A question I received: If charts are a language, and letters are charts, then what is the significance of vowel points (Nekudot)? What is their role in perception?

My Answer: Vowel points are much more than additions to the letters. The most important thing for us are the vessels of perception (Kelim, the letters), since we talk about the perception of Light. Nekudot (the points beneath the letters) and Tagin (the crowns above the letters) create a flow that is necessary for us to understand the connections between the letters.

We cannot pronounce words without vowels. We have to add vowels (represented by vowel points, Tagin and Nekudot) between the consonants, since they enable us to flow from one Kli to another – from one letter to the next.

It is impossible to get along without the whole TANTA (Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, and Otiyot). One TANTA follows another, and then is followed by a third one, and so on; their flow creates a word. By themselves, however, the letters are not words and we cannot define them as states.

You cannot define a state unless you connect it with a cause and effect, with a sequence of other states. This is called a “word.” You have to know where this state comes from and who determines it; where is the Creator in this situation, what does He want from you, how are you acting, what are you doing, and at the end of the word – how will you come out of this state.

Therefore, a word is a specific action, and it contains everything. It includes qualities, and therefore it cannot consist of just one letter, but must have at least two.

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