גָּאַל | Redeem

Word of the Week

Word: Redeem

Hebrew: גָּאַל (ga - al)

Definition: Well, it’s Tuesday. Ready for a new word? גָּאַל ga-al. This word is REDEEM in English. Let’s break it down. Normally, the ג Gimel symbolizes “lift up” or “pride.” But look carefully at this word גָּאַל ga-al. We see the ג Gimel, but look at the two letters in front of it — the א Aleph and the ל Lamed. With the Aleph being a silent letter and the ל Lamed carrying an “L” sound, we get the word El. That is one of the names of G-d — El. So, taking another look at this word גָּאַל ga-al, we see that REDEMPTION comes when you LIFT UP G-D. Now how about the numeric portion of this word? The ג Gimel carries the number 3, the א Aleph 1, and the ל Lamed 30. Adding the sum of these numbers, you get 7 (leaving off the 0). What does the number 7 tell us? COMPLETION or PROTECTION. Isn’t this what we experience when we “Lift up G-d”? I could go deeper with this word, but enough is enough for now. Till next time, Rabbi John.

Shown on: May 27, 2026, 10:00 am