Thursday 18 January 2018

Making Hey

Remember the Hebrew letter Lamed that I created? Well, this time I made a Hey. The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the Hey has the sound of "h" as in "hay". Hey is know as a guttural letter since it is pronounced in the back of the throat. When Hey appears at the end of a word, it is normally silent.
In gematria (a mystical tradition that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters) Hey represents the number 5. According to Jewish mystics, the letter represents the divine breath, revelation, and light (the word "light" is mentioned five times on the first day of creation (Gen. 1:3-4), which is said to correspond to the letter Hey).
In the Modern Hebrew language, the letter Hey can be used for a variety of purposes. It functions as the definitive article in Hebrew, a sort of demonstrative that points to the object and make it concrete and definitive. Thus איש, a man, becomes האיש (ha-ish), the man. Adding a Hey at the end of a noun "feminises" it (although not always). The Hey can also change the meaning of a sentence into a question when attached to the beginning of certain words. For example, "yadata" (ידעת) means "you knew", but when we place a Hey in front, we get "hayadata" (הידעת), meaning "did you know?" It can also indicate movement towards something, such that "tzafon" (צפון) means "North", while "tzafona" (צפונה), with a Hey at the end of the word, changes the meaning to "towards the North".
In Kabbalah (the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible) Hey represents the five fingers, the five senses and the five dimensions, in addition to the five levels of the soul. There are five fingers on hamsa amulets, a very common talismanic symbol. Many Jews believe that the five fingers of the hamsa hand remind its wearer to use their five senses to praise G-d *.
The letter is also often used instead of writing out one of the most common names used for G-d. Hey is often used to represent the name of G-d as an abbreviation for Hashem, which means "The Name", and is a way of saying G-d without actually saying the name of G-d. In print, Hashem is usually written as Hey with a geresh (an apostrophe-like sign placed after a letter): ה׳‬.
I drew a sans-serif letter Hey and filled it with flowers, leaves and one of my signature little birds.
My letters are available unframed. They measure 12x17cm and fit perfectly into the mount of an IKEA 18x24cm RIBBA frame. This letter Hey was created as a Bat Mitzvah gift for a young lady called Hadar. Do you have someone you would like me to cut a papercut initial for?
* Jewish people do not write G‑d's name in a place where it may be discarded or erased. Treating G‑d's name with reverence is a way to give respect to G‑d.

** This post has been shared on {wow me} wednesday, Wow Us WednesdaysWednesday around the WorldWonderful Wednesday Blog HopWordless Wednesday Blog Hop, Share Your Cup Thursday, The Happy Now Blog Link- UpArtsy-Fartsy Link PartyEncouraging Hearts & Home Blog HopThe Creative CircleLittle Things ThursdayHappiness is Homemade, Monday Morning Blog Club and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).

12 comments:

Tamar SB said...

That is amazing!! Love the RIBBA frames too!

Snap said...

I learned something new to me. Thank you! Your paper-art is wonderful.

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Your letters are so beautiful, I could look at them all day.

Miss Val's Creations said...

Absolutely beautiful! Interesting information about this letter too.

VeggieMummy said...

Wow, your letters are absolutely gorgeous and would make fantastic presents. The information is fascinating too. xx

Debbie said...

Hi Lisa, I have no idea about any meanings behind any of the English, and never really think about it. I found it interesting to learn how much thought actually goes into 'developing' an alphabet. Your design is as creative as ever and I'm sure that the lucky recipient is will be very happy.

Thank you for linking up with the #MMBC.

xx

likeschocolate said...

Impressive! I am absolutely amazed at your patience. Besides having not talent for crafts, I do not have the patience. Beautiful!

Interesting! about the movie Victoria. Yes, I guess some parts could be seen as kind of a parody. I did check on the accurasy of the movie and it was pretty true to have they dipicted it. What made me so sad was how he was seen as such a threat. The poor old woman was bored out of her brains and really needed the opportunity to grown and learn new things. She stated in the movie No one knows what it like. I can only imagine being a Queen is very lonely even despite having all those people around you. One reason I would never want to be famous.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Your artwork is beautiful. I loved reading the history and meanings of the letter hey as well.

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

Very beautiful and very interesting, as your works and posts are always!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

So fun! I loved learning about it. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann

NCSue said...

Lisa, you are so clever. Your interpretation of the Hebrew letters is marvelous.
Thank you for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2018/01/homemade-bagels.html, and feel free to pop on by for some bagels!

Anonymous said...

Wow such beautiful gardens, and the western Christmas lights (am teasing). Hope you had a great time, and you enjoyed it all:) At the end of the week I'll come back to read all the details:) Thank you for linking up to All Seasons, Blog Friend!

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