Shin-El Shaddai

The letter Shin is the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This letter signifies one of the Names of God - El Shaddai, meaning God Almighty. God being named El Shaddai appears for the first time in Gen. 17:1, when God meets Abram and gives him His promise and changes his name to Abraham. The Shin symbol reveals “the flame of Divine Revelation," coming from the ember of the Divine Essence. Three levels or characteristics emerge: the ember itself, inner flame, and outer flame. In the same manner, the candle also has three levels of light: dark around the wick of the candle, white flame around, and yellow aura on the outside, symbolizing the three aspects of Love that should guide our lives: Love of God's people, Love of Torah/God's Word, and Love of God. Shin appears to me to be symbolic of the Holy Trinity. The three torches with flames resemble birds with heads, and the three are unified at the bottom. One could imagine the whole image as a bird with body and two wings, or fire with three flames. It seems that somehow I have created a heart within a heart, or chambers of a heart, meaningful of Divine Love.