To Aleph Are We

“To Aleph are we."

Praise be to the Unity of Unities, that is our unity, who is unified in all His names, one in all and all in one. 

I made an interesting discovery yesterday. 

In my version of Neville Goddard's 1966 lecture, "The Congregation of God," he said of Abdullah:

"I can’t conceive of anything more beautiful than that 17th of John. When you read it and you get lost in it, I defy you to just restrain the tears. It’s the one chapter that old Ab, my friend Abdullah, insisted that we commit to memory. Everyone had to know it. No reading of books. You rise and together we would say…'the 17th chapter of John,' he would say. 

And then he would close always with 'Praise be unto that unity that is our unity, one in all and all in one.' 

We all had to simply rise at the close of the meeting and recite the 17th of John. It was driven into the mind of everyone who was present. You read it, if you do not know it, you read it when you go home."

"That Unity that is our unity"

I have had a difficult time finding this phrase anywhere. "Praise be unto that unity that is our unity, one in all and all in one." I found a similar quote that was in online documents of masonic rituals (I think it was from the Daughters of Isis or Daughters of the Sphinx), but they had said "blessed be." 

I'm not sure how I came across this but I happened to see there is apparently another version of this lecture, or different student notes on this same lecture--or it's also possible he gave this same lecture on a different date or time and had some small changes. Regardless, here is the change: 

From a book called, The Neville Goddard Lectures, Volume 23:

Then he would close saying, “Praise be to that unity of unities. One in all and all in one."

Aha! Now we are onto something. This use of "unities" is in a LOT of texts including.... drumroll... Shakespeare and...keep drumming... the Kabbalah. Ding ding! We have a winner. 

The Shakespeare unities are pretty cool but I'll let you look those up on your own. Let's now look up the Zohar (Google: "Zohar" or "Kabbalah" + "unity of unities").

"Unity of unities"

According to a source on the internet  (and many others I looked up): "Unity of unities" specifically appears to be found in the Bahir or Sefer HaBahir (Hebrew : סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר , “Book of Luminosity” or “Book of Illumination”), and also referred to also known as Midrash of first-century Rabbi Nehunya ben HaKanah מִדְרָשׁ רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא בֶּן הַקָּנָה that eventually became known as Kabbalah.

At 141, in explaining the "Ten Sayings" and Psalm 100:3 (“Know that the Lord is God): "... He made us, and not (Lo) we, His people.” [Lo is spelled Lamed Aleph and can be read, “to Aleph”. ] The verse then reads, “to Aleph are we.” [It is our duty] to recognise and know the Unity of Unities, who is unified in all His names."

I will explore this (and this prayer from John 17) further in my writings on Abdullah but wanted to share this little nugget. 

Now we know what was most likely in reference. 

Praise be to the Unity of Unities, that is our unity, who is unified in all His names, one in all and all in one. To Aleph are we.