25″ x 19″

Reish is the Aramaic word for head, or beginning.   According to the Midrash:    Rosh,head in Hebrew, is the Holy One, Blessed is He.   He is the ‘Head’ of the entire world, and He is the ‘End’ of the entire world.

The shape of the letter can be seen as a passageway through which man can reach upward to Heaven.    Only through the study of Torah and the fulfillment of mitzvos, man can achieve that degree of spiritual elevation and bring abundant blessing down to Earth.

Private Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Barnett

‘Kuf’ is composed of two elements: one higher and one lower.   The higher one seems to represent the sky, while the lower one reminds us of a humble praying person.    The letter Kof alludes to the word ‘keddushah’, holiness.    The Torah tells us:    ‘Holy shall you be because I am holy‘.    Man’s holiness is a reflection of God’s absolute sanctity and purity.    To raise his status to keddushah, holiness, man must conform to His commandments.

20″ x 26″

The final “Tzadi” with its upright shape represents the righteousness of God and devout human beings.

The final Tzadi is the final letter in the word earth, which is one of the four elements with which the world was created:   earth, air, water and fire.   It’s also the final letter of the word ‘ets’ (tree), the symbol for Torah, also called the ‘tree of life’.

Part of the private collection of Mr. and Mrs. S. Amber

“Tzadi” or “Tzaddik” is the eighteenth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.   The “Tzadi” represents the righteousness of God and devout human beings.   The term ‘tzaddik’’ is applied to those who conduct themselves with integrity, truth and justice.   One who lives in accordance with the Torah’s dictum:   ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue’ ( Deuteronomy 16: 20).

 In Jewish tradition the date tree, with its straight upward trunk, represents the tzadik , whose behavior is inspired by the almighty with no deviations.

20 3/4″ x 26″

The letter Peh is related to the mouth: peh, mouth in Hebrew. “Final Fey” was associated by the rabbis to the open mouth, speaking and words. This painting was inspired by sayings from Mishleh that compare words to the sea: ” hurtful words are like stormy waters, they can harm and destroy;  kind words are like pearls on the ocean floor.”

27″ x 20″

The peh, mouth in Hebrew, makes a human being able to fulfill te ultimate purpose of creation:   to sing the praises of the Almigty and to study his Torah.   As the Psalm (115:17) says “the dead do not praise God but living people do, by virtue of their speech.”

26″ x 20″

The word Ayn means eye.   Another meaning for the word Ayn is spring of water.   Just as a spring brings water from the dark depth of the Earth to the light, so the eye brings the perception of the world to man.

The round closed frame of the letter “samech” represents an inner core protected by a surrounding perimeter.    Its closed circle indicates that Hashem protects His children like a “surrounding wall of fire” (Zechariah 2:9).   The burning bush is a symbol of the Jewish people and their survival throughout history.