Variant spelling - LOHESH - HALLOHESH

Biblical name – LOCHESH was one of the Babylonian Exile returnees ( Nehemiah 3:12).

The letters featured in this work are LAMED VAV CHET SHIN. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell LOCHESH.

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.

LAMED is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 30. LAMED makes a sound like the L in Like. LAMED means both TO LEARN and TO TEACH. The LAMED is the tallest and most majestic of all the letters. Indeed Rashi interprets A TOWER FLYING IN THE AIR (Hagigah 15b) - as applying to the upper stroke of the LAMED.

VAV is the 6th letter, has a numerical value of 6, and is constructed of a single vertical line. VAV means HOOK and makes a sound like the V in Victory. When used as a vowel, VAV can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. VAV appears in the Four Letter name of God.

CHET is the 8th letter of the alphabet and has a numerical value of 8. CHET is pronounced like the CH in BaCH. Kushner's description is the best that I have found of what is necessary to create the sound of CHET. It is the "top of your throat and the bottom of your throat fighting against one another" (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. Sepher Otiot: The Book of Letters. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 39).
Usually the CHET is composed of 2 ZAYINS. But the 16th century kabbalist master, Luria, stated that the CHET consists of a VAV on the right and a ZAYIN on the left. Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value. GEMATRIA is the numerical manipulation of the values of the letter to explain the meaning of a word or phrase. The combined value of the VAV (6) and ZAYIN (7) is 13 which is the value of the word ECHAD - ALEPH (1) CHET (8) DALET (4) = 13. ECHAD means ONE. It is also the highest prime denominator of the name of God - YUD (190) HEY (5) VAV (6) HEY (5) = 26 =13 = ONE.

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 DOT is on the right, and SSSS when the DOT is on he left.

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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:: nm17-167