Sefer Yetzirah

Seven Pairs, Begad-Kafrat (pronounced with two tongues)—their foundation is Life, Peace, Wisdom, Wealth, Beauty, Fertility, and Dominion, pronounced with two tongues: Vet-Bet, Ghimel-Gimel, Dhalet-Dalet, Khaf-Kaf, Feh-Peh, Resh-Rresh,1In the grammatical tradition of the Tiberian Masoretes, which all modern Hebrew traditions have inherited save for the Samaritans, the letters Beit-Gimel-Dalet-Kaf-Peh-Taw are pronounced in two ways, as plosives with the dagesh mark (בּ גּ דּ כּ פּ תּ) and as fricatives without (ב ג ד כ פ ת). The letter Resh is not among them, even though it appears in the SY with the letters known commonly today by the acronym Begad-Kefat. The Tiberians do describe a twofold pronunciation of Resh, the usual pronunciation being what linguists would describe as a ‘uvular trill’ and the rarer being a ‘pharyngealized alveolar trill’ (see Geoffrey Khan (2020), The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, 2 vols.); however, the distribution of these two allophones is not in parallel with the Begad-Kefat letters. Instead, the SY may be intimating a twofold pronunciation of Resh known among certain mediveal Jewish communities in Babylonia and elsewhere, which does indeed preserve a distinguish between ‘single’ Resh and ‘double’ Resh. Although Resh is usually thought to belong to the letters which cannot normally receive a dagesh, this was apparently not the case for these traditions. The Samaritans still to this day preserve a tradition allowing Resh to occur in both single and double forms, bearing a distinction comparable to the difference between the Spanish single r of pero and double rr of perro. Taw-Thaw. A soft and hard structure, a strong and weak structure. Pairs, for they are opposites—The opposite of Life is Death; the opposite of Peace is Evil; the opposite of Wisdom is Folly; the opposite of Wealth is Poverty; the opposite of Beauty is Ugliness; the opposite of Fertility is Barrenness; the opposite of Dominion is Servitude.

Seven Pairs, Begad-Kafrat—Seven and not six, seven and not eight. Test with them and probe of them (and form and think). Make a thing stand in assembly before its Creators; return the Maker to His Site.

Seven Pairs, Begad-Kafrat, against 7 Edges. 6 of the Edges are Above and Below, East and West, North and South, with the Holy Palace established in the center, bearing them all.

Seven Pairs, Begad-Kafrat. He carved them, hewed them, exchanged them, and formed with them the stars in the World and days in the Year and gates in the Person. He carved out of them the Seven Firmaments, and Seven Earths, and Seven Sabbaths; for this reason, He loved the Seventh Day more than anything under all the heavens.

How? He made the letter Bet reign over Life, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it Saturn in the World, and Sunday in the Year, and the right eye in the Person.

He made the letter Gimel reign, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it Jupiter in the World, and Monday in the Year, and the left eye in the Person.

He made the letter Dalet reign, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it Mars in the World, and Tuesday in the Year, and the right ear in the Person.

He made the letter Kaf reign, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it the Sun in the World, and Wednesday in the Year, and the left ear in the Person.

He made the letter Peh reign, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it Venus in the World, and Thursday in the Year, and the right nostril in the Person.

He made the letter Resh reign, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it Mercury in the World, and Friday in the Year, and the left nostril in the Person.

He made the letter Taw reign, and He bound to it a crown, and formed with it the Moon in the World, and Saturday in the Year, and the mouth in the Person.

Seven Pairs, Begad-Kafrat—How did He exchange them? Two stones build two houses; three build six houses; four build twenty-four houses; five build one hundred and twenty houses; six build seven hundred and twenty houses; seven build five thousand and forty houses. From here on out, go and contemplate what the mouth cannot speak and the ear cannot hear. These are the Seven Stars in the world: the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars. These are the 7 Days in the Year: the Days of Creation. And the Seven Gates in the person: two eyes, two ears, two punctures of the nose, and the mouth. With them He carved the Seven Firmaments and the Seven Earths and the Seven Hours; for this reason, He loved the Seventh Day more than any object under the heavens.