Spirit of the Letter

Symbolism
Dalet is the fourth letter of the alef-beis. In Hebrew, the word Dal means a poor person; dalet follows the letter gimmel, as in the Hebrew word “Gemilus Chesed,” bestowing kindness. The two letters Gimmel and Dalet thus connect in the phrase “Gomel dalim” recited during the Simchat Torah Hakafot: The benefactor gives to the recipient.

Design
The dalet’s leg stretches rightward toward the gimmel; the poor person tries to connect with the giver to get help. Yet the dalet’s face looks forward toward the letter hei, representing G-d, the ultimate Giver.

The Holy Temple in Jerusalem had a “Silent Chamber” with a big charity box in the center. A person would enter this room alone and close the door behind him. The rich would put money into the box, while the poor would take some money out- all very discreetly. Neither could see who was giving, or who was taking.

Constructed of a vertical and horizontal bar, the dalet is almost identical to the letter reish at the end

of the Alef-Bais. The only difference between the dalet and the reish is a little yud affixed on the dalet’s top right. The tiniest letter, yud, representing humility, makes all the difference.

The mezuzah on our doorpost, and the parchment in our Tefillin, contain the inscribed paragraph of Shema: “Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, G-d is One.” The word echad in “G-d is One” is spelled alef, chet, with a big oversized dalet to emphasize its distinction from the similar looking but yud-less raish, which would dramatically change the meaning to acher —other. Such a mistake would translate into, “Hear O Israel…, G-d is other (i.e., other gods).” The yud’s humility is so critical that its omission can cause us to reject the One G-d.

Gematria
The gematria (numerical equivalent) of dalet is four, representing our Matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. It also represents the four Kabbalistic “worlds” of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Dalet also signifies the four basic elements: fire (energy), air (gas), water (liquid) and earth (solid).

Dalet also represents Passover’s Four Cups, the Four Sons and the Four Questions.
Passover’s four cups of wine correspond to the Torah’s four expressions of Redemption. When G-d promised to redeem Israel from Egypt, He said: “I will take you out;” “I will save you;” “I will redeem you;” and, finally, “I will take you to Me as a nation.”

Meaning
The dalet alludes to delet, a “door,” and dalet also represents dilisoni, “uplifting.” These various definitions converge when a person realizes that he/she is poor and incomplete in a certain aspect. This poverty isn’t financial; it means that all we “own” actually belongs to G-d. G-d is really the One who provides our sustenance.

Without G-d, we have nothing. Acknowledging this is the door that allows us to enter into G-d’s chamber. Once we enter that chamber, G-d uplifts us—dilisoni—with life, health, sustenance and success. In Psalm 30 King David says, “I praise G-d because He lifts me up (dilisoni).” G-d uplifts me by giving me the skills to be productive, enabling me to praise Him on a higher level.


	Sacred Letters as Art By Sara Trappler Spielman When Martin Mendelsberg first saw Hebrew letters inscribed in the Torah scroll as a nine year old, they had a lasting effect. At four years old, he began drawing, painting and constructing three-dimensional works. Mendelsberg studied painting, sculpture and calligraphy at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and later at the University of Denver. At the time, he focused only on secular subjects. Fifteen years ago, when he began studying the letters’ origins with a Kabbalist, Mendelsberg became interested in the Hebrew letters as an art form. He eventually partnered with his teacher to create Alef Bet Designs, decorative tiles of Hebrew letters in ceramic and glass. “I discovered that the Hebrew letters are not merely a convenience of language, but are the essence that sustains the structure of the world,” Mendelsberg explained. “The shape, name, and numeric value of each letter teaches us about our spiritual lives. He is “inspired by the aesthetic beauty of the Hebrew letters,” combined with its layers of meaning that reinforce his Torah belief “which opened endless possibilities where my imagination can run wild.” After mastering the scribal font, Mendelsberg wanted to create a digital font based on the Torah letters. He discovered that no quality Hebrew typeface reflected the grace of the Torah’s letterforms. He began hand-producing letters of “classic beauty,” using two old manuals as models – the Tekun and the Mishnas Sofrim, a teaching manual for scribes. While working on his font, Mendelsberg met Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, author of “The Alef-Beit, Jewish Thought Revealed through the Hebrew Letters.” Despite his initial reservations of translating “sacred letters” into a computer font, Rabbi Ginsburgh encouraged Mendelsberg to complete the project. Mendelsberg created Bar/Bat Mitzvah invitations, prints and posters. During the past ten years, he has exhibited in China, Russia, Australia, Canada and the U.S. His work is in permanent collections at Yale University, The New Zealand National Gallery, and Victoria University School of Architecture. All his art is now based in Judaism, including a Holocaust Portfolio combining images with Hebrew letters, to be featured at the Florida Holocaust Museum in 2008. “I began placing myself in the holocaust,” Mendelsberg says. “I meditated about the Shema, Ani Maamin and Kaddish prayers.” Mendelsberg’s own children took art classes at the local Chabad center in Denver when they were young. Mendelsberg now volunteers at the Hillel Day School by offering art-projects based on the Hebrew letters.