Tzitzit

by Hebrewletters SL

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Price

$500

Dimensions

7.000 x 5.000 inches

Title

Tzitzit

Artist

Hebrewletters SL

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper

Description

TZITZIT is from the Hebrew, meaning FRINGE, TASSEL, FRILL (Alcalay, R. The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary. Jerusalem: Massada. 2175).

Hebrew Bible source s - ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel [Tzitziit]. You will have these tassels [Tzitziit] to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord (Numbers 15:38-15:39).
‘Make tassels [Tzitziit] on the four corners of the cloak you wear. (Deuteronomy 22:12).

Talmud - Raba also said, You can infer from this that the upper knot is an ordinance of the Torah; for should you say it is a Rabbinic ordinance, then why was it necessary for the Torah to permit the insertion of [woollen] fringes in a [linen] garment? One would have no doubt about it, for if one merely fastens together [two pieces] with one fastening no connection is thereby formed! You can therefore infer from this that it is an ordinance of the Torah (Menachot 38b).

The tallit which originally meant ‘gown’ or ‘cloak, is the traditional prayer shawl worn after the age of Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Ritual fringes, called Tzitziit, are attached to each of the four corners of the tallit in accordance with biblical law, so that the wearer will “look at [these fringes] and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them so that you do not go astray after your own hear and eyes (Numbers 15:38) (Frankel, Ellen and Betsy Platkin Teutsch. 1992. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols.Northvale: Aaronson. 168-169).
Each knot of the Tzitziit is composed of eight strings. Although only one knot is prescribed in the Bible, ancient practice has long prescribed five knots in each bundle of eight strings. The knots symbolize our connection to God, since they bind the Tzitziit to the tallit as the Torah binds the Jewish people to God Frankel, Ellen and Betsy Platkin Teutsch. 1992. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols.Northvale: Aaronson. 92-93).

The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting are Tsade Yud Tsade Yud Tav. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell TZITZIT.

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.



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).

Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation 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 Zayin Tet Zayin Yud Zayin Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
Tsade is one of the elementals.

He [God] made the letter Tsade king over taste and he bound a crown to it…
And then He formed
Aquraius in the Universe
Shevat in the Year
And the Korkeban [gizzard] in the Soul male and female
Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 217).

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.

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 anywhere in the Universe. Give it a try and let me know the results.



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)

Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation 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 Zayin Yud Zayin Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
Tav is one of the doubles.

He [God] made the letter Tav king over Grace and he bound a crown to it…
And then He formed
Jupiter in the Universe
The Sabbath in the Year
And the mouth in the Soul male and female
Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 176).

“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).

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February 14th, 2019

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