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What Does "Shalem" Mean?

Pronounced Sha-LAME, Shalem is a Hebrew word related to Shalom, the familiar greeting of peace.

Shalem speaks of wholeness: to be complete, full, sound. Scripture speaks of loving God with a "lev shalem," a whole heart (as in 1 Kings 8:61 and Isaiah 38:3). The name was originally suggested by a member of Shalem's first Board of Directors.

The Shalem Logo came about through mutual prayerful discernment among the founding members. Years later another rabbi pointed out that, if you use your imagination, you can see within the logo the three Hebrew letters that spell "Shalem:"


Shin:    Lamedh:   Mem: