“Thunders Over Mighty Waters”

According to Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson, the word for ‘water,’ mayim (מים), provides an interesting example of the unique way in which the Hebrew word expresses the essence of the object it names. This word is spelled with two instances of the letter mem (מ) and one letter yud (י) in between them. Science tells us that a water molecule, represented by the notation H2-O, is made up of two atoms of hydrogen surrounding one atom of oxygen. In the Hebrew word, this exact structure is reflected; the letter ‘מ‘ represents the hydrogen while the ‘י‘ represents the oxygen.