Awakening Ohr HaGanuz: Healing through Kavod/Respect.

A kabbalistic revelation of manifesting divine consciousness. There is a hidden language of Hebrew that is in the form of numbers. The letters are numbers and the numbers are consciousness, we call it Gematria ‘Jewish numerology’. Gematria reveals a stunning connection of two of the deepest concepts in all of Torah. Ohr Haganuz (The hidden light) and Kavod Tzelem Elokim (The Glory of the Divine Image in Man) both carry the gematria value of 278.

אור הגנוז Ohr Haganuz = 207+71=278

 כבוד צלם אלוקים Kavod Tzelem Elokim = 32+160+187=278

This is a code straight from the blue print of life as we know and live it.

Chanukah is the chag of the Ohr HaGanuz, the hidden light of Creation, and the number 36 reveals why. Chazal teach that in Gan Eden, the Ohr HaGanuz shone for 36 hours. In that time, Adam could see all of reality at once; nothing was hidden, and everything was unified

Across the eight nights we light 36 channukah lights, not counting the shamash, and uniquely we are commanded not to use the light but simply to gaze at it. On Chanukah the Ohr HaGanuz becomes briefly accessible again—not as something functional, but as perception itself.

What is Ohr HaGanuz?

The Ohr Haganuz is the primordial light of the first day of creation, the light that existed before the sun and stars. This was no ordinary physical light; it is the light of divine consciousness itself. It illuminated not through photons but pure da’at direct knowing, unmediated perception of reality as it truly is.

When humanity fell, when consciousness fractured this light was hidden away, concealed within creation itself waiting for the consciousness of humanity to evolve to reclaim it fully. This is likened to the light of Mashiach, the light that will be revealed when the world is ready. [light is consciousness, clarity, emotion, vitality, insight & pure spiritual connection to source]

This heighted place is not a destination but rather an experience of reality of unshattered reality.

What is Kavod Tzelem Elokim?

Kavod Tzelem Elokim is glory of the divine image in man. This is one of the deepest teachings in Torah Psychology.

Bereshit/Genesis1:27 says:

"וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים | אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם"

“God created the human in His image; in the image of God He created him.”

 This is not about physical appearance; it is more specific to your consciousness within your tzelem (image) that dwells the spark of divine glory. The divine spark of Tzelem Elokim in every person underlies the Kavod (respect) that binds us together, reaching beyond body, ego, or heart to a truly mystical unity.

There are several mitzvot related to the aspect of being created in Tzelem Elokim (Bereishit 1:27) Honoring this spark is a mitzvah, reflected in treating others with respect and dignity. Harming or humiliating another desecrates the Divine image (Bava Kamma 91b).Taking a life unjustly is considered like destroying an entire world (Sanhedrin 37a). Rambam codifies this obligation, linking human honor to God’s honor (Hilchot De’ot 6:1; Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 5:1). Thus, caring for others fulfills both an ethical duty and a divine command.

The Gematria Revelation 278=278

Both of these profound concepts carry the same numerical value of 27. This alignment is the language of the infinite speaking to us through numbers. The hidden light is the respect for the glory of the divine image.

The true revolution of the mitzvot of achdut unity is that they show the path to geulah through human connection, not just personal observance. Every person carries Tzelem Elokim, and honoring that spark brings kavod into the world in a tangible, transformative way. Loving your fellow (Vayikra 19:18), pursuing peace (Gittin 59b), guarding speech (Vayikra 19:16-17), acts of charity (Devarim 15:7-8), returning lost objects (Devarim 22:1-3), and communal worship (Shemot 23:14-17) all repair divisions and strengthen bonds between people. Living these mitzvot is not just ethical—it activates the Divine presence in the world and makes the Geulah real, showing that the path to redemption runs through our relationships.

The 4th Plague & Hidden Light [Taking it one step further]

Some later kabbalistic teachings, drawing on the Arizal and Zohar, point out that ערוב/ Eruv, the fourth plage to happen in Egypt before the Exodus also has the gematria of 278.

ע = 70

ר = 200

ו = 6

ב = 2

70 + 200 +6 + 2 = 278

Aruv highlights one core theme: preserving the pure, original Divine light and dignity from becoming “mixed” and misused, which is exactly what Makkat Arov came to judge and rectify. Makkat Arov stands out as uniquely terrifying because it was a chaotic "mixture" (ערוב) of wild animals, insects, and beasts invading Egyptian homes, unlike prior plagues that were more uniform like frogs or lice. Egypt at the time was the power house for spiritual corruption, blending idolatry, bestiality, and moral confusion. The plague of Arov mirrors their own "mixed" impurities, forcing a measure-for-measure reckoning on their false gods of nature and fertility. Drawing on Zohar and Arizal, it us understood that Arov dismantled Egyptian klipot (impure spiritual forces) tied to animalistic forces and boundary violations, while Israel's protection in Goshen from the plage underscores their moral and spiritual Havdalah “separation” they maintained in Egypt. It is also understood that it acts as a foreshadowing of  the final redemption.

Today, the Tikkun/Rectification of Makkat Arov sounds like this: in a world where everything is mixed together: news, ads, trauma, sexuality, spirituality, and endless opinions, we become very intentional about what we let into our minds, homes and relationships. Instead of allowing dehumanizing messages, cynicism or confusion about our worth to wash over us, we need to set gentle but clear boundaries: what we watch, how we speak, how we let others speak to us, and how we treat every person as a soul, not an object.

The more we Respect the Tzelem Elokim in ourselves and others, the more that hidden divine light begins to feel real and close again, not as an abstract idea, but inner clarity.

The Psychological Depth: Ohr HaGanuz as the Self You Already Are

In Torah Psychology, this teaching becomes urgent and practical:

Many if not most people today live as if they are deficient beings trying to become worthy, trying to become enlightened, trying to become the image of god. They live in perpetual posture of reaching, striving but in a downward direction of compensating for imagined lack.

The secrets of Gematria 278 tells us a very different story: you are already complete. The Ohr HaGanuz, the original, undamaged, all-seeing consciousness is not distant, it is the foundation of your being. The effort of human effort is not achievement but accessing who you really are.

If you believe your worth or identity is fragile, every challenge feels like a threat that could wipe you out. But if your deepest self is already rooted in Ohr HaGanuz undamaged Divine light then challenges are intense waves on the surface of a very deep ocean. The wave can be big, scary, and real, but it cannot touch the depth; knowing that makes it easier to stay curious, ask for help, regulate your nervous system, and grow instead of collapse.

Kavod as the Body Knowing

Here is something to take us even deeper inside this sacred knowing. The gematria of both respect - כבוד (kavod) and heart- לב (lev) are both 32. In the month where Channukah lives the Heart is a major theme. Kis (pocket) Lev (Heart). Kislev is the pocket of the heart. The heart, in Torah language, is the seat of intuitive knowing, the place where body, emotion, and soul meet; modern research beautifully echoes this by showing that the heart generates the strongest electromagnetic field in the body, measurable several feet away and capable of influencing the brain rhythms and emotional state of people nearby. Studies from institutes like HeartMath have found that this field becomes more coherent in states of love, care, and appreciation, and that people can synchronize with one another’s heart rhythms at conversational distances, suggesting that we literally “pick up” each other’s heart energy and broadcast our inner kavod or lack of it into the shared space between us.

protect your heart so fiercely that you are not afraid to radiate love.

A practical frame for today

The divine messages of 278 and 32 give us a map for these turbulent pre-messianic days, especially as Chanukah rolls in where the Ohr HaGanuz "takes center stage" by simply being present with the flames, a person becomes naturally gifted in drawing in the Ohr Haganuz into their soul.

From this point and onward, remember, your essence is already whole; the light is underneath, not somewhere else. Relate: treat each person starting with yourself as a carrier of that light, and let your heart‑field communicate kavod (respect) instead of jealousy, threat of fear of difference. Refine: gently but clearly reduce the mixed up and contorted messages of “aruv” in your life the media, environments, and dynamics that dehumanize you or blur your sense of sacredness. In the last few years that have been so intense, these are not abstract ideas but daily choices and from this place, it feels like we are standing right at the precipice of Geula, if we can just tap into who we truly are.

 Real redemption comes through teshuva- return filled with ahavat Yisrael, kavod, and humility returning to Hashem together, without breaking each other. In so many ways, we must ask each other,  “If you believe you can damage, believe you can repair” A mantra of hope from Rabbi Nachman where he stresses that a person must have just as much faith in their capacity for tikkun as in their capacity to fall.

We rise.

Intention for lighting: As I light these candles, I intend to awaken the Ohr HaGanuz — the hidden light placed within creation and within my own soul. May this flame remind me to honor the Tzelem Elokim in myself and in others, restoring kavod through my thoughts, words, and actions. I trust the direction Hashem sends me, even when it is not fully clear, and I ask to become a vessel capable of holding and revealing His light for healing, clarity, and peace. As an advocate for all of Am Yisrael, add to the light that is needed for Mashiach to be revealed and the Geulah to begin.

Shely R Esses, LMFT, RP, AST