I personally know nearly a dozen people that go by the name Tal (טַל), both men and women. It’s a pretty popular name in Israel, though it means “dew”. Yes, yes, the droplets of water that appear on objects in the early morning due to condensation. The Hebrew dictionary defined טַל as:
[Night droplets, droplets formed by condensation upon cold spaces – upon ground or upon plants etc. In dry seasons the dew drenches the soil and the plants.]
Nowadays the use of irrigation systems is an integral part of modern agriculture. But during the biblical time sprinklers, dripper lines and timers did not yet exist. The benefit of dew as a water source was essential. This is why the Talmud asserts:
[There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.]
This phrase – טַל וּמָטָר – also appears in the daily prayer that the Jews pray three times a day. Since they pray for טַל וּמָטָר only during the winter, this phrase written down inside the prayer text in smaller letters.
Photo by Ayana
The relative size of the font of this phrase in the Jewish prayer book create a new idiom: אוֺתׅיּוֺת שֶׁל טַל וּמָטָר. The idiom meaning is simply small letters, and one can use it whenever one desires to describe small letters.
Why are the instruction always written in dew and rain letters?
And just for the fun here is a segment from a comedy show in Israel (with Hebrew subtitles). Starring is a famous Israeli comedian, named Tal Friedman. Enjoy 🙂
