SUKKOT suk1

by Hebrewletters SL

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$600

Dimensions

7.000 x 5.000 inches

Title

SUKKOT suk1

Artist

Hebrewletters SL

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper

Description

SUKKOT is from the Hebrew, meaning FEAST OF TABERNACLES or FEAST OF BOOTHS (Alcalay, R. The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary. Jerusalem: Massada 1768).

Hebrew Bible sources - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the FEAST OF TABERNACLES for seven days unto the Lord (Leviticus 23:34) and you shall take of yourselves on the first day [Sukkot] the fruit of a goodly tree [etrog], a palm branch lulav], the myrtle branch [the hadas], and the willow of the brook [the arava], and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days (Leviticus 23:40).
And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it (Exodus 26: 13).

Hebrew Bible name - Hadassah was the Hebrew name of Esther, the Jewish queen of King Ahasuerus of Persia who save her people from the wicked plans of Haman (Esther 2:7).

Tradition - Sukkot usually translated as TABERNACLES or FESTIVAL OF BOOTHS, occurs for seven days, from Tishri 15 to 21, soon after the High Holidays. Sukkot is the third pilgrimage festival. It continues the story of the Israelites, which began with the Exodus from Egypt [Passover], and the giving of the Torah at Sinai [Simchat Torah] and now ends with the wandering in the desert. Thus while Sukkot has some connections to the High Holidays period preceding it, it is more intrinsically apart of the other major festival cycle of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Like the other pilgrimage festivals, Sukkot has an agricultural element. IT is the time of the harvest, of the final ingathering of produce before the oncoming winter. Hence, it is also called ‘Hag Ha Asif,’ the festival of ingathering. Sukkot is also known s the SEASON OF OU R JOY, from the verse “He who sows in ears reaps in joy” (Psalms 126:5) (Strassfeld, Michael. 1985. The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary. New York: Harper & Row. 125).


The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting are Samech Vav Caf Vav Tav. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell SUKKOT.

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.

SAMECH is the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 60, makes a sound like the S in Sun, is shaped like a circle and means SUPPORT, TO TRUST, TO RELY ON.

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 Samech, 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).

It must be ‘kethibah tamma’h [perfect writing]; the Mem as a Samech or the Mem as a Mem, closed [letters] open or open letters closed (Shabbat 103b).

[In the alphabet the letter Samech is followed by the Ayin]. Samech Ayin [means] support [Semach] the poor [aniyim] (Shabbat 104a).

Meditating with the Samech has been an interesting experience for me. I had the notion that the Samech would roll around and generally have a good time. I had been repeatedly surprised to find that the Samech, for me, is very calm. My Samech definitely does not roll around , at least not yet. But it does lie down and I am able to sit in it as though it were an inner tube and float on the ocean. It also becomes a swing and we sway back and forth. Let me know of your experience with the Samech.



CAF is the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 20, means PALM OF THE HAND, SPOON, CONTAINER and stands for bent objects. When the Caf has a dot in it, Caf makes a sound like the K in Kitchen. Without the dot it makes a sound similar to that made by the letter Chet. When functioning as a prefix CAF can mean AS, LIKE, WHEN, AT, ABOUT or ACCORDING TO.

The Caf 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).

[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… Beit as a Caf, or the Caf as a Beit (Shabbat 103b).

The word CAF first appears in Torah in Genesis 32:26 when Jacob wrestles with the Angel. CAF is the HALLOW or CONTAINER for Jacob's hip bone. Isaiah 49:16 - ‘I have engraved you on the KAPHIAM’ - PALMS of My Hands.

In Shabbat 104a there is a homiletic interpretation of the names of the Hebrew letters. Here the CAF is linked with the word KETER- CROWN. This passage states that if one masters UNDERSTANDING - ALUF BENAH (ALUF – MASTER, BENAH – UNDERSTANDING) and gives to the poor GAMOL DALEEM (GAMOL – REWARD, DALEEM – POOR) then the Holy One…will…bind a CROWN – KETER upon you for the World to Come.

At that moment, the Caf descended from its throne of glory and quaking and trembling said: O Lord of the universe, may it please Thee to begin through me the creation of the world, seeing that I am Thine own ‘Cavod’ (honour). And when Caf descended from its throne of glory, two hundred thousand worlds began to shake, the throne trembled, and all the worlds quaked and were about to fall in ruins. Said to her the Holy One, blessed be His Name: Caf, Caf, what do thou here? I will not create the world with thee. Go back to thy place, since thou stand for extermination (Kelayah). Return, then, to thy place and remain there. Immediately she departed and returned to her own place. O Lord of the universe, may it please Thee to begin through me the creation of the world, seeing that I [Caf] am Thine own ‘Kavod’ (honor) (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:6a).

When sitting in the Caf, which means PALM OF THE HAND, I feel like I am being held in the PALM of the Universe. Very comforting.



VAV is the 6th letter, has a numerical value of 6, is constructed of a single vertical line, means HOOK and makes a sound like the V in Victory. When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of God - Yud Hey Vav Hey.
“VAV is the sound if beiing joined. And VAV is a the sound of and. One and another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 35).

The 6 Sephirot represented by the Vav are - Chesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 146-172).

What does the letter VAV resemble? It is alluded to in the verse “He spreads out light like a garment” (Psalms 104:5). For VAV is nothing other than six directions [ east, west, north south, up and down]? (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 30).

The first word in Torah is Bereshit which t means IN A BEGINNING. If you divide Bereshit into bara and sheet it means HE CREATED SIX [sheet is 6 in Aramaic] Six what? The 6 days in which creation was completed? (Zohar . 1984 Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3b. 13).

When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of God - Yud Hey Vav Hey
“VAV is the sound if beiing joined. And VAV is a the sound of and. One and another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 35).

In meditation, the Vav is a place where you can leave your body in order to descend to a deeper place.




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 in 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 the following thought 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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September 22nd, 2021

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