The Ana beKo'ach or Portal of Creation was composed during the 1st and 2nd centuries CE by the Merkabah mystic Rav Nehunia Ben Hakannah. Bava Batra 10b describes him as an accomplished tanna or teacher and contemporary, not as a student, of Rav Yochanan ben Zakai. It is traditional for Jews, especially mystically oriented Chasids, to devote time to meditating on the Ana beKo'ach each night as the Chanukah lights illumine their dwellings.

Many congregations, including our Beit Emunah, sing the Ana beKo'ach at every Shabbat service as we desire to go back in time to the creation of material life in order to discover its origin, reestablish meaningful connections with our Creator, and seek teshuvah or spiritual reconnection with Him. We pray that our Beloved will free us from all misconceptions and restore for us the simple and yet oh so profound ecstasy of His Presence and Mercy.

But how precisely does the Ana beKo'ach propose to accomplish this? This is a great secret of the ages that is, in these End Times, being restored and embraced by more and more people. By utilizing the power or spiritual energies of the Ana beKo'ach one unlocks the gates or portals of conceiled Truth and prepare ourselves spiritually and physically for what is coming.

In biblical times, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest stood before the people and declared:

On this day He [i.e., HaShem] will grant atonement for you to cleanse you. Before Adonai, you will be cleansed from all your sins.

According to the Chassids, the High Priest here referenced the Sacred Name Havayah, the 42-letter Name of God, and the people would fall to the ground on their faces before the Named One in yirah (יראה, pronounced yir-ah): awe or fear.

Understand:

The Holy One transcends all human knowing, therefore when we speak of "His" Name we are speaking words we can not fully comprehend. With this understanding, the High Priest would speak the Sacred Name: Havayah, and the people would prostrate in honor of the Named One. There is some debate among Jewish scholars about whether the Cohen Gadol actually uttered the 42 Letter Name at this annual event or merely aluded to it here. Most Chasids believe he spoke the Name publically. In any case, Havayah, literally, "Being" or "I Am", is a form of the Tetragrammaton, G d's Divine Name of the four Hebrew letters yud, hei, vav, and a final hei. This Name expresses His complete transcendence of time and space.

The Ana beKo'ach is a mystical formula of 42 letters, written in seven sentences of six words each. Each of these seven sentences corresponds to the seven days of the week, to the seven thousand years granted to humankind for our rectification, to seven specific angels, and to what is called the Heavenly Beit Din (or court) which is composed of seven elders. The identity of the Seven referenced Holy Angels in Judaism is not certain. Since Judaism worships only the One God and shuns the adoration of angels, there is no "official" list in our literature. The Apocraphal Book of Tobit however offers what seems to be a most likely listing as: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Sariel, Raguel, and Remiel. Some Kabbalists speak of thirteen principle angels.

The Hebrew letters of the Ana beKo'ach are "conceiled" within the first 42 letters of the book of Genesis from "Bereshit" ("in the beginning") to "Vavohoo," ("without form, and void"). When the Ana beKo'ach is employed in hitbodedut (i.e., seclusion with God ) as a meditation, the consciousness seeks to return to its Source which is Havayah. For this reason the Ana beKo'ach is described as the Gateway or Portal of Creation. As the Presence of Havayah is actuated within the human consciousness the untainted Light of An Soph (the Holy One in transcendence) transports us to the state of consciousness known as Devekut, in which state is True Light. Hence, the connection between the Ana beKo'ach and Chanukah, the festival of Light wherein we seek more than the lights of the Temple menorah, we seek the Divine Light.

Human beings are generally distracted. We dwell on the past, we worry about the future, and the present moment is too often little more than the connecting point between these times. Being locked in time and space we remain emprisoned.

Understand:

Time and space are illusions. But illusions with purpose. What has been is already sealed and cannot be altered despite the wishful thinking of time travel stories. The book of the future is not yet written and therefore it too is sealed from us. What will be depends on the interplay of innumerable factors, some we can percieve, most we can not. The future can not be directly altered from the present. Only the present moment is fluid. Only the here and now can be written. Indeed, it is being written and this writing can not be halted nor rejected. For this reason our sages do not focus over-much on the past, other than to remember its lessons, nor on the future, other than using the present to create hopefully positive results according to our abilities. Our focus should be on this sacred moment in time.

However, the Holy One has no such limitations. Havayah was and is and ever will be. Havayah now is, has always been, and ever be echad, one! This is the non-dual consciousness of Devekut! To be in the eternal presence of the Holy One is to transcend all time and space. To accomplish this, the Ana beKo'ach takes us back to the point of creation which is, in truth, time beyond time and space beyond space.

Ana B'cho-ach

A-na, Ana B'cho-ach g'dulat y'minkha, tatir tzerurah. Kabel Rinat, amkha -- sagveinu, t'hareinu, t'hareinu nora. (second time go to: Shav-a-tei-nu) Ana B'cho-ach. g'du-lat y'min-cha. tatir tzerurah. Kabel Rinat, amcha saag-veinu, t'ha-reinu no-ra. Na gibor-dorshei-yichudcha, k'vavat shomreim Barchem t'harem, rachamem tzidkatkha; tamid gomlem, Khasin kadosh (exalt) – Chasin kadosh, ba'rov tucha, N'hel ada techa, Yachid ge'eh, l'amcha-p'neh, zochrei k'dushatecha, Shavateinu kaba'el, ush'mah – tza'akateinu, yodeah -- ta'ahlumot. (Chorus) (Ba-ruch shem k'vod mal-chu-to l'o-lam va-ed.) With loving strength Untie our tangles. Your chanting folk Raise high, make pure Accept our song. Like Your own eye, Lord, keep us safe We, who union seek with You! Cleanse and bless us Infuse us ever With loving care. Gracious source Of holy power! Do guide Your folk. Sublime and holy One, Do turn to us Of holy chant. Receive our prayer Do hear our cry You, Who all secrets knows. Through time and space Your glory shines, Majestic One. Blessed is the name Of His Glorious Kingdom forever. A more devotional translation: Please, by the great power of Your right hand, Set the captives free; Revered One, accept Your people’s prayers; Strengthen us, cleanse us. Almighty G-d, guard as the apple of Your Eye all who seek You; Bless them, cleanse them, pity them; Grant them Your truth; Mighty, Holy One, in Your abundant Grace, guide Your people; Accept our prayers, hear our cries, You who know our secret thoughts. Blessed be the name of his glorious Majesty forever and ever;