The 15 Applications
After seeing that the letters י-ה (15) are fundamental in creation, the course presents their manifestations: in history (Jonah, Pharaoh), in water, in prayer, in time, in space and in divine service.
It concludes that 15 is “a constant” that structures all of creation.
The name יונה begins with י and ends with ה: the two letters envelop the whole name. Jonah was sent to save Nineveh: נינוה = יונה + נ. יונה = 71, like the 71 metallic elements, the load-bearing structure that comes to fertilize the 15 elements, represented by the fallen city.
The נ is worth 50: י (10) × ה (5) = 50, the ratio between the spiritual world and the material world. Jonah’s prophecy has exactly 48 verses, because Jonah is one of the 48 prophets sent to the Jewish people (according to the course).
Jonah, the good, will repair the evil caused by Pharaoh, the evil. Just as Moses was saved from the waters of the Nile, Jonah was saved from the waters by a great fish.
Formula: 2 hydrogen atoms for 1 oxygen atom. Ratio 2:1, as in the Divine Name י (10) : ה (5) = 2:1.
According to the course, water, the fundamental element of life, bears the Creator’s signature through the 2:1 ratio of the two letters that created the worlds.
After the miracle of the Red Sea, the Hebrews sang the song: “My strength and my song is י-ה.”
שירה = שר + י-ה, “to sing” plus the two sacred letters; value 515. The Midrash teaches that Israel sang 10 songs: the letter י is worth 10 and created the upper world; everything spiritual is articulated in 10, teaches the Rashash (according to the course).
ואתחנן (“I pleaded,” Moses’ prayer) also has the value 515. According to the course, it breaks down into תנן (400 + 50 + 50 = 500), and ו (6) + א (1) + ח (8) = 15 = י-ה; these three letters form the number 618 (the Golden Ratio).
According to the course, all the major festivals fall on the 15th of the month: 15 Tishrei, Sukkot (after Rosh Hashanah, the 1st, and Yom Kippur, the 10th); 15 Shevat, Tu BiShvat, antithesis of the New Year of men; 15 Adar, Purim, antithesis of Yom Kippur; 15 Nisan, Pesach, antithesis of Sukkot.
From Rosh Hashanah (1 Tishrei) to Sukkot (15 Tishrei) there are 15 days, which set the tone for the whole year.
To reach the altar one had to climb 15 steps. David composed 15 special psalms, “שיר המעלות” (the Song of Ascents), Psalms 120 to 134, to be recited on each step.
The Book of Psalms has 150 psalms: 150 = 15 × 10, and the 15 psalms of the steps are the tithe of all the Psalms.
The priestly blessing (ברכת כהנים) has 15 words: יברכך ה׳ וישמרך (3 words); יאר ה׳ פניו אליך ויחנך (5 words); ישא ה׳ פניו אליך וישם לך שלום (7 words). 3 + 5 + 7 = 15, a progression by 2.
According to the course, these 15 words act on three dimensions: 3 words, blessing in time; 5 words, in space; 7 words, in matter. An average of 5 words per dimension, reflecting the letter ה.
The Talmud (Shekalim, chapter 5) teaches that there were 15 different monetary values in the Temple, used to assess offerings in homogeneous monetary terms.
The course sums up the 15 (י-ה): in matter, 15 non-metallic elements; in humanity, man and woman (י and ה); in history, Abraham and Sarah, Jonah; in the elements, water (2:1); in prayer, שירה and ואתחנן (515); in time, the festivals of the 15th; in space, the 15 steps; in divine service, the 15 words of the blessing.
“As it is written in the metaphysical world, so it will be in the physical world.”
Quiz — The 15 Applications
Five questions to check