The Star of Life

The Star of Life is a blue, six-pointed star, outlined with a white border which features the Rod of Asclepius in the center, originally designed and governed by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (under the United States Department of Transportation, DOT). Traditionally in the United States the logo was used as a stamp of authentication or certification for ambulances, paramedics or other EMS personnel. Internationally, it represents emergency medical services (EMS) units and personnel. A similar orange star is used for search and rescue personnel and yet another version is used for Wilderness emergency medical technician.

The Bowl of Hygeia and the serpent of Wisdom.

The “Bowl of Hygeia” symbol is the most widely recognized international symbol of pharmacy. In Greek mythology, Hygeia was the daughter and assistant of Aesculapius (sometimes spelled Asklepios), the God of Medicine and Healing. Hygeia's classical symbol was a bowl containing a medicinal potion with the serpent of Wisdom (or guardianship) partaking it. This is the same serpent of Wisdom, which appears on the caduceus, the staff of Aesculapius, which is the symbol of medicine.

Tet and Tov, the hidden Good.

The Hebrew Letter Tet = 9 and represents Introversion - the Concealed Good

The tet is the initial letter of the word tov, "good." The form of the tet is "inverted," thus symbolizing hidden, inverted good--as expressed in the Zohar: "its good is hidden within it." The secret of the tet (numerically equivalent to nine, the nine months of pregnancy) is the power of the mother to carry her inner, concealed good. New Life within.

As the ninth letter and the number nine, Tet holds the rhythm of the nine months of pregnancy. This letter of goodness contains the power of gestation and the potential of life.

Tet is a symbol of the primal energy of the feminine. The letter takes the form of a snake coiled in on itself. For centuries before the serpent became associated with evil, it was a representation of the divine feminine. Tet’s shape suggests a vase or a cup, symbols for the womb.

At the beginning of Creation, the appearance of light is termed "good" in God's eyes: "And God saw the light was good." Our Sages interpret this to mean "good to be hidden for the tzadikim in the Time to Come." "And where did He hide it? In the Torah, for 'there is no good other than Torah.'"

Nachash Nahash and the Sanscrit word Naga

Nahash

(Hebrew - serpent) In Hebrew this word is associated with magic and enchantment. It is related to and pronounced almost the same as the Sanskrit word naga. Most authorities agree that, as it is used in the first of Genesis, this word cannot mean simply a snake. It is the ego which indeed winds about the heart of a man and envelops it in its coils, having nothing to do with a serpent except as a metaphor. In various usages one may read it as ego or as kundalini or as something not quite one nor the other.

Way of Light and Way of Darkness

From the Dead Sea Scrolls we find the "Sons of Zadok" (Essenes ?)

The Sons of Zadok reveal a dualistic language to describe the options in the universe, being light and darkness.

In their Manual of Discipline:

"God has created man to govern the world, and has appointed for him two spirits in which to walk until the time of his visitation: the spirits of truth and falsehood. Those born of truth spring from a fountain of light, but those born of falsehood spring from a source of darkness. All the children of righteousness are ruled by the Prince of light and walk in the ways of light, but all the children of falsehood are ruled by the Angel of darkness and walk in the ways of darkness."

Contained in man is the "nature" of both light and darkness "appointed by God" as spirit.

The code of both exists in man. We choose which to live by. "Way of Light" or "Way of Darkness"

The Daughters of Nahash or the daughters of Jesse

Regarding the Nachash of Genesis. I thought you might find this interesting.

Isaiah, Chapter 11, verses 1-3:“ And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots...[2] ”

This is regarded by Christians as a prophecy of Jesus, who Christians consider to be the Messiah.

The Bible also says that King David had two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. However, they are never called daughters of Jesse in the masoretic text, but daughters of Nahash. (2 Samuel 17:25). .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse

This may be why the Ha-nakhah dreidel has the letters (Gematria 358) for Nachash in one direction and for the Messiah in the other. (and also Shekin-ah)

NGHS and SHGN

Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎, IPA: ['χanuka], alt. Chanukah), also known as the Festival of Lights.

The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees of the Septuagint but Ha-nukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq according to which the relighting of the altar fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabee.

25 Kislev - (164 BCE) - The Hanukkah miracle

Dreidel and Nachash

The Dreidel and the Snake
The "serpent" gets its due in the Chanukah game. This scenario is replayed with every dreidel spin. The letters on the Dreidel, Nun (50), Gimmel (3), Hey (5), Shin (300) equals 358, add up to the same value as the Hebrew word for snake, nachash (Nun (50), Chet (8), Shin(300).

Beginning with the story of Adam & Eve and the forbidden fruit, the snake became the Jewish anthropomorphic repre-sentation of evil. Every time a dreidel ends its spin, evil (nachash - snake) falls. When evil stumbles, God's goodness triumphs.

The Dreidel and God
One mathematically minded rabbi found that the phrase "God is king, God rules and shall rule" totals 358 as well.

The Dreidel and the Jewish Messiah
The number 358 also equals the numeric value of Mashiach, the Jewish Messiah, who will bring upon the world a time of redemption. Mashiach is spelled:

· Mem = 40
· Shin = 300
· Yud = 10
· Chet = 8
This presents yet another layer of meaning to be read into the dreidel.