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."