Variant spelling - YOD.

The Hebrew letter featured in the painting is the Yud

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 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 ).

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).

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." Likkutie Amarim - Tanya. Brooklyn: Kihot. 359).

Menachot 29b teaches that the WORLD TO COME was created by use of the letter Yud.

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 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. Tr. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 209, 159, 216).

Generally speaking, the Yud is associated with some form of spirituality. In the four world paradigm the Yud corresponds with the level of Atzilut - Emanation; the first Hey with Beriyah, Creation , the Vav with Yetzirah - Formation and the second Hey with the world of Asiyah, Action .

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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:: orange, yellow, white

stock number:: y9