The Letter Kuf: Holiness and a Point of Transition

The letter Kuf derives from the idea of encirclement. It represents the closing of a circle that now creates a transition point to a higher circle. Therefore, the letter Kuf symbolizes the puncture, the place of transition (like the "eye" of a needle), and the step up to the peak of spirituality after completing a circle of spiritual work.

The letter Kuf (holy) follows the letter Tzadi (righteous). For the level of holiness comes after the level of righteousness. Only after a person properly observes the commandments of the Creator and thus deserves to be called righteous, can they elevate further and sanctify themselves by refraining even from permissible things if they are not needed for serving Hashem or their life. In doing so, they purify themselves from materialism, and are called holy.

Therefore, a man or woman ascending from a spiritual level of righteousness to a higher spiritual level is called "kadosh" or "k'doshah". The meaning of the word kadosh: separated from the general. Conversely, a man or woman descending from a middle level to a low level is called "kadesh" or "k'deshah". As it is written "There shall be no k’deshah among the daughters of Israel, nor a kadesh among the sons of Israel." Rashi explains: "There shall be no k'deshah – given to prostitution, and no kadesh – prepared for male relations." Therefore, this letter is the letter of transition to another level, both upwards and downwards.

The letter Kuf first appears in the Torah at the start of the word, in the verse: "God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." For naming is the transition to a stable state and definition of essence.

Pronunciation

As mentioned, the place where thread passes through a needle is called the "eye" of the needle, after the transitional point letter.

Even the animal called "monkey" is named because of its similarity to the form found at the median point, between the crown of creation, man, and other creatures of the animal world. As it is explained in the Talmud, during the corruption and distortion of the holy language into different tongues, some humans’ appearance was distorted, resembling monkeys. Thus the ancestor of at least some human-like monkeys was a human (see the language of the Sages further).

The word "encirclement" also suggests transition from place to place, but through a rotation and creation of a complete circle. As Radbaz wrote in "Magen David": "Know that wherever you find the term encirclement in Scripture, such as: 'At the turn of the year', 'You shall not round off the edge of your heads' – all alluded to in this letter, which is a term of encirclement."

And as he stated, elaborated in the Midrash "Letters of Rabbi Akiva": "Kuf, this is Moses, the father of all sages, and the father of all understanding, who circled before Pharaoh all the words of wisdom and all the words of understanding and all the words of intellect in seventy languages."

In its deep level, the letter Kuf expresses the holy person who has separated from materialism and transitioned from the necessary middle state required of most people to maintain the principal law, to a higher spiritual level. Since the righteous (Tzadi) who sanctifies himself with what is permitted to him, thus transitions to a higher level and is called holy.

The definition of "holiness": separation from and leaving the common middle state.

This transition point upward or downward is embedded in the letter Kuf.

Similarly, in a woman's sanctification to a man. The meaning of "sanctification" – the woman exits from the group of unmarried women who can marry anyone, and she is now devoted to this man. Thus is in all cases where a person dedicates themselves to serve their Creator by separating from the conduct of average people, and all their focus is on spiritual work. As our sages explain the saying of the Torah "You shall be holy" – "You shall be separated". This is also the explanation of the Creator's title: "The holy one, blessed is He" meaning, separated and elevated from all His creations, He is the source of blessing.

Conversely, the letter Kuf expresses the kadesh, who separates themselves from the worldly way to a negative path. Since a person has the possibility of using the transition feature in the letter Kuf to cross over to the side of the sitra achra, which is the yetzer hara that incites and seduces him by making it appear as though there is good in what the Creator of the world and man has forbidden. Therefore, the letter Kuf is pronounced koph (and not koof as commonly mistaken), like that imitative animal named after the letter. For indeed, the true good and pleasure are found on the side of holiness, but the negative side tries to imitate the powers of holiness and the true good, like a monkey mimicking man. Just as the previous letter – the letter Tzadi, represents the true righteous from one side, and the hypocrite masquerading as righteous from the other, so the letter Kuf represents the side of holiness on one side, and the side of the sitra achra imitating it like a monkey, on the other. Holiness provides the true pleasure and joy both in this world and the next world, while the yetzer hara, which is the S"m, tries to present a superficial shell of momentary imaginary pleasure, although in truth it brings suffering and afflictions upon the sinner, who must in the end purify themselves from their sin's blemishes.

Moreover, the S"m tries to impress as if he is elevated in the world and rules over it, and blinds the eyes of man from seeing the truth by masquerading as if he is the lord of the world. This is the horn of the wicked (every horn, protruding over the head – as if declaring its superiority and importance), about which it is said "And I will cut off all the horns of the wicked" and conversely "the horns of the righteous shall be exalted". For, according to the truth, on the positive side, the righteous who sanctifies is raised and exalted upward in emulating their Creator by walking in His ways. As the scripture states: "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy".

Here is the language of the Midrash "Letters of Rabbi Akiva":

K', why is he tall in stature and has a horn behind him? Because all the horns of the wicked who boast, and rise above the righteous in this world, the holy one, blessed be He, will cut them down for the honor of Israel, who are called head. As it is said: "The Lord will place you as a head" etc. And how do we know that He will cut them off? As it is said: "I will cut off all the horns of the wicked". And raise for Israel, as it is said "the horns of the righteous shall be exalted".

Another explanation, K', this is the holy one, blessed be He. As it is said: 'Holy, holy, holy.' And R' this is wicked. And why does the Kuf turn its face from the Resh? The holy one, blessed be He, said I cannot look at the image of a wicked man. And why is the leg of the Kuf cut from its top and has a crown tied behind it? The holy one, blessed be He, said to the wicked: If you return, I will bring you to my chamber, and tie a crown of glory for you. As it is said: "And when the wicked one returns from his wickedness which he has done, and does judgment and righteousness, he shall save his soul."

Furthermore, man was created in the image of God. That is, with a power of choice through which he is able to correct his traits and perform actions and conduct that will exalt him until the light of his pure soul shines from his face and instills awe upon all living things, as it is written "And your fear and terror shall be upon every animal of the earth". But on the other hand, he can choose bad traits and negative actions through which he changes his appearance to an alien, animalistic and degraded appearance, until likened to a monkey, whose form is close to man's appearance but in his thinking and actions is nothing but an animal acting according to its desires.

Indeed, in extreme cases where humans descended in their actions to lowliness, the holy one, blessed be He, changed their appearance, until he turned them into human-like apes. As explained in the Talmud that some of the people of the generation of the dispersion, who built the Tower of Babel so that it would symbolize the advancement and superiority of man producing bricks by himself, and at the top of the tower sought to place a statue with a sword raised upwards to symbolize man's rebellion against his creator, became apes. Here is the language of the Talmud:

"The generation of the dispersion, they have no share in the Hereafter. What did they do?

Rabbi Yirmiyah bar Elazar said they were divided into three groups. One said, Let us go up and dwell there, and one said, Let us go up and serve idolatry, and one said, Let us go up and make war.

The one that said, Let us go up and dwell there, the Lord scattered them. The one that said, Let us go up and make war, became apes, and spirits, and demons, and lilin. The one that said, Let us go up and serve idolatry, for there the Lord confused the language of all the earth." While dealing with the Tower of Babel built from the unification of humans whose technological advancement of that time – to construct in a new method with human-made bricks – led them to arrogance stemming from exaggerated self-confidence and unity, as explained in the verses, and from that to attempt to push the Creator out of His world; its end was that their high tower was destroyed and turned into division and conflict from the confusion of languages. Cannot ignore a similar and repeated message of the occurrence in our time, when the superpower whose Statue of Liberty raises a victorious hand, built the World Trade Center, in the form of twin towers taller than anything around. The towers were built with a new construction method using steel and aluminum columns, and they were the first of their size built without concrete and traditional building materials. This special construction method that allowed such high construction despite immense physical pressures surrounding it such as winds etc., led to arrogant words of man’s belief in himself and his ability, as said then by the architect of the Twin Towers, Minoru Yamasaki: "The World Trade Center must because of its great importance become a symbol of man's faith in humanity, and of man's ability through mutual collaboration."

However, precisely this innovative construction method collapsed the giant towers like a house of cards in contrast to all expectations. As stated by Hyman Brown, a professor of building engineering from the University of Colorado: "Other buildings could have remained standing after the planes crashed into them. But in metal buildings, the fire that erupted after over ninety thousand liters of engine fuel was spilled there, melted the steel to the bottom floor." And if that wasn't enough, the collapse of the towers was the opening shot escalating the inter-religious conflict worldwide. A bit like the split and conflict created after the collapse of the dream of unity and human pride in the Tower of Babel.

Indeed, a moral lesson for humanity for all times is to believe first and foremost in the power of the God who gives man strength, and in the unity for good of humanity according to the values of morality and conduct in the Creator's Torah.

For this reason, the transitional letter, the letter Kuf, expresses from one perspective the gateway entrance to the world of holiness akin to an opening like the eye of a needle, and on the other hand, the lowest possible level of degradation to which a person can reach, down to distortion like a monkey.

To purchase the book "The Code" by Rabbi Zamir Cohen, visit Hidabroot Shops.