In Judaism, the pen is not mightier than the sword, but words and letters have a certain kind of power that goes beyond our capacity to imagine.There is a story about one man who was angry with another. He was so out of control with his rage that, even in front of his holy teacher, the Baal Shem Tov, he began yelling at the other man, and saying “I’m going to tear your apart like a fish!” Suddenly, the other man’s head seemed to fall off and his arms appeared to have been torn off. The group of students gasped, and the man regained his head and appendages and looked normal once again. The Baal Shem Tov commented, “You have been privileged to witness how our words have power in the world. When we speak, we are not pronouncing mere words, but we are creating and destroying.”
According to the Bible, G-d created with world with Ten Utterances (or sentences) such as “Let there Be Light.” Immediately, there was light. And the Bible describes each of the Ten Utterances and the things that were created as a result. What is interesting is that these utterances were not just said once and erased, but stand for all time, forming the objects they created. The world is formed out of combinations of letters; these combinations are created from the letters of the words G-d spoke when he made the world. If a letter were to be rearranged or damaged, that object would cease to exist. Therefore, according to Jewish spirituality, the continued existence of these letters is essential for the functioning of the world.
Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a design, a number and a meaning. You might have heard of the term “gematria.” Since every Hebrew letter has a number, words have “totals,” and these numbers have special significance. Two words may be linked in their significance and meaning not just because of etymology or the fact that they are related in their sounds, but also because they are related in their numerical value.