother’s name.
By implementing a Kabalistic name analysis, it is possible to expose the dominating forces affecting life. Taking into consideration the factor of free choice – a person ability to shift his fate upon will, despite of a pre-determined “blue print” – is essential.
The Primal Divine Soul:
The root of all human souls is originated from the realm of “Primal Man”, which is one of the five initial realms of creation.
“Primal Man” (“Adam Kadmon”) is a Kabalistic metaphysical concept: It describes the realm of divinity at its preliminary complete embodiment – the first realm that was created after “the realm of eternity” which receives its light from infinity. The term “Primal Man” hints on the micro cosmos of all existing universal forces. The main root of the primal soul branches out to numerous larger and small roots. The distribution of a primal root into many smaller branches is called by the Kabala “The concept of sparks”. In fact, each one of us is a spark of Primal Man’s soul. We are all originated at the same root and share similar attribute. Each one of us is an individual manifestation of the divine. Each soul branches out as a unique root; therefore, each person carries a different name.
According to the Kabala, some souls have close roots even though they are not (physically) family-related. Another closeness of souls can exist between people who are family relatives. In many cases, the amount of love is greater among people whose souls have close roots than the love experienced between blood relatives.
This allegory comes to point out the difference between family closeness and soul closeness. The quality of how two individuals relate to each other has to do with the root of their souls.
Examination of the root soul (or “Soul Father”) of a person reveals what is known as “Karma”: the “baggage” a soul carries on from a previous incarnation, which determines the fate of a person during the new lifetime.
The “Root Soul” is therefore the spiritual assignment of the soul, the primal essence of a person at the moment he was given a name. If we wish to discover our real spiritual name, we should develop our consciousness and reach topmost levels of spiritual development, and realize our root name from there.
Knowledge of the twenty two Hebrew letters:
When looking at the subject of names from a Kabalistic perspective, we take into consideration the significance of the Hebrew alphabet and the unique attributes each letter carries. It is believed that the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet compose the genetic code of the universe, and different letter combinations compose both spirit and matter.
The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are most powerful codes that connect to energetic channels to heaven and earth. These deep spiritual channels transfer energies and act as vessels between us and the universe. In the ancient Kabalistic “Sefer Yetzira” (The book of creation related to Abraham), it is said that the twenty two Hebrew letters were imprinted, hewed, scaled, transformed and combined in order to create every spirit and anything that is ordained to be created.
Any combination of letters illustrates the numerous possibilities in which the creator relates to a person. The order of the letters in a word creates a track of thoughts and emotions at the reader’s mind and has a meaningful impact on those who understand the secrets of the letters. By reaching high levels of spirituality, a person’s connection with the divine tightens. As a result, the soul is elevated to a higher “encoding”. On the metaphysical level, the letter combination of the spiritual name shifts. It is said that only at the highest stage of spiritual development a person reveals the root of his soul and discover his true divine denotation.
Each letter that composes a name has an important latent potential in affecting a person’s “blue print”: success, appearance, character, setbacks, chosen career, stressful factors, difficulties and relationships.
One of the choices a soul has to make before incarnating into the physical realm is based on its inherent knowledge of the vibrations wrapped in each letter. Since the “true” name is based on the root soul, it connects a person to the internal source of knowledge and sets his connection to his own divine spark.
When a soul decides to dress itself with a physical garment (to be incarnated into the material realm), it chooses its destiny and the proper circumstances to implement it, including the choice of parents and the given birth name.
In some cultures, a given name and the letters that compose it are highly significant: many people believe that in order to change their destiny to the better they should change their birth name. We must realize that such external artificial action will not lead to improvement: Changing a person’s name artificially may reduce his power. In some Biblical stories however, we can see that by adding a letter to an existing name, or attaching a complimentary name may change a harsh fate.
Earthly names to human souls:
An interesting philosophy is revealed in the book “Gate of Reincarnations” by the prominent Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria: It is said that a newborn baby arrives to the world with his primordial root name, and the parents are assigned to expose and reveal it. This can be done by sensing the inspiration of the newborn soul.
Each family has its own story about the way they decided to name the baby: In some instances one of the parents comes up with a certain name and the other parent connects to it instantly. In others, a family relative offers a name unexpectedly or the name is revealed in a dream or meditative state. Some parents cannot come up with a proper name until the baby is born and they can physically look at it and tune into his essence. It is essential that the given name will be acceptable by both parents.
According to the Kabala, the mother is the right person to find a proper name for the baby, because she is more intuitive and has a stronger bond with the soul of the newborn.
It is recommended that a given name will be composed of more than one syllable to give it more validity and force. For example: a person named Joseph, should better use his full name (rather that Joe) and should be called by his full name at least once a week.
For two persons by the same names who share an apartment – there is an indication for quarrels, and it is recommended for a groom and bride with the same names (Chris, Terry) that one of them will add a complimentary name to the existing one.
In general, it is not recommended to name a new baby after a relative that passed away at a young age under tragic circumstances. Same way, do not name a baby after a relative whose life was unsuccessful. Biblical names are favorable because they have lasted for thousands of years, considering the attribute of the person who carried that name (positive or negative). It is highly recommended to equip the newborn child with a strong positive name that will strengthen his energies and ability to cope with life’s challenges.
The deeper we go on the journey to expose the magnificent weave of human existence, the more we’ll find out about the greatness of cosmic wisdom and its intricacy.
Artist Orna Ben-Shoshan conceives the images she paints through channeling. All of her paintings are completed in her mind before she transfers them onto the canvas.
Her metaphysical work infuses deep spiritual experience with subtle humor.
Orna Ben-Shoshan has been an autodidact artist for the past 30 years. Her artwork was exhibited in numerous locations in the USA, Europe and Israel. Her Major motivation as a visual artist is to share her visions with others to expand their consciousness and inspire new ways of thinking.
To see more of her artwork, please visit: http://www.ben-shoshan.com
Orna’s life-long interest in metaphysics and mysticism has led her to study the Kabala and alternative philosophies. She shares her wide and diverse knowledge in articles and short essays that were published in magazines worldwide.
Orna is the co-creator of the new and innovative "King Solomon Cards", which are based on her artwork and combine her metaphysical images with ancient Kabalistic symbols. To see more, please visit: http://www.k-s-cards.com