New Israeli Stamp Featuring the Hebrew Language

In the news: Israel is issuing a new postage stamp dedicated to the Hebrew langauge. The center of the stamp features a seedling whose leaves spell the Hebrew word Ivrit (= "Hebrew"). Its roots consist of all the earlier layers of modern Hebrew found in four principal sources – the Bible, rabbinic literature, medieval writings, and Modern Hebrew. Biblical Hebrew is represented by an ostracon dating from the 7th century BCE and inscribed in ancient Hebrew script. The seedling’s root that derives from it (third from left) features the words: mishpaha (family), ahava (brotherhood), nefesh (soul, spirit, throat), mafteah (key), tsedek (justice), merkava (chariot), deror (liberty), kazav (untruth), ra’am (thunder) and kefir (lion cub).