נרשמת במצח האדםLetters on the Forehead

nirshemet be-metzaḥ ha-adamIn Gamatria ↗

Every deed is written on the brow, and tears can wash it.

The Ari taught that a person's limbs are sparks, each tied to one mitzvah, and he could see which spark had left by letters on the skin, the face, the hair and the lines of the hands. He told R. Ḥayyim Vital that all twenty-two letters shone on his forehead except gimel, which was upside down, because his kindness to his father was not complete. A mitzvah is engraved on the forehead as a letter: the first time it sinks in, the second time it shines. Charity shines at once. A sin is marked in black fire, and repentance lifts it. In the Zohar, R. Abba met a man whose face bore a mark from a grave sin. He had repented and washed his face daily in his tears. R. Abba recited 'your iniquity is removed,' and the mark vanished.

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