Healing Well of Miriam

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The Divine Name associated with Chochmah is YAH, the first two letters of YHVH.  Although this Name is specifically associated with Chochmah, YAH also encompasses the three upper sefirot: Keter is the apex of the yod; Chochmah is the letter yod; Binah is the letter heh. 

Chochmah is the sefirah associated with right brain, as opposed to the left brain of Binah.  Chochmah is the place of insight and inspiration, while Binah is where ideas become more logically substantial.  Binah is associated with the ears and the sense of hearing; Chochmah is associated with the eyes and the sense of sight.

The upper three sefirot are the higher worlds, far from the separation from God that defines death of the lower realms.  The inner soul experience of Chochmah is “bitul” (selflessness).  This is not the same as “shiflut” (lowliness) of Malchut, for there a person still has an awareness of himself.  The state of bitul is annulment of self so that his awareness of God is so intense that this alone shines through him.  There are many instances of YAH throughout scripture, each of which we may now need to contemplate in a new way.  Perhaps we could begin with the meditation:

Yah, enlighten my eyes that I not sleep the sleep of death.

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Binah, which means understanding, is known as the left brain, as opposed to the right brain sefirah, Chochmah (wisdom).  The Divine Name associated with Binah appears in scripture as YHVH, but it is vowelized to be pronounced Elohim.  In a similar manner to Yesod, Binah is the receptacle of the energy from above—Chochmah (wisdom) and Keter (crown)—and then releases that energy to the seven sefirot below.  Binah is the understanding of one thing from another.  Therefore, this is the attribute from which true understanding of Torah comes, and this is the attribute essential for repentance, which comes from Binah as a gift.   One of the attributes of gevurot, located on the left side, judgement comes down from Binah, but with mercy.  Binah is considered the “upper mother,” as opposed to Malchut, which is the “lower mother.”  These are expressed through the two forms of prayer: “tefillah” (petitioning or pleading) of Malchut and  “tehillah” (praise) of Binah.  The inner soul experience of Binah is “simcha” (gladness or happiness or joy).  From this we can see the ascendence through judgement into pure joy of utter forgiveness.   A meditation on Binah might be:   

ELOHIM, You are my strength and my song.