Q&A: Acronyms or Initialisms
Acronyms or Initialisms
Question
Do initials have any significance? Do they really symbolize or teach us something? Or are they just a convenient abbreviation?
I just saw that Litzman said in the Knesset, “The base fellow says in his heart…” — and “base fellow” as initials stands for Naftali Bennett Lieberman…
Actually it occurred to me that it could just as well stand for Bibi Netanyahu Litzman…
But seriously, does this have any meaning?
It doesn’t appear in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). Since when has this been part of our culture / Torah?
Answer
This is just nonsense. The Sages define gematrias as mere embellishments to wisdom. Some added to that acronyms, which are all kinds of hinting devices. I wouldn’t attach any importance to it.
How would you expect this to appear in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)? That they would write acronyms there?
Discussion on Answer
That’s not in the verses. It’s an interpretation of the verses, and there are more like that. But you can do that with any verse and any text. That’s not a source from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) for acronyms.
Sometimes there are acronym-style interpretations in verses.
For example, in the Daf Yomi they expounded the word “parshaz”