The Power of Choice in the Letter: The Form and Composition of the Aleph

When we closely examine the shape of the letter Aleph (א), we notice it consists of the letter Vav (ו) at its center, and two Yuds (י) — one at the top right and one at the bottom left, inverted.

The numerical value of the two Yuds is 20, the Vav is 6, and together they total 26, which is one of Hashem's names, Y-H-V-H (26). This connection reveals the intrinsic meaning of the Aleph. The celestial Zohar elucidates a profound and awe-inspiring secret contained within the two Yuds and the connecting Vav. Here is a brief excerpt from that text:

Rabbi Elazar said to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, his father: Father, one day we were in the study hall, and our friends asked: What did Rabbi Akiva mean when he said to his students, 'When you reach the pure marble stones [shining like clear water], do not err and say, "Water, water," lest you endanger yourselves, as it is said, "a speaker of lies shall not stand before my eyes"?' ...

As they were discussing this, a high soul from the heavenly academy, known as the Elder of the Elders, descended and said to them: Surely there is a great secret here, and this is how it is explained in the Higher Academy. To prevent you from erring, I have come to reveal this secret among you, which remains hidden from your generation. Indeed, the pure marble stones allude to the supreme source of the life-giving waters that flow to the world, symbolized by the Yuds in the letter Aleph, the upper and lower ones. The upper Yud is in the aspect of masculine waters giving downward, and the lower Yud is in the aspect of feminine waters receiving. The connecting Vav is the foundation [in the aspect of the place of the covenant] which is the secret of the Tree of Life.

These two Yuds are the Yuds after the Vav indicated in the word ‘Vayitzer’ in the verse 'And Hashem formed the man' written with two Yuds. These two Yuds correspond to the two Ayin letters [as two eyes], and they parallel two tears symbolizing judgments descending from them, sweetened in the Sefira of Wisdom, likened to the Great Sea.

Why do these tears fall? Because the two Tablets of the Covenant, which include the whole Torah and have their roots in the higher Netzach and Hod, were broken and fell, as the Israelites did not merit to receive them, due to the sin of the calf. This caused the potential destruction of the two Temples. The error led to the separation where the Vav, the Tree of Life, the foundation connecting the two Yuds in the structure of the Aleph, departed, causing separation between them, leading to the tablets falling and breaking. They were given second tablets from the aspect of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which also contains the source of the Klipah's nurture in the secret of 'Her feet descend to death.' The first tablets were in the aspect of the right and the second tablets in the aspect of the left...

Thus, we gain insight into the immense depth and scope contained within just one letter from the Holy Tongue, the Aleph.

The Letters Aleph, Lamed, Pe

The letters used to pronounce Aleph — א, ל, פ, are not arbitrary. This composition holds significant learning within the constraints of our comprehension concerning the Chief of the World. For example, the word 'day' in the verse 'And Hashem will be exalted alone on that day' refers to the seventh millennium, as it is written 'For a thousand years are in Your eyes like a day that passes,' as explained in the Talmud.

Without delving into the depth of this verse, from these words of the sages, it becomes clear that the dimension of time is not fixed and stable. Furthermore, regarding the verse 'And God called the light [referring to the primordial light preceding material creation] Day', Ramban comments in his Torah commentary: 'It will say that time was created.' This indicates that time is not independent and does not flow by itself; rather, it was created together with the world of creation and did not exist before. These insights were known to the sages of Torah far before Albert Einstein discovered his famous theory of relativity.

Additionally, Aleph, the letters Pe, Lammed. A hidden and concealed matter, beyond human comprehension, is called another wonder, as in 'If a matter is too wondrous for you for judgment.' Indeed, the created being's ability does not extend to encompass the essence of the Creator and His conduct with us fully.

There is also another reason why its name is Aleph and not A like in English, which merely represents the sound of the letter pronouncement — because the initial divine illumination, the illumination from which all was created, flowed through speech, as hinted by dividing the word Aleph into two parts: ‘El’ – ‘P’ (Pe), meaning, the divine spoke. As it is written: 'By the word of Hashem the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.' This is hinted at especially in this letter, because in the emanation of the Aleph, all the letters that follow are included, those by which the universe was created, and inherently the entire creation is included within it.

The Gra (Vilna Gaon) reveals a wonderful hint hidden in all the alphabets. As is known, the letters are divided into five groups. Throat (גרון) letters (אהח"ע), Palate (חיך) letters (גיכ"ק), Tongue (לשון) letters (דטלנ"ת), Teeth (שיניים) letters (נסצר"ש), and Lips (שפתיים) letters (בומ"פ). When examining this series, we discover that Aleph hints at all the letters and includes them all, given the Aleph is in the beginning, the Lamed in the middle, and the Pe at the end:

Aהחע גיכק דטLנת נסצרש בומP

This teaches that all the letters of the Aleph Bet, with all the lights that emerge from them and the natural forces inherent, were created by the One, Chief of the World.

Furthermore, reciting these letters in full: Aleph Lamed Pe — forms a phrase whose meaning is Aleph teaches mouth. Meaning, the spiritual force in the Aleph, symbolizing the human soul — the brain is the dwelling place of the soul, represented in the letter Aleph — guides and directs the mouth on what to say (the spoken word is found in the mouth, opening and speaking at the brain’s instruction. The letters of 'thought'/strong> indicating: 'Hey (Hashem) is in the brain', meaning the spirituality within the physical brain. Since the Aleph represents the soul, the head uses this as a basis for verbs, such as: I will go, I will come, I will see, I will do, I will keep, and so forth.

Aleph in Man

The Talmud states ’There are three partners in man: Hashem, father, and mother’. Hashem gives the soul, the father and mother provide the physical aspect, flesh and blood.

The word ‘man’ (אדם), composed of three letters, expresses this. A-Dam. The A expresses the soul granted to man by the Chief of the World, Hashem. While the Dam, denotes the physical body received from father and mother. Moreover, the word "Dam" is one single word containing two letters, indeed indicating that the two — the father and mother, are one, as clarified in several places.

On an allegorical level, Dam has a numerical value of 44:

Father (3) + Mother (41) = Dam (44)

It is noteworthy that the word "child" — born from father and mother, is numerically 44.

In this context, it is noteworthy what is hinted in the verse "Our days within them are seventy years". The plain understanding of the verse addresses the fact that the partnership of the three partners averages out at seventy years, as the dust returns to the ground, and the spirit to Hashem who granted it. Nevertheless, the word "within" is an acronym for the end letters of the three partners: AV, yud-hei-vav-HE (G-d’s name), EM. Specifically, end letters, alluding to the end, the conclusion of the partnership at age seventy. Consequently, the verse seems to declare: "Our days within their partnership are seventy years. Interestingly, the numerical value of the words Father, Mother, Hashem is 70!

The human body itself is alluded to in the Aleph, as explained in the Holy Zohar: "In the shape of the Aleph, there are two arms, one to one side and one to the other, and a body in the middle", from two aspects:

1. The Ellipted Vav becomes the body inclined forward, connected with two arms, which are the two Yuds, while the tops of the Yuds are the palms.

2. The top of the Vav is the head, its continuation is the body stepping forward on two legs. The upper Yud is the hand that seems to invite, like the chief inviting all his warriors, the letters, to follow him.

The human form aspiring forward indicates the nature and character of a person who, due to the spirituality of their soul signified in the Aleph, strives for satisfaction and fulfillment, and runs all their life yet never attaining it, until they provide their soul with the spiritual nourishment appropriate to it via Torah study and Mitzvah fulfilment. As described by one of the greatest Kabbalists, the RaMChaL:

"If the purpose of creation was for the sake of this world, there was no need for such a precious and exalted soul to be breathed into humanity exceeding the angels themselves. Certainly, it finds no contentment in all the delights of this world. This is what our sages taught in the Midrash Kohelet: 'the soul will also not be filled' - what is it likened to? To a villager who married a king’s daughter. If he provides her all the world has to offer, they mean nothing to her, for she is a king’s daughter. Similarly, the soul, if you brought her all the world's delicacies, they mean nothing to her. Why? Because she is from above."

The form of the chief calling to his warriors expresses Hashem's illumination and guidance to all created forces, signaling them to act through the various letters at creation. It is explained in the celestial Zohar: "And the twenty-two letters stretch out and begin to illuminate from the pinnacle of the onset light [meaning from Aleph] in the secret of the unique one. From there, the letters begin to reveal themselves. And from there, the letters illuminate and ascend. From the Aleph, which is the secret of the letters, in the secret of the one”.

Moreover, the Aleph’s form reflects the illumination of Hashem to all of creation by using the letter Vav of connection (the diagonal Vav in Aleph) to connect and draw eternal illumination from above (the upper Yud) downwards to the physical creation (the lower Yud), to sustain and vitalize it, like electricity that sustains and animates the light. This connection is made with love, as explained in the celestial Zohar, describing the Vav as effectively a form of Aleph missing its arms at the time of embrace, in the secret of "His left hand under my head and His right hand doth embrace me". And when plenty descends into the world in the secret of Aleph, the upper Yud in the Aleph is upright, while the lower is inverted. This is because the upper signifies the spiritual world that enlivens and descends with bounty; the lower symbolizes the material world that receives from above, like a male and female; for the world below is in the secret of "and to your husband is your desire" and receives bounty from above according to man's deeds.

In the Tikkunei Zohar, it is explained that also the vision of the Chariot seen by Ezekiel the Prophet, with all its specifics and marvels and secrets, is hinted at in the Aleph’s form. And the author of Tikkunei Zohar calls Ezekiel the Prophet: "Ezekiel the prophet, arise from your sleep [for one who has died and is destined to rise in the resurrection of the dead is now referred to as asleep. As stated in Daniel "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake"] to reveal here [to uncover here, i.e., in the Aleph] the visions revealed to you".

The Power of Choice in Man

With his capability of choice, man resembles G-d. As it is written, “And Hashem created the man in His image, in the image of G-d He created him.” The Rambam wrote that evidently this verse does not suggest that man resembles his Creator physically, as Hashem has no body or form of a body. Rather, as King David declared in Psalms, "I am like a pelican in the desert", certainly not implying he has wings and feathers like this bird; instead, explains Rambam, “He likened his grief to its mourning.” Similarly, the man was created in some likeness to the Creator through intellectual attainment dominating nature and allowing for choice. Indeed, the word 'man' in this verse, comprises the letters liken A. Because man is likened to G-d, as clarified in the verse, and as expressed in Isaiah "I will resemble the Almighty".

However, that same word (‘man’) contains the letters 'Adama' since created of dust from the earth, indicating that in his power of choice, the man can, on the one hand, ascend to become in the aspect of "I will resemble the Almighty", and on the other hand, to be carnal and immersed in the desires of the physical world, in the aspect of "dust of the Adama".

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