When a book of the Pentateuch has been completed during the Torah reading, the congregation rises and recites, “Chazak, chazak, ve’nitchazek.” Which means, “Be strong, be strong and we shall strengthen one another.”
Five (one for each book) scrolls of the Torah appear on the chet. They are in full raiment – covers, breast plates and rimonim or crowns. A tree of life appears on the right side because Torah is “a tree of life for those who grasp it” (from a prayer said at the end of the Torah reading). Chai, meaning life, also appears on the chet. A suggestion of the Tablets of the Law is seen above.
Just below the letter, stripes recalling those of the tallit (prayer shawl) act like a ladder up to the chet. A menorah and Stars of David also appear. The tallit stripes are used again in the border surrounding the chet.
CHAZAK… BE STRONG is the eighth in the ‘iconoscape’ series.