Be still....{part 3 - rumblings of the silence begin}

Here, in the first letter, is when words and creativity begin to fail in conveying the kernel of eternity contained in these simple strokes...

I am acutely aware that anything my spirit infused flesh can create is only a whisper, a shadow, of what the reality is...

A pause, a cessation of human effort in astonished wonder, is not just the only response that feels right; it is the only response possible...

Now I am beginning to grasp the magnitude of the pause written in Hebrew poetry; the Selah that used to mystify me in the Psalms...now I know/understand/comprehend/and have apprehended why the Spirit-inspired writers and to insert the word, which to some extent means "let's pause, and think about what was just said".

Joy. 

 chedvah: spelled in Hebrew: 

 cheit - a (protecting) fence, an inner room

Cheit  (The "ch" has the light scraping sound as the "ch" in bach.  The "eit" rhymes with "mate")  Chet is sometimes transliterated as “h” which is why you sometimes see the word "Chanukah" spelled as "Hanukkah" in English.

Cheit is considered the letter of life.  It also is symbolic of grace and wisdom and new beginnings.  Its ancient pictograph resembles a fence, and can be thought of a fence that protects that which is within it...a fence that protects the life within...

So, the word "joy" begins with life, a new life  - given by God, complete and whole, full  of grace and wisdom.  And not only is there life, but that life is "fenced in", protected...by implication, it is God's Presence that protects and sustains that life...



Be Still... series:
Part 1 - Be Still
Part 2 - The Catalyst
Part 3 - Rumblings of the Silence Begin
Part 4 - Revelation Continues
Part 5 - A Nail that Holds and Anchors
Part 6 - Take a Breath, Breathe in God
Part 7 - Deepest Joy

 You can stop reading now or continue down to get more research...

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The above definition is the highlights of the letter as I researched it.  What follows is the complete set of notes about the letter chevdah from this website:  hebrew4christians.com...because, I rarely click over on links, and if you have the inkling to read the rest of the material, it will do for you what it did for me!

1.  The Mystery of Chet
According to the Jewish mystics, Chet is the letter of life, since (chayim - life) and (chayah - living) both begin with this letter. True life comes from (chasidut - devotion). Chet (8) is also the number of grace, (chen) and the number of wisdom (chokhmah). 

The letter Chet is the eighth letter of the Aleph-Bet, having the numeric value of eight. The pictograph for Chet looks like a wall or fence, whereas the classical Hebrew script is constructed of the preceding two letters, Vav and Zayin joined at the top with a thin connecting line.

Since Vav represents people or others, and Zayin represents time, Chet is a picture of spending time in community, (chavurah).

Chet also is the letter of light, since the Vav represents the yashar light that descends from God and Zayin represents the chozer light that ascends or returns to God. Therefore, some of the Jewish mystics consider Chet to be the doorway of light from heaven.


2.  The Gematria of Chet
Since Chet is formed from Vav (6) and Zayin (7), one gematria value would be thirteen, the same value as (ahavah - love). It is also the value for (echad - one). Putting these ideas together, we can see that love unifies us in true fellowship, just as the Mashiach Yeshua taught us:

“...that they may be one, even as we are one: in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one...” (John 17:22-23)

3. Chet and the Doorway of Life
The word (chai) is short for chayim (life), and the letter Chet can be seen to resemble a doorway where the blood of the lamb was daubed during the first Passover (Exodus 12:7):



There are many necklaces that spell the Hebrew word (chai). In fact, the word  itself somewhat resembles a lamb, and from this we can say that the “Lamb gives life” when applied to the “doorway of our heart.” 

So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.  Proverbs 3:22

4.  Chet is the Number of New Beginnings 

Since Chet represents the number 8, we can see how it represents grace, (chen) and the concept of new beginnings:  

•  There were 8 souls saved during the great flood of Noah
• The covenant of circumcision, occurs on the 8th day of a boy’s life, marking the beginning of of his life
• The LORD reaffirmed His covenant to Abraham 8 times
• David was the 8th son of Jesse
• Sukkot is an 8 day festival that anticipate the Olam Habah - the world to come
• Jesus was resurrected on the 1st day of the week, which if we understand the preceding seven days to constitute a complete cycle, is the eighth day.   

5.  Chet is the Letter of Discipleship to Jesus 

Since we learned that Vav (6) represents man and Zayin (7) represents the Crowned Man who wields the sword of the Holy Spirit (i.e., Jesus the King of the Jews), we can see that Chet is a picture of discipleship to Jesus:

Since Chet is formed from the Vav and Zayin connected by a “yoke,” we can see that this letter pictures our relationship to the Lord Jesus as He leads and teaches us on the pathway of life.

A yoke is a connection between two things so that they move and work together. Since the sum of the letters Vav and Zayin equals the value for love (), we can see that the essential nature of this “moving and working together” is that of loving the LORD and one another, just as our Mashiach teaches us.