Zohar: Introduction: The Mysticism of the Alphabet

This is an excerpt from the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), presenting a midrashic narrative attributed to Rabbi Chananya that explains why the Hebrew Bible begins with the letter Bet (B) rather than Aleph (A). The narrative frames the Hebrew alphabet as quasi-divine entities who appear before God in reverse order before creation, each petitioning to serve as the instrument through which the world is made. Each letter argues its case by citing a divine attribute or name it initiates — Shin claims God's name Shaddai, Tzaddi invokes God's righteousness, Bet cites "blessing" — but most are rejected because they also initiate words associated with death, falsehood, sin, or are needed for other cosmic purposes. Bet alone is chosen because it begins *beracha* (blessing), which is why Genesis opens "Bereshit Bara" (In the beginning, created); Aleph is then separately honored as the symbol of divine unity. Distinctively, the text treats Hebrew letters not merely as linguistic symbols but as ontological building blocks of reality with agency and moral character, and includes a notable aside presenting the letter Tzaddi as a symbol of primordial androgyny — the first human having two faces, male and female, which were later separated. Readers interested in Kabbalistic cosmology, the theology of divine language, or the mystical significance of the Hebrew alphabet will find this a concise and vivid primary-source illustration of those ideas.

Zohar: Introduction: The Mysticism of the Alphabet

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