The World OLAM

One of thing I love to do is play in my mind with Hebrew words. When I hear or read a word in Hebrew, if it clicked, the engine in my brain starts working. 

I know that each word in Hebrew comes from three letters of the Alphabet, they are called the root letters and from there words, verbs, adverbs etc. form. 

I’m often wondering, what’s the root of the word? How else do we use it? What are the verbs, nouns made from it? If I changed the order of the letters, will it have a new meaning? Is there any connection between those words? What’s the numeric value? Does it mean anything? and on and on, and on and on.

The word that “rocked my world” was actually the word - world, in Hebrew called Olam עולם.

When I think of the word Olam עולם world I think about the oceans, the land, skies, animals, vegetation, people… a colorful world, full of action changes, development, inventions, I’ll spare us the ”other side of the coin” events.

When I looked at the three root letters of Olam עולם, I realized that this specific word that was chosen to describe the world comes from the three letters Ain ע, Lamed ל ,Mem מ.

 As my brain continue to play and explore I realized that this three letters mean "to conceal, hidden, mysterious."

Hmm… now I’m puzzled! Words in Hebrew are created intentionally, it’s not chosen randomly chosen. 

So, why? The light bulb went off, or as most people would say : OMG 

This word is a clue to the essence of our world. Whatever we conceive as our world is actually something that is hidden concealed from us. What we think and know as our reality, might not be it.

Olam also means mysterious, the world is a mystery to us. What we think, we see and understand and most definitely sure is fact, you might even argue how right you are (sounds familiar?) but in all reality that’s not the case. 

Or better when we have events we just can’t understand. How often did you say:  I just can’t understand that, I can’t understand what happened? My classic line is “it’s beyond my understanding”. 

It might be exactly that.

This realization changed my perspective of what I think/thought of our Olam. If before it was round and colorful now it’s only a circle. Not an empty circle rather whitish, like a big field made of cotton all around, soft and bouncy like the clouds, like a smooth fog covering or better yet hugging us. However, like a cotton balls, clouds or fog which is not solid, we might be only able to peak through for a slight moment.

I find it to be so powerful that if I didn’t already use the logo I created for my business I might have considered it. And, of course, with my curiosity, I ran to the computer to check if there’s a company with an empty circle as their logo. To my surprise it’s not claimed.

I still have a chance.

Hmmmm... I can always open another business :)

The word Olam is also used an adverb L’Olam  לעולם which means forever, for eternity. In many passage in the Bible it used as part of a declaration of love. However it can be used in a negative way such: I’ll never do/see/ ...etc.               

Does it also mean that our world is eternal?