The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names.

Hebrew Bible name - Raham was the son of Shema , grandson of Hebron, father of Jorkoam and descendant of Judah (1 Chronicles 2: 43-44).

The Hebrew Letters featured in this work are Resh Chet Mem sophit. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell RACHAM.

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.

RESH is the 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 200. RESH makes a sound like the R in Radiant. Resh 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 writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the Dalet as a Resh or the Resh as a Dalet (Shabbat 103a).
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 favour] through this [opening]. (Shabbat 104a).
A Tanna taught: If one corrects one letter, he is culpable. Now, seeing that if one writes one letter he is not culpable. if he [merely] corrects one letter he is culpable? [Surely not] - Said R. Sheshet: The circumstances here are e.g., that he removes the roof [i.e.. the upper bar] of a Heth and makes two Zayyin thereof. Raba said: E.g.. he removes the projection of a Daleth and makes a Resh thereof. [In a Scroll of one of the Biblical books. This constitutes a complete labour, because one may not permit a Scroll of Scripture to remain with an error] (Shabbat 104a).
I am a scribe, and he said to me, Be meticulous in your work, for your occupation is a sacred one [work of heaven]; should you perchance omit or add one single letter, you would thereby destroy all the universe.(18) There is no need [for me to assure you] that I would make no mistakes in respect of words that are plene or defective, since I am familiar [with the subject], but [I have even taken precautions] against the possibility of a fly's perching on the crownlet of a Dalet and, by blotting it out, turn it into a Resh, for I have a certain ingredient, called vitriol, which I put into the ink. (18) By omitting e.g. , the Aleph in Aleph Mem Tav (truth), the word would be abbreviated to Mem Tav (dead) Eruvin13a).
Sefer Yetzirah 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 Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. The Resh is one of the doubles. He made the letter Resh King over Peace and He bound a crown to it and combined one with another and with them He formed the Universe (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 176).

CHET is the 8th letter of the alphabet and has a numerical value of 8. Chet is pronounced like the CH in BaCH. Kushner's description is the best that I have found of what is necessary to create the sound of Chet . It is the top of your throat and the bottom of your throat fighting against one another (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 39).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… Hey as a Chet or the Chet as a Hey (Shabbat 103b).
Zayin Heth Teth Yod Kaf Lamed: [This sequence of letters teaches us that], if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He [haKadosh], 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 ).
Talmud. teaches that if one learns UNDERSTANDING and performs acts of LOVINGKINDNESS for the poor, then God will look upon the person with Chen, spelled Chet Nun - FAVOR, GRACE (Shabbat 104a ).
Usually the Chet is composed of 2 Zayins. But the 16th century kabbalist master, Luria, stated that the Chet consists of a Vav on the right and a Zayin on the left. Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value. GEMATRIA is the numerical manipulation of the values of the letter to explain the meaning of a word or phrase. The combined value of the Vav (6) and Zayin (7) is 13 which is the value of the word echad - Aleph (1) Chet (8) Dalet (4) = 13. Echad means ONE. It is also the highest prime denominator of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26 =13 = ONE.
Mishneh Torah is a major halachic (law) work written by Maimonides. In it Rambam explains that there are 10 levels of ANGELS. The Hayyot, Chet Yud Vav Tav - HaKadosh are above all the others. The word Chayyot begins with a Chet and is related to the word Chai - Chet Yud - LIFE (Mishneh Torah 1981. Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:7. Tr. Tr. Moses Hyamson. New York: Feldheim. 36a).
Sefer Yetzirah 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 Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. Chet is one of the Elementals. Twelve Elementals, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, and transformed them, and with them He formed 12 constellations in the Universe, 12 months in the Year and 12 directions in the soul, male and female. And God made the letter Chet King over sight. He bound a crown to it and He combined one with another and with them He formed Cancer in the Universe, Tamuz in the Year, and the right hand in the Soul, male and female (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 209, 159, 216).

MEM is the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 40. Mem makes a sound like the M in Middle. But according to the ancient kabbalistic text Sefer Yetzirah, the MEM hummmmmms! Mem is usually associated with the word mayim - WATER or Eemah - MOTHER. Mem is composed of a Caf (20) and a Vav (6) = 26, which have the same GEMATRIA as the Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26, name of God - the holiest of Name of God.
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 Shabbat 104a. 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 AIR Shabbat 104a.
Of the increase [Lamed Mem sophit Resh Beit Hey] of his government and peace there shall be no end (Isaiah 9:6).
R. Tanhum said: Bar Kappara expounded in Sepphoris, Why is every Mem in the middle of a word open, whilst this [Mem sophit] is closed? - The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to appoint Hezekiah as the Messiah, and Sennacherib as Gog and Magog [Gog and Magog are, in Jewish eschatology, the tribes who shall lead all nations in a tremendous attack upon Israel; their final defeat ushers in the halcyon days of the Messiah (Ezekiel 38). It is not clear whom the prophet had in mind, the whole passage having the mystic form of apocalyptic prediction. The present passage is remarkable in that it shews that in the opinion of its author no particular nation was intended, but any great heathen power whose destruction, by the will of God, is to precede the millennium] whereupon the Attribute of Justice said before the Holy One, blessed be He haKadosh barochu : Sovereign of the Universe! [The attributes of Justice and Mercy are often hypostasized and represented as interceding with the Almighty].
Sefer Yetzirah 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 Sefer Yetzirah., God created the world by means of these letters. The Mem is one of the mothers - that group from which emanated from FIRE, WATER and 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. And God made the Mem King over WATER, AND He bound a crown to it, and He combined one with another and with them He formed Earth in the Universe, Cold int the Year, and the Belly in the Soul (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 148, 154, 197).

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This work is accompanied by the kabbalistic explanation printed above.

The original 5x7 watercolor painting of this image is available.

This is great Bar Mitzvah gift.

mat color:: blue, black

stock number:: nm8-140