Samekh is the fifteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Samekh (also written as Samech) has the same sound as “s” as in “saw”. Every line in Psalm 119:113–120 starts with this letter. Samekh looks like this:
Samekh is the only letter in the Hebrew alphabet that is enclosed. It is a complete circle that portrays how God completely surrounds and encompasses His people. We are upheld by the loving arms of the Father, whose surrounding presence is like a hug.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
The circular nature of God is evident all over creation.
The planets orbit around the sun.
Tree trunks have concentric rings.
A pebble thrown in water makes circular ripples.
Sand dollars, acorn cups, the center of a daisy.
Onion rings, a slice across an orange, blueberries.
Rabbit droppings.
The cycle of seasons.
The circle of life.
Rabbis also teach that the “Samakh” is a picture of a strong support,
propping us up so we can weather the storms of life.
“Uphold me….” Psalm 119:116
“Hold me up….” Psalm 119:117
Jesus is our “Samakh”, our great Upholder.
“In Him all things hold together.” Col. 1:17
a small drop of ink 
B”H, The Samekh in Ksav Ivri looks like a mature cedar tree in a closed canopy forest. Its original sound was the sound of the wind in those trees– like the ‘wh’ in ‘whew’. This sound is preserved to this day among a small fraction of Jews from Aleppo. The trees were not only the tallest in the area [ on the mountains near Harran, [Turkey]] at that time — but they were also monumentally round — with trunks 2-3 meters in diameter and 20 to 30 meters high — before the first branches . The current shape of the letter comes from that round cross-section. It is also understood to help remember how the sound is made– by making the mouth –space between the lips — round. Many words in Genesis that begin with samekh, have meanings connected to the characteristics of those trees. Samekh is thus not an ordinary letter . It is a phono-ideograph. You can learn more about Ksav Ivri from my talk: “Ivri Script” — that I gave ~2.7 years ago. Or, you can contact me at email below and I will send you a 2 pager [2.3k words] with additional sources & links. I am writing a sefer on Ksav Ivri — but it is not yet finished. If you like to read unfinished sforim, I will send you the latest version as a pdf . Shalom!! A. S. Adler, Jerusalem
Mr. Adler,
Thank you so much for taking time to respond to my post. I would be very much interested in learning more about samekh from you. I especially love the connection to trees. If it would not be too much trouble, I would be grateful to have you email the information to: dinah.overlien@gmail.com
Thanks again! This is all so fascinating and I’m only scratching the surface.
Dinah