The Order of the Hebrew Letters: Why This Sequence?

The order of the Hebrew letters is not random, but organized according to the ascending scale of the hidden contents within the letters:

• The stages of the spiritual roots of the forces of nature, from which the universe (both material and spiritual) is created and composed - according to the order of the forces represented by each letter;
• The order of the stages of spiritual work imposed on man according to the educational guidance embedded in each letter;
• The ranking of spiritual achievements that a person attains by leading their life paths according to this guidance (see a summary of some of them in this book, in the chapters dealing with the letters Shin and Taf).

These contents, which contain the secrets of creation and the proper ways of conduct for a person aspiring to a quality spiritual and material life, are arranged tier upon tier, in the most precise and necessary order, as explained in detail in the chapters of the letters in this book. Thus, the Sages attributed great importance to the Psalms and various chapters of the Tanach whose verses are arranged according to the order of the Aleph-Bet, due to their hidden secrets, arranged verse by verse in a precise ascending structure like a building. From these psalms, one can also learn the secret meaning of each letter. And when in a certain psalm there is a change in the order of the letters, surely a deep message is embedded there that needs understanding: why in this psalm the change occurs, and why in that particular letter and not another. Here are two such psalms. In the first, all 22 letters appear, and in the second, the letter Nun is missing, only hinted at in the verse of the subsequent letter.

A  Hallelujah:
I will thank Hashem with all my heart,

in the assembly of the upright and the congregation.
B  Great are the works of Hashem,

sought out by all who delight in them.
C  Majesty and splendor are His work,

and His righteousness endures forever.
D  He has made a memorial for His wonders,

gracious and compassionate is Hashem.
E  Food He gives to those who fear Him,

He will remember His covenant forever.
F  He has declared the strength of His works to His people,

to give them the inheritance of the nations.
G  The works of His hands are truth and justice,

faithful are all His precepts.
H  They are upheld forever and ever,

performed with truth and integrity.
I  Redemption, He sent to His people

He commanded His covenant forever,
Holy and awesome is His Name.
J  The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem,

a good understanding for all who perform them,
His praise endures forever.

A  A Praise of David:
I will exalt You, my God the King, and I will bless Your Name forever.
B  Every day I will bless You, and praise Your Name forever.
C  Great is Hashem, and highly praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.
D  Generation to generation will praise Your works, and will tell of Your mighty acts.
E  The splendor of the glory of Your majesty, and Your wondrous works I will narrate.
F  And the might of Your awesome acts they will declare, and Your greatness I will recount.
G  The memory of Your great goodness they will express, and Your righteousness they will sing.
H  Gracious and compassionate is Hashem, slow to anger and great in kindness.
I  Hashem is good to all, and His mercies are upon all His works.
J  All Your works will thank You, Hashem, and Your devout ones will bless You.
K  They will declare the glory of Your kingdom, and speak of Your power.
L  To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
M  Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds, and Your dominion lasts throughout all generations.
N  Hashem supports all who fall, and raises all who are bent.
O  The eyes of all look to You with hope, and You give them their food in its season.
P  You open Your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Q  Righteous is Hashem in all His ways, and devout in all His works.
R  Hashem is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.
S  He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, and hears their cries and saves them.
T  Hashem protects all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.
U  My mouth will speak the praise of Hashem, and all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Let's start lightweight with the order of English script letters, and proceed to the heavier aspects - their form.

Consider the following list:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T

T S R Q – P O – N M L K J I – H G F E D C B A

At first glance, this sequence is fascinating in the compatibility of the order of the letters according to their pronunciation:

The letter A and the letter B correspond to the letters Aleph and Bet. The letters D and E correspond to Gimel and Dalet. Letters I, K, L, M, N, correspond in their order to the letters Yud, Kaf, Lamed, Mem, Nun. Similarly, P corresponds to Pe, and Q, R, S, T correspond in their order to Kuf, Resh, Shin, Tav.

A cursory glance at the pronunciation of the letters Tet, Samech, and Tzadi that appear in the Hebrew alphabet and are missing in the English alphabet explains the reason for their absence.

In Lashon HaKodesh, the letter Tet and the letter Tav differ in pronunciation (the letter Tet is more emphasized, as pronounced by immigrants from eastern countries), but among English speakers, their pronunciation is the same. Therefore, the letter Tet disappeared in the English alphabet, and only the letter T remained in its place for both.

Similarly, the letter Samech does not appear in the English alphabet for the same reason. The letter S serves in the English alphabet both instead of a left Shin pronounced similarly to Samech and in place of the right Shin. Since in English, as is known, there is no right Shin, a word like "Shabbat" is pronounced in its translation into this language as "Sabbat." Therefore, the letter S comes in place of both the right or left Shin, as well as the letter Samech.

The letter Tzadi also does not appear in the English alphabet for a similar reason. The original Tzadi is pronounced as some immigrants from eastern countries say the word "Batzrah" as "Basrah." However, the pronunciation of the Samech here is deeper than a regular Samech, similar to "Batsrah." European Christian peoples, speakers of Latin, struggled with this deep pronunciation, so it disappeared from the order of their letters.

The letters C and G are similar in form, as in Latin writing the letter C was equivalent to the letter Gimel and also sounded like it. Over the generations, a small line was added to writing the letter C, turning it into G, which was then sounded like Gimel, while the letter without the line (C) shifted to represent the sound of Kaf. But since the original order of the letters, namely the order of the Hebrew alphabet, was forgotten, the letter C remained in its third place corresponding to Gimel, while the new letter G moved several letters forward to the place corresponding to the letter Zayin. The letter Zayin disappeared from its place because the letter S is sometimes pronounced as Samech and sometimes as Zayin (such as the word "Israel" written as Israel and pronounced "Izrael"), so initially, there was not much need and use of the letter Z corresponding to the letter Zayin and it was omitted, with the new letter G entering its spot. Only at a later period were rules clearly established for when the letter S is pronounced as Samech and when as Zayin, and the letter Z was returned to the order of letters, to write Greek words correctly. However, then it was not returned to its original spot but to the end of the list of letters.

The letter Vav, similar in pronunciation among Latin-speaking peoples (and today also among us) to the pronunciation of a weak Bet, was exchanged among them for a weak Pe. Just as many mistakenly say today, for the convenience of speech, "Taf" instead of "Tav," "Sfta" instead of "Savta," "Maptich" instead of "Mavtich," and "Dafka" instead of "Davka." Thus, the letter F became the counterpart of the letter Vav.

The other letters in the English alphabet, some are letters used in place of vowels, and some were added over time. The letter J was added and joined the letter I to differentiate between Yud used as a vowel and Yud pronounced in the mouth (like "Jacob" and "Joseph" which are actually "Yaakov" and "Yosef"). Therefore, it is similar to I in form. The letter U was also added to differentiate it from the V for the same purpose, and other letters were added for various reasons.

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