דומה לצינורGimel the Channel

domeh le-tzinorIn Gamatria ↗

It drinks from above and pours below.

R. Amorai explains why gimel is the third letter: it gomelet chasadim, it bestows kindness. A saying of R. Akiva links it instead to Genesis 21:8, where the child grew and was weaned (vayigamel). The two readings are reconciled, since growing and giving go together. Then comes the shape. Gimel has a head above and a tail below, like a pipe or channel (tzinor). A pipe draws from above and pours out below, and gimel draws through its head and empties through its tail. This picture of channels carrying flow downward runs through the whole book.

Hover the image to look closer.Tap the image to look closer.