This article is a follow-up to the previous one about the correct pronunciation of God’s name (יהוה), YHWH. Recall that our Sages teach that the nekudot vowels on God’s name are shva, cholam, and kamatz, meaning that the right way to pronounce the name would be “Yehowah”. A number of people reached out arguing that the letter vav is pronounced with a “v” sound, and therefore the name is “Yehovah”. Some referred to the work of Dr. Nehemiah Gordon, who makes the case for the vav being “v” partly based on words in Ezekiel (more on that below), and partly based on a poem by Elazar haKalir (c. 6th century CE) where he rhymes levi (לוי) with navi (נביא). The implication is that Jews as far back as the 6th century were pronouncing the vav as a “v” sound. Gordon himself notes that great rabbis like the Ibn Ezra were puzzled by this rhyme, because it was common knowledge then that the vav is really a “w” sound. Indeed, we find that the vav was a waw for most of Israelite and Jewish history. Below are ten big reasons for why the vav is a waw. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Letter Vav
Erev Rav, Part 2: The Five Types (Video)
Continuing the eye-opening series on the “Erev Rav” with an exploration of the five types of Erev Rav, and how they manifest in the world around us today. Plus, the secret of the letter Hei added to Abraham’s name, the parameters of “lashon hara”, the Zohar’s “dogs of Yom Kippur”, and comments on concubines, cults, and cabals.
For Part 1 in this series, see here.
See also ‘Bringing Mashiach Today’.
The Meaning of Tiferet
In the parasha of Ki Tavo, we read:
And God has affirmed today that you are His treasured people, as He promised, who shall observe His commandments, and He shall place you above the nations that He has made, for fame, renown, and glory, and you shall be a holy nation unto Hashem, your God, as He promised.
The unique word for “glory” here, tiferet (תפארת), appears just three times in the whole Torah, and another 26 times or so in the rest of the Tanakh (not including the related tiferah). That it appears specifically three times in the Torah is no coincidence, for Tiferet is the third of the lower Sefirot, and is always associated with the number 3. It sits at the centre of the mystical Tree of Life, and is the only Sefirah interlinked with all the others. In Kabbalistic texts, Tiferet holds tremendous significance, and is discussed perhaps more than any other Sefirah. It is the Sefirah of the Torah, and of Israel, and the one associated with the very Name of God, the Tetragrammaton (יהוה). What is so special about Tiferet and why is it so important? Continue reading