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Twenty-Two Letters Lined Up Before Creation and Three Were Turned Away

Before creation, every Hebrew letter argued to be the one God built the world through. Three were rejected. The last won by staying silent longest.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Engraved on the Crown Before the World Existed
  2. The Case Tav Made and Why It Failed
  3. Shin and Resh and the Arguments They Lost
  4. The Last Letter and the Accidental Victory

Engraved on the Crown Before the World Existed

Before God spoke light into being, twenty-two Hebrew letters were already engraved with a pen of fire on the crown of the Holy One. They had existed before creation the way the blueprint of a building exists before the first stone is laid. When God decided to make a world, the letters came down off the crown and lined up before Him, each one rehearsing the argument that might win the assignment.

The scene is a courtroom where the plaintiff and the prize are the same thing: whoever speaks most convincingly gets to be the letter through which the universe is made. Every letter had something to say about its own centrality. Every letter was certain it was the obvious choice. They pressed forward, each one eager, each one sure.

The Case Tav Made and Why It Failed

Tav stepped forward first, which was already a mistake, because tav is the last letter of the alphabet. But its argument was strong. Tav opens the word Torah, and the Torah was the instrument God had consulted before laying the foundations of the world, the blueprint that preceded creation. The connection was logical. If the Torah preceded the world, and tav opened the Torah, then tav was the natural choice to begin the world through.

God listened. Then God said no.

Tav asked why. God's answer was about the future. \"In the days to come,\" God said, \"I will use you as a mark on the foreheads of the men who moan and groan over all the abominations that are committed, the mark that determines who lives and who dies when Jerusalem falls.\" Tav would be both a sign of salvation for the righteous and a sign of destruction for the wicked. A letter with that kind of weight could not carry the world at its opening. Creation needed something that began without the stain of the future's judgment written into its shape.

Shin and Resh and the Arguments They Lost

Shin brought its case. It was the first letter of the word Shaddai, one of the divine names. It was the first letter of Shalom, peace, and of Shemesh, sun. God declined. Shin appeared in shav, falsehood, and sheker, deceit. A letter that carried lying inside it could not be the foundation of a world that was built to last.

Resh stepped forward and pointed to its place in Rishon, first, and in Revii, great. God turned it down too. Resh was the beginning of ra, evil. A letter that opened the word for evil could not open the world.

The letters filed through one by one and were turned away, each one rejected for something it carried that disqualified it. The pattern was the same. The very letters that opened the most powerful and holy words also opened words of destruction, deceit, or death, and no letter could carry only the holy weight without the shadow of the other.

The Last Letter and the Accidental Victory

Aleph had not stepped forward. It was the first letter of the alphabet and it had been standing back, perhaps because it assumed the precedence was obvious, or perhaps because the long rejection of the others had made it cautious. By the time God had finished hearing the arguments of all the other letters, aleph was the last one standing who had not been formally rejected.

God asked aleph why it had stayed silent. Aleph answered that it had seen all its siblings rejected and had not wanted to trouble God further. God said: \"because you have humbled yourself, I will begin creation with bet, and you will be first in the Ten Commandments, I am the Lord your God beginning with aleph.\"

So bet began Genesis and aleph began Exodus. The world was made through a letter that was not first in the audition but was the most necessary letter in the most necessary sentence. What aleph gained by standing back was not the world's creation. It was the word I, the divine self-announcement at Sinai, which was the sentence that made the world's creation mean something.

CosmologyWisdomMidrash AggadahOtzar MidrashimAkiva
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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Midrashim of Rabbi Akiba, Aleph Bet of Rabbi Akiba (Version 2)Otzar Midrashim (Eisenstein)

Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva (Nusaḥ II) [according to the Krakow and Amsterdam printings] Said Rabbi Aqibha: these are the 22 letters with which the Torah was given to the tribes of Israel, and they were inscribed in a fiery pen upon the awesome and terrific crown of the Holy Blessed One, and when the Holy Blessed One sought to create the world, immediately they all came down and stood before the Holy Blessed One. This one said before Him, "Through me create the world!" and that one said before Him, "Through me create the world!" First entered ת before the Holy Blessed One and said before Him: "Master of the world! You should make Your world through me, for through me You give Torah to Israel by the hand of Moshe, as is written (Deut. 33:4) 'Torah1beginning with a ת Moshe commanded us' etc." The Holy Blessed One responded and said to it, "No." It said "why?" He said to it: "Since I will in the future use you as a mark on the foreheads of the men moaning and groaning, the mark of the ת to destroy them from the world to come, as is said (Ezekiel 9:4) 'And the LORD said to me, pass among the city and mark a ת upon the foreheads of the men moaning and groaning for all their abominations they have made among them.'" And what does "mark a ת" mean? It teachers that in the time when the Holy Blessed One set a judgement upon Jerusalem to destroy it, He called to the angel of death and said to the angel, "Start going over Jerusalem and choose within it the righteous and wicked. Every righteous one within it, write a ת of ink on his forehead, the ת of letting them live2the Hebrew word תחיה begins with a ת that they will be let live. And every wicked one within it, write a ת of blood on their forehead, the ת of letting them die.3the Hebrew word תמות begins with a ת. What distinguishes the ת from all the other letters? To teach you that the Torah saves humanity from all kinds of danger. At that very moment the attribute of Justice stood before the Holy Blessed One and said, "Master of the world! Even the righteous within it, write on their forehead a ת of blood, the ת of letting them die, so as to destroy all the wicked." Responded the Holy Blessed One and said to it, "Why?" It responded before Him: "Since you did not rebuke your children with words of rebuke, nor tell them not to sin or do ugly things, things that are not decent, things that are not appropriate to do." Responded the Holy Blessed One and said to it, "It is clearly known before Me that if they had been rebuked they would not have heard it." The attribute of Justice responded and said before Him, "Master of the world! Even though they were not recipients of it, they still had to be rebuked." Immediately the Holy Blessed One was silent and counted all the righteous who were in that generation in Jerusalem as wicked. At that time, six wounding angels were sent against Jerusalem, and the people inside it wounded it, as is written (Ezekiel 9:2) "And behold, six men came by the upper gate that faces northwards, and each had a weapon in his hand, and one among them was wearing linen and a writing case at his waist, and they came in and stood by the bronze altar." And what differs north from all the directions? It teaches that all evil spirits only every come from the north, as is written (Jeremiah 1:14) "And he said to me, from the north will evil break upon the inhabitants of the land!" And these are the six men who were sent against Jerusalem: anger and rage and wrath and destruction and annihilation and extermination, and each one had a double-edged sword in is hand, as written, "each had a weapon in his hand." And as soon as the ת heard this matter from the Holy Blessed One, it immediately left from before His presence with a disappointed soul. After that, entered ש and stood before the Holy Blessed One, and said before Him: "Master of the world! You should make Your world through me, for through me is called Your Explicit Name1שמך beginning with a ש, as is written (Exodus 3:15) "This is My Name2שמי beginning with a ש forever, and also I am the first letter of the name Shaddai. The Holy Blessed One responded and said to it, "No." It said "why?" He said to it: "Since vanity3שוא beginning with a ש and falsehood4שקר beginning with a ש are both called by you, and falsehood has no legs just as you have no legs. How could I create the world on a letter with no legs?" Immediately it left from before His presence with a disappointed soul. After that, entered ר and said before Him: "Master of the world! You should make Your world through me, for through me is said (Psalm 119:160) 'The beginning1ראש beginning with a ר of Your word is truth,' and also I am at the start of Your name called Merciful2רחום beginning with a ר as well as healing.3רפואה beginning with a ר" The Holy Blessed One responded and said to it, "No." It said "why?" He said to it: "Since through you Israel will in the future begin to worship idolatry, as is written (Numbers 14:4) 'Let us appoint a head4ראש beginning with a ר and return to Egypt.'" And why is idolatry called a "head?" As is written (Daniel 2:38) "The form of the head was of gold.' Also, ר is in evil5רע beginning with a ר and the beginning of wickedness6רשע beginning with a ר. Immediately it left from before His presence with a disappointed soul. Traducido por Jaim Yoel Ben Avraham "Después entró la letra Qof y se presentó ante el Bendito, diciendo: '¡{El Nombre sagrado} del Universo! ¿Deseas crear Tu mundo a través de mí, para que en el futuro se te invoque con una santidad triple, como está escrito: "Y el uno al otro daba voces, diciendo: Santo, Santo, Santo,{El nombre sagrado} de los ejércitos" (Isaías 6:3)?' El Bendito respondió: 'No'. Ella le preguntó: '¿Por qué?', y Él respondió: 'Porque a través de ti vendrán el descenso {Kalela} al mundo en los días del Mabul, como está escrito: "Ligera es sobre las aguas su porción, descendida {Kalela} será su heredad en la tierra" (Job 24:18).' Inmediatamente, salió de Su presencia con el alma afligida." Trad. Jaim Yoel Ben Avraham "Después entró la letra Pe y se presentó ante el Bendito, diciendo: '¡{EL nombre sagrado} del Universo! ¿Deseas crear Tu mundo a través de mí, para que se te invoque con los versos "Los mandamientos de {El nombre sagrado} son rectos, alegrando el corazón" (Salmos 19:8), que alegran el corazón del hombre, y además porque yo soy el principio de Tu Nombre, el cual es Redentor'? El Bendito respondió: 'No'. Ella le preguntó: '¿Por qué?', y Él respondió: 'Porque a través de ti, Israel se apartará hacia ídolos, como está escrito (Éxodo 32:1) "Y vio Moisés al pueblo que estaba desenfrenado; porque Aarón lo había apartado para vergüenza entre sus enemigos"; y "shmitza" (como en la expresión rabínica "shmitza pasul") significa idolatría'. Inmediatamente, salió de Su presencia con el alma afligida."

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Midrash Konen ('He Established')Otzar Midrashim (Eisenstein)

It is written, "The Lord established the earth with wisdom", this is the Torah. The Torah, where was it and where will it be? Why is it called Torah? Because a teaching descended to the world. And it is also called Torah because its gematria is 613, and the two commandments, "I am the Lord" and "You shall not have other gods," which were heard from the Creator, make it 613. And it is written, "The Torah was commanded to us by Moses." Another explanation: The Torah in Greek is called "the appearance and form of the Torah," meaning it was hidden and then revealed and given to Israel. It was hidden in the heavens before the heavens and the earth were created. What was its name? Its name was "Faith," as it is written, "And I was with Him as a confidant." And perhaps you might say it was written on a book, but before the beasts and animals were created, there was no skin to make a parchment to write on. And if you say it was written on silver and gold or various metals, they had not yet been created, refined, or purified in the world. And if you say it was written on a wooden tablet, the trees had not yet been created in the world. So, on what was it written and with what was it written? In black fire upon white fire, and it was bound in the arm of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "A fiery law for them" [and it is said, "A refuge is God from eternity and under the arms of the world"], when the Holy One, blessed be He, looked here and there and saw no angel in heaven [and no man on earth] and desired to create the world to make man engage in the Torah, as it is said, "He is one, and who can reverse it," and consulted with the Torah, which is wisdom, to create the world, as it is said, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth." With His understanding, the depths were split open and the heavens rained down dew. Wisdom in gematria is 73 names, 8 (chaf) eight, 20 (kaf) twenty, 40 (mem) forty, 5 (hei) five, thus 73 names are engraved on the arm of the Holy One, Blessed be He. In one of them light was created, in one fire, and in one water, thus 3 remain from them, 70 names, and for each name He can create a world like this. And with them, He is destined to create worlds upon worlds to be inherited by the righteous in the future, to expand their boundaries and fill their treasures, as it is said, "to inherit the beloved ones, yes, etc." What did he do? He took the Torah, opened it, and took from it a name that was not given to any creature, as it is said, "This is My name forever" (Exodus 3:15), with the missing "vav" indicating concealment. He struck and dripped from it forty drops into the sea, and it was filled with water. The Holy Spirit and the Divine Presence of the Creator hovered and blew upon it, as it is said, "And the Spirit of God" (Genesis 1:2). He opened the Torah and took from it a second name and extracted from there three drops of light, one for the light of this world, one for the light of the world to come, and one for the light of the Torah. One for the light of this world, as it is said, "And God said, 'Let there be light'"; one for the light of the world to come, as it is said, "Arise, shine, for your light has come"; one for the light of the Torah, as it is said, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the Torah is light." He opened the Torah and took out the third name, and from it, he took three drops of fire and ignited the entire world from that fire, except for the fire of humans, as it is said, "From His right hand came a fiery law for them." And the entire world was filled with water, light, and fire. When God saw fire to His right and light to His left, and water beneath Him, He took them and combined them two by two. He took fire and water and combined them with each other and made the heavens from them. He took water and light and combined them with each other and made from them a canopy of darkness and clouds of glory, as it is said, "He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him." He took light and fire and combined them together and made from them the holy creatures. He said to the heavens, "Stretch out like a tent," and they stretched out by themselves, as it is said, "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain." Until God said to them, "Enough." God began to stand in light and His Shechinah in the heights, and He closed the gates of darkness and sealed and locked His windows. God began to stand in the light, and His Shechinah (Divine Presence) was in the heavens, and He closed the darkness and sealed and locked its windows. God said, "This light is worthy of being hidden away, and if it is not revealed to flesh and blood, it will turn into darkness. If I reveal both of them together, the ministering angels will see and not be seen. If I mix both of them together, their light will not be equal (i.e., they have no value if used together in a mixture). Rather, I will separate and take the light from the darkness, and the light will dwell with Me, as it is said, 'And the light dwells with Him,' and the darkness will dwell below, as it is said, 'And darkness was upon the face of the deep,' and it is said, 'And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated,' and it is said, 'And God called the light day.'" On the first day He took a lump of snow from beneath the Throne of Glory and threw it on the face of the waters in the middle of the world and it became land as it says, “For He says to the snow, 'Be upon the earth'…” (Iyov 37:6) And He took the foundation stone and cast it onto the place of the Temple and the world was founded upon it as it says, “…or who laid its foundation?” (Iyov 38:6) He called to the land and it stood in its place in order that it not move back and forth like a ship on the high seas as it says, “…God, God the Lord, spoke and called to the earth…” (Tehillim 50:1) And since His light shined, it shined first on the land of Israel and from there illuminated the whole world as it says, “From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appeared.” (Tehillim 50:2) How did He illuminate it? He donned His tallit and wrapped Himself in His light and lit up the world as it says, “[You] enwrap Yourself with light like a garment…” (Tehillim 104:2) All that day the waters covered the land and it was dissolving until He donned the garments of majesty and His glory was seen as it says, “The Lord has reigned; He has attired Himself with majesty…” (Tehillim 93:1) And He girded Himself with a belt of might and established it through His might as it says, “…He has girded Himself with might. The world also is established that it cannot be moved.” (ibid.)

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Midrash Shnei KetuvimOtzar Midrashim (Eisenstein)

Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Sheni Ketuvim In the beginning God created etc. - To declare the might of the acts of creation to creatures, and to make it known to them is impossible, so Scripture is vague. From here they said one should not expound on incest before three [people], nor on the acts of creation before two, nor on the Chariot before one individual unless he is wise and understands on his own. Anyone who contemplates four matters, it would be fitting for his innards to spill out over his face, and he did not go out and did not see the world - to know what is above and what is below, what is before and what is behind, and anyone who has no shame for the honor of his Creator, it would be fitting for him not to have come into the wor Why should a person not say what is above? A parable to one who was drinking wine at a feast, water from a jug, and it turns out the wine was suspended in the air. So the Holy One Blessed Be He created the world and suspended it in the wind, as it says "For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind" (Amos 4:13). Is it possible the Holy One Blessed Be He created in His world only wind? Behold, He created everything, as it says "For He who made everything, He is the Lord" (Jeremiah 10:16). What is the meaning of "He who forms mountains and creates wind"? Rather, so said the Holy One Blessed Be He to man: My son, you wish to know how My world stands - learn from your wind and body. For as long as the wind is in the body, the wind bears it up. The wind leaves the body - others bear it, as it says "His breath departs, he returns to his dust" (Psalms 146:4). Therefore one should not say what is above. And why should one not say what is below? A parable to a king who had a cesspit for excrement underneath, and built a palace on top of it. If a person were to say to his fellow how beautiful and exalted is this palace, except it stands on a cesspit - would he not be insulting the king's palace? So the Holy One Blessed Be He created His world spread out on the water, as it says "He spread out the earth on the waters" (Psalms 136:6). What is below the water you do not know, and something you do not know what it is, you have no right to expound or investigate. Therefore one should not say what is below. And why should one not say what is before? Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: A parable to a king who built a palace and perfected it, and the previous place of the palace had been a garbage dump and pile of stones. Now that the king built the palace and perfected it, he does not want the beginning of the palace's previous state mentioned before him. So the world was originally tohu vavohu (without form and void). Now that the Holy One Blessed Be He created the world and perfected it, He does not want the beginning of the world's creation mentioned before Him. Therefore one should not say what is before. And why should one not say what is behind? A parable to a king who contemplates in his heart but does not want to say it with his mouth. If a person were to say to his fellow, "I know what is in the king's heart" - does this praise the king? So the Holy One Blessed Be He created the world and put it in His heart, as it says "For the day of vengeance is in my heart" (Isaiah 63:4). And if a person were to say to his fellow "I know when He will judge, when is the end, when the Messiah comes, when the redemption comes" - his days are shortened. For others sought to know the end-time and had their souls taken away. Therefore one should not say what is behind. The heretics asked Rabbi Shmelai: They said to him, "How many gods created the world?" He said to them, "I and you will be asked for the first days", as it says "For ask now regarding the early days" (Deuteronomy 4:32) etc. One verse says "The Torah of Hashem is perfect" (Psalms 19:8) and it is written "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant" (Malachi 3:22). You find in every... advantage. Moses gave his soul for three matters which were called by his name: For the Torah, for the laws, and for Israel. He gave his soul for the laws and they were called by his name, as it says "Judges and officers shall you place for yourself" (Deuteronomy 16:18). It does not say "shall you place" but "for yourself", and behold they belong only to the Omnipresent, as it says "For judgment is God's" (Deuteronomy 1:17). But Moses gave his soul for them and they were called by his name. He gave his soul for Israel and they were called by his name, as it says "If this is how You treat me, then kill me now" (Numbers 11:15). The Omnipresent said to him, "By your life, you gave your soul for them - I will call them by your name", as it says "Go down, for your people whom you brought up from Egypt have corrupted themselves" (Exodus 32:7). Behold they belong only to the Omnipresent, as it says "But they are Your people" (Deuteronomy 9:12). But Moses gave his soul for them and they were called by his name. He gave his soul for the Torah, as it says "And he was there with Hashem forty days" (Exodus 34:28). The Omnipresent said, "By your life, I will not call it except by your name", as it says "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant" (Malachi 3:22). Behold the Torah belongs to the Omnipresent, as it says "The Torah of Hashem is perfect." But Moses gave his soul for it and it was called by his name... One Torah... (Exodus 12:49). And it is written "You shall not eat any carcass; you shall give it to the stranger in your gates and he shall eat it" (Deuteronomy 14:21). You find the Holy One Blessed Be He shows affection for converts and commands about them everywhere. And here He says to give the carcass to the stranger? Rabbi Bunai said in the name of Rabbi Nehorai: In forty-eight places the Holy One Blessed Be He warned about converts, and commanded them [correspondingly] in forty-eight places about idolatry... Rabbi Antonikius said in the name of Yehuda ben Simon: The Holy One Blessed Be He said: I take vengeance upon... the idolater, and this one separated from it and came to convert. Therefore I warn about him [to Israel] corresponding to idolatry. Until now... wise Haman "The stranger" (that is Abraham, see below) (Psalms 88), and similarly "I called an eagle from the east" (Isaiah 46:11). "You shall not eat any carcass; you shall give it to the stranger in your gates and he shall eat it" - the verse does not speak about a convert who converted, but about a stranger who is outside... You find that one who is doubtful about converting... Therefore it says "to the stranger in your gates" - one who comes and goes through your gates. You find four types of converts: One corresponds to the Levite, "And you shall give to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow" (Deuteronomy 26:12). One corresponds to the poor, as it says "And you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger" (Leviticus 19:10). And one corresponds to an animal, as it says "Both your animals and the stranger in your gates" (Exodus 20:10). And one corresponds to the maidservant, as it says "so that your manservant and stranger may rest" (Exodus 23:12). Why? For these four converts convert for the sake of something different each. And therefore He compares each one to that thing he converted for the sake of. The Holy One Blessed Be He said: There is nothing beloved before Me like one who converts for the sake of My holy name. Just as among all the tribes there is nothing as beloved to Me as the tribe of Levi, so among all converts there is nothing as beloved before Me as you. Therefore He compares him to Abraham, as it says "The stranger shall be like the native" (Leviticus 24:22). "Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings" (Isaiah 6:2) and it is written "And each one had four faces and four wings" (Ezekiel 1:6). You find Isaiah saw when the Temple stood and Israel was inside it, and saw them with six wings. But Ezekiel, after it was destroyed and Israel exiled from it, he saw them with four. And why did Isaiah see six for each seraph? With two he covers his face so as not to gaze upon the Divine Presence, as it says "For man cannot see Me [and live]" (Exodus 33:20) - even the angels about whom it says "and the likeness of their faces was human faces" (Ezekiel 1:10), with two he covers his legs - these are their feet which are like a calf's hoof, so they will not mention the sins of your fathers [with the calf], and with two he flies, for with these they praise the Omnipresent - behold six. But after the Temple was destroyed, they came to praise before the Holy One Blessed Be He. He takes hold of them and says "My house lies in ruins, My children are exiled - and you seek to praise before me?" Therefore Ezekiel saw four, and Isaiah saw six. "He commanded it as a testimony for a thousand generations" (Psalms 105:8), and it is written "And He performs kindness for two thousand [generations]" (Exodus 20:6). You find that one who performs Torah and mitzvot (commandments) out of self-motivated love, "performs kindness for two thousand" - for those who love Him do so out of love. But one who performs out of fear - [it endures only] "for a thousand generations." Therefore it says "And for those who keep My commandments for a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9). "I said in my haste 'All men are deceitful'" (Psalms 116:11), and it is written "My eyes are on the faithful of the earth" (Psalms 101:6). If there are faithful people on earth, how are all people deceitful? You find the faithful... the rest is missing.

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