Rabbi Yizhak of Vorki was asked: "Why on the Day of Atonement is the list of confession of sins arranged in alphabetical order?" He replied: "If it were otherwise, we should not know when to stop beating our breasts. For there is no end to sin, and no end to the awareness of sin, but there IS an end to the alphabet."[1] There is an end to the alphabet, but there is barely an end to what can be said about the alphabet, so central is it to Jewish culture. This month's edition of JHOM includes the following articles focusing on the Hebrew letter: All about the ancient alphabet Why the Psalmist omitted the vav (and concluded with peh) Alphabet inscriptions on ancient Jewish graves and their meaning How Jewish children were taught the Hebrew alphabet in rabbinic times Gematria: the numerical value of words and the meanings they reveal Hebrew letters in Jewish art: an introduction The art of Hebrew micrography - minute writing in shapes Yiddish alphabet songs sung by the young and the poor The most popular of Yiddish songs -- "Der alef-beyz" (aka "Oyfn pripetshok) The Tale of the Scribe: an excerpt from the short story by S.Y. Agnon Hebrew rootword lesson - Aleph - vav - tat The Editor. [1] From Tales of the Hasidim, Martin Buber, Shocken Books 1991 [back]