November 21, 2018 · 00:04:11
Tehilim Perek 119: Letter SHIN Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s Nach Daily will discuss the letter SHIN. The Shin represents the power of Shinuy, change in the creation and Shlita, control. Generally speaking, in order to change something you need to be in control of it. Shin is the force able to impact something by changing its form, bringing it to the desired outcome. The word Shinayim, teeth, comes from the Shin. When eating food, our teeth change its form so that the body can process and digest it. In fact, the tops of the letter Shin even look like teeth! On a deeper level, the Shin has the power to elevate. When we eat, the food becomes absorbed and digested into our bodies. It thus becomes a part of us, being elevated to the level of a human. As the expression goes, “You are what you eat!” Shin also applies to spirituality. A person’s desire to go from level to level, to reach higher and change for the better, comes from the word Shinuy, to change. The power of change and transition, like all traits, can be used for good or bad. Words like Shalom, peace, and Shelemos, perfection, as well as Sh’vira, breaking, Sheker, lies, and Satan, evil, begin with Shin. The first time that the Shin appears in the Torah is when it says “Es haShamayim v’es ha’aretz, Hashem created the heavens and earth.” The Gemarah in Chagiga 12a explains that Shamayim stands for Aish, fire, and Mayim, water. We know that part of the Sh