The word PEI means MOUTH. It also means HERE or PRESENT, so an awareness of the here and now is a characteristic teaching of this letter. The shape of the letter resembles an open mouth, with an upper tooth protruding into the cavity of the mouth. The significance of the spoken word, especially of BLESSING is prominent in Jewish tradition. By speaking the right words, by praying and reading the Torah, the Jew has "power in his mouth". This power is given by God to allow us to participate in the rectification of the world, i.e., by using our power of speech we can actually make this world a better place. The inner white space of the letter PEI contains the letter BEIT, which means HOUSE. The secret of this hidden letter is God's very intimate connection with Moses in revealing the Torah. "...in all of My house he is faithful. Mouth to mouth I speak with him...". The Song of Songs begins with the words: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Your love is more delightful than wine; delicate is the fragrance of your perfume, your name is an oil poured out..." This allegorical poem has been interpreted by the Sages of the Jewish tradition as an implicit promise of revelation of the inner dimensions of the Torah by the Messiah. We will experience directly the "kiss" of God, the expression of His Love. On the painting the woman symbolises ISRAEL (God's people, and the individual soul, beloved of God) as she receives His kiss in a state of ecstasy. Her hands are in her lap, under her apron - she is inactive. The special gifts of revelation are not given to us as results of our own works, but as free gifts of God. She is sitting in the SUKAH, a shelter built from palm leaves during the festival of SUKOT, according to God's command. The SUKAH is a reminder of the time spent by the people of Israel wandering in the desert before reaching the promised land. Its roof should be so loosely woven that the stars could be seen through it at night time. Sitting in the SUKAH is as if sitting in God's mouth (in His intimate presence). "By the Mouth of God they camped and by the mouth of God they travelled". On our spiritual journey we travel in God's intimate presence symbolised by PEI, the mouth, and reach the "promised land" of spiritual awareness, symbolised by AYIN (the previous letter of the Aleph-Beit, meaning EYE). These two letters form the word which means TO FLY. On the painting there are three smaller birds flying, their wings formed by these letters of PEI and AYIN. In the centre there is a larger bird, whose wings are structured around the Hebrew word for BIRD, beginning with AYIN and ending in PEI. The bird can see far and fly high, thus it is a symbol of great spiritual awareness. The inspiration of the Divine Eye and being carried in the Divine Mouth enables the human soul to fly, like an angel, into the ultimate consciousness of the Divine "here and now". The full spelling of the letter PEI is PEI and ALEPH. The aleph is split into two VAVs and two YUDs, which represent the numerical value of 16 plus 16, the full set of upper and lower teeth. This image is shown at the lower right of the painting. Its significance is the symbolism of the completely developed mouth which can formulate and speak words of wisdom.