Word Prompt – SHEVATIM – Hillel Fuld

The word shevatim means tribes. Famously, the Israelites were comprised of 12 tribes, one of them being Yehuda, the tribe from which the Jewish people originate. But that’s not the only meaning of the word. A shevet is also a stick or a rod.

Interestingly, the word shevet is spelled the same way in Hebrew as other words including the month of Shevat, and the Hebrew word for cloning.

Is there some common thread here?

Perhaps.

The 12 tribes as stated is the source of the nation of Israel. A rod is used many times throughout the Torah to describe leadership and victory. The month of Shevat has within it the holiday of Tu B'Shvat, which is basically the birthday of trees and nature. And finally, to clone is to try and recreate the creation of man.

Seems to me that all spellings of the word are connected to the concept of origins and holiness in one way or another. Coincidence?