AHYIN - The Essence
The meaning of AHYIN
Jewish Mysticism teaches that there is immense meaning in both a name and within every single letter. A name contains the essence of the person or object it represents, and it holds within it secrets to the purpose of their existence. Every letter also has profound significance and is the subject of deep Judaic exploration.
AHYIN in hebrew means "eye". It is also the 16th letter in the hebrew alphabet. Both these aspects lend it great bearing as the name of our brand.
AHYIN - eye
The eye is an iconic motif and talisman across cultures - A window to the soul, a sensory portal to the outside world, a symbol of protection, the chakra of intuition & insight. Judaism explores many these aspects of the eye from either a religious or cultural perspective. Practically however, we engage with our eyes in a spiritual way, during our prayers.
On Friday night women light Shabbat candles, circling the flames three times with their hands, drawing the light in toward their face and body, and finally cover their closed eyes with their palms. At this point they say the blessing and often a personal prayer. It is believed that those candles hold within them the light of creation, and in this moment of physical movement, closing of the eyes and reciting of the "bracha", we draw this holy light into our bodies.
This divine light is meant to nourish us, to inspire us and to be released into the world by us, over the coming week.
For this reason we selected the name "AHYIN" (eye) to represent our brand, and the overlapping Shabbat candle flames as our logo.
AHYIN - Mystical Insights
We can learn about an aspect of the letter AHYIN in the Torah, as we follow the story of Adam and Eve. When the original man and woman lived in the garden of Eden, completely connected to G-ds essence, the Torah says that they were clothed in OR, meaning light (spelt in hebrew letters aleph, vav, reish). However after Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge and in that moment separate from G-d, misaligning from their purest, most holy selves, the Torah describes that they are clothed in OR meaning skin (spelt in hebrew letters ahyin, vav, reish). Suddenly they are no longer bodies of light, but they are physical in the way that we understand humankind today. In some respect their clear connection to g-d has been veiled. The letter Aleph is associated with the spiritual realm of OR - Light; However the letter Ahyin is connected to the physical realm of OR - Skin. That is, the world in which our work is to use action and prayer to tap back into our purest selves, to connect with g-d and higher spirituality.
The products that we create at AHYIN carry this intention and essence, to foster spiritual connection in a physical world.