Alphabet Letters

The letter Alef awakens within us the thought of beginning, of the primal genesis. We gaze on its greatness and we are astounded at the preciousness of its vision. It speaks to us, speaking forever: to pay heed, to learn, to instruct. The Aramaic for "learning" is "ulpan"—a word built from "alef." The soul knows that whatever comes through learning is not original. What is original is the inner thought that is not expressed. That will surely be the inheritance of the world on the day "when a man will no longer teach his brother nor his comrade to know God, for all shall know Him, from the smallest to the greatest."

Rosh Milin

The letter beit means "house." Once there is an existence of content, of initial form, it is "the glory of a man to sit in the house." For the forms coming into being, for the multitude of strength streaming forth, we must prepare a container: a beit kibul. This [comprises] a roof and seal that ensure that the light will not appear in its abstract form. These are antecedents of the material that will be built, the container that will be established, which will have character and utility.

Rosh Milin