Change
Shin, the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has the numeric value of three hundred. King Shlomo (Solomon) had three thousand parables, Rabbi Meir had three hundred fox-parables, three hundred foxes were sent to burn down the fields of the Philistines and there were three hundred firstborn Levites. The numeric value of the full spelling of the Name Elokim (and the Name Havayah in at’bash) is also three hundred.
Shin is formed by three Vavs, topped with Yuds, stemming from a shared base. Shin represents stability, harmony, and symmetry in Creation.
There are three elements of a physical and spiritual fire: the coal, inner flame, and outer flame. One of the meanings of the word Shin is shinui, “change.” The coal represents the Divine Essence that does not change (“I am God, I have not changed”), and is not affected by Creation. The inner flame is the potential of change within the changeless, and the outer flame is constantly shifting and changing.
Shin can also be translated as a year,change, a tooth, scarlet, serenity, to sleep, to teach, two, sharp, old, or viceroy.
The letter Shin is engraved on both sides of the Tefilin, surrounding the wearer’s head with the name of G-d.
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