THE ALPHABET
When God was about to create the world by His word, the
twenty-two letters of the alphabet[10] descended from the
terrible and august crown of God whereon they were engraved with
a pen of flaming fire. They stood round about God, and one after
the other spake and entreated, "Create the world through me! The
first to step forward was the letter Taw. It said: "O Lord of the
world! May it be Thy will to create Thy world through me, seeing
that it is through me that Thou wilt give the Torah to Israel by
the hand of Moses, as it is written, 'Moses commanded us the
Torah.' " The Holy One, blessed be He, made reply, and said,
"No!" Taw asked, "Why not?" and God answered: "Because in days to
come I shall place thee as a sign of death upon the foreheads of
men." As soon as Taw heard these words issue from the mouth of
the Holy One, blessed be He, it retired from His presence
disappointed.
The Shin then stepped forward, and pleaded: "O Lord of the world,
create Thy world through me: seeing that Thine own name Shaddai
begins with me." Unfortunately, it is also the first letter of
Shaw, lie, and of Sheker, falsehood, and that incapacitated it.
Resh had no better luck. It was pointed out that it was the
initial letter of Ra', wicked, and Rasha' evil, and after that
the distinction it enjoys of being the first letter in the Name
of God, Rahum, the Merciful, counted for naught. The Kof was
rejected, because Kelalah, curse, outweighs the advantage of
being the first in Kadosh, the Holy One. In vain did Zadde call
attention to Zaddik, the Righteous One; there was Zarot, the
misfortunes of Israel, to testify against it. Pe had Podeh,
redeemer, to its credit, but Pesha: transgression, reflected
dishonor upon it. 'Ain was declared unfit, because, though it
begins 'Anawah, humility, it performs the same service for
'Erwah, immorality. Samek said: "O Lord, may it be Thy will to
begin the creation with me, for Thou art called Samek, after me,
the Upholder of all that fall." But God said: "Thou art needed in
the place in which thou art;[11] thou must continue to uphold all
that fall." Nun introduces Ner, "the lamp of the Lord," which is
"the spirit of men," but it also introduces Ner, "the lamp of the
wicked," which will be put out by God. Mem starts Melek, king,
one of the titles of God. As it is the first letter of Mehumah,
confusion, as well, it had no chance of accomplishing its desire.
The claim of Lamed bore its refutation within itself. It advanced
the argument that it was the first letter of Luhot, the celestial
tables for the Ten Commandments; it forgot that the tables were
shivered in pieces by Moses. Kaf was sure of victory Kisseh, the
throne of God, Kabod, His honor, and Keter, His crown, all begin
with it. God had to remind it that He would smite together His
hands, Kaf, in despair over the misfortunes of Israel. Yod at
first sight seemed the appropriate letter for the beginning of
creation, on account of its association with Yah, God, if only
Yezer ha-Ra' the evil inclination, had not happened to begin with
it, too. Tet is identified with Tob, the good. However, the truly
good is not in this world; it belongs to the world to come. Het
is the first letter of Hanun, the Gracious One; but this
advantage is offset by its place in the word for sin, Hattat.
Zain suggests Zakor, remembrance, but it is itself the word for
weapon, the doer of mischief. Waw and He compose the Ineffable
Name of God; they are therefore too exalted to be pressed into
the service of the mundane world. If Dalet Wad stood only for
Dabar, the Divine Word, it would have been used, but it stands
also for Din, justice, and under the rule of law without love the
world would have fallen to ruin. Finally, in spite of reminding
one of Gadol, great, Gimel would not do, because Gemul,
retribution, starts with it.
After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of, Bet
stepped before the Holy One, blessed be He, and pleaded before
Him: "O Lord of the world! May it be Thy will to create Thy world
through me, seeing that all the dwellers in the world give praise
daily unto Thee through me, as it is said, 'Blessed be the Lord
forever. Amen, and Amen.' " The Holy One, blessed be He, at once
granted the petition of Bet. He said, "Blessed be he that cometh
in the name of the Lord." And He created His world through Bet,
as it is said, "Bereshit God created the heaven and the earth."
The only letter that had refrained from urging its claims was the
modest Alef, and God rewarded it later for its humility by giving
it the first place in the Decalogue.[12]