Resh

{{about|the Semitic letter|the town in Nepal|Resh, Nepal|the Malaysian singer|Resh (Malaysian singer)}}

{{Phoenician glyph|letname=Resh|previouslink=Qoph|previousletter=Qoph|nextlink=Shin (letter)|nextletter=Shin|archar=ر|sychar=ܪ|hechar=ר|amchar=𐡓|gechar=ረ|phchar=𐤓|grchar=Ρ|lachar=R|cychar=Р|ipa={{IPAlink|r}} ({{IPAlink|ɾ}}, {{IPAlink|ʁ}}, {{IPAlink|ʀ}})|num=20|gem=200}}

Resh {{IPAc-en|ɹ|ɛ|ʃ}} is the twentieth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician rēš 𐤓, Hebrew rēš {{Script|Hebr|ר}}, Aramaic rēš 𐡓‎, Syriac rēš ܪ, and Arabic rāʾ {{Script|Arabic|ر}}. It is related to the Ancient North Arabian 𐪇‎‎, South Arabian {{lang|sem-x-oldsoara|𐩧}}, and Ge'ez {{lang|gez|ረ}}. Its sound value is one of a number of rhotic consonants: usually {{IPAblink|r}} or {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, but also {{IPAblink|ʁ}} or {{IPAblink|ʀ}} in Hebrew and some North Mesopotamian Arabic dialects.

In most Semitic alphabets, the letter resh (and its equivalents) is quite similar to the letter dalet (and its equivalents). In the Syriac alphabet, the letters became so similar that now they are only distinguished by a dot: resh has a dot above the letter, and the otherwise identical dalet has a dot below the letter. In the Arabic alphabet, {{Transl|ar|DIN|rāʼ}} has a longer tail than {{Transl|ar|DIN|dāl}}. In the Aramaic and Hebrew square alphabet, resh is a rounded single stroke while dalet is a right-angle of two strokes.

The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek rho (Ρ/ρ), Etruscan File:EtruscanR-01.svg, Latin R, Glagolitic Ⱃ,{{Citation| last=Schenker| first=Alexander M. |author-link=Alexander M. Schenker |title=The Dawn of Slavic: An Introduction to Slavic Philology |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven| pages=179|year=1995 |isbn=0-300-05846-2}} and Cyrillic Р.

Origins

Resh is usually assumed to mean head, as in Proto-Semitic *raʾ(i)š- and descendants.

Arabic rāʾ

{{Infobox grapheme

| name = {{translit|ar|Rāʾ}} {{lang|ar|راء}}

| letter = ر

| script = Arabic script

| type = Abjad

| language = Arabic language

| phonemes = {{IPAlink|r}} ({{IPAlink|ɾ}})

| alphanumber = 10

| direction = Right-to-left

| fam2 = 𐡓‎

| fam3 = 𐢛‎

| fam1 = 𐤓

}}

The letter is named {{Transl|ar|DIN|rāʾ}} {{lang|ar|راء}} in Arabic. It is written in several ways depending on its position in the word:

It ranges between an alveolar trill {{IPAblink|r}}, an alveolar flap {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, and a uvular trill {{IPAblink|ʀ}} (the last of which is only found in a few modern varieties). It is pronounced as a postalveolar approximant [ɹ̠] in the traditional dialect of Fes.{{Cite journal |last=Hachimi |first=Atiqa |date=2012-05-23 |title=The urban and the urbane: Identities, language ideologies, and Arabic dialects in Morocco |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0047404512000279 |journal=Language in Society |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=321–341 |doi=10.1017/s0047404512000279 |issn=0047-4045 |s2cid=144607607}}

= Derived letter in other languages =

The Unicode standard for Arabic scripts also lists a variant with a full stroke (Unicode character U+075b: ݛ), suggesting that this form is used in certain Northern and Western African languages and some dialects in Pakistan.{{cite book |url=https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode6.2.0/ch08.pdf |title=The Unicode Standard, Version 6.2 |publisher=Unicode Consortium |editor1-last=Allen |editor1-first=Julie D. |editor2-last=Anderson |editor2-first=Deborah |display-editors=etal |page=265 }}

In the Pashto alphabet, a variant of the letter rāʾ uses a ring below for the retroflex consonant {{IPAblink|ɭ̆~ɽ}} and another uses dots above and below the tail for the voiced fricative {{IPAblink| ʐ}} or {{IPAblink|ʝ}}:

Hebrew resh

class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !colspan=5\|Orthographic variants
colspan=3\|Various print fonts !rowspan=2\|Cursive Hebrew !rowspan=2\|Rashi script
\|Serif	Sans-serif	Monospaced
width=20%\|ר \|width=20%\|ר \|width=20%\|ר \|width=20%\|File:Hebrew letter Resh handwriting.svg \|width=20%\|File:Resh (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg

class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"

!colspan=5|Orthographic variants

colspan=3|Various print fonts

!rowspan=2|Cursive
Hebrew

!rowspan=2|Rashi
script

|Serif

Sans-serif

Monospaced

width=20%|ר

|width=20%|ר

|width=20%|File:Hebrew letter Resh handwriting.svg

|width=20%|File:Resh (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg

Hebrew spelling: {{lang|he|רֵישׁ}}

In Hebrew, Resh ({{Script/Hebrew|רֵישׁ}}) represents a rhotic consonant that has different realizations for different dialects:

In Modern Hebrew, the most common pronunciation is the voiced uvular fricative {{IPAblink|ʁ}}.
Ashkenazi use sometimes a uvular trill {{IPAblink|ʀ}} or an alveolar trill {{IPAblink|r}}. Native English-speakers replace it sometimes with an alveolar approximant {{IPAblink|ɹ}}, as in English.
Sephardic and Mizrahi use an alveolar trill {{IPAblink|r}}, an alveolar flap {{IPAblink|ɾ}} or uvular trill {{IPAblink|ʀ}}.

As a general rule, Resh, along with Ayin, Aleph, He, and Het, do not receive a dagesh. There are a handful of exceptions to this rule.Book Em laMikra haShalem written by Nisan Sharoni In Chapter 14:7 page 62 of the Ashdod. ספר אם למקרא השׁלם על

ידי ניסן שׁרוני ׀ אשׁדוֹד ׀ תשׁס״א ׀ עמוד

In the 7 article of the chapter, the Rav says that the letters ״אהחער״ generally do not take a dagesh.

₪ בּאוֹתיוֹת ״אהחער״ ־לֹא יָבֹא דָגֵשׁ, בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל. ₪ מכלול נז

In the footnote 6 — Not to write it in Hebrew — ; it says: Except in a few cases where there is an exception to the rule… dagesh can be seen in Alef and Reish. See Mesorah haGedolah 43:26 and מכלול נז Minchas Shai 43:26. In the Yemenite tradition, Resh is treated as most other consonants in that it can receive a dagesh hazak under certain circumstances. In the most widely accepted version of the Hebrew Bible, there are 17 instances of Resh being marked with a dagesh.{{Cite web |title=Unexpected Dagesh in Reish |url=https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/59687/unexpected-dagesh-in-reish/139386#139386 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Mi Yodeya |language=en}} The list is: 1 Samuel 1:6, 1 Samuel 10:24, 1 Samuel 17:25, 2 Kings 6:32, Jeremiah 39:12, Ezekiel 16:4 [×2], Habakkuk 3:13, Psalms 52:5, Proverbs 3:8, Proverbs 11:21, Proverbs 14:10, Proverbs 15:1, Job 39:9 (?{{Cite web |title=Tanach Simanim (Hebrew Only) |url=https://www.feldheim.com/tanach-simanim-hebrew-only |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=www.feldheim.com |language=en}}), Song of Songs 5:2, Ezra 9:6, 2 Chronicles 26:10 (?{{Cite web |title=Tanach Simanim (Hebrew Only) |url=https://www.feldheim.com/tanach-simanim-hebrew-only |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=www.feldheim.com |language=en}})

In gematria, Resh represents the number 200.

=As abbreviation=

Resh as an abbreviation can stand for Rabbi (or Rav, Rebbe, Rabban, Rabbenu, and other similar constructions).

Resh may be found after a person's name on a gravestone to indicate that the person had been a Rabbi or to indicate the other use of Rav, as a generic term for a teacher or a personal spiritual guide.