Mem

Mem is the letter of water ("mayim"), and its very sound -- the closed-lip hum of "mmm" -- evokes the primordial element from which life emerges. Water in Jewish thought represents Torah itself: "Let all who are thirsty come to the water" (Isaiah 55:1). Just as water flows downhill and gathers in the lowest places, Torah is received by the humble. Mem teaches that wisdom, like water, seeks the most receptive vessel. There are two forms of Mem: the open Mem (מ), used at the beginning or middle of a word, and the closed Mem (ם), used at the end. The Talmud (Shabbat 104a) interprets these as representing two types of divine teaching: the open Mem represents the revealed Torah (Torah she-bikhtav, the Written Torah), accessible to all; the closed Mem represents the concealed Torah (Torah she-b'al peh, the Oral Torah, and the mystical tradition), whose deeper meanings are sealed within. Together, they teach that truth has both an accessible surface and an infinite depth. The gematria of 40 pervades Jewish history: 40 days of the Flood, 40 years in the desert, 40 days Moses spent on Sinai receiving the Torah, 40 se'ah of water in a mikvah (ritual bath). Forty represents transformation -- the passage through a liminal state that produces fundamental change. Mem, the letter of water, is thus also the letter of transformation and rebirth.

Mem is pronounced as an "M" sound, as in "mother" or "morning." It is one of the most intuitive sounds for English speakers and presents no pronunciation difficulty. Mem has two forms: the open form (מ) used at the beginning or middle of a word, and the closed/final form (ם, "Mem sofit") used at the end of a word. The open Mem looks somewhat like a square with an opening at the bottom left. The final Mem is a fully closed square or rectangle. This is one of the easiest final-form distinctions to remember: open in the middle, closed at the end.