Shabbat

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version
It was probably in the course of this grand vision that the Apostle Paul suggested to his Gentile followers that they include the word abba in prayers of the heart: "You have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry abba, Father."
The word abba can be read from left to right and from right to left, both in its original Aramaic and in Hebrew, and it is the same with its Greek or Latin transcript. In Aramaic and Hebrew, it is composed of the otiot aleph-beth-aleph, aleph meaning one, origin or guiding principle, and beth meaning two, or house.
Beth, in this context, may well imply that Creation is the House in which the process of tangible growth takes place. We can say that everything comes from aleph (the One), passes beth (the world of polarities and multiples), and reunites with aleph.
This house has many mansions, for Jews as well as for Christians, Muslims, and other religious devotees. Since every human tenant is a descendant of the first Adam, it should be possible to recognize not only the Fatherhood of God but also the Brotherhood of Man. There should be no need for quarrel or strife, as it is said: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together also in unity."
The Hebrew word rendered by "dwell" is shevet. It is spelled with the same otiot (letters) as the word shabbathשבת ,. Shabbath is the day of rest, even the rest of God, into which we are destined to enter and where we shall dwell after our "six days of work" are complete. Our weekly Shabbath is a symbol for this final goal.
If we take the six outer triangles of our Star of David to symbolize the six days of the week, it's middle field could well correspond to the seventh or Shabbath day, as said. Embedded in the center, it marks the culmination of creation as well a s the interior of us humans in the image of the Creator. Thus, violating Shabbat flouts the laws of creation and the core of our being. True, beyond this created, time-bound world there exist infinity and eternity - the "eighth" day - but in our present world, we are subject to time and space, and have to take these into account. Thus, the Star represents a harmonious balance of forces - the divine at the center, and the material world organized around it.

Alpha-Bet

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

Let us now "read backwards", and see the middle field of the star as beth, house, or Creation, and א, aleph, as the original, continuous force which operates from beyond the visible world, and permeates it. It particularly permeates Man who, although part of the visible world, is created in God's image, whether or not he is aware of it. This causes in him a deep longing for the higher realities, a drive to attain his birthright and become true Man. This mutual attraction, described as "God in Search of Man" and "Man in Search of God" [...]
This primal, creative and permeating force is, as mentioned, not limited to the God-Man relationship. It is everywhere, so we can place aleph in all the triangles beyond the middle field.
It is important to realize that aleph and beth are not separate or opposing entities; we should not fix our eyes on only one of them. Gazing solely at aleph while neglecting beth draws us into a "spirituality" with no ground under our feet; reckoning only with beth leads us to an existentialist view of the world, without purpose beyond the gratification of physical needs and desires. Man's true calling is to unite beth and aleph, to raise the mundane into the Divine.
This unification of ב, beth, with ,אaleph, forms the Hebrew word ,אב av, father. And it is these two letters, taken together, that describe the Hebrew alphabet, the vehicle of language and revelation. Indeed, this unification of Man with God is the essence of the Aleph-Beth; the other characters –otiot- in their many arrangements serve to provide background, details and instruction on the way.

Father

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

The Hebrew characters aleph and beth, forming the word av, father.
These two Hebrew characters (letters) combined in the word av convey a profound twofold message:
a) They stand for the Alphabeth, the faculty of language as the base of human culture;
b) they put each of us before the crucial question: do we see, and accept, the Creator of all as our father and benefactor; or do we remain entangled in the heathen concept that “war is the father of all things” (as famous Clausewitz put it)? True, the struggle for survival, and the consequential survival of the fittest, is an indispensable component of life on earth. While every animal has peculiar tools for its struggle – claws, paws, sharp teeth; or protective coloring, fast feet, highly developed senses; etc – we humans got the intellect and will as our main outfit. Must we continue using this specific outfit of ours on the animal level; or can we come to our senses and apply them on the Divine level, in the image of our Creator and Divine Father (and not in the image of the destroyer)? Applying the axiom of the “survival of the fittest” to human history, we will have to admit that Israel, the smallest of all peoples, proved to be the fittest. In the following we will trace what’s behind this astounding fact.

Dr. Eder's notes to this chapter:

The Aramaic word abba is also used in Hebrew, especially by children addressing their fathers. Cf Rom.8:15; Gal.4:16.

Otiot, signs (singular ot). This Hebrew word has two meanings: supernatural wonders of Divine providence, often hidden in the garb of nature (cf. note 1 of chapter 9); and the signs (letters, characters) of the Hebrew alphabet, the building blocks of our world. Each depicts a particular state of contraction of the supernatural light and life force. The combination of these "building blocks" into words gives life to that which is named therewith. We may say that these 22 signs of the Hebrew alphabet are the very first gospel (=Godspell), with the Torah as its Divine interpretation. The Books of the Psalms and Prophets are then further elucidations.

The eighth day plays an important role in Judaism. For instance, "the institution of circumcision on the eighth day teaches us to free ourselves from the fetters of the sensual world as a prerequisite for our covenant with the Lord." (Hirsch, in his comment on Ps.6:1).