Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures.

Hebrew Bible name - Kittim was a son of Javan, great-grandson of Noah, and brother of Tarshish, Elishah, and Dodanim (Genesis 10:4).

The Hebrew Letters featured in this piece are Caf Tav Yud Mem sophit. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell KITTIM.

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.

CAF is the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 20. 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. Caf means PALM OF THE HAND, SPOON, CONTAINER. When functioning as a prefix CAF can mean AS, LIKE, WHEN, AT, ABOUT or ACCORDING TO. Caf stands for bent objects.
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 104a).
[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).
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 ).
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 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:6a).
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. Caf is one of the Doubles. Seven Doubles: BGD KPHRT, Their foundation is Wisdom, Wealth, Seed, Life, Dominance, Peace and Grace. Seven Doubles, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, He cared them, He permuted them, He weighed the, He transform them, and with them He formed seven planets in the Universe, Seven days in the Year, Seven gates in the Soul, male and female: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth. And God made the letter Caf King over LIFE. (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser.. 5, 95, 159, 162, 174, 175).

TAV is the 22nd letter in Hebrew alphabet - the last letter. It has a numerical value of 400. TAV 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.
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 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 EMeTh (Truth) which is engraved upon Thy seal, and seeing that Thou art called by this very name of EMeTh, it is most appropriate for the King to begin with the final letter of EMeTh 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 to Tav, and through the absence of this mark the rest will be killed; and, further, thou formest 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).
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 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 Taw for Teruma! (Yevamoth 115b).
But not to one who is wholly righteous? Is it not written, And begin [the slaughter] with my sanctuary, (Ezekiel 9:6) which, R. Joseph learned, should not be read my sanctuary but my sanctified ones, namely the men who fulfilled the Torah from Alef to Taw? (Avodah Zarah 4a).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Kuf 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. And God made the letter Tav King over Grace. and He bound a crown to it and combined one with another and with them He formed Jupiter in the Universe, Shabbat 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. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 176).
Truth encompasses everything from Aleph to Tav, from BEGINNING to END, from BIRTH to death: Emet - Aleph Mem Tav. Aleph Mem indicates - Eema - MOTHER (birth). Mem Tav means DEATH. Truth encompasses everything from BIRTH to DEATH (Chefitz, Mitchell. 2001. The Seventh Telling. New York: St. Martins Press. 217).

YUD is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 10, and means HAND. Yud makes a sound like the Y in Year. Yud 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.
[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 Heth Teth Yod KafLamed: [this sequence teaches,] and 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 ).
The 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, meaning fire (Sotah 17a).
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 1984. 3:130).
In the Sephrotic tree the Yud symbolizes WISDOM - the stage of concealment which precedes its development into a state of expansion in UNDERSTANDING. It is then contained and represented in the letter Hey (Zalman, Shneur. 1981. "Igeret Hateshuvah." Likkutei Amarim - Tanya. 359).
Menachot 29b teaches that the WORLD TO COME was created by use of the letter Yud 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. Yud 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 Yud, King over action and He bound a crown to it and combined one with another and with them He formed Virgo 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. 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.

mat color:: blue

stock number:: nm23-49