When Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi was ready to teach his son the alef-beis, he called one of his disciples into his study and told him, “You have a mitzvah and I have a mitzvah. Your mitzvah is to support your family. My mitzvah is to teach my son. Let’s trade mitzvos. You will teach my son, and I will pay you so you can support your family.”

The Rebbe went on to explain how this instruction should proceed. “Begin with the letter alef. What is an alef?” The Rebbe continued melodically in Yiddish: “A pintele fun oybin, a pintele fun untin, a kav b’emtza—[The alef is] a dot above, a dot below, and a diagonal line connecting them.”

Design
What is an alef?
If it were only a random arrangement of pen strokes to prompt the reader to say “ah,” this question would be irrelevant. Every aspect of the alef’s construction was Divinely designed to teach a lesson.

Contrast this with a child learning the English Alphabet. He is never taught why a capital “A” looks like a teepee and a small “a” looks like a soap bubble stuck to a wall.

But Hebrew is special. The design of an alef is composed of three different letters: the letter yud or dot above; a yud or dot below; and a diagonal vav, or line suspended in between.

The yud above represents G-d, the Essence Who is above our comprehension. In comparison to His true essence, we are a mere dot.

The yud below represents a Yid—Jewish people here on earth. We grasp G-d’s wisdom—to the extent that a person is capable—by being humble. When we realize that we are but a dot or a speck compared to the Al-mighty G-d, we become a vessel to receive His Divine wisdom.

The diagonal vav represents our faith —which unites us with G-d.

Another teaching suggests that the suspended vav represents the Torah. Since the Torah unites a Jew and G-d, the alef represents this unity between mankind and G-d. This is the design, or form, of the alef.

Every stroke of the alef (and every other letter) has a special purpose; there is more to learning the alef-beis than just mastering its sounds.

The letter Alef is especially significant to us at Purim, for the letter Alef begins then name of Esther the Queen whose prayers and intervention saved the Jews from the wicked Haman.

Gematria
Every letter of the alef-beis has a numerical value, or gematria. The gematria of alef is one, representing the One (or oneness of) G-d, as we declare: “Hear, O Israel, G-d is our
L-rd, G-d is One.”

On a more complex level, the form of the alef comprises three letters: two yuds and a vav. The gematria of the yud is ten—two yuds being twenty. A vav is six; the sum of all three totaling twenty-six. G-d is known by the Tetragrammaton, or Ineffable Four Letter Name. The gematria of the Yud (=10), the Hei (=5), the Vav (=6) and the Hei (=5) totals 26, the same as the yud-vav-yud of the alef. Through their respective gematrios, the alef represents G-d’s Ineffable Name.

Meaning
The Rebbe explains that the alef has three different meanings. One is ;ukt, aluf, which means a master or a chief. The second is vbpkut, ulfana, a school of learning or teacher. The third meaning is reached by reading the letters of the word backwards—tkp, pela (pronounced peleh)—wondrous.

Aluf’s definition is “master.” This lets the world know that G-d is Master of the universe, that there is an Eye that sees, and an Ear that hears. The universe did not simply emerge by itself; there is an omnipotent Force that forged the firmaments ex nihilo, from nothing to something. Thus G-d is the Aluf, the Master of the universe.

Ulfana means “school” or “teacher.” Not only do we introduce G-d as the Creator of the universe, but also as the Teacher. G-d’s role as teacher is revealed with His introduction of Torah to the Jewish people. The Torah’s 613 mitzvos teach us what we should do, and what we shouldn’t do. Through the Divine wisdom of His book, G-d establishes Himself in the world on the level of the ultimate Teacher.

Finally, we have the third meaning of alef: peleh, “wondrous.” Peleh represents the esoteric or mystical level of Torah—Kabbalah and Chassidic thought. Known as the “teachings of Mashiach,” these secrets of Torah comprise its greatest level.

The Baal Shem Tov once entered Mashiach’s heavenly chamber and asked, “Mashiach, when will you come?” Mashiach responded, “When the wellsprings of your teachings (i.e., the Chassidic teachings) spread forth throughout the world.” Only when the level of peleh—wondrous esoteric thought —permeates the world, will the Mashiach come.

The Talmud tells us that G-d created the world to exist for 6,000 years. The first two thousand years are called Tohu, or chaos, followed by two thousand years of Torah. And the final two thousand are the days of Mashiach.

What does this mean? Rashi explains that the first two thousand years began with the first man, Adam. This corresponds to the first meaning of the letter alef: aluf—master—for the Midrash states that Adam caused all animal life to bow down to G-d, acknowledging Him as Master of the universe. However, that era was qualified as chaos, because the Torah was not yet revealed.

The second two thousand years, Rashi continues, began with Abraham. Abraham introduced the Torah. As the Talmud states, Abraham both learned and fulfilled the entire Torah long before it was physically given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. His embracing of G-d’s word inaugurated the era of Torah—and thus the second meaning of the word alef—ulfana, or teaching.

The final two-thousand-year period is considered the days of Mashiach; the concept of peleh. This wondrous era will usher in peace and tran-quility through-out the world.

Here, at this final level of alef, the Alter Rebbe explains that the difference between the words vkud—golah (exile) and vkutd—geulah (redemption), is the alef. If one inserts an alef into the word vkud (golah/exile), exile is empowered and transformed into vkutd (geulah/redemption). Thus the final two thousand years of Creation, era of Mashiach, is represented by the alef. The alef empowers us to develop from exile to redemption. The stages of G-d as Master of the universe and as Teacher blossom into the days of Mashiach, when G-d will be revealed on a wondrous level.