Genesis 1:20

The Creator has a perfect plan in which we are the protagonists, requiring us to recognize ourselves within it and its order. This order generated the first living beings, נֶ֥פֶש חַיִָּ֑ה (Néfesh Jayá), meaning "soul" or "life." The concept of "jayá" speaks of the "living," a perspective that projects various levels of growth for our soul, taking into account the dimensions in which we coexist and that are articulated with our growth.

From this logic, each level represents a path of spiritual ascent, seeking to reach higher realms and be closer to the divine source. This purpose of elevation starts from the most basic aspects, such as Néfesh, where the soul relies on instinctive life and our physical needs. It then moves to the level of Rúaj, where our emotions, morality, and character interact. We continue to Neshamá, where the intellect, higher consciousness, and connection with the Creator become more evident. We move on to Jayá, a more transcendent level, thanks to the reconnection with the collective soul and spiritual enlightenment, and we end with Yejidá, where the soul achieves total unity with the Creator, His divine spark, and eternity.

Understanding this process leads us to assume that (Of): "Bird," as a concept supported by gematria and its value of 156, has more to do with movement and expansion, which in our case reflects the motivation to rise above the earth. This perspective, in addition to giving us signs to focus our transcendence towards the sky, reiterates that for this, we need a balance that comes from the material, represented by the living creatures of the water, and the spiritual, represented by the birds flying in the sky.

Understanding water as an element of life and fluidity also symbolizes that our emotions are indicators of the state of the soul, which is nourished by the breath of life from the Creator. The air, through the birds, reiterates that elevation that signifies the pursuit of a higher purpose.

To achieve this growth, we must not forget our roots, our ancestors and their legacy, nor our earthly needs. At the same time, we must aspire to something higher, which has little to do with selfish social positions and possessions, but rather with rising above the mundane to find a deeper and more transcendent meaning.

Perhaps for this reason, recognizing the Creator as אֱלֹהִִׁ֔ ים (Elohím) leads us to the idea of what justice is and, at the same time, divine power, thanks to the gematria value of this expression being 86, a symbol of balance and structure within creation.

This vision reminds us that although names and titles are mentioned to refer to the Creator, who is essentially unnameable, there are at least seven recognized sacred expressions that, in some way, refer to the trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In Hebrew, the word used for expansion is רָּ קִׁ יעַ (raqia), which can also be literally translated as firmament. Raqia represents an expansive dimension that separates the upper from the lower, which is also a symbol of the veil or barrier between the spiritual and material worlds.

On the Tree of Life, it could be seen as the space between the upper sefirot (such as Bina, divine wisdom) and the lower sefirot (such as Malchut, the physical world). From this perspective, "raqia" is not simply a physical heaven, but a metaphysical dimension of separation and connection between worlds.

The word רָּ קִׁ יעַ (raqiya) has a gematric value of: ר )200 + (ק )100 + (י (10) + ע (70) = 380, which is also the value of שָּ לוֹם (shalom), peace. If written in an extended form with final letters: ש =300 ,ל =30 ,ו =6 ,ם =40, it gives a total of 376, almost exact. Although not identical, there are associations in mystical literature between the firmament and a state of harmony or balance between the worlds.

On the other hand, the waters represent primordial chaos, the emotional world, the subconscious, or even matter before it is formed. In Kabbalah, the lower waters are connected to Malchut, and the living beings that emerge from the waters could symbolize the life that emerges from chaos, a divine spark that enters the physical world.

Birds, on the other hand, fly above the earth, but in the raqia, in the celestial expanse. They represent elevation, the spiritual that still touches the material. On a symbolic level, they are like thoughts, the soul, or the highest levels of the nefesh or ruach, which aspire to rise.

Therefore, the aquatic beings within the physical world align with the sefira malchut to speak to us of that life where chaos arises (yesod), calling us to better coordinate that unconscious emotional world. And the birds of the sky represent that spiritual world (tiferet), which calls us to the elevation of our soul (netzach), strengthening our spiritual thinking.

From a Kabbalistic perspective, the verse shows the process of transition and connection between the material and the spiritual. The life-producing waters represent the creative potential of the physical world, while the birds represent what can ascend, that is, the soul that frees itself from the material and navigates the raqiya.

The waters "מים " (Mayim): מ )40 + (י )10 + (מ (40) = 90, are associated with Chesed (goodness) and also with Bina (understanding), since water is fluid, expansive, and receptive. They represent primordial chaos but also fluid wisdom. Mayim is linked to the flow of creative energy from Bina to the lower world. In the Zohar, we speak of "upper waters" (spiritual) and "lower waters" (material).

"שרץ" (Sheretz) – Moving creature / Reptile / Living being: ש )300 + (ר (200) + ץ (90) = 590, which can have a low or earthly connotation, representing instinctive, primal, visceral life, related to Nefesh – the most basic soul, which governs physical life, desires, and passions. Sheretz arises from mayim → it is life emerging from chaos, or the animal soul from the primal.

"נפש חיה " (Nefesh Haya) – Living Soul: נפש (Nefesh): נ )50 + (פ )80 + (ש (300) = 430, חיה (Haya): ח )8 + (י )10 + (ה (5) = 23. Total: 430 + 23 = 453. “Nefesh Haya” is the living soul, the breath that animates matter. In Kabbalah, it is the lowest level of the soul, but necessary for the body to have life. At higher levels, “Haya” is also one of the five levels of the soul (Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, Yechida).

"עוף " (Of) – Bird: ע )70 + (ו )6 + (ף (80) = 156, also the gematria of יוסף (Yosef) – Joseph, the dreamer, the one who transcends matter but dominates it. 156 is also 6 × 26, and 26 is the value of יהוה (YHVH) → birds are under divine influence, but multiplied (elevated). Birds fly through the “raqia” → what unites the earth with the heavens. They represent the soul that aspires upward, as Ruach (middle level of the soul, the spirit that aspires to the divine).

"רקיע " (Raqia) – Expansion / Firmament = 380. Space of separation and also of connection. It's like Tiferet, which balances the upper and lower worlds.

God is establishing a connection between the emotional world (waters), the physical world (living creatures), and the spiritual world (birds and the expanse of the heavens). He is revealing a cosmic structure where all living things have a place and purpose within the worlds: The waters contain the creative potential of the world. From them emerge creatures (sheretz) with nefesh (physical life). The birds represent what can transcend that world, rise, and fly in the raqia, the intermediate space toward heaven.