Part 1, Chapter 2 - Newly Re-Revised!

Chapter Two
The Structure of the Deck

Relationship with Traditional Tarot

The Eilat Tarot retain the traditional seventy-eight cards. The structure of twenty-two Major Arcana cards and fifty-six Minor Arcana cards has been re-framed through the lens of Jewish mysticism.

In a traditional deck, the 78 cards can be grouped as the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana can be divided between The Fool and the other twenty-one Major Arcana cards. The Minors can be grouped into their four suits, or into forty pip cards [14] and sixteen court cards.

In the Eilat Tarot, the Major Arcana cards have been renamed Letter Cards, each bearing one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alef-bet and representing creative forces in the universe and mythic themes in human life. The Minor Arcana have been renamed Number Cards and Image Cards. These address everyday life and the personal stories that shape us. All three arcana of the Eilat Tarot explore the experiences that shape us.

The Number Cards focus on the dimension of time in the human journey. Time is intangible, yet it is more than a category of the mind. Years ago, a group of Israeli students, former soldiers studying Torah and Western literature after their military service, challenged me to define time without using the word itself. That question stayed with me. The multiplicity of calendars humanity has created-- Sumerian, Vedic, Mayan, Zoroastrian, Islamic, Gregorian, and many others-- suggests that time is not only measured but also invested with meaning. Time invites change. It makes growth possible.

The Number Cards are rooted in sacred time: Jewish festivals, the Hebrew year in the Land of Israel, and the phases of the moon. Time is both abstract and concrete: we cannot touch it, yet we see the moon wax and wane, the seasons turn. Time is both linear and cyclical: children grow, friends age, and still the year circles back to its beginning.

We cannot pin down what time is. It frightens us with its limits, but those rare moments when time seems to dissolve can feel like touching the face of God. Time also challenges us: a time comes when a woman can no longer bear children; a time comes when each of us must face death.

We mark time not only to track its passing, but to transform it. To light a candle, recite a blessing, or name a day as holy is to refuse despair and insist on meaning. Even in moments of terror or rupture, ritual becomes a defiant act of presence. Time, in Jewish tradition, is not neutral; it is consecrated through memory and action. As writer Sarah Tuttle-Singer observed of the six hostages who lit a menorah in the tunnels of Gaza, “There is this unbearable, stubborn impulse to mark time anyway. To say: tonight is different from last night. [15]” In the darkest conditions, that impulse becomes an act of spiritual resistance. To mark time is to insist that our lives are not random, that even in hell, we are still human, and part of a larger story.

While the Number Cards mark the passage of time, the Image Cards remind us that every human is made in the image of God, b’tzelem Elokim. Time marks our journey but it is our relationships that give that journey depth. After offering the priestly blessing, Rabbi Alan Berg concludes each service with the words, “When we look into each other’s eyes, let us remember we are looking into the eyes of God.”

Together, the Number and Image Cards tell personal stories, grounded in spirit, time, and earthly experience. 

Soul, Time, and World

The Eilat Tarot is built around three interwoven dimensions of being: Soul, Time, and World, nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ), shanah (שָׁנָה), and olam (עוֹלָם). This structure is inspired by the Sefer Yetzirah’s vision of creation [16]. Each of these dimensions is addressed by a distinct group of cards, which together form the three arcana of the Eilat Tarot.

Image Cards - Tzelemot (צְלָמוֹת)
Dimension of Nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ)
The human soul; its desires, struggles, and revelations. These cards reflect humans made in the image of God (b’tzelem Elokim) and explore how we live, choose, and love.

Number Cards - Moadot (מוֹעֲדוֹת)
Dimension of Shanah (שָׁנָה)
The cycles of time; growth, return, and transformation. These cards align with the Jewish calendar, daily rhythms, and the flow of the sefirot through spiritual seasons.

Letter Cards - Netivot (נְתִיבוֹת)
Dimension of Olam (עוֹלָם)
The vastness of space and the mystery of form. These cards are named for the Hebrew letters, each a path (netiv) on the Tree of Life. They represent cosmic principles and archetypal forces.

While every card in the deck touches all three dimensions, this structure allows the reader to focus his or her attention through the lens of one arcana at a time.

A Depth of Good and a Depth of Evil

In the Eilat Tarot, the structure of Soul, Time, and World finds a further reflection in the ten amukim, or depths [17], described in the Sefer Yetzirah: north and south, east and west, above and below, good and evil, beginning and end. These five sets of polarities show how creation extends infinitely through space, time, and moral awareness. They are not fixed points but continua through which being and perception unfold.

Six of these depths are spatial, two are temporal, and two are ethical. The inclusion of a moral polarity within the very structure of the cosmos sets Jewish mysticism apart from many other ancient systems, which focused solely on space and time [18].

The Sefer Yetzirah lists them as follows:

Ten Sefirot of Nothingness:
    Their measure is ten
    Which have no end
A depth of beginning
        A depth of end
A depth of good
        A depth of evil
A depth of above
        A depth of below
A depth of east
        A depth of west
A depth of north
        A depth of south
The singular Master
    God faithful King
    dominates over them all
    From His holy dwelling
    Until eternity of eternities.

-Sefer Yetzirah 1:5

Anyone who has waved a lulav and etrog in six directions during the festival of Sukkot [19] will feel the resonance of this passage since it invests those gestures with cosmic significance.

The second pair, a depth of good, a depth of evil, affirms that good and evil are deeply interwoven into existence. As Isaiah declares:

I am the Lord and there is no other—
Fashioning light and creating darkness,
Making peace and creating evil—
I am the Lord, making all these.”

-Isaiah 45:7 [20]

The preceding verse reminds us that every human being contains both the yetzer ha’tov (inclination toward good) and the yetzer ha’ra (inclination toward evil). Both are necessary, but they must be directed toward righteous ends. As the Rabbis teach, were it not for the yetzer ha’ra, a man would not build a house, take a wife, or beget children [21]. It is the drive and ambition that fuel human creativity, relationships, and civilization.

In the Eilat Tarot:

• Number Cards trace time (a depth of beginning and a depth of end) seasons, cycles, transitions, and thresholds
• Letter Cards correspond to space (above and below, east and west, north and south) where God engraves the cosmos with sound and symbol
• Image Cards suggest ethical and psychological depths (a depth of good and a depth of evil) where inner conflict becomes the ground of transformation

Though each group of cards emphasizes one polarity, all the cards carry moral resonance, for it is we, as conscious beings, who consult them.

Suits and Elemental Directions in the Land

The Number Cards and Image Cards are divided into four suits. Each suit includes ten Number Cards and four Image Cards. In traditional tarot, the suits reflect aspects of human experience. Cups address emotion and relationships, intuition and connection. Swords illuminate thought, communication, and mental challenges. Wands express the energy of passion, creative work, and the desire to grow. Pentacles relate to the material world: sustenance, shelter, and the miracle of embodiment.

In the Eilat Tarot, each suit carries additional layers of meaning. Each is linked to an element, a direction, a dimension of being, and a type of prayer. These associations are not only symbolic; they are rooted in the Land itself.

These elemental associations are grounded not just in the classical Greek tradition, but in the landscape and geography of Eilat. At the edge of Eilat stands an ancient burial ground, where the circular bases of prehistoric tombs still stand. Skulls, and even an Asherah pole [22], were excavated there. From this hilltop, the turquoise sea, the red hills of Edom [23], and the unfolding landscape stretch outward in the blinding sunlight. Trails lead away in all directions, and families gather there to watch the full moon rise.

In moments of solitude before sunrise, I would stand among those stones and turn toward each direction, blessing what lay beyond. To the west, the hills rise toward Sinai. To the north, the Negev opens in bright silence. To the east, the moon climbs over the hills of Jordan. To the south, the sea shimmers toward the horizon. Above me, I sensed the Divine Presence. Beneath me, the Land [24] held me in stillness.

In those moments, the elements were not symbolic. They were alive.

In traditional tarot, suits are often linked to the classical elements, but not always logically. Wands, made of wood, are tied to fire, which can consume them, while Swords, forged in fire, are linked to air. I wrestled with these pairings for years. In the Eilat Tarot, I allowed direction, geography, and prayer to reshape them:

West / Earth / Pentacles: Torah was given in the wilderness of Sinai, to the west of Eilat. The Hebrew word ma'arav (מַעֲרָב) comes from a root meaning “to mix” or “to promise,” evoking the setting sun, the meeting of opposites, and the promise of renewal. This is the place of grounding, completion, and integration. It is the essence of earth.

North / Fire / Wands: North of Eilat are the ancient sanctuaries, including Shiloh, Dan, Arad, and Jerusalem, where offerings were made in fire. The Hebrew tzafon (צָפוֹן) means “hidden” or “concealed,” evoking mystery [25] and intensity. Fire here is not comforting warmth but transformative danger that must be approached with reverence.

East / Air / Swords: Before sunrise in Eilat, the sun sends a fleeting cool breeze toward the city, even in the height of summer. Mizrach (מִזְרָח) means “shining,” while kedem (קֶדֶם) means both “before” and “origin.” The east is the place of clarity, beginning, and voice. Breath becomes word; thought becomes form.

South / Water / Cups: To the south lies the Gulf of Aqaba, near where tradition says the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds. That crossing out of Mitzrayim [26] was both an escape and a spiritual birth. The Hebrew words for ‘south’ include darom (דָּרוֹם), which connotes radiance, and negev (נֶגֶב) which connotes dryness. The southern desert, the Negev, has long been considered a “place of purification.” The desert teaches through scarcity; thirst awakens the soul and silence allows us to hear the still small voice. Water there is drawn from rock or remembered in story, like Miriam’s well, hidden like emotion until it rises. Water's presence is felt even when unseen. It shapes everything.

The four directions are aligned with four sefirot, which will be described later in this chapter:

Chesed (South)
Tiferet (East)
Gevurah (North)
Yesod (West)

Up (Netzach) and down (Hod) complete the six spatial directions.

The Sefer Yetzirah teaches that God “sealed” each of these directions with letters of the Divine Name (1:13), marking them as sacred boundaries against chaos and through which divine energy may flow into creation. In this vision, every direction is a gate through which holiness enters and sustains the world. By sealing the six depths, God marked the boundaries of creation and sanctified it.

This set of elemental directions also reflects a polarity central to Kabbalah: the interplay of masculine and feminine energies. Fire and water, north and south, are paired opposite each other as Father and Mother. Earth and air, west and east, are paired as Daughter and Son. Masculine and Feminine are generative forces whose tension sustains the world.

The Eilat Tarot invites not only the interpretation of symbols, but movement through them, to physically turn and face each direction, to meet the elements in the Land itself, and to feel how spirit, body, time, and space bind themselves into sacred coherence.

_____

Footnotes:

14. Pip refers to the non-court Minor Arcana cards (Ace through Ten). In most pre-modern decks, they were illustrated only with repeated suit symbols, without scenic imagery.
15. Sarah Tuttle-Singer, "What Hamas Can Never Understand and Never Extinguish," The Times of Israel, December 13, 2025. 16. Sefer Yetzirah 6:4
17. These are the dimensions through which creation and perception unfold. They are called depths because they stretch infinitely in both directions; they are not simply points in space or time.
18. Weiss, Tzahi. Sefer Yesira and Its Contexts: Other Jewish Voices. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.
19. A week-long harvest festival that also commemorates the Israelites’ journey through the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Celebrated by dwelling in temporary booths (sukkot) and performing a ritual involving the “Four Species,” palm, myrtle, and willow branches, along with an etrog (citron). Pronounced soo-KOHT in Modern Hebrew. (Ashkenazi pronunciation: SUK-iss.)
20. Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. Vol. 2, Prophets. W. W. Norton, 2019.
21. Genesis Rabbah 9:7 22. Archaeologists use the term “asherah” cautiously. In Iron Age Israel and Judah the term most likely referred to a wooden cult symbol (a tree or pole) linked to the Semitic goddess Asherah (Ugaritic Athirat). The 7,500-year-old juniper stump from a burial near Eilat has been proposed as a goddess idol, but projecting the later Asherah back into the Neolithic remains speculative. In the Hebrew Bible, asherim are condemned and the people are commanded to remove them (e.g., Deut 16:21; 7:5; 12:3; Judg 6:25–30; 2 Kgs 23:4–7).
23. An ancient kingdom located in the region of present-day southern Jordan. According to biblical tradition, it was founded by Esau (Hebrew: Esav), the brother of Jacob (Yaakov), later known as Israel.
24. Ima Tzion, “Mother Zion,” is a poetic expression for the Land, and specifically Jerusalem, as feminine and nurturing. In rabbinic literature and lament traditions, however, she is often portrayed not only as a loving mother, but as a grief-stricken and even protesting figure. One midrash describes her weeping on the Temple Mount, crying out for her lost children and lamenting the absence of her divine partner.
25. Tsafon (צָפוֹן), Hebrew for “north,” was also the name of the divine mountain dwelling of the gods in Canaanite mythology.
26. Egypt, Mitzrayim, literally meaning “narrow place,” referring to the narrow strip of arable land along the Nile and evoking the spiritual constriction of enslavement.