Alf

   Alf


Jag har aldrig gillat den svenska betydelsen av namnet Alf: alf, sagoväsen. Så när jag fick detta i min hand blev jag mycket glad. På bilden ovan ser du namnet Alf på hebreiska och här kan du läsa lite om vad namnet betyder:

ALF is a short form of ALFRED which is from the Old English meaning OLD, WISE COUNSEL.

The letters featured in this piece are AYIN LAMED PEY. Taken together, and reading from right to left, they spell ALF. This name has been transliterated into the Hebrew phonetically.

Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet has a special meaning and a story to tell. Here a few brief ones about the letters on this painting.

AYIN is the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 70 AND makes no sound. AYIN means EYE or FOUNTAIN. The AYIN is constructed of an elongated YUD (10) on the right and a ZAYIN (7) on the left.

The LAMED is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 30. LAMED makes a sound like the L in Like. LAMED means both TO LEARN and TO TEACH. The LAMED is the tallest and most majestic of all the letters. Indeed Rashi interprets A TOWER FLYING IN THE AIR (Hagigah 15b) - as applying to the upper stroke of the LAMED.

The LAMED is generally considered to be constructed of a CAF (20) with a VAV (6). In this configuration the LAMED has a GEMATRIA of 26 - the same as that of the YUD (10) HEY (5) VAV (6) HEY (5) name of God. Since LAMED means LEARNING, it would seem that this would constitute a direct connection between LAMED, LEARNING and GOD.

PEY is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 80. PEY makes a sound either like the P in Peace or the F in Food. PEY means MOUTH and is constructed of a CAF with a YUD situated at the top and rotated inward.

If one looks carefully at the PEY one can see that there is a BEIT, which makes up the empty space within it. The BEIT is the first letter of the word BERESHIT - IN A BEGINNING, which is the first word of TORAH. God opened up God's MOUTH and out came the BEIT - BEGINNING - CREATION.

PEY is one of 5 letters - CAF, MEM, NUN, PEY, TSADE - which have 2 forms. One form is used in the beginning and the middle of a word - the closed or bent PEY. The other form is at the end of the word - the open or straight PEY. This open and closed PEY - MOUTH allude to the verse in ECCL.3:7 - "...A time to be silent and a time to speak."