From The Hebrew Alphabet...

The Hebrew Alphabet Letter Gimel

In many of the Semitic alphabets, the third letter is gimel which you will find in the Hebrew alphabet.

In Hebrew, the letter gimel is only one of six letters that is able to receive a Dagesh Kal. In gematria, the number three is represented by gimel. Gimel comes just before dalet in the Hebrew alphabet which typifies a poor/lowly man taken from the Hebrew word dal.

The third letter of the Alefbet which is gimel originally looked like a camel. The words gimel and "camel" are related. In the Hebrew language gamal literally means "camel". Maybe that will help you remember the letter.

In the Proto-Cannanite form, the letter was probably named after someone throwing a stick or a boomerang. Gimel was ultimately derived from a Proto-Sinaitic glyph which is based on the letter’s hieroglyph.

Gimel has the sound that g makes in guard. It never sounds like the g in page.

The sages teach that the gimel takes on the symbol of a rich man trying to run after a poor man, or a dalet, in order to give him charity. The word gimel is a derivation of the word gemul, which in Hebrew means not only the giving of a reward but the giving of a punishment as well. The Torah teaches that both rewards as well as punishment have the same aim, that is, the rectification of a person’s soul to merit in receiving the light of God to the fullest extent.

Jewish Dictionary Home | Hebrew Alphabet Letters | Read Hebrew | Speak Hebrew | Feedback