About the Logo

The logo consists of the website address, the author’s pseudonym and its acronym, and two Biblical quotes in Hebrew that convey the author’s hope for our world. On the right, is a partial quote from the book of Psalms, verse 16:8 usually translated as “I place the Lord before me always.” שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד (SheeWyThy HaShem [“the name”] L’NeGhDy ThaaMyDh). The usual, theological understanding of this verse reflects a person’s desire to forever keep God in one’s thoughts and the focus of their intentions and actions. However, the name used here for God literally means “God’s bringing forth existence continuously.” Therefore, from an existential (non-theological) perspective, this verse also reminds a person to be ever mindful of reality, to see our existence as it is in an honest and unbiased way. This serves as a means of not only connecting to God (the creator of this reality), but also connecting us to the very details of our live experience as it unfolds – to one another, our planet, and all of the life forms with whom we share it.

            The full verse שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד כִּי מִימִינִי בַּל־אֶמּוֹט means: “I place the Lord before me always, given that from my right I shall not slip.” Because in Biblical Hebrew the word for “right” (ימין YaMyN) actually signifies a person’s dominant (or ever present side), this conveys the idea that God is forever present with a person and guiding their behavior to live a righteous life. Additionally, from a non-theological and existential perspective, the full verse reminds us that an ever-present and mindful awareness of life experience as it unfolds is crucial to living effectively and efficaciously.

            The second verse is again a partial quote from the book of Psalms, verse 89:3. Its translation, “a world of loving-kindness shall be built” (עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה) reflects a sincere hope that through Torah learning we can transcend whatever conflicts and animosities that we may have for one another and create a world of loving-kindness for each and every one of us.

            The author’s pseudonym consists of his first of two English names and his first and second Hebrew names. Its acronym, Ha-DYSh (הדיש), is also a Hebrew verb roughly meaning “threshing.” This represents the author’s decades of threshing over the Torah text and its Hebrew words as a means of elucidating its allegorical meaning.