B’EZRAT HA SHEM is a combination of words and prefixes. The BEIT used as a prefix means WITH. This is the B sound in the first word. EZRAT is from the root AZAR – AYIN ZAYIN RESH meaning HELP, AID, ASSIST. The HEY used as prefix in the second word means THE. This is the H sound. SHEM – SHIN MEM – means NAME.
Until the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE, the name YHVH - YUD HEY VAV HEY - was regularly pronounced. By the 3rd century BCE the pronunciation of the name YHVH was avoided out of a sense of reverence, and the name ADONAI was substituted. During the Middle Ages even the name ADONAI was avoided and the custom was introduced of saying simply HA SHEM – THE NAME. Hence the expression B’EZRAT HA SHEM.

Variant spellings - B’EZRATH HA SHEM – BEEZRAT HA SHEM – BEEZRATH HA SHEM – BEZRAT HA SHEM

The letters featured in this painting are BEIT AYIN ZAYIN RESH TAV and HEY SHIN MEM. Taken together they spell B’EZRAT HA SHEM.

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.

BEIT is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and its numerical value is 2. The meanings of BEIT are HOUSE, HOME, CONTAINER. The BEIT makes a sound like the B in Beautiful.

The Torah begins with the letter BEIT. It was chosen for this honor because it is closed on top, bottom and on the right. It is open on the left, the direction of the text, to teach us to look forward and not backward, in our daily lives. (Genesis Rabbah. 1:10. TR. H. Freedman. New York: Soncino. 9).

AYIN is the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 70 AND makes no sound. AYIN means EYE or FOUNTAIN. The AYIN is constructed of an elongated YUD (10) on the right and a ZAYIN (7) on the left.

ZAYIN is the 7th letter of the alphabet and has a numerical value of 7. The ZAYIN looks like a sword or a scepter. ZAYIN makes a sound like the Z in Zebra. ZAYIN means SWORD, TO ORNAMENT, TO SUSTAIN.

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 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 Tall. The TAV is composed of a DALET and a NUN.

HEY is the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 5. HEY means BEHOLD. The HEY is constructed of a DALET and a YUD. HEY makes a sound like the H in Happy. HEY appears twice in the YUD HEY VAV HEY Name of God.

SHIN is the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 300. SHIN means TOOTH, YEAR, REPEAT, TEACH. SHIN makes the sound SHHHHHH when the DAGESH – DOT is on the right, and SSSS when the DOT is on the left.

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 SEPHER YETZIRAH, the MEM hummmmmms! MEM is usually associated with the word MAYIM - WATER or EEMAH - MOTHER.

The MEM is one of the 5 letters – CAF, MEM NUN, PEY, TSADE – that have 2 forms. 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).

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:: pb12