The Hebrew Letters (excerpts): Chet

The Hebrew Letters (excerpts): Chet: According to the Ari z"l," the letter chet is constructed by combining the two previous letters, vav and zayin, with a thin bridge-shaped line, referred to as the chatoteret ("hunchback"). The new energy effected by the union of the vav--or yashar--and the zayin--or chozer--is the secret of "hovering" or "touching yet not touching." The image of "hovering" appears at the very beginning of Creation: "And the spirit of God was 'hovering' over the water." The word "hovering" (merachefet) is the eighteenth word in the Torah