Zayin

Nature

Zayin, the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has the numeric value of seven. G-d created the world in seven days and rested on the seventh, Shabbat. The Land of Israel has seven native kinds of produce, the Shiva’at Haminim (wheat, barley, pomegranates, grapes, olives, dates, and figs). There are seven weeks counted in the Counting of the Omer, from the exodus from Egypt (Pesach) to the Giving of the Torah (Shavuot).

There were seven lamps of the menorah, seven shepherds of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David. The Jewish wedding contains seven circuits, seven blessings, and seven days of celebration of groom and bride. There are seven Rabbinic mitzvot.

The letter Zayin represents the Shabbat Queen and the woman, as “the woman of valor is the crown of her husband.”