The Small Letters and their Purposes The ALEPH in ויקרא And He called (Leviticus 1:1) is small, to teach that the Holy Blessed One is only revealed to the nations of the earth through half speech—the verb of And God happened upon Bil'am (Numbers 23:4) is written ויקר without an aleph—but with the prophets of Israel through full speech, and thus it says ויקרא. The BETH in the first הב in שתי בנות הב הב Two daughters: give, give (Proverbs 30:15) is small, because the house of the LORD was destroyed and the splendor of the Holy Temple was decreased two (ב׳) times. The GIMEL in וגוש עפר and clods of earth (Job 7:5) is small, and it is read as גוש with a VAV but written as גיש with a YOD. The GIMEL of גוש עפר in Job is parallel to the threefold (ג׳) invocation of the son of the woman in (Proverbs 31:2)—"What, my son, and what, son of my womb, and what, son of my vows." Three days after death, three days lying in the tomb, thus it is small. The DALET in אדם עשק בדם נפש a man oppressed by the blood of a soul (Proverbs 28:17) is small because the spiller of blood kills four: the victim, and it is as if he killed his wife, and his sons, and his daughters. The HE in בהבראם in His creation of them (Genesis 2:4) is small, because he was decreased and reduced by His hand,1see Chagigah 12a as written and You set Your hand upon me (Psalm 139:5) The VAV in הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום Behold I give him My covenant of peace (Numbers 25:12) is small2in modern scrolls this letter is not written small, but broken in the middle because I give him, never to delay, My covenant of peace, a complete covenant. The ZAYIN in ויזתא Vaizatha (Esther 9:9) is small because Haman slandered seven (ז׳) times (Esther 3:8)—There is a certain people, scattered, and dispersed... in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are different from any other people, and the king's laws... and it is not in Your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them. The ḤETH in חף אנכי clean am I (Job 33:9) is small. Seven commandments were given before the giving of the Torah, and they are all included in the verse And the LORD Elohim commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat (Genesis 2:17) 1) and He commanded—the term צו is only used for idolatry, as said: For he has done gone and followed צו (Hosea 5:11) 2) the LORD—this is blessing the LORD, as said: or blaspheming the name of the LORD (Leviticus 24:16) 3) Elohim—these are the judges, as said: Do not curse Elohim (Exodus 22:27) 4) to the man—this is the spilling of blood, as written,:He who spills the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed (Genesis 9:6) 5) to say—forbidden intercourse, as said: to say, if a man sends away his wife (Jeremiah 3:1) 6) from all trees of the garden—regarding stealing and what is not stolen, 7) eat it, you may eat it—and not a limb from a living animal. The TETH in יסר מעלי שבטו Would He lift His rod away from me! (Job 9:34) is small2in modern texts this letter is not written small, but large, because none suffered like Job's suffering. The YOD in תשי You neglected (Deuteronomy 32:18) is small—you weakened the power of the Maker. The KAPH in ולבכתה and to weep for her (Genesis 23:2) is small—anyone who doesn't weep over a righteous person, a palm (כף) and a palm and a palm will strike him. The LAMED in לא עליכם Not upon you (Lamentations 1:12) is small because at first Israel was as a head, and now it is as a tail.