text:
Influenza A virus subtype H1N1

In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of influenza A virus. Major outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus that contains the glycoproteins hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), antigens whose subtypes are used to classify the strains of the virus as H1N1, H1N2 etc. Hemagglutinin causes red blood cells to clump together and binds the virus to the infected cell. Neuraminidase is a type of glycoside hydrolase enzyme which helps to move the virus particles through the infected cell and assist in budding from the host cells.

Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza, for instance in 2004–2005. Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza). Its size is 80 to 120 nm in diameter.

Genetic analyses of virus from tissue preserved medically or in permafrost suggest that modern seasonal H1N1 strains descended from the 1918 flu pandemic virus, but not conclusively so.

Swine influenza
Swine influenza (also known as swine flu or pig flu) is a respiratory disease that occurs in pigs that is caused by the Influenza A virus. Influenza viruses that are normally found in swine are known as swine influenza viruses (SIVs). The known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2 and H2N3. Pigs can also become infected with the H4N6 and H9N2 subtypes.

Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu or a variant virus. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. Properly cooking the meat of an infected animal removes the risk of infection.

Pigs experimentally infected with the strain of swine flu that caused the human pandemic of 2009–10 showed clinical signs of flu within four days, and the virus spread to other uninfected pigs housed with the infected ones.

1918–1920 flu pandemic
The 1918 flu was an unusually severe and deadly strain of H1N1 avian influenza, which killed from 17 to 50 or more million people worldwide over about a year in 1918 and 1920. It was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

The 1918 flu caused an abnormally high number of deaths, possibly due to it provoking a cytokine storm in the body. (The H5N1 bird flu, also an Influenza A virus, has a similar effect.) After the 1918 flu infected lung cells, it frequently led to overstimulation of the immune system via release of immune response-stimulating cytokines (proteins that transmit signals between cells) into the lung tissue. This leads to extensive leukocyte migration towards the lungs, resulting in the destruction of lung cells and secretion of blood and mucus into the alveoli and airways. This makes it difficult for the patient to breathe and can result in suffocation. In contrast to other pandemics, which mostly kill the old and the very young, the 1918 pandemic killed unusual numbers of young adults, which may have been due to their healthy immune systems mounting a too-strong and damaging response to the infection.

The term "Spanish" flu was coined because Spain was at the time the only European country where the press were printing reports of the outbreak, which had killed thousands in the armies fighting World War I (1914–1918). Other countries suppressed the news in order to protect morale.

1976 swine flu outbreak
In 1976, a novel swine influenza A (H1N1) caused severe respiratory illness in 13 soldiers, with one death at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The virus was detected only from 19 January to 9 February and did not spread beyond Fort Dix. Retrospective serologic testing subsequently demonstrated that up to 230 soldiers had been infected with the novel virus, which was an H1N1 strain. The cause of the outbreak is still unknown and no exposure to pigs was identified.

1977 Russian flu
The 1977 Russian flu pandemic was caused by strain Influenza A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1). It infected mostly children and young adults under 23; because a similar strain was prevalent in 1947–57, most adults had substantial immunity. Later analysis found that the re-emergent strain had been circulating for approximately one year before it was detected in China and Russia. The virus was included in the 1978–79 influenza vaccine.

2009 A(H1N1) pandemic

In the 2009 flu pandemic, the virus isolated from patients in the United States was found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses – North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe – "an unusually mongrelised mix of genetic sequences." This new strain appears to be a result of reassortment of human influenza and swine influenza viruses, in all four different strains of subtype H1N1.

Preliminary genetic characterization found that the hemagglutinin (HA) gene was similar to that of swine flu viruses present in U.S. pigs since 1999, but the neuraminidase (NA) and matrix protein (M) genes resembled versions present in European swine flu isolates. The six genes from American swine flu are themselves mixtures of swine flu, bird flu, and human flu viruses. While viruses with this genetic makeup had not previously been found to be circulating in humans or pigs, there is no formal national surveillance system to determine what viruses are circulating in pigs in the U.S.

In April 2009, an outbreak of influenza-like illness (ILI) occurred in Mexico and then in the United States; the CDC reported seven cases of novel A/H1N1 influenza and promptly shared the genetic sequences on the GISAID database. With similar timely sharing of data for Mexican isolates, by 24 April it became clear that the outbreak of ILI in Mexico and the confirmed cases of novel influenza A in the southwest US were related and WHO issued a health advisory on the outbreak of "influenza-like illness in the United States and Mexico". The disease then spread very rapidly, with the number of confirmed cases rising to 2,099 by 7 May, despite aggressive measures taken by the Mexican government to curb the spread of the disease. The outbreak had been predicted a year earlier by noticing the increasing number of replikins, a type of peptide, found in the virus.

On 11 June 2009, the WHO declared an H1N1 pandemic, moving the alert level to phase 6, marking the first global pandemic since the 1968 Hong Kong flu. On 25 October 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama officially declared H1N1 a national emergency. The President's declaration caused many U.S. employers to take actions to help stem the spread of the swine flu and to accommodate employees and / or workflow which may have been impacted by an outbreak.

A study conducted in coordination with the University of Michigan Health Service – scheduled for publication in the December 2009 American Journal of Roentgenology – warned that H1N1 flu can cause pulmonary embolism, surmised as a leading cause of death in this pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a "severe" case of the H1N1 flu. H1N1 may induce other embolic events, such as myocardial infarction, bilateral massive DVT, arterial thrombus of infrarenal aorta, thrombosis of right external iliac vein and common femoral vein or cerebral gas embolism. The type of embolic events caused by H1N1 infection are summarized in a 2010 review by Dimitroulis Ioannis et al.

The 21 March 2010 worldwide update, by the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO), states that "213 countries and overseas territories/communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16,931 deaths." , worldwide update by World Health Organization (WHO) more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18,138 deaths. The research team of Andrew Miller showed pregnant patients are at increased risk. It has been suggested that pregnant women and certain populations such as native North Americans have a greater likelihood of developing a T helper type 2 response to H1N1 influenza which may be responsible for the systemic inflammatory response syndrome that causes pulmonary edema and death.

On 26 April 2011, an H1N1 pandemic preparedness alert was issued by the World Health Organization for the Americas. In August 2011, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and the CDC, northern sea otters off the coast of Washington state were infected with the same version of the H1N1 flu virus that caused the 2009 pandemic and "may be a newly identified animal host of influenza viruses". In May 2013, seventeen people died during an H1N1 outbreak in Venezuela, and a further 250 were infected. As of early January 2014, Texas health officials have confirmed at least thirty-three H1N1 deaths and widespread outbreak during the 2013/2014 flu season, while twenty-one more deaths have been reported across the US. Nine people have been reported dead from an outbreak in several Canadian cities, and Mexico reports outbreaks resulting in at least one death. Spanish health authorities have confirmed 35 H1N1 cases in the Aragon region, 18 of whom are in intensive care. On 17 March 2014, three cases were confirmed with a possible fourth awaiting results occurring at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

2012 India outbreak
With more than 300 infections and over 20 deaths, India's health ministry declared an outbreak "well under control" with "no reason to panic" in April 2012.

2015 India outbreak
According to the Indian Health Ministry, 31,974 cases of swine flu had been reported and 1,895 people had died from an outbreak by mid-March.

2017 Maldives outbreak
Maldives reported swine flu in early 2017; 501 people were tested for the disease and 185 (37%) of those tested were positive for the disease. Four of those who tested positive from these 185 died due to this disease.

The total number of people who have died due to the disease is unknown. Patient Zero was never identified.

Schools were closed for a week due to the disease, but were ordered by the Ministry of Education to open after the holidays even though the disease was not fully under control.

2017 Myanmar outbreak
Myanmar reported H1N1 in late July 2017. As of 27 July, there were 30 confirmed cases and six people had died. The Ministry of Health and Sports of Myanmar sent an official request to WHO to provide help to control the virus; and also mentioned that the government would be seeking international assistance, including from the UN, China and the United States.

2017–18 Pakistan outbreak
Pakistan reported H1N1 cases mostly arising from the city of Multan, with deaths resulting from the epidemic reaching 42. There have also been confirmed cases in cities of Gujranwala and Lahore.

2019 Malta outbreak
An outbreak of swine flu in the European Union member state was reported in mid-January 2019, with the island's main state hospital overcrowded within a week, with more than 30 cases being treated.

2019 Morocco outbreak
In January 2019 an outbreak of H1N1 was recorded in Morocco, with nine confirmed fatalities.

2019 Iran outbreak
In November 2019 an outbreak of H1N1 was recorded in Iran, with 56 fatalities and 4,000 people hospitalized.

G4 virus
The G4 virus, also known as the "G4 swine flu virus" (G4) and "G4 EA H1N1", is a swine influenza virus strain discovered in China. The virus is a variant genotype 4 (G4) Eurasian avian-like (EA) H1N1 virus that mainly affects pigs, but there is some evidence of it infecting people. A 2020 peer-reviewed paper from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) stated that "G4 EA H1N1 viruses possess all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans ... Controlling the prevailing G4 EA H1N1 viruses in pigs and close monitoring of swine working populations should be promptly implemented."

Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Program, stated in July 2020 that this strain of influenza virus was not new and had been under surveillance since 2011. The Chinese CDC said it had implemented an influenza surveillance program in 2010, analyzing more than 400,000 tests annually, to facilitate early identification of influenza. Of those, 13 A(H1N1) cases were detected, of which three were of the G4 variant.

The study stated that almost 30,000 swine had been monitored via nasal swabs between 2011 and 2018. While other variants of the virus have appeared and diminished, the study claimed the G4 variant had sharply increased since 2016 to become the predominant strain. The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs rebutted the study, saying that the number of pigs sampled was too small to demonstrate G4 had become the dominant strain and that the media had interpreted the study "in an exaggerated and nonfactual way". They also said the infected workers "did not show flu symptoms and the test sample is not representative of the pig population in China".

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the study suggested that human infection by the G4 virus is more common than it was thought to be. Both the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the US CDC stated that, like all flu viruses with pandemic potential, the variant is a concern that will be monitored. The ECDC stated that "the most important intervention in preparing for the pandemic potential of influenza viruses is the development and use of human vaccines ...". Health officials (including Anthony Fauci) have said that the virus should be monitored, particularly among those in close contact with pigs, but it is not an immediate threat. While there have been no reported cases or evidence of the virus outside China as of July 2020, Smithsonian Magazine reported in July 2020 that scientists agree that the virus should be closely monitored, but because it "so far cannot jump from person to person", it should not be a cause for alarm yet.

Infection in pregnancy
Pregnant women who contract the H1N1 infection are at greater risk of developing complications because of hormonal changes, physical changes and changes to their immune system to accommodate the growing fetus. For this reason the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that those who are pregnant be vaccinated to prevent the influenza virus. The vaccination should not be taken by people who have had a severe allergic reaction to the influenza vaccination. Those who are moderately to severely ill, with or without a fever should wait until they recover before vaccination.

Antiviral treatment
Pregnant women who become infected with the influenza are advised to contact their doctor immediately. Influenza can be treated with prescription antiviral medications. Oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are two neuraminidase inhibitors (antiviral medications) recommended. They are most effective when taken within two days of becoming sick.

Since 1 October 2008, the CDC has tested 1,146 seasonal influenza A (H1N1) viruses for resistance against oseltamivir and zanamivir. It was found that 99.6% of the samples were resistant to oseltamivir while none were resistant to zanamivir. After 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) virus samples were tested, only 4% (of 853 samples) showed resistance to oseltamivir (again, no samples showed resistance to zanamivir). A study conducted in Japan during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic concluded that infants exposed to either oseltamivir or zanamivir had no short term adverse effects. Both amantadine and rimantadine have been found to be teratogenic and embryotoxic (malformations and toxic effects on the embryo) when given at high doses in animal studies.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Influenza A virus subtype H1N1


text: File:Dohány Synagogue1.jpg

title: File:Dohány Synagogue1.jpg


text:
Longstreet Hotel, Casino, and RV Resort

Longstreet Inn, Casino and RV Resort is located on State Route 373, in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, seven miles north of Death Valley Junction. The resort has a nine-hole golf course, 60 rooms, an RV park with 50 spaces, as well as a casino, a bar and two restaurants.

title: Longstreet Hotel, Casino, and RV Resort


text:
User talk:Jwolf

Welcome, from Journalist Welcome to Wikipedia!

Hello. My name is Orane (but I go by the name 'Journalist' on Wikipedia) and I am one of Wikipedia's Administrators. I just stopped by to say Hi and to formally welcome you to Wikipedia. Thank you for your awesome contributions so far. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. I know that being here for the first few days may be a bit confusing, but you'll get used to it pretty soon.

Here are a few good links for newcomers. I know that they can be boring, but I recommend that you take a look at them:
 * Policies and guidelines
 * What Wikipedia is not
 * Editing, policy, conduct, and structure tutorial
 * Manual of Style

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! You can come to my talk page if you have any questions. If Im online, I will definitely respond. If I'm offline, you can go to Where to ask a question. Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~) ; this will automatically produce your name and the date. Again, welcome! Come say Hi! →Jo urna list >>talk<<  01:41, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

File permission problem with File:Fevertech.jpg
Thanks for uploading File:Fevertech.jpg. I noticed that while you provided a valid copyright licensing tag, there is no proof that the creator of the file agreed to license it under the given license.

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File permission problem with File:Titm small.gif
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File permission problem with File:Fever-frenzy.jpg
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title: User talk:Jwolf


text: User:Surachit/infobox

title: User:Surachit/infobox


text:
File:Dohány Synagogue2.jpg

Summary
Dohány Synagogue, photographed 2003 by Daniel Allen (DAllen) http://www.coder.com/daniel/photos/budapest/

title: File:Dohány Synagogue2.jpg


text: User talk:72.240.123.2

title: User talk:72.240.123.2


text:
User:Howabout1/to do

 * VfDing, speedy deleting, expanding, and cleaning up new pages.
 * Creating redirect pages.
 * Undead-ending dead-end pages
 * It is my mission to keep the vote tallys right on RfA. Only about 9 out of 10 users update the tallys when they vote.

title: User:Howabout1/to do


text:
Talk:Kendama

Untitled
The article is not good right now and needs a lot of work. There is a lot of information about kendama out there that could do with being brought together onto this page. The main question is what to include on the main wiki page and what can live on http://kendama.wikia.com/wiki/Kendama_Wiki SRBradley (talk) 18:06, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

I have created a separate page for the list of kendama tricks which is currently in draft form here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:List_of_Kendama_Tricks. This is to stop the main page getting unwieldy and to standardise the trick names and presented format. Once it is approved I will remove the current list SRBradley (talk) 18:06, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 January 2020 and 13 March 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Gallaz63. Peer reviewers: Abuckley3, Xqchen9, AyanoTanaka.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 01:41, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Sections missing
Possible sections to be added in no particular order
 * Dan / Kyu grading systems
 * Kendama associations
 * Kendama playing styles
 * Something about performance
 * Kendama manufacture
 * Materials
 * Specifications
 * Kendama brands / companies / teams
 * Kendama promotion
 * Shape evolution
 * Something about collectors or collectible kendamas
 * Something about the culture of edits and movies
 * Competition results
 * World records
 * Notable players
 * Hi, I am going to add some of topics into the article. Shape evolution will have its own sub section and competition will have its own full section, but the following section ideas that you listed will be touched on throughout the article with my changes I am going to make: kendama associations, brands, companies, and teams. Here is a link to my sandbox: User:Gallaz63/Kendama Gallaz63 (talk) 06:58, 13 February 2020 (UTC)

Redirected to from "Bilboquet"
Should the two p mostly about the kendama. I think that the two pages should be split. A bilboquet discussion is mostly historical, while readers interested in kendamas are most looking for more current information. There's really no overlap in audience. The connection between the two toys is primarily historical. A bilboquet page might discuss boleros and similar toys, perhaps, but getting into that on a kendama page turns it into a bit of a mess. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.148.77.146 (talk) 05:18, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Proposed merge with List of Kendama Tricks
inappropiate split: excessively detailed non encycopedic content  DGG ( talk ) 05:14, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

 * Concur that List of Kendama Tricks should not be split off, and that Wikipedia not be used for an exhaustive list of tricks. That's not what an encyclopedia does. The main kendama article should list the most Notable tricks, the ones that outside observers see fit to comment upon. Not simply whatever tricks enthusiasts list out amongst themselves. Though granted it's a nice list and probably should be copied over to an external yo-yo or juggling wiki. MatthewVanitas (talk) 19:35, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 09:21, 5 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Kendama USA 02.jpg

New Additions
Hi everyone,

I am going to be implementing new additions to this article little by little over the next couple of days, and plan to until it almost matches my sandbox: User:Gallaz63/Kendama I plan on adding the following: The article as a whole will still have a long way to go after my additions, but I believe my new edits will help represent kendama on Wikipedia in a more relevant fashion and make it more informative. If anyone disagrees with the new edits I make, please don't hesitate to respond to this with your concern. Gallaz63 (talk) 07:06, 13 February 2020 (UTC)
 * New Pictures
 * Revisions and additional subsections to the History section
 * Adding a "How to Play" section
 * Revisions and additions to the "Contemporary Culture" section
 * A whole new "Competitions" section
 * A new "Grips" subsection in "Structure & Terminology"
 * Possibly a new "World Records" section

title: Talk:Kendama


text:
Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Dinosaur/archive1

Dinosaur
I'm astonished such an incredible article hasn't been a featured article already. This is such a popular topic & would be great on the main page. Spawn Man 01:46, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

 * 1) Major Support. As per above. Spawn Man 01:47, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Object, a good article, but it still needs some work. A couple sections like =Behaviour= and =In popular culture= need to be rewritten. The history section ends around 1900, and needs to be expanded. The references also need to be redone. There are a mix of parenthetical and external link style references, in general both should be replaced with footnotes. The external links section is also overly long. With so many links, do we really need to include sites only available in German? Or ones on obscure theories, such as the "gravity killed the dinosaurs" ones? Also why is so much of the article quotes from other sources? The entirety of the =Lungs=, =Heart=, and =Care of young= sections are quotes from other sources. The second section also contains a not terribly enlightening quote from something called DinoBuzz. Also Image:Falcarius utahensis.jpg and Image:Dino tissue.jpg are claimed as fair use, but give no justification. - SimonP 03:45, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I think German language links should stay if they were used as reference to write parts of the article, unless an English language reference can be found to replace it. Has anyone got an idea why the German links were added? - Mgm|(talk) 14:42, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Object:
 * The image Image:Falcarius utahensis.jpg is claimed as "fair use", but there doesn't appear to be anything special about it. It should be removed.
 * The image Image:Dino tissue.jpg is claimed as fair use, but doesn't indicate either the source (presumably an article in Science) or a fair use rationale. See Fair use and Image description page for what is needed.
 * --Carnildo 06:17, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Object: 1) The ToC is granulated. Please reduce the heading and sub headings. 2) The page size is increasing, please start summarising sections. 3) Collect all those inline links as footnotes. There are still more issues with the article, but I hope you address these first. =Nichalp   «Talk»=  06:43, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Just as a note everybody: I was requested to put dinosaur up for FA by a friend. I didn't actually know I would have to actually fix the article. So don't complain to me, my friend wanted to know if dinosaurs would get anywhere... Spawn Man 02:11, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Please read the text on the top of this page: It says: If you nominate an article, you will be expected to make a good-faith effort to address objections that are raised.

If you wanted a general review and suggestions from the community please add it to Peer review instead of WP:FAC. Please decide on what you want to do now. =Nichalp  «Talk»=  05:18, 10 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Those instructions should be tweaked to also apply to objectors. Pcb21| Pete 17:22, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Absolutely not. That would only serve as an unmerited deterrent for objections. Unactionable objections are not a problem since they're ignored by Raul and not making it "in time" isn't a problem either, since the comments are archived and can easily be addressed at a later date. It's certainly helpful if objectors help out and the practice should be encouraged, but under no circumstances should it be expected. The comments of those who aren't deeply involved in the nominated article should be encouraged, and not seen as some sort of burden. / Peter Isotalo 08:04, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I agree. Articles shouldn't be promoted just because people who'd otherwise object can't fix things themselves. If I notice a large gap in an article's coverage I must be able to object even though I don't have the knowledge to fill the gap myself. - Mgm|(talk) 08:11, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

 * It is a great shame that only "self-nominations" are possible. Pcb21| Pete 09:23, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I could fix the objections I raise, but I'm fairly sure people would rather I didn't -- if an image is unsourced or has no copyright info, I'd just speedy-delete it, whereas the person nominating the article for FAC might know the information in question. --Carnildo 19:49, 11 October 2005 (UTC)


text:
User:Sputnikcccp/Hebrew Alphabet

Template for Hebrew Letter

 * Intro:
 * Info-box
 * Letter is the numberth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. It has the sound of English [english sound]. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek letter, Latin letter and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.
 * Origin of letter:
 * Hebrew Pronunciation:
 * Variations on written form/pronunciation:
 * Significance of letter, Mystical and otherwise:

Aleph
Aleph (or alef) is the first letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Aleph is what is called a 'silent letter'. It is a plosive laryngal consonant and has no sound except that of the vowel under it. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Alpha, and hence the Latin A and the Cyrillic equivalent.

Aleph, like all Phoenician letters, was a consonant, represented in transliteration by the ’ at the beginning of the word ’āleph, but the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic equivalents have all come to represent vowel sounds. In Hebrew and probably in Phoenician, it is pronounced as a glottal stop — IPA. Since Greek did not contain this sound, when the Greek alphabet was developed, this symbol was adapted to represent a vowel sound, alpha (Αα).

Origin
Aleph is thought to be derived from the Phoenician for “ox", and the shape of the letter originally represented an ox’s head. In modern Hebrew, "aluf" means a domesticated animal, such as a bull or a sheep.

Modern Hebrew Pronunciation
In Modern Israeli Hebrew, the letter is either a glottal stop, or has no pronunciation besides that of the vowel under it.

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
The pronunciation of Aleph varies from group to group, with some pronouncing it more as a glottal stop, and others more silently. Aleph, along with Ayin, Resh, He, and Heth, cannot receive a dagesh.

Significance of Aleph
In gematria, aleph represents the number 1, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 1000 (i.e. אתשנד in numbers would be the date 1754).

In discrete mathematics, aleph is used as the symbol to denote the aleph numbers, which represent the cardinality of infinite sets.

In Judaism
Aleph is the subject of a midrash which praises its humility in not demanding to start the Bible. (In Hebrew the Bible is begun with the second letter of the alphabet, Bet.) In this folktale, Aleph is rewarded by being allowed to start the Ten Commandments. (In Hebrew, the first word is 'Anokhi, which starts with an aleph.)

In the Sefer Yetzirah, The letter Aleph is King over Breath, Formed Air in the universe, Temperate in the Year, and the Chest in the soul.

Aleph is also the first letter of the Hebrew word emet, which means truth. In Jewish mythology it was the letter aleph that was carved into the head of the golem which ultimately gave it life.

Aleph also begins the three words that make up God's mystical name in Exodus, I Am That I Am, (in Hebrew, 'Ehye 'Asher 'Ehye), and aleph is an important part of mystical amulets and formulas.

Sayings with Aleph
From Aleph to Taw describes something from beginning to end; the Hebrew equivalent of the English From A to Z.

One who doesn't know how to make an Aleph is someone who is illiterate.

Not with a big Aleph (lo b'aleph rabati) means Absolutely not!.

In abbreviations
An unsubstantiated rumour in Hebrew is prefaced with אא"א, which stands for Ishah Achat Amrah, "One woman said..."

אד"רח stands for Aleph D'Rosh Chodesh - the first of the month.

Other
Because aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, it is frequently used for naming other entities. For example the Lubavitch Rebbe founded the Aleph Institute and there is an alliance for Jewish Renewal also called aleph.

Jorge Luis Borges wrote a short story entitled "The Aleph".

Beth
Beth or Bet is the second letter of many Semetic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Beta, Latin B, the Cyrillic equivalent, the Paleo-Hebrew equivalent, and the Aramaic equivalent, which gave rise to the Hebrew equivalent.

Transcription:
This letter is named beth, following the Tiberian Hebrew pronunciation, in academic circles, and bet, following the modern Israeli Hebrew pronunciation, bet, in Israel and by most Jews familiar with Hebrew, although many Ashkenazi speakers pronounce it beis , and some Jews pronounce it beth.

Origin
This letter's name means "house" in various Semitic languages (Hebrew: bayit), and appears to derive from a Middle Bronze Age picture of a house by acrophony.

Hebrew Pronunciation
The letter is pronounced like the English letter B (IPA /b/) when the Beth has a dagesh, and when this letter appears without the dagesh in its center then it is usually pronounced like the English letter V (/v/), but some may pronounce it as (/b/). See below.

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
There are two orthographic variants of this letter, which alter the pronunciation:

and
 * בּ  bet   /b/
 * ב  vet   /v/, /b/ (among Egyptian Jews, Syrian Jews, Algerian Jews and Spanish and Portuguese Jews), likely used to be Voiced bilabial fricative

Beth with the dagesh
When the Beth has a "dot" in its center, known as a dagesh, then it is pronounced as Beth, making the same sound that the English B makes when pronounced. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used. The [b] is a bilabial stop (plosive).

Beth without the dagesh (Veth)
When this letter appears as ב without the dagesh ("dot") in its center then it is pronounced as Veth in modern Israeli Hebrew, making the same sound as the English letter V. The [v] is a labiodental fricative.

Significance of Bet:
Bet in gematria symbolizes the number two, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 2000 (i.e. בתשנד in numbers would be the date 2754).

As a prefix, the letter bet may function as a preposition meaning "in" or "at".

Bet, as two in gematria, can also have the meaning of alternative, (like Plan B). This can also be used to designate something secret or illegal; the Irgun, an early Israeli military force, was known historically as Haganah Bet.

In Judaism
Bet is the first letter of the Torah. Jewish midrash asks why the first letter of the alphabet was not used: the use of Bet is said to symbolize that there are two parts to Torah: the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.

Similarly, since the Bible's creation story begins with a Bet, the midrash points out that because the letter is closed on three sides and open on one, this is to teach one to question about what happened after creation, but not what happened before it, or what is above the heavens or below the earth.

Gimel
Gimmel is the third letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Syriac, Phoenician and Hebrew. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Gamma (Γ) and the Latin C and G.

Transcription
This letter may be written as Gimmel, Gamel, or Gimel, reflecting the variants in pronunciation.

Origin of Gimel:
The word derives from the Phoenician for "camel", and the shape of the letter is thought to have originally represented a camel. The modern Hebrew word for camel is gamal.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
The letter Gimel is usually pronounced in modern Hebrew as the English letter G (IPA /g/). Gimel is a velar plosive.

Variations on Written form/pronunciation:
The letter Gimel is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daled, Kaph, Pe, and Tav (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters). Three of them (Bet, Kaph, and Pe) have their sound changed in modern Hebrew from the fricative to the plosive by adding a dagesh. The other three have the same pronunciation in modern Hebrew, but have had alternate pronunciations at other times and places. Gimel was pronounced in some Sephardi areas as /g/ or /ʒ/ with a dagesh, and as /Voiced velar fricative/ without a dagesh. When reading Torah and praying, Yemenite Jews will pronounce Gimmel with a dagesh and  without. See Bet, Daled, Kaph, Pe, and Taf.

Significance of Gimmel:
In gematria, Gimel represents the number three, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 3000 (i.e. גתשנד in numbers would be the date 3754).

Gimmel is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, Ayin, Teth, Nun, Zayin, and Tzadi.

In Judaism
It is written like a vav with a yud as a 'foot', and it resembles a person in motion; symbolically, a rich man running after a poor man to give him charity: Gimmel directly precedes [dalet] in the aleph-bet, and this which signifies a poor/lowly man, from the Hebrew word dal.

The word gimel is related to gemul, which means justified repayment, or the giving of reward and punishment.

Daleth
Dalet or Daleth is the fourth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. It has the sound of English D. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek delta (Δ), Latin D and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Transcription
This letter is named daleth, following the Tiberian Hebrew pronunciation, in academic circles, and dalet, following the modern Israeli Hebrew pronunciation (see Taw (letter)), although dales is used by many Ashkenazi Jews and daleth by some Jews of Middle-Eastern background.

Origin
The letter Daleth is believed to have originated from the Proto-Sinatic pictogram of a fish (in Hebrew  dag ).

Hebrew Pronunciation
The ד like the English D is a voiced alveolar plosive, a type of consonantal sound. Just as in English, there may be subtle varieties of the sound that is created when it is spoken.

Variations on Written form/pronunciation
The letter Daleth is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, and Tav (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters). There are minor variations to this letter's pronunciation, such as:

or:
 * ד  dalet    ( among Teimanim, Mizrachim and some Sephardim). This pronounciation is rare.
 * דּ  dalet

Significance of Daleth:
In gematria, daleth symbolizes the number four and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 4000 (i.e. דתשנד in numbers would be the date 4754).

In modern Hebrew, the letter can also be written with an apostrophe in front of it (known as a chupchik): 'ד which alters the pronunciation to /ð/.

Daleth as a prefix in Aramaic (the language of the Talmud) is a preposition meaning "that", or "which", or also "from" or "of"; since many Talmudic terms have found their way into Hebrew, you can hear daleth as a prefix in many phrases (as in Mitzvah Doraitah; a mitzvah from the Torah.)

In Judaism
The letter daleth, along with the He (and very rarely Gimel) is used to represent the Names of God in Judaism. The letter He is used commonly, and the daleth is rarer. A good example is the keter (crown) of a tallit, which has the blessing for donning the tallit, and has the name of God usually represented by a daleth.

He
He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. It has the sound of English H or is silent. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Epsilon, the Latin E and the Cyrillic Ye. He, like all Phoenician letters, represented a consonant, but the Latin, Greek and Cyrillic equivalents have all come to represent vowel sounds.

Origin
The letter is thought to have originated from a pictograph of a calling or praying man. (The word for praise in modern hebrew, hallel, starts with a he.) Some have suggested an origin from a pictogram of a window.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
In modern Hebrew, the letter can either be pronunced like the English letter H, (a voiceless glottal fricative), or simply as silent, a practice common among Israelis. It is often viewed as sloppy to pronounce the He as silent.

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
He generally is to be pronounced as, like the letter h in English, but in many variant Hebrew pronunciations the letter may become a glottal stop or not be pronunced at all. In word-final position, He is used to indicate an a-vowel, usually a qamatz (ָ), and in this sense functions like Aleph, Vav and Yud as a mater lectionis, indicating the presence of a long vowel.

He, along with Aleph, Ayin, Resh, and Heth, cannot receive a dagesh. Nonetheless, it does receive a marking identical to the dagesh, to form He-mappiq (הּ). Although indistinguishable for most modern speakers or readers of Hebrew, the mapiq is placed in a word-final He to indicate that the letter is not merely a mater lectionis, but that the letter should be aspirated in that position. It is generally used in Hebrew to indicate the third-person feminine singular genitive marker. Today the mapiq is only pronounced in religious contexts, and then often only by careful readers of the scriptures.

Significance of He:
In gematria, He symbolizes the number five, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 5000 (i.e. התשנד in numbers would be the date 5754).

Attached to words, He may have three possible meanings:
 * A preposition meaning "the" or "that" (as in "A boy that reads", not "Pass me that book."). For example, yeled - a boy, Hayeled - the boy.
 * A prefix indicating that the sentence is a question. (For example, Yadata - You knew, Hayadata? - Did you know?)
 * A suffix after place names indicating movement towards the given noun. (For example, Yerushalayim - Jerusalem, Yerushalaymah - towards Jerusalem.)

He, being five in gematria, is often found on amulets, symbolizing the five fingers of a hand, a very common talismanic symbol.

In Judaism
He is often used to represent the name of God, as He stands for Hashem, which means The Name and is a way of saying 'God' without actually saying the name of God. In print, Hashem is usually written as He with a chupchik: 'ה.

At the seder, during Yachatz there is a tradition to break the matzah into the shape of the letter He.

Vav
Vav or waw is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic in abjadi order; it is the twenty-seventh in modern Arabic order. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek digamma (Ϝ, whose name in Greek was probably Ϝαυ) and upsilon (Υ), which in turn gave rise to the Latin F, V, and Y; V later developed into U and W.

Origin:
Vav is believed to have come from a pictogram of a mace or peg (in Hebrew vav).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
This letter has three forms of pronunciation: the letter vav as a consonant, pronounced like the English V (IPA: /v/); the letter with a dot in the center is pronounced "oo" like the English U (as in fool); and the letter with the dot on top is pronounced as the English O (Oh!).

Variation on written form/pronunciation:
There are three orthographic variants of Vav, which alter the pronunciation:

 * ו: /v/
 * וּ: /u/
 * וֹ: /o/

Vav as consonant:
Vav without any dots is pronounced as a voiced labiodental fricative (like the English V) or as a voiced labiodental approximant (like the Dutch or German word-initial W) in Ashkenazi, European Sephardi and modern Israeli Hebrew; pronounced as a Labial-velar approximant (like a W) by most Jews of Eastern origin.

Vav with a dot on top:
Vav can be used as a mater lectionis for an 'o' vowel, in which case it is known as a holom male, and in pointed text is marked with a dot above and to the left and is usually pronounced as a close-mid back rounded vowel like the English Oh!. This vowel can also appear without the vav, as just the dot, and is known then as holom haser. (The vav may still take a holom haser and thus appear identical to this vowel although the consonant is pronounced, thus producing the sound vo as in mitzvot .)

Vav with a dot in the middle:
Vav can also be used as a mater lectionis for an 'oo' vowel, in which case it is known as a shuruk, and in pointed text is marked with a dot in the middle (on the left side) and is usually pronounced as a Near-close near-back rounded vowel like the English book.

Significance of Vav:
Vav in gematria represents the number six, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 6000 (i.e. ותשנד in numbers would be the date 6754.)

Vav, as a prefix, has several possible meanings:
 * A Connecting Vav: when a vav connects two words or parts of a sentence; it has the meaning of the English word 'and'. This is the most common usage.

 * Vav HaHipuch (The Reversing Vav):

 * (Mainly biblical): when a vav is placed in front of a verb in the future tense, it changes the verb to the past tense. For example, yomar means 'he will say'; add the vav and it becomes vayomar; 'he said'.

 * (Mainly biblical): when a vav is placed in front of a verb in the past tense, it changes the verb to the future tense. For example, ahavtah means 'you loved'; add the vav and it becomes ve'ahavtah; 'you will love'.

The vav has been responsible for the difficult task of transliterating the English letter W. The debate has been whether to use one vav, two vavs, or a vav with a chupchik. All three can be seen in use; for example the name Washington can be transliterated as ושינגטון, ו'שינגטון, or וושינגטון.

Zayin
Zayin or Zain is the seventh letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Zeta (Ζ), Latin Z, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Zayin:
The origins of zayin are unknown. It may have originated from a pictograph of a sword or other weapon.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
In modern Hebrew, the letter Zayin is pronounced as an alveolar fricative, (IPA /z/) like the English letter "z".

Significance of Zayin:
In gematria, Zayin represents the number seven, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 7000 (i.e. זתשנד in numbers would be the date 7754).

Zayin is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, Ayin, Teth, Nun, Gimel, and Tzadi.

Zayin, in modern Israeli slang, refers to the penis.

A chupchik can also be placed in front of it ('ז), giving it the IPA sound /ʒ/.

Heth
Heth or Het is the eighth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Eta (Η), Latin H and Cyrillic И. Heth, like all Phoenician letters, represented a consonant, and H is still a consonant in the Latin alphabet, whereas the Greek and Cyrillic equivalents have come to represent vowel sounds.

Transcription:
This letter may be written as Heth, Het, Chet, Khet, Kheth, Cheth, or other combinations, in an attempt to transcribe the IPA sounds /x/ and /ħ/ into English letters.

Origins of Heth:
The letter Heth is thought to have come from a pictogram of a fence.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
In official Modern Israeli Hebrew, the letter Heth is usually pronounced as a voiceless pharyngeal fricative in accordance with oriental Jewish traditions, although it is commonly a voiceless velar fricative  due to European influence.

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
Heth, along with Aleph, Ayin, Resh, and He, cannot receive a dagesh. As the voiceless fricative is difficult for most English speakers to pronounce, it is usually Anglizised to /h/. Thus challah (חלה), pronounced as xala or ħala by Hebrew speakers is prounced hala by most English speakers. It is often possible to tell a person's place of origin by their pronounciation, especially of Heth. If it is pronounced softly, like a voiceless pharyngeal fricative, then the person is probably of Eastern origin. If it is pronounced like an English H, then the person is probably a native English speaker.

Significance of Heth:
In gematria, Heth represents the number eight, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 8000 (i.e. חתשנד in numbers would be the date 8754).

In chat rooms and online forums, the letter Heth repeated denotes laughter, similar to the English lol.

Teth
Teth or Tet is the ninth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Theta (Θ).

Origin of Teth:
The origin of Teth is disputed. It is either derived from the pictograph of a basket, or a wheel.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
The letter is pronounced as the English T, although it can be pharyngealized in traditional Temani and Sephardi pronunciation.

Significance of Teth:
In gematria, Teth represents the number nine, and when used at the beginning of Hebrew years, it means 9000 (i.e. טתשנד in numbers would be the date 9754).

As well, in gematria, the number 15 is written with Teth and Vav, (9+6) to avoid the normal construction Yodh and He (10+5) which spells a name of God. Similarly, 16 is written with Teth and Zayin (9+7) instead of Yodh and Vav (10+6) to avoid spelling part of the Tetragrammaton.

Teth is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, Ayin, Gimmel, Nun, Zayin, and Tzadi.

Yodh
Yud or Yodh is the tenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Iota (I), Latin I (and later J), and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Yodh:
Yodh is thought to have originated with a pictograph of a hand (in Modern Hebrew, yad). It may be related to the Egyptian hieroglyphic of an arm (see Hieroglyphs).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
In modern Hebrew, Yodh is pronounced like the English Y (IPA: /j/).

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
Yodh is a mater lectionis, like Aleph, He, and Vav. At the end of words with a vowel, it forms a diphthong, such as [eɪ], [aɪ], or [ɔɪ].

Significance of Yodh:
In gematria, Yodh represents the number ten.

As a prefix, it designates the third person singular (or plural, with a Vav as a suffix) in the future tense.

As a suffix, it indicates first person singular possessive; av (father) becomes avi (my father).

In Judaism
Two yodhs in a row designate the name of God Adonai and in pointed texts are written with the vowels of Adonai; this is done as well with the Tetragrammaton.

As Yodh is the smallest letter, much kabbalistic and mystical significance is attached to it. Jesus mentions it in the New Testament when he says: "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Jot, or iota, refers to the letter Yodh; it was often overlooked by scribes because of its size and position as a mater lectiones. In modern Hebrew, the phrase "tip of the Yodh" refers to a small and insignificant thing, and someone who "worrys about the tip of a Yodh" is someone who is picky and meticulous about small details.

Much kabbalistic and mystical significance is also attached to it because of its gematria value as ten, which is an important number in Judaism, and its place in the name of God. See The Mystical Significance of the Hebrew Letters - Yodh

Kaph
Kaph or Kaf is the eleventh letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Kappa (Κ), Latin K, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origin of Kaph:
Kaph is thought to have been derived from a pictogram of a hand (in modern Hebrew, kaph means palm).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
This letter is pronounced like the English letter K (IPA: /k/) with a dagesh; when this letter appears without the dagesh in its center then it is usually pronounced like a velar fricative (IPA: /x/); similar to ch in German "Bach".

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
The letter Kaph is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, and Tav (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters).

There are two orthographic variants of this letter which alter the pronunciation:

and
 * כּ  kaph   /k/
 * כ chaph  /x/

Kaph with the dagesh
When the Kaph has a "dot" in its center, known as a dagesh, then it is pronounced as Kaph, making the same sound that the English K makes when pronounced. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used. The [k] is a velar plosive.

Kaph without the dagesh (Chaph)
When this letter appears as כ without the dagesh ("dot") in its center then it is pronounced as Chaph; this is pronounced as a velar fricative (IPA: /x/).

In modern Israeli Hebrew the pronunciation of Kaph is the same as the pronunciation of Heth, but many communities have differentiated between them.

Final form of Kaph
At the end of words the letter's written form changes to a Chaph Sophit (Final Chaph): No longer commonly used in modern Hebrew, biblical Hebrew had a Kaph Sophit (Final Kaph):
 * ך This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Chaph (see above).
 * ךּ This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Kaph (see above).

Significance of Kaph:
In gematria, Kaph represents the number 20. Its final form represents 500 but this is rarely used, Tav and Qoph (400+100) being used instead.

As a prefix, Kaph is a preposition:
 * It can mean "like" or "as". This is an abbreviation of כּמו, k'mo (like/as)
 * In colloquial Hebrew, Kaph and Shin together have the meaning of "when". This is an contraction of כּאשר, ka'asher (when).

Lamedh
Lamed or Lamedh is the twelfth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Lambda (Λ), Latin L, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Lamedh:
Lamedh is believed to have come from a pictogram of an ox goad or cattle prod. Some have suggested a shepherd's staff.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
Lamedh is pronounced like the English letter L when it occurs before a vowel, the alveolar lateral approximant. Unlike L, however, ל is never pronounced velarised (IPA [ɫ]), i.e. never as in English milk.

Significance of Lamedh:
Lamedh in gematria represents the number 30.

With the letter Vav it refers to the Lamedvavniks, the 36 righteous people who save the world from destruction.

As an abbreviation, it can stand for litre. Also, a sign on a car with a Lamedh on it means that the driver is a student of driving (the Lamedh stands for lomed, learner).

As a prefix, it can have two purposes:
 * It can be attached to verb roots, designating the infinitive (Daber means "speak", Ledaber means to speak).
 * It can also act as a preposition meaning "to" or "for".

Mem
Mem is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Mu (Μ), Latin M, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Mem:
Mem is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of water (mayim in modern Hebrew).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
Mem is pronounced as a bilabial nasal stop, (IPA:/m/), like the English M.

Variations on Written form/Pronunciation:
Mem, like Kaph, Nun, Pe, and Tzadi, has a final form, used at the end of words. Its shape changes from this: מ to this: ם. The pronunciation is not changed.

Significance of Mem:
In gematria, Mem represents the number 40. Its final form represents 600 but this is rarely used, Tav and Resh (400+200) being used instead.

In the Sefer Yetzirah, the letter Mem is King over Water, Formed Earth in the Universe, Cold in the Year, and the Belly in the Soul.

The final form of Mem is used in the middle of a word only once in the Bible. In Isaiah 9:6, he says:
 * לםרבה (לְמַרְבֵּה) הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵין-קֵץ.
 * That the rule may be increased, and of peace there be no end.

As an abbreviation, it stands for metre. In the Israeli army it can also stand for mefaked, commander. In Hebrew religious texts, it can stand for the name of God Makom, the Place.

Nun
Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek nu (Ν), Latin N, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Nun:
Nun is thought to have come from a pictogram of a snake (the Hebrew word for snake, nachash begins with a Nun and snake in Aramaic is nun) or eel. Some have hypothesized a hieroglyph of a fish in water for its origin.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
Nun is pronounced as a alveolar nasal consonant, (IPA: /n/), like the English letter N.

Variations on Written form/Pronunciation:
Nun, like Kaph, Mem, Pe, and Tzadi, has a final form, used at the end of words. Its shape changes from this: נ to this: ן. The pronunciation is not changed.

Significance of Nun:
In gematria, Nun represents the number 50. Its final form represents 700 but this is rarely used, Tav and Shin (400+300) being used instead.

Nun as an abbreviation can stand for neqevah, feminine. In medieval Rabbinic writings, Nun Sophit (Final Nun) stood for "Son of" (Hebrew ben or ibn).

Nun is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, Ayin, Teth, Gimmel, Zayin, and Tzadi.

In modern Israeli slang, the word Nun has come to mean failure (from Hebrew Nichshal, he lost).

Samekh
Samekh or Simketh is the fifteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Chi (Χ) and Xi (Ξ), and Latin X.

Origins of Samekh:
The origin of Samekh is unclear. It may have represented a fish like Nun (samak is fish in Arabic), or a tent peg / some kind of prop (s'mikhah in modern Hebrew means to support), and thus may be derived from the Egyptian hieroglyph djed.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
Samekh is pronounced like the English S, a voiceless alveolar fricative. Unlike most letters, its pronunciation remains constant between vowels and before voiced consonants.

Significance of Samekh:
Samekh in gematria is 60.

Samekh and Mem form the abbreviation for the Angel of Death, whose name in Hebrew is Samael. It also stands for centimetre.

Samekh is said to have been the miracle of the Ten Commandments. records that the tablets "were written on both their sides." The Talmud (tractate Shabbat 104a) explains that there were miracles involved with the carving on the tablets. One was that the carving went the full thickness of the tablets. The stone in the center part of the letter Samekh should have fallen out, as it was not connected to the rest of the tablet, but it did not; it miraculously remained in place. Scholars disagree, as the Ten Commandments would have been written in the style of the period, and thus Samekh would have been similar to the Phoenician pictogram seen in the table. Ayin, however, would have been the subject of this miracle, as its ancient form was similar to the modern day Samekh.

Ayin
‘Áyin or Ayin is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Omicron (Ο), and hence the Latin O, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

‘Áyin, like all Phoenician letters, was a consonant, represented in transliteration by the ‘ at the beginning of the word ‘Áyin. However, the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic letters that are historically derived from `Ayin all represent vowels.

Origins of Ayin:
Ayin is usually assumed to have come from a pictogram of an eye (in Hebrew: ayin). There have been claims that there were two original forms; Ayin, and Ghayin, which was a harder form of the letter. See pronunciation.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
Ayin traditionally represents a pharyngeal sound that has no equivalent in the English language (IPA Voiced pharyngeal fricative). Ayin can be pronounced as a glottal stop consonant sound, but is generally pronounced as silent (i.e. it is given the same treatment as Aleph).

Variations on Written form/Pronunciation:
In some historical Sephardi pronunciations, `Ayin was pronounced as a velar nasal "ng" consonant sound, while in non-"Mizrahi" modern Israeli Hebrew it is pronounced as a glottal stop consonant sound in certain cases, but is mostly silent (i.e. it is given the same treatment as Aleph). However, certain changes in adjoining vowels often testify to the former presence of `Ayin, even if `Ayin itself is no longer pronounced. Some historians have postulated the existance of an older, more guttural "Ghayin", which was incorporated into the softer Ayin. Arabic maintains the Ayin and Ghayin as two separate letters.

In Yiddish, the ‘Áyin is used as a vowel, rather than a consonant, and is pronounced /e/.

Ayin, along with Aleph, Resh, He, and Heth, cannot receive a dagesh.

Significance of Ayin:
In gematria, ayin represents the number 70.

In English transliteration the letter Ayin can be transliterated as either a glottal stop (Ayin) or a hard G (Ghayin). Because of this, we get Gomorrah from `Amora and Gaza from `Aza (which eventually gave us the English word gauze).

Ayin is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, Gimmel, Teth, Nun, Zayin, and Tzadi.

Pe

 * ''This is about the letter found in some Semitic alphabets. For the Cyrillic letter, see Pe (Cyrillic).

Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Pi (Π), Latin P, and Cyrillic Pe.

Origins of Pe:
Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a mouth (in Hebrew pe).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
This letter is pronounced like the English letter P (IPA: /p/) with a dagesh; when this letter appears without the dagesh in its center then it is usually pronounced like a voiceless labiodental fricative (IPA: /f/).

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
The letter Daleth is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, and Tav (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters).

There are two orthographic variants of this letter which alter the pronunciation:

and
 * פּ  Pe   /p/
 * פ Phe  /f/

Pe with the dagesh
When the Pe has a "dot" in its center, known as a dagesh, then it is pronounced as Pe, making the same sound that the English P makes when pronounced. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used. The [p] is a bilabial plosive.

Pe without the dagesh (Phe)
When this letter appears as פ without the dagesh ("dot") in its center then it is pronounced as Phe; this is pronounced as a voiceless labiodental fricative (IPA: /f/).

Final form of Phe
At the end of words the letter's written form changes to a Phe Sophit (Final Phe):
 * ף This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Phe (see above).

Significance of Pe:
In gematria, Pe represents the number 80. Its final form represents 800 but this is rarely used, Tav written twice (400+400) being used instead.

Tzade
Tsade, Tsadi or Sadhe is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. It may have inspired the form of the letter Tse in the Glagolitic alphabet and the Greek numeral for 900.

Transcription:
Other spellings of the name include ṣāḏê şādhê, çādhê, s`àdhê, tzadi, tzadik, tsodi, and tsodik. See Hebrew alphabet for a more detailed list of its various transliterations and pronunciations.

Origins of Tzade:
The origin of Tzade is unclear. It may have come from a pictogram of a plant, perhaps a papyrus plant, or a fish hook.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
In modern Hebrew, Tzade is pronounced as a voiceless alveolar affricate (IPA: /ʦ/). It may have been pronounced as a pharyngealized /s/ historically; Yemenite Jews still ponounce it this way.

Variations on Written form/Pronunciation:
Tzade, like Kaph, Mem, Pe, and Nun, has a final form, used at the end of words. Its shape changes from this: צ to this: ץ. The pronunciation is not changed.

Significance of Tzade:
In gematria, Tzade represents the number 90. Its final form represents 900 but this is rarely used, Tav, Tav, and Qoph (400+400+100) being used instead.

A chupchik can also be placed in front of it ('צ), giving it the IPA sound /ʧ/. This is most commonly seen in the Hebrew צ'יפּסים, meaning chips.

As an abbreviation, it stands for tzaphon, North.

Tzade is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, Ayin, Teth, Nun, Zayin, and Gimmel.

Qoph
Qoph or Quph is the nineteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the letter Q in the Latin alphabet, the archaic letter Qoppa in certain early varieties of the Greek alphabet and the archaic letter Koppa in early Cyrillic.

Origins of Qoph:
The origin of Qoph is usually thought to have come from a pictogram of a monkey, with the body and tail shown (K'of in Old Egptian meant a type of monkey). Others have proposed that it originated from a pictogram of someone's head and neck (Qaph in Arabic meant the nape).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
Qoph is usually pronounced in modern Israeli Hebrew like the English K; i.e., no distinction is made between Qoph and Kaph. However, many historical groups have made that distinction, with Qoph being pronounced as a voiceless uvular plosive by Iraqi Jews and other Sephardim (IPA: /q/) or even as a voiced velar plosive by Yemenite Jews (IPA: /g/).

Significance of Qoph:
Qoph in gematria represents the number 100. Sarah is described in Genesis Rabba as "בת ק' כבת כ' שנה לחטא", literally At Qoph years of age, she was like Kaph years of age in sin (i.e. when she was 100 years old, she was as sinless as when she was 20).

Qoph is used in an Israeli phrase: after a child will say something false, one might say "B'Shin Qoph, Resh" (With Shin, Qoph, Resh). These letters spell Sheqer, which is the Hebrew word for a lie. It would be akin to an English speaker saying "That's a L-I-E."

Resh
Resh is the twentieth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Rho (Ρ), Latin R, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Resh:
Resh is usually assumed to have come from a pictogram of a head (in modern Hebrew rosh).

Hebrew Pronunciation:
In modern Israeli Hebrew Resh is pronounced as a voiced uvular fricative (IPA: /ʁ/). This sound is hard for English speakers to pronounce, and it is often pronounced by Ashkenazim as /ɹ/ or sometimes /ʀ/. Mizrahi Jews will pronounce it as /r/, or ɾ/.

Variations on Written form/Pronunciation:
As explained above, pronunciation of Resh varies from group to group. Resh, along with Ayin, Aleph, He, and Heth, cannot receive a dagesh.

Significance of Resh:
Resh in gematria represents the number 200.

Resh as an abbreviation can stand for Rabbi (or Rav, Rebbe, Rabban, Rabbenu, and other similar constructions).

Resh is used in an Israeli phrase: after a child will say something false, one might say "B'Shin Qoph, Resh" (With Shin, Qoph, Resh). These letters spell Sheqer, which is the Hebrew word for a lie. It would be akin to an English speaker saying "That's a L-I-E."

Shin
Shin or Sin is the twenty-first and penultimate letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Sigma (Σ), Latin S, and Cyrillic letters Es (С) and Sha (Ш), and may have inspired the form of the letter Sha in the Glagolitic alphabet.

Origins of Shin:
Shin is believed to have come from a pictogram of a tooth (in modern Hebrew shen). Some have suggested that it originally represented a bow.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
The letter is pronounced like the English letter S (IPA /s/) when the dot is to the left, and when this letter appears with the dot to the right then it is usually pronounced like the English letter combination SH (IPA: /∫/).

Variations on written form/pronunciation:
There are two orthographic variants of this letter, which alter the pronunciation:

and
 * שׁ shin  /∫/
 * שֹ sin  /s/

Shin
When the Shin has a dot to the right then it is pronounced as Shin, making the same sound that the English SH makes when pronounced. The Shin is a voiceless postalveolar fricative.

Sin
When the Shin has a dot to the left then it is pronounced as Sin, making the same sound that the English S makes when pronounced. The Sin is a voiceless alveolar fricative. The version is thought to have originated from a lateral fricative sound, like Welsh Ll in "Llandudno".

Significance of Shin:
In gematria, Shin represents the number 300.

Shin, as a prefix, has the meaning of the English words "that" (as in "A boy that reads", not "Pass me that book."), or "which"/"who". In colloquial Hebrew, Kaph and Shin together have the meaning of "when". This is an contraction of כּאשר, ka'asher (when).

Shin is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called a tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Gimmel, Ayin, Teth, Nun, Zayin, and Tzadi.

According to Judges 12:8, the tribe of Ephraim could not differentiate between Shin and Sin; when the Gileadites were at war with the Ephraimites, they would ask suspected Ephraimites to say the word shibolet; an Ephraimite would say sibolet and thus be exposed. From this episode we get the English word Shibboleth.

In Judaism
Shin also stands for the word Shaddai, a name for God. Because of this, a kohen (priest) forms the letter Shin with his hands as he recites the priestly blessing. In the mid 1960s, actor Leonard Nimoy used a single-handed version of this gesture to create the Vulcan Hand Salute for his character, Mr. Spock, on Star Trek.

In Jewish tradition the letter Shin is inscribed on the Mezuzah, a vessel which houses a scroll of parchment with Biblical text written on it. The mezuzuah is situated upon all the doorframes in a home or establishment. Sometimes the whole word Shaddai will be written.

In the Sefer Yetzirah the letter Shin is King over Fire, Formed Heaven in the Universe, Hot in the Year, and the Head in the Soul.

Sayings with Shin
The Shin-Bet was an old acronym for the Israeli Department of Internal General Security.

A Shin-Shin Clash is Israeli military parlance for a battle between two tank divisions (tank in Hebrew is shiryon).

Sh'at haShin (The Shin Hour) is the last possible moment for any action, usually military. Corresponds to the English expression the eleventh hour.

Taw
Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Tau (Τ), Latin T, and the equivalent in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Origins of Taw:
Taw is believed to have come from a simple mark; a cross or asterisk-like marking.

Hebrew Pronunciation:
The letter Taw is usually pronounced in modern Hebrew as the English letter T (IPA /t/). T is an alveolar plosive, although Tau may sometimes be pronounced as a dental plosive.

Variations on Written form/pronunciation:
The letter Taw is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daled, Kaph, Pe, and Taw (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters). Three of them (Bet, Kaph, and Pe) have their sound changed in modern Hebrew from the fricative to the plosive by adding a dagesh. The other three have the same pronunciation in modern Hebrew, but have had alternate pronunciations at other times and places. Taw was pronounced in tranditional Ashkenazi pronunciation (a form which still is common today, especially among Diaspora Jews) as an alveolar fricative, like the English S, without the dagesh, and had the plosive form when it had the dagesh. In some Sephardi areas, such as Yemen, Taw without a dagesh was pronounced as /θ/ without a dagesh and the plosive form with the dagesh. See Bet, Daled, Kaph, Pe, and Taf.

Significance of Taw:
In gematria Taw represents the number 400, the largest number that can be made without using the Sophit forms (see Kaph, Mem, Nun, Pe, and Tzade).

A chupchik can also be placed in front of it ('ת), giving it the IPA sound /θ/ or /ð/.

In Judaism
Taw is the last letter of the Hebrew word emet, which means truth. The midrash explains that emet is made up of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph, Mem, and Taw). Sheqer (falsehood), on the other hand, is made up of the 19th, 20th, and 21st (and penultimate) letters. Thus, truth is all-encompassing, while falsehood is narrow and deceiving. In Jewish mythology it was the word emet that was carved into the head of the golem which ultimately gave it life.

Sayings with Taw
From Aleph to Taw describes something from beginning to end; the Hebrew equivalent of the English From A to Z.

title: User:Sputnikcccp/Hebrew Alphabet


text:
Analog's Children of the Future

Analog's Children of the Future is the third in a series of anthologies of science fiction stories drawn from Analog magazine and edited by then-current Analog editor Stanley Schmidt. It was first published in paperback by Davis Publications and hardcover by The Dial Press in December 1982.

The book collects ten short pieces first published in Analog and its predecessor title Astounding, together with an introduction by Schmidt.

Contents

 * "Introduction" (Stanley Schmidt)
 * "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" (Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore))
 * "Mewhu's Jet" (Theodore Sturgeon)
 * "The Witches of Karres" (James H. Schmitz) (first part of his novel of the same title)
 * "Mikal's Songbird" (Orson Scott Card) (part of his book Songmaster)
 * "In Hiding" (Wilmar H. Shiras)
 * "Weyr Search" (Anne McCaffrey) (later incorporated into her book Dragonflight)
 * "Meeting of Minds" (Ted Reynolds)
 * "Novice" (James H. Schmitz)
 * "Child of All Ages" (P. J. Plauger)
 * "Emergence" (David R. Palmer) (later incorporated into his novel of the same title)

title: Analog's Children of the Future


text: User talk:69.167.98.91

title: User talk:69.167.98.91