GATEWAYS TO TORAT HAYIM

 
CONNECTING TO JEWISH LIVING WISDOM RESOURCES

 

Yud: The Tenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet

by Raskin, Rabbi Aaron L.

“On the simplest level, the design of the yud is a point: a dot which represents G?d’s essential power; the one G?d Who is indivisible. Furthermore, the yud looks like a flame that soars ever higher, representing the soul of a Jew yearning to unite with G?d.

 

Additionally, the yud represents the method by which the blessing descends from G?d… The letter yud when spelled out is ?-?-?. The yud represents a seminal drop, the concentrated power of G?d.

 

The vav represents a descent, for its form is that of a chute—and through this, the bless­ings of G?d travel downward to our world.

 

The dalet, having height and width, represents the physical world, signifying how G?d’s blessings are manifest in every aspect of nature.

 

This teaches us that G?d’s blessings don’t only reside in heaven. They flow down to this corporeal world and endow us with physical health, sustenance and success.”