Otiyot

Otiyot (Hebrew אוֹתִיּוֹת, otiyot — "letters", singular אוֹת, ot) are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as sacred symbols in the Kabbalistic tradition (#17).

The core idea. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה, qabbalah — "receiving", "tradition") teaches that the 22 Hebrew letters are not mere writing signs, but instruments by which God (אֵין סוֹף, Ein Sof) created the world.

Three Groups of Letters (according to Sefer Yetzirah)

"Sefer Yetzirah" (ספר יצירה — "The Book of Formation", 3rd–6th c.) divides the 22 letters into three categories:

• 3 "mothers" (אִמּוֹת, imot): א (Aleph), מ (Mem), ש (Shin) — air, water, fire
• 7 "doubles" (כְּפוּלוֹת, kfulot): בגדכפרת — having soft and hard pronunciations
• 12 "simples" (פְּשׁוּטוֹת, pshutot): the remaining 12 letters — 12 months, 12 zodiac signs

Numerical Value of the Letters

Each letter has a numerical value (Gematria, גימטריה, #17):

• א=1 … י=10 … ק=100 … ת=400

Gematria. It searches for connections between words with the same numerical sum — the entire method of Kabbalistic textual interpretation is founded on this.

Connection with Other Systems

22 letters — 22 paths. They also correspond to the 22 paths on the Tree of Life (עץ החיים, Etz haChayim) and to the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot in the Western esoteric tradition.