Hebrew Letter Wide Resh

It is still resh, just wider. The ordinary Hebrew letter is ר; ﬧ is its widened typographic form. A wide reish or stretched resh still names resh; neither adds sound or word meaning.

A scroll of Exodus, one of the books of the Torah (Jewish scripture), dated to the seventh–eighth century shows resh and heh—two Hebrew letters—with long top strokes. Later scribes copying Torah scrolls lengthened selected letters, especially resh, or adjusted spaces so lines met their margins. This line-fitting practice developed over time rather than in a single invention.

Why is Hebrew resh stretched?

To fit the line. In Torah columns and other Hebrew writing, scribes lengthened selected letters or adjusted spaces so each line met its margins.

Resh could be extended without losing its identity. In digital text, this is a compatibility form—a special character retained to represent the widened layout. A font controls how much wider it appears.

Which resh should I type?

Use ר for new Hebrew text.

Use ﬧ only when reproducing a source or layout that preserves the wide form. The standard Hebrew keyboard produces ordinary resh; a custom layout may assign this form separately.