Samekh — the 15th Hebrew letter
ס
Symbolism
Support, surrounding protection, the endless circle; somech noflim — He upholds the falling
What the letter is built from
A closed ring — the only fully circular letter; a wall with no breach, a wedding band
Its first root in Scripture
The first samekh root is savav, to surround — the river 'encircling' Havilah; the circle-letter's first root means circling
Messianic thread
Samekh follows the fallen nun in the alphabet as its answer: Somech YHVH l'chol hanoflim — 'YHVH upholds all who fall' (Ps 145:14). The surrounding ring is the everlasting arms beneath.
In the mystical tradition
The sages say the ring of samekh is the ever-turning wheel and the encircling Presence — 'as the mountains surround Jerusalem.' Sixty is the measure of nullification in Jewish law: what is surrounded sixtyfold is absorbed.
Wisdom of the letter
A wedding ring, a wall, a wheel: samekh teaches that love that surrounds is love that supports.