YISHMAEL nm23-179

by Hebrewletters SL

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Price

$600

Dimensions

7.000 x 5.000 inches

Title

YISHMAEL nm23-179

Artist

Hebrewletters SL

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper

Description

YISHMAEL is from the Hebrew, meaning GOD WILL HEAR (Kolatch, Alfred J. 1984. Jonathan David. 254).
YISHMAEL is composed of three Hebrew elements: the letter Yud indicating the future tense; Shema, meaning TO HEAR, SOUND (Kolatch, Alfred J. 1984. The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names. Middle Village: Jonathan David. 211); and EL, meaning GOD (Alcalay, R. The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary. Jerusalem: Massada. 90).
ISHMAEL is an Anglicized spelling.

Hebrew Bible source - Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar and the brother of Isaac Genesis 16:11).

Talmud - R. Ishmael was a student of R. Joshua (Sanhedrin 66b), Nechunya Ben HaKana (Shevuot 26a), and R. Eliezer (Sotah 4a).
He was a colleague of R. Akiva (Berachot 31a), R. Tarfon (Pesachim 74a), Elazar b. Azariah, Jose ha Galili (the Galilean) (Moed Katan 28b) and others.
Among his disciples was the famed R. Meir (Eruvin 13a ).
R. Ishmael held that the Torah speaks in the language of men (Keriot 11a)
When the sons of R. Ishmael died, four Elders went into his house to comfort him. R. Tarfon, R. Jose b. ha Galili, R. Elazar b. Azariah and R Akiva (Moed Katan 28b).
Tanna taught on the authority of R. Ishmael and R. Akiva: All Israel are worthy of that robe [should be regarded as princes because they are of priestly descent] (Baba Metzia 113b).
R. Tarfon to them: Know ye, he [Ishmael] is a great sage and erudite in homiletic exposition, let none of you break in while another is speaking (Moed Katan 28b).
Therefore it says, ‘And thou shalt gather in thy corn’, which implies that you are to combine the study of them [the words of Torah] with a worldly occupation. R. Simeon Bar Yochai disagreed but Abaye pointed out “Many have followed the advice of Ishmael, and it has worked well; others have followed R. Simeon Bar Yochai and it has not been successful (Berachot 35b).
The School of R. Ishmael taught: one should always discourse in decent language (Pesachim 3a).

The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting are Yud Shin Mem Aleph Lamed. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell YISHMAEL.

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.



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.

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.
Yud is one of the elementals.

He [God] made the letter Yud king over action and he bound a crown to it…
And then He formed
Vergo in the Universe
Elul in the Year
And the left hand in the Soul male and female
Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 216).

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).

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.


SHIN is the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 300, means 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).

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.
Shin is one of the mothers.

He [God] made the letter Shin king over Fire and he bound a crown to it…
And then He formed
Heaven in the Universe
Cold in the Year
And the head in the Soul male and female
Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 155).

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.

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.
Mem is one of the mothers.

He [God] made the letter Mem king over Water and he bound a crown to it…
And then He formed
Earth in the Universe
Cold in the Year
And the belly in the Soul male and female
Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 154).

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.



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.

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.
Ayin is one of the elementals.

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

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.



ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of one, meanings are: THOUSAND, MASTER, TEACHING, OX and the Aleph makes no sound.

The Aleph is composed of a Vav (6) and 2 Yuds (20). Their combined value is 26 which is the numerical value of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5). (Chefitz, Mitchell. 2001 The Seventh Telling. New York: St. Martins Press. 219).

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.
Aleph is one of the mothers.

Talmud -
Aleph Beit [means] learn wisdom [Aleph Binah]. Aleph, learn and Binah, wisdom (Shabbat 104a)
The Holy One, blessed be He [haKadosh barochu, said: I am not called as I am written: I am written with Yud Hey Aleph Dalet [Adonai] (Kiddushin 71a).

There are Names which may be erased, and there are Names which may not be erased. These are the Names which may not be erased, such as: Eloha, Elohim, your God, I am that I am, (Aleph Dalet Yud Hey [Adonai], Shaddai, Zebaot . These may not be erased because they are not used solely of the Deity, and are therefore not sacred.
ehyeh asher ehyeh [Aleph Hey Yud Hey, Aleph Shin Resh, Hey Yud Hey] (Shavuot 35a).

The Hebrew letters of the word for husband are Aleph Yud Shin, and for wife, Aleph Shin 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).

Zohar -
The letter Aleph remained in her place without presenting herself. Said the Holy One, blessed be His name: Aleph Aleph, wherefore comest you not before Me like the rest of the letters? She answered: Because I saw all the other letters leaving Thy presence without any success. What, then, could I achieve there? And further, since Thou have already bestowed on the letter Beit this great gift, it is not meet for the Supreme King to take away the gift which He has made to His servant and give it to another. The Lord said to her: Aleph Aleph, although I will begin the creation of the world with the Beit, thou wilt remain the first of the letters. My unity shall not be expressed except through you, on you shall be based all calculations and operations of the world, and unity shall not be expressed save by the letter Aleph. Then the Holy One, blessed be His name, made higher-world letters of a large pattern and lower-world letters of a small pattern. It is therefore that we have here two words beginning with Beit [Bereshith bara] and then two words beginning Aleph Elohim et). They represent the higher-world letters and the lower-world letters, which two operate, above and below, together and as one (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3a-1:3b p.12-13).

Beit is female, Aleph, male. As Beit created, so Aleph produced letters (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).

When one is meditating with the Aleph be prepared for hugs. The Aleph loves to give hugs and receive them.



Lamed is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 30, makes a sound like the L in Like, Lamed means both TO LEARN and TO TEACH.
The Lamed is the tallest and most majestic of all the letters. Indeed Rashi interprets A TOWER FLYING IN THE AIR (Hagigah 15b) - as applying to the upper stroke of the Lamed. The Lamed is generally considered to be constructed of a Caf (20) with a Vav (6). In this configuration the LAMED has a GEMATRIA of 26 - the same as that of the Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5) name of God (Haralick, Robert M. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 180)
Since LAMED means LEARNING, it would seem that this would constitute a direct connection between LAMED, LEARNING and GOD.

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.
Lamed is one of the elementals.

The ‘ziz’ was the name of the headplate worn by the High Priest, (Exodus 28:36). The headplate was a kind of golden plate two fingerbreadths broad, and it stretched round [the forehead] from ear to ear, and upon it was written in two lines ‘ Yud Hey [Divine Name] above and ‘Holy Lamed’ [Holy unto] below (Shabbat 63b).

[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).

R. Nehemiah said, ‘In the case of every word which requires a Lamed at the beginning [to indicate direction] Scripture has placed a Hey’ at the end’ (Yevamoth 13b).

Lamed is the second letter of the third word , Eloheim, meaning GOD.

Considering the majesty of this letter, I must admit my meditations are very undignified. I usually ride the Lamed as one would a horse if one were a very bad rider - sitting on the curve and hold onto its neck. Let me know about yours.


ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of one, meanings are: THOUSAND, MASTER, TEACHING, OX and the Aleph makes no sound.

The Aleph is composed of a Vav (6) and 2 Yuds (20). Their combined value is 26 which is the numerical value of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5). (Chefitz, Mitchell. 2001 The Seventh Telling. New York: St. Martins Press. 219).

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.
Aleph is one of the mothers.

Talmud -
Aleph Beit [means] learn wisdom [Aleph Binah]. Aleph, learn and Binah, wisdom (Shabbat 104a)
The Holy One, blessed be He [haKadosh barochu, said: I am not called as I am written: I am written with Yud Hey Aleph Dalet [Adonai] (Kiddushin 71a).

There are Names which may be erased, and there are Names which may not be erased. These are the Names which may not be erased, such as: Eloha, Elohim, your God, I am that I am, (Aleph Dalet Yud Hey [Adonai], Shaddai, Zebaot . These may not be erased because they are not used solely of the Deity, and are therefore not sacred.
ehyeh asher ehyeh [Aleph Hey Yud Hey, Aleph Shin Resh, Hey Yud Hey] (Shavuot 35a).

The Hebrew letters of the word for husband are Aleph Yud Shin, and for wife, Aleph Shin 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).

Zohar -
The letter Aleph remained in her place without presenting herself. Said the Holy One, blessed be His name: Aleph Aleph, wherefore comest you not before Me like the rest of the letters? She answered: Because I saw all the other letters leaving Thy presence without any success. What, then, could I achieve there? And further, since Thou have already bestowed on the letter Beit this great gift, it is not meet for the Supreme King to take away the gift which He has made to His servant and give it to another. The Lord said to her: Aleph Aleph, although I will begin the creation of the world with the Beit, thou wilt remain the first of the letters. My unity shall not be expressed except through you, on you shall be based all calculations and operations of the world, and unity shall not be expressed save by the letter Aleph. Then the Holy One, blessed be His name, made higher-world letters of a large pattern and lower-world letters of a small pattern. It is therefore that we have here two words beginning with Beit [Bereshith bara] and then two words beginning Aleph Elohim et). They represent the higher-world letters and the lower-world letters, which two operate, above and below, together and as one (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3a-1:3b p.12-13).

Beit is female, Aleph, male. As Beit created, so Aleph produced letters (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).

When one is meditating with the Aleph be prepared for hugs. The Aleph loves to give hugs and receive them.



Lamed is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 30, makes a sound like the L in Like, Lamed means both TO LEARN and TO TEACH.
The Lamed is the tallest and most majestic of all the letters. Indeed Rashi interprets A TOWER FLYING IN THE AIR (Hagigah 15b) - as applying to the upper stroke of the Lamed. The Lamed is generally considered to be constructed of a Caf (20) with a Vav (6). In this configuration the LAMED has a GEMATRIA of 26 - the same as that of the Yud (10) Hey(5) Vav (6) Hey (5) name of God (Haralick, Robert M. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 180)
Since LAMED means LEARNING, it would seem that this would constitute a direct connection between LAMED, LEARNING and GOD.

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.
Lamed is one of the elementals.

The ‘ziz’ was the name of the headplate worn by the High Priest, (Exodus 28:36). The headplate was a kind of golden plate two fingerbreadths broad, and it stretched round [the forehead] from ear to ear, and upon it was written in two lines ‘ Yud Hey [Divine Name] above and ‘Holy Lamed’ [Holy unto] below (Shabbat 63b).

[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).

R. Nehemiah said, ‘In the case of every word which requires a Lamed at the beginning [to indicate direction] Scripture has placed a Hey’ at the end’ (Yevamoth 13b).

Lamed is the second letter of the third word , Eloheim, meaning GOD.

Considering the majesty of this letter, I must admit my meditations are very undignified. I usually ride the Lamed as one would a horse if one were a very bad rider - sitting on the curve and hold onto its neck. Let me know about yours.

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December 7th, 2021

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