The Rabbis of the Talmud regarded the letters as the basic elements of the universe, much as we think of xygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon. (From the teachings of Rabbi Mitchell Chefitz, author of The Seventh Telling, The Thiry-third Hour, The Curse of Blessings.).

The word ET consists of the letters Aleph and Tav, which include between them all the letters, as being the first and last of the alphabet (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:15b).

The story of ET...

Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch, and a follower of the Baal Shem Tov, explains in Or Torah the secret of the verse Bereshit Bara Eloheim Et - IN A BEGINNING GOD CREATED ET. These are the first words of Torah, Genesis 1:1, in a beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ET is a word that is not translatable into English. It is like a marker that says: a definite direct object is next. Thus there needs to be an ET before THE heavens and THE earth. If there was no the, there would not need to be an ET. But Dov Baer points out a deeper meaning. ET is spelled Aleph Tav. Aleph Tav is an abbreviation for the ALPHA-BET. Aleph is the first letter of the ALPHABET and Tav the last. So in a beginning God created the ALPHA-BET. And God did this before creating the heavens and the earth. God used the letters, the building blocks, to create the world.

R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad explains that if the letters were to depart even for an instant, all of creation would become absolute nothingness (Zalman, Shneur. 1981. "Igeret Hateshuvah." . Likkutei Amarim - Tanya. Brooklyn: Kihot. 289).

Some of you may read these words and laugh. Silly stories. But I challenge you to spend 5 minutes a day thinking about the letters. Perhaps you could practice drawing one letter for about a minute and then think about it of 4 minutes. See if you can do this every day for a few weeks. And watch what happens. They letters are ALIVE.

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

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.

ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of one. The meanings of Aleph are: THOUSAND, MASTER, TEACHING, OX. 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).
[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).
Alef Beth [means] learn wisdom [Alef Binah] (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, but I am read, Aleph Dalet (Kiddushim 71a).
There are Names which may be erased [Because they are not used solely of the Deity, and are therefore not sacred]; and there are Names which may not be erased. These are the Names which may not be erased, such as: El [God], Eloha, Elohim, your God, I am that I am [ehyeh asher ehyeh - Aleph Hey Yud Hey - Aleph Shin Resh - Aleph HeyYud Hey], Alef Daleth; Yod He; Shaddai; Zebaoth - these may not be erased. but the Great, the Mighty, the Revered, the Majestic, the Strong, the Powerful, the Potent, the Merciful and Gracious, the Long Suffering, the One Abounding in Kindness these may be erased! (Shauvot 35a).
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 thee, on thee shall be based all calculations and operations of the world (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3b).
Beit is female, Aleph, male. As Beit created, so Aleph, produced letters (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).
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 Aleph 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 (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 197).

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).

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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:: purple

stock number:: cc66