SHIMINI ATZERET hol8
by Hebrewletters SL
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Title
SHIMINI ATZERET hol8
Artist
Hebrewletters SL
Medium
Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper
Description
SHEMINI ATZERET literally means THE ASSEMBLY OF THE EIGHTH [DAY]
SHEMINI is from the Hebrew, meaning EIGHTH (Alcalay, R. The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary. Jerusalem: Massada.. 2655).
ATZERET Is from the Hebrew ATZERA, meaning MEETING, [MASS] ASSEMBLY Alcalay, R. The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary. Jerusalem: Massada. 948).
Hebrew Bible sources - ‘On the eighth [shimini] day you shall observe a sacred assembly unto you; and bring a
fire-offering to the Lord: it is a solemn assembly [atzeret]; and you shall not work at your occupations’ (Leviticus 23:36).
[35] On the eighth [shimini] day you shall have a solemn gathering [atzeret]; ye shall do no servile work therein:
[36] But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish:
[37] Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[38] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering’ (Numbers 29:35-38).
Shemini Atzeret at first constituted only of the prayer for a bountiful rainfall in the coming winter months. Because it was not directly tied to the temple, the prayer rain for remained Shemini Atzeret’s sole distinct ritual. Beginning around the tenth century, the second day of Shemini Atzeret began to take on the character of a festival of Torah - Simchat Torah (Strassfeld, Michael. 1985. The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary New York: Harper & Row. 149-151).
The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting are Shin Mem Yud Nun Yud - Ayin Tsade Resh Tav. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell SHEMINI ATZERET.
Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet has a special meaning and a story to tell. Here a few brief ones about the letters on this painting.
SHIN is the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 300, SHIN TOOTH, YEAR, REPEAT, TEACH. Shin makes the sound SHHHHHH when the DOT is on the right, and SSSS when the DOT is on the left.
There are differing opinions about which components make up the Shin. Kushner states that the Vav makes up the right arm, the Zayin the left, and Yud the middle. In Haralick’s opinion, the Yud is on the right, the Zayin on the left and the Yud in the middle. It is the view of Ginsburgh that the Shin is composed of 3 Vavs, each with a little Yud on its top. So, to make this letter your own, it will be necessary to take it into meditation and come to your own conclusion (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters.. Woodstock: Jewish Lights. 72; Haralick, Robert. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters.. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 299; Ginsburgh, Yitzchak. 1990. The Hebrew Letters. Jerusalem: Gai Einai. 313).
Shin is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with TAGIN, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah:
Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters ‘Shatnayz Gaytz’ in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
Sepher Yitzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers : Aleph Mem Shin; 7 doubles: Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav; and 12 elementals: Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf. According to the text, God created the world by means of these letters. The Shin is one of the mothers, that group from which emanated AIR (from Aleph), WATER (from Mem) and FIRE (from Shin). The 3 mothers in the universe are AIR, WATER and FIRE...HEAVEN was created from FIRE, EARTH was created from WATER, and AIR from SPIRIT (WIND) balanced between them. Aleph and Shin spell AISH – FIRE. Aleph represents AIR and Shin, FIRE. FIRE cannot exist without AIR (Sepher Yitzirah. TR. Aryeh Kaplan. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 197).
The Hebrew letters of the word for ‘husband’ are Aleph, Yud and Shin, and for ‘wife’ Aleph, Shin and Hey. The Yud and Hey form the Divine Name; but if omitted, only Aleph and Shin are left which form the word ESH, ‘fire’ (Sotah 17a).
A NIGGUN is a holy TUNE. Meditative chanting is softly singing a NIGGUN over and over again. In this case one could chant the word SHALOM.
But sometimes the Shin takes me for a ride. The middle yud bends over to make a seat and I steer with the left and right Yuds. The Shin loves to race the jet skis in the ocean. Especially since we always win.
MEM is the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet , has a numerical value of 40, makes a sound like the M in Middle. But according to the ancient kabbalistic text ‘Sefer Yetzirah,’ the MEM hummmmmms! Mem is composed of a Caf (20) and a Vav (6) = 26, which have the same GEMATRIA as the Four letter name of God, Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26, the holiest of God's Names.
Mem is usually associated with the word mayim - WATER or Eemah - MOTHER.
Tradition tells us that the engraving of the letters of the 10 commandments went all the way through the tablets, from the front side to the back side. Therefore the final Mem since it is completely closed, should have fallen out. . Because it did not, R. Hisda said that it stood there be means of a miracle (Shabbat 104a).
The Mem is one of the 5 letters [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM, ‘Sofit’, used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat 4a).
One form is used in the beginning and the middle of a word - the open Mem. The other form is at the end of the word - the closed Mem. According to Talmud, the open Mem represents revealed teaching and the closed Mem represents concealed teaching (Shabbat 104a).
It must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; the Mem as a Samech or the Mem as a Mem, closed [letters] open or open letters closed (Shabbat 103b).
Sometimes when I meditate with this letter, the Mem acts like sort of a submarine for me. At other times I can breathe under water. Nice. Let me know how you do.
YUD is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 10, means HAND, makes a sound like the Y in Year and is a simple point. It is the smallest letter in the alphabet and yet is frequently associated with the very large concept of EMANATION, the highest level in the Four World paradigm of Kabbalah.
Menachot 29b teaches that the WORLD TO COME was created by use of the letter Yud.
Yud has the important job of being the first letter of the Tetragrammaton - Yud Hey Vav Hey. Zohar states that, in this context, the Yud represents the head of all creatures (Zohar. 1984 Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 3:130).
[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… Vav as a Yud or the Yud as a Vav (Shabbat 103b).
[Zayyin Chet Tet Yud Kaf Lamed]: [this sequence teaches,] and if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, will sustain[ Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat 104a).
When meditating with the YUD, the YUD presents itself right in front of me. It then enters into me right away filling me with a most peaceful feeling. I like to sit with this feeling as long as I can. When I think of the YUD I thing of sitting still.
If you enter meditation and the Yud comes to you, ask Yud a question and wait for the answer. Amazing results. The
Yud is also capable of taking you any where in the Universe. Give it a try and let me know the results.
NUN is the 14th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 50, makes a sound like the N in Now, and means SHINE, SPOUT, SPREAD in Hebrew and FISH in Aramaic. The Nun has the head of a Zayin. The body is an elongated Zayin.
The Nun is one of 5 letters: [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM,- SOFIT, used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat 4a).
According to the ancient kabbalistic text The Bahir, the bent Nun represents the spinal cord through which the body is fed by the brain (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir . York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 31).
The final Nun represents, by its shape, man who walks erect, and who mystically combines male and female (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:18b-19a. 80).
Nun is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with Tagin, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin, or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah:
Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters Shatnayz Gaytz in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
Ashre, [Psalm 145:1-21), which is arranged alphabetically, save that the verse beginning with the letter Nun (N) is missing. R. Johanan says: Why is there no Nun in Ashre? [Because the fall of the enemies of Israel begins with it [Nephilim]. For it is written: Fallen is ‘nefal’ [Nun Pey Lamed], the virgin of Israel, she shall no more rise (Amos 5:2). R. Nachman b. Isaac says: Even so, David refers to it by inspiration [Literally ‘the Holy Spirit’]. The meaning is, David knew by inspiration that Amos was going to prophesy the downfall of Israel, and he refers to that verse and prophesies their being raised up again, [though their downfall is not mentioned by David] and promises them an uplifting. For it is written: The Lord upholdeth all that fall (Psalm 145:14; Berachot 4b).
Abaye said: he should eat fish, for Samuel said, Nun Samech Ayin [read] ‘Nuna’ [fish] ‘sama’ [are a healing] ‘la-enayim’ [to the eyes]! - That is at the end of the illness [Three letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order] (Nedarim 54b).
The Nun represents nourishment or nurturing tome. It is a gentle letter. In meditation this letter is generally stationary for me. If I want to travel around there are many other letters, Aleph Tet Caf Lamed Mem, to mention just a few. But if I want to be quiet and feel at peace, I ask the NUN to come. I sit in the curve, my head nestled under its head, and it rocks me with tenderness. It soothes my emotions and SHINES through me.
AYIN is the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 70 makes no sound, and means EYE or FOUNTAIN.
The Ayin is constructed of an elongated Yud (10) on the right and a Zayin (7) on the left.
In the alphabet the letter Samech is followed by the Ayin]. Samech Ayin [means] support [Semak] the poor [aniyim] (Shabbat t 104a).
In the alphabet the letter Ayin is followed by the letter Pey. But in (Lamentations 3:36-41; and Lamentations 4:16-17), which are written as an alphabetical acrostic, Pey (which means MOUTH) is placed before the Ayin (which means EYE). This is because when the spies went into the promised land they spoke with their mouths what they had not seen with their eyes (Sanhedrin 104b).
[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the Aleph as an Ayin, the Ayin as an Aleph, (Shabbat 103b).
The Ayin is one of 5 letters: [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM,- SOFIT, used as the last letter of a word.
Ayin is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with TAGIN, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah: Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters ‘Shatnayz Gaytz’ in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
The Ancient Holy One is called Ayin (nothing) (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 3:158b).
Wisdom was completed from Ayin (nothing) (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).
In meditation one can sit in the elongated arc of Ayin, on the right, and the Zayin, arm, on the left, curves around to hold one in place. It feels very safe and secure. When you are firmly settled Ayin will rock you gently.
TSADE is the 18th letter, sounds like T and S pronounced at the same time, is constructed of 2 letters - an elongated and curved or bent Nun on the left and a Yud on the right. Tsade is associated with the word TSEDEK, RIGHTEOUS (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 22).
Tsade is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with TAGIN, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin, Ayin, Tet, Nun, Zayin, Gimmel, and Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins.
There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing TAGGIN to the letters of Torah: Rab Judah said in the name of Rab, When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. [These are the Taggin, i.e., three small strokes written on top of the letters ‘Shatnayz Gaytz’ in the form of a crown (Menachoth 29b).
I am the sign of the righteous (Zadikim) and of Thyself who art called righteous, as it is written, “For the Lord is righteous, he loves righteousness” (Psalms 11:7; Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:2b).
Tsade is one of 5 letters: [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM,- SOFIT, used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat 4a).
A bent Tsade and a straight Tsade: the righteous [tzadek] is bent [in this world]; the righteous is straightened [in the next world]. But that is identical with the faithful bent [and] the faithful straightened [righteous when bent, righteous when straight]?-The Writ added humility to his humility; hence [we learn that] the Torah was given under great submissiveness. (Shabbat 104a).
[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… the Gimel as a Tsade or the Tsade as a Gimel (Shabbat 103b).
There are many ways to meditate in the Tsade. The Tsade gives great hugs. One can sit in the curve on the bottom and rock back and forth. But if one stands where the Nun and the Yud meet, the Tsade will grip one securely at the waist with the tops of the Nun and the Yud; and one can see forever.
Resh is the 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 200, makes a sound like the R in Radiant and means BEGINNING or HEAD. When one spells out the letter Resh in Hebrew, it is Resh Yud Shin. Yud and Shin spell Yesh - THERE IS. The letter Resh means BEGINNING. So it is possible to say that the Resh literally means THERE IS A BEGINNING.
The Resh looks very much like the Dalet. The only difference is that the right angle of the Resh is a rounded 45-degree angle. The horizontal line of the Dalet has a little foot that extends backwards toward the Gimel. Talmud cautions us not to mistakenly write the Dalet as a Resh or the Resh as a Dalet (Shabbat 103b).
“Kuf [stands for] Kadosh [holy]; Resh [for] Rasha [wicked]: why is the face of the Kuf averted from, the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I cannot look at the wicked. And why is the crown of the Kuf turned toward the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, saith: If he repents, I will bind a crown on him like Mine. And why is the foot of the Kuf suspended? [To show] that if he repents, he can enter and be brought in [to God's favor] through this [opening]. This supports Resh Lakish, for Resh Lakish, said: What is meant by, Surely he scorns the scorners, But he giveth grace unto the lowly If one comes to defile himself, he is given an opening; if one comes to cleanse himself, he is helped” (Shabbat 104a).
One method of meditation is called PERMUTATION. This is simply the process of rearranging the order or sequence of the letters. There are extremely complex systems like those developed by the 13th century kabbalist Abulafia. And then there are simple ones. For instance the Resh is spelled Resh Yud Shin. Yud and Shin spell Yesh - THERE IS. The letter Resh means BEGINNING. So it is possible to say that the Resh literally means THERE IS A BEGINNING.
Yesh also means EXISTENCE, SUBSTANCE, BEING, REALITY. How would these words fit with the word BEGIN? The word ROSH – HEAD is closely associated with the Resh. Rosh is spelled Resh Aleph Shin. But if one spells it Aleph Shin Resh it is Asher. Asher means WEALTH, or Shin Resh is MINISTER. The gematria of these of these 3 letters is 510 which is also the gematria for Yenaten - SHALL BE GIVEN. One can spend a lifetime doing this. This can be called FUN.
TAV is the 22nd letter in Hebrew alphabet - the last letter. It has a numerical value of 400, means MARK, SIGN. In 1500 B.C.E. the Tav was written as an X. Perhaps this contributed to its meaning. Tav makes a sound like the T in Tall. The Tav is composed of a Dalet and a Nun.
Hebrew Bible source - ‘And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark [Tav] upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof’ (Ezekiel 9:4)
“The [Hebrew] letter Tav advanced in front and pleaded: May it please Thee, O Lord of the world, to place me first in the creation of the world, seeing that I am the concluding letter of Emet (Truth) which is engraved upon Thy seal, and seeing that Thou art called by this very name of Emet, it is most appropriate for the King to begin with the final letter of Emet and to create with me the world. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: Thou art worthy and deserving, but it is not proper that I begin with thee the creation of the world, since thou art destined to serve as a mark on the foreheads of the faithful ones (Ezekiel 9:4) who have kept the Law from Aleph Tav, and through the absence of this mark the rest will be killed; and, further, you form the conclusion of MaWeTh (death). Hence thou art not meet to initiate the creation of the world” (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:2b).
Talmud - God said to the Angel Gabriel: ‘Go set a Tav [MARK] on the foreheads of the righteous so that they will be protected’ Shabbat 55a).
The Hebrew letters of EMET [Aleph Mem Tav] are located far apart in the alphabet, 1st, 13th and 22nd respectively, because TRUTH is found infrequently, at elongated intervals (Shabbat 104a).
They used to write a Tav for Teruma! [OFFERING, GIFT, DONATION, CONTRIBUTION] (Yevamoth 115b).
One can think of this in meditation with the Tav. The Hebrew letters of EMET [Aleph Mem Tav] are located far apart in the alphabet, 1st, 13th and 22nd respectively, because TRUTH in found infrequently, at elongated intervals (Shabbat 104a).
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