flash

Everyday

1. A flash is a quick bright light. tree →
2. To flash is to shine for a very short moment, or to shine on and off. tree →
3. In a flash means very quickly. tree →
4. A flash on a camera is a bright light for taking photos in the dark. tree →
5. To flash by is to move past very fast. tree →
6. To flash into someone's mind means to occur to them suddenly. tree →

In the lessons

a light that flashes again and again: every few seconds, how many times in a minute; in science: lightning is a giant flash, and you see the flash before you hear the thunder; in safety: flashing lights on police cars and crossings mean take care; phrases: «in a flash», «a flash of lightning», «flash flood», «flashlight» (US for torch)

Examples

• The light flashes every 5 seconds. tree →
• A red lamp flashes 3 times a minute. tree →
• Two lights flash together at 8 seconds. tree →
• How many flashes in a minute? tree →
• A flash of lightning lit up the sky. tree →
• Count the seconds between the flash and the thunder. tree →
• The rabbit was gone in a flash. tree →
• The ambulance came with its lights flashing. tree →
• Please turn off the flash in the museum. tree →
• A car flashed past the window. tree →
• Instantly the truth flashed upon him. tree →

Note

Repeated events: count = time ÷ gap (plus one if you count the first at the start). Two lights flash together again after a common multiple. Plural: flashes. Science: light is faster than sound, so the flash comes first; about 3 seconds of gap means the storm is about 1 km away. Safety: a flash flood comes very fast, so move to high ground.

In Jewish tradition

In Exodus it is fire flaring up in the plague of hail. In Sefer Yetzirah it describes how the Ten Sefirot appear.

Interpretation. In the Sefer Yetzirah the Sefirot are said to look like a lightning flash, with no seen beginning or end. Kabbalists read this as a picture of divine force darting between the unseen source and the world.

Examples

• So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail, very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. (Torah EXO.9.24, JPS 1917) tree →
• Many Kabalists have shown how the Ten Sephiruth are symbolized by the zig-zag lightning flash. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have the appearance of the Lightning flash", their origin is unseen and no end is perceived. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. (Writings JOB.41.10, JPS 1917) tree →
• And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. (Prophets EZK.1.14, JPS 1917) tree →
• That causeth destruction to flash upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress. (Prophets AMO.5.9, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Repeated events: count = time ÷ gap (plus one if you count the first at the start). Two lights flash together again after a common multiple. Plural: flashes. Science: light is faster than sound, so the flash comes first; about 3 seconds of gap means the storm is about 1 km away. Safety: a flash flood comes very fast, so move to high ground.