
Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say the letter “B”. Do you feel the strength of that puff of air? Now say the name of the letter — “BEIT”. You will feel that same puff of air; you will feel the wind! “BEIT” connotes Power – RUACH. RUACH is the Hebrew word for wind.
People seem to appreciate when I present a mnemonic device to remember the Hebrew letter. In this glass I intertwined the letter “B” with the letter “BEIT”.
What is the first word that comes to mind when I say the letter “Beit”? For me it’s the word BAYIT – a house, a home. In the time of Covid the BAYIT has taken on a new and strange significance. It used to be a place where you return after finishing with your worldly affairs. You remove your shoes, you put your feet up and relax. The place where the real you can come alive. A place where you can party with friends, extended family and neighbors. I pray for a time when the BAYIT once again becomes a holy sanctuary.
The next words that come to mind are BEN and BAT – son and daughter. Traditionally, the name of a son is ________ BEN _______ . My Hebrew name is Reuvein BEN Mendel. My daughter Mira’s Hebrew name is Mira BAT Reuvein V’Elana. (Mira, the daughter of “Ron” and Elana)
Back to my question: What is the first word that comes to Your mind when you think of the letter “BEIT”?