The Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei_Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei Zohar, a companion to the Zohar, that mystical masterpiece of Kabbalah, suggests exactly that. In its 75th Tikkun, it unveils a hidden dimension within the very first word of the Torah: Bereshit (בראשית) – "In the beginning."
Imagine this: a pillar of fire descending, a divine breath made manifest. Within that fiery column, angelic beings, the ḥayot (חיות), are ceaselessly moving, "running and returning," as the prophet Ezekiel describes in his vision of the Divine Chariot (Ezekiel 1:14). This is no static image; it’s dynamic, alive, pulsing with creative energy.
And then comes the revelation. The Tikkunei Zohar makes a striking claim. Hidden within Bereshit, "In the beginning," is the word Bat (בת) – "Daughter." But who is this daughter? What does she represent?
The text doesn't leave us hanging. This "Daughter," it says, is a concealed point, hidden within the Avir (אויר), the "air" or "space." Think of it as potential, a spark of divinity waiting to be ignited. And where else do we find her? The verse in Psalms (17:8) – "Guard me as the pupil of the eye (bat ayin)" – equates her with the most precious and protected part of ourselves: the pupil, that tiny point of sight through which we perceive the world.
She is, most assuredly, "hidden in the light" – Aur (אור). And it is through her, this hidden daughter, that Avir, the air, comes into being.
So, what does it all mean?
It's an invitation to look beyond the surface, to delve into the deeper layers of reality. The Tikkunei Zohar suggests that creation itself is intimately connected to the feminine principle, to this hidden "Daughter" concealed within the very fabric of existence. She is the potential, the spark, the protected point of vision through which the Divine manifests.
Think about that the next time you read, or even just hear, the word Bereshit. In the beginning… there she is, waiting to be discovered. A reminder that the most profound truths are often veiled, waiting for us to seek them out, to see with new eyes, to connect with the hidden light within.