The Hebrew Letter Yud – Potential, Creation, and Hand of God | Lesson 10

Today I'm going to introduce you to the yud. The modern form of this letter is the smallest of all letters within the Hebrew alfbet. In Matthew 5: 18 we can read the words of Jesus translated for verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass away one jot or one tit shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Jot comes from iota, the smallest Greek letter, which itself comes from the Hebrew Yud, also the smallest letter. Both of these letters hold the numerical value of 10 in their respective systems. The word yud is derived from the Hebrew word yad meaning hand. Write hand in your workbook for the meaning of this letter. The sound of the yud is a y as in yellow or e as in queen. Practice writing this letter. It looks similar to our English apostrophe with a little bit more angle on it. The ancient meaning. According to the ancient Hebrew lexicon, the early Seemetic pictoraph of this letter is an arm and hand. The meaning of this letter is work, make, throw as they are functions of the hand. The number value. The yud is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and holds the numerical value of 10. Up to this point, we have learned all the letters have values that correspond to their ordinal numbers. Once we pass yud and get to the 11th letter, the number pattern will change. For now, you can recall the value of the first 10 letters by the order of their appearance. The number 10 appears all throughout scripture. Abraham faced 10 tests and through his faithfulness he inherited 10 nations. God sent 10 plagues upon Egypt and performed 10 miracles during Israel's deliverance. And of course, he gave us the Ten Commandments, a complete set of divine instructions that form the foundation of covenant life. The number 10 often marks a time of testing, judgment, and completion. In the book of Daniel, there's a 10-day test of faith. Israel was tested 10 times in the wilderness. And even in Jewish tradition, the 10 days of awe between Rashashana and Yam Kapur, which is the highest holy day, are set aside for deep reflection and repentance. We're also told to tithe a tenth of our increase, not just as a donation, but as a symbol. A tenth is a part that represents the whole. In Jewish mysticism, the Yud is looked at as the seed of all creation.