When God was about to create the world by His word, the twenty-two
letters of the alphabet[10] descended from the terrible and august
crown of God whereon they were engraved with a pen of flaming fire.
They stood round about God, and one after the other spake and
entreated, "Create the world through me!" The first to step forward was
the letter Taw. It said: "O Lord of the world! May it be Thy will to
create Thy world through me, seeing that it is through me that Thou
wilt give the Torah to Israel by the hand of Moses, as it is written,
'Moses commanded us the Torah.'" The Holy One, blessed be He, made
reply, and said, "No!" Taw asked, "Why not?" and God answered: "Because
in days to come I shall place thee as a sign of death upon the
foreheads of men." As soon as Taw heard these words issue from the
mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, it retired from His presence
disappointed.
The Shin then stepped forward, and pleaded: "O Lord of the world,
create Thy world through me: seeing that Thine own name Shaddai begins
with me." Unfortunately, it is also the first letter of Shaw, lie, and
of Sheker, falsehood, and that incapacitated it. Resh had no better
luck. It was pointed out that it was the initial letter of Ra', wicked,
and Rasha' evil, and after that the distinction it enjoys of being the
first letter in the Name of God, Rahum, the Merciful, counted for
naught. The Kof was rejected, because Kelalah, curse, outweighs the
advantage of being the first in Kadosh, the Holy One. In vain did Zadde
call attention to Zaddik, the Righteous One; there was Zarot, the
misfortunes of Israel, to testify against it. Pe had Podeh, redeemer,
to its credit, but Pesha: transgression, reflected dishonor upon it.
'Ain was declared unfit, because, though it begins 'Anawah, humility,
it performs the same service for 'Erwah, immorality. Samek said: "O
Lord, may it be Thy will to begin the creation with me, for Thou art
called Samek, after me, the Upholder of all that fall." But God said:
"Thou art needed in the place in which thou art;[11] thou must continue
to uphold all that fall." Nun introduces Ner, "the lamp of the Lord,"
which is "the spirit of men," but it also introduces Ner, "the lamp of
the wicked," which will be put out by God. Mem starts Melek, king, one
of the titles of God. As it is the first letter of Mehumah, confusion,
as well, it had no chance of accomplishing its desire. The claim of
Lamed bore its refutation within itself. It advanced the argument that
it was the first letter of Luhot, the celestial tables for the Ten
Commandments; it forgot that the tables were shivered in pieces by
Moses. Kaf was sure of victory Kisseh, the throne of God, Kabod, His
honor, and Keter, His crown, all begin with it. God had to remind it
that He would smite together His hands, Kaf, in despair over the
misfortunes of Israel. Yod at first sight seemed the appropriate letter
for the beginning of creation, on account of its association with Yah,
God, if only Yezer ha-Ra' the evil inclination, had not happened to
begin with it, too. Tet is identified with Tob, the good. However, the
truly good is not in this world; it belongs to the world to come. Het
is the first letter of Hanun, the Gracious One; but this advantage is
offset by its place in the word for sin, Hattat. Zain suggests Zakor,
remembrance, but it is itself the word for weapon, the doer of
mischief. Waw and He compose the Ineffable Name of God; they are
therefore too exalted to be pressed into the service of the mundane
world. If Dalet had stood only for Dabar, the Divine Word, it would
have been used, but it stands also for Din, justice, and under the rule
of law without love the world would have fallen to ruin. Finally, in
spite of reminding one of Gadol, great, Gimel would not do, because
Gemul, retribution, starts with it.
After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of, Bet stepped
before the Holy One, blessed be He, and pleaded before Him: "O Lord of
the world! May it be Thy will to create Thy world through me, seeing
that all the dwellers in the world give praise daily unto Thee through
me, as it is said, 'Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen, and Amen.'" The
Holy One, blessed be He, at once granted the petition of Bet. He said,
"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord." And He created His
world through Bet, as it is said, "Bereshit God created the heaven and
the earth." The only letter that had refrained from urging its claims
was the modest Alef, and God rewarded it later for its humility by
giving it the first place in the Decalogue.[12]