As per Dejan’s encouragement to further investigate the Biblical, Talmudic, and Kabbalistic significance of dew…
With your permission gentlemen, my fellow seekers and all who would know truth,
In the Name of our Most Holy and Blessed Creator, Hashem, the Most High, maker of Heaven and Earth.
I will proceed to expound what I have dis-covered thus far.
To begin, it must be distinctly understood that Judaism, and particularly Jewish mysticism is a unique system of thought quite unlike the Western philosophical traditions, of which alchemy is a primary part and influence. Whereas Western modes of speculation on the nature and reality of things as we understand them begins from a fundamentally metaphysical standpoint, the Jewish tradition begins from a sociological one. That is to say, Western science (and here it is to be understood that I use science in accordance with the definition of it’s Latin root Scientia meaning knowledge) is concerned with the structure, form, and natural disposition of the universe at large. The Jewish tradition is, in quite opposition to the Western, concerned not so much with the structural as it is the relational. Hence, a westerner would be inclined to ask, “What is the physical constitution and makeup of object X?” On the other hand, the Jewish tradition may ask something like, “What is purpose of X and what is its G-d intended use?” Or, “What is the metaphorical or symbolic significance of X in the relationship between G-d and man?” The Jewish universe is not based on physics and subatomic particles or even spheres of energy for that matter (though it is by no means denied that such exists and has great impact on the nature of our world), it is based on language. “In the beginning,… G-d said…” (Gen. 1). Because G-d created the world through language, and language being specifically a social paradigm, it is to be understood that the world, the entire universe is the communication of G-d. Therefore, what we see in the physical world around us isn’t particulate matter, it is the very spoken word of G-d. This is what it means in the Sefer Yetzira when it says, “And He created his universe with three books, with text, with number, and with communication.” In the original Hebrew text, the words ‘book’, ‘text’, ‘number’, and ‘communication’ are all closely related, being variant conjugations of the exact same word, sefer. For more on this see Aryeh Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah, the Book of Creation In Theory and Practice (Weiser Books, Boston, MA,
1997).
Now to proceed with the concept of dew in the Hebrew language.
The word for Dew in Hebrew is (TaL). As you can see, the word is composed of two Hebrew letters. The first is Tet. It looks like this . The second letter is Lamed (pro. LAH-mehd). It looks like this. Now, in order to understand the nature of this word, I have to give a little background into the structure of the Hebrew language. Hebrew begins with a twenty-two base-character alphabet. Each consonant (there are no vowels in Hebrew) represents a particular sound, has a numerical value, and communicates a specific concept in thought or daily life. For example, the letter ה (pronounced “hey”) makes the sound of ‘h’, has a numerical value of 5, and conveys the idea of existence. For more info on this see Matityahu Clark. Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem, Israel,
1999) pg. 299 appendix A
These twenty-two consonants serve as building blocks for the construction of word roots, or שורשים (‘SHOReSHeeYM’). Each root contains three consonants that may be arranged in any combination to produce a multiplicity of word-roots. The meaning of each consonant and the order in which the consonants are arranged holds a great deal of influence on the ultimate meaning of the root in question. With the addition of the appropriate prefixes and suffixes, one may through the roots, arrive at any word in the Hebrew language. This is one of the defining characteristics of Hebrew that sets it apart from other languages. While other languages draw almost all their word usage from previous languages over time (English being a beautiful example), Hebrew has made its own integrated word root system. This allows the language, in a very distinctive way, to define itself. According to Matitiyahu Clark, the root for the word dew in Hebrew is (Tet, Lamed, Lamed) and is variously defined as: fall; set down; casting out; falling dew; and covering with a ceiling. This is only somewhat helpful as the Hebrew word for dew only consists of two letters. There is an ancient tradition (though difficult to find clearly explained) that Hebrew words not only stem from three letter roots but two letter roots. These two letter roots are called avot (fathers) and are couplings of letters (Sefer Yetzirah talks about this) few of which have little or no linguistic significance. But they do have spiritual significance. Their meaning, therefore, may only be discerned by the significance of the two letters that compose the couple. In the case of Dew, it is highly significant that the root retained its linguistic usage. But what is even more fascinating is the meaning of its letters…
We will start with Lamed since it is easier to define than tet.
According to Matityahu Clark, who bases his research off the great, mid-nineteenth century Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the letter lamed has to do with “movement or return to an object”. (See again, Clark, pg. 299). Unlike English in which the letters are written on top of the line, Hebrew writing is suspended from the line in a traditional Torah scroll. Lamed is the only letter of the Hebrew alphabet that extends above this line. The motion expressed by lamed, then, is a vertical one as opposed to horizontal. Moreover, the word ‘lamed’ itself is derived from the word meaning ‘study’ or ‘to learn’. The letter, thus, connotes both raising up and breaking beyond the limits of normal circumstance both through knowledge and natural ability.
Now we may move to Tet
This letter is far more difficult for me to explicitly define because it is much more rarely used than lamed. In order to best understand this letter we must turn to the quintessential tome of Jewish Mysticism, the Zohar. In the beginning passages of this sacred text, there is a parable told by Rabbi Hamnuna Sava where the Hebrew letters present themselves before the Holy One and petition Him to create the world through them. When the letter Tet comes before Him, He dismisses her in an interesting manner saying, “I will not create the world by you, for your goodness is concealed and hidden within you…it plays no part in the world I am about to create, but rather in the world to come” Zohar 1:3a (Daniel C. Matt. The Zohar, Pritzker Edition vol. 1 (Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA
2004) pg. 15). What is this goodness then that is concealed in Tet? The answer is found in the physical structure of Tet. Tet is one of only two letters in the Hebrew alphabet that curves in on itself. The letter Tet is the letter yud () with a long tail that curves upon itself. The letter yud very distinctly represents the primordial light of creation not only because it shows itself to be the Divine spark (G-d’s name is often abbreviated with two yuds), but it is the first letter of the most sacred name of G-d, the Tetragramaton. Tet, then represents concealed goodness, the Divine spark of creation hidden within the World.
Now for the full combined definition of (Dew)
Dew, in accordance with the above insights, may be defined as that which is cast upon the world concealing in its explicit form the potentiality for rejuvenation and growth beyond the bounds of the natural world and into the World to Come.
This is just the Hebrew language aspect. I will soon be posting on the Biblical, Talmudic, and cantoral references. As will be seen, these merely further clarify what has been said here.
So, I have much more coming, but this should keep you intrigued for now.
Blessings.
Subject: Judaic Insights on Dew 
Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:40 am
Sorry you can't get a visual on the look of the letters. So If anyone has any idea how to show another language on here please let me know.
