ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף איכה 4:10

I cannot speak about the secret of the honorable name until I mention a little about the taste of the letters of the Holy Language. All the letters that a person pronounces with them have five primary places. The first are the throat letters, which are Aleph, Chet, Hei, Ayin. The second are the palate letters, which are Gimel, Yud, Kuf, Kuf. The third are the tongue letters, which are Dalet, Tav, Lamed, Nun, Tav. The fourth are the teeth letters, which are Zayin, Samech, Shin, Resh, Tzadi. The fifth is language, and they are the letters of the Holy Tongue, twenty-two in number. The five were multiplied because they grasped the line that would be wide, and they added on the length to indicate that the word is not adjacent. The second ones are doubled, closing them at the end, and behold, half of their letters are rooted forever, neither subtracted nor added, even though they are multiplied. For example, (Leviticus 13) 'yarakrek,' (Song of Songs 1) 'shacharchorat,' (Leviticus 13) 'adamdam.' And this duplication is for deficiency if the ayin and lamed are doubled, and if the pe and ayin are doubled, the pe and ayin would be duplicated for an advantage, as in (Psalms 45) 'yafifit' and similarly in (Isaiah 17) 'tishgashgi.' And half-letters sometimes serve as roots and sometimes as prefixes or suffixes. And the signs, when vowelized, Aleph, Beit, Mem, Nun, Kaf, Hei, Vav, Ayin, Shin, Resh, and Tav, are appropriate to choose the light ones in pronunciation, so that they express a lot. And behold, the beginning of the letters is Ayin, and after it is Chet, and both of them are heavy. Therefore, they are not found in foreign script, and one who is not accustomed to them in his youth cannot pronounce them. Therefore, the Hebrews chose Aleph and Hei. Half of it is a root and half of it is a prefix, and they chose from the first letters of the Chet family, which are Yod and Kaf, to be adjacent to the chosen ones. And they chose from the letters of the tongue two close ones that are divided, which are Nun and also Tav. And because they are five, and Lamed is light on the tongue, they excluded it from the prefixes. And because it is in the middle, it is exalted above all the letters, and they called it the letter Mem, derived from the word 'limud' (learning), for its essence is to understand the purpose of the matter. And this is the esteemed secret (Genesis 20) said to me and his companions, and because the letters Shin and Sin are difficult, even their connection is difficult. Therefore, the letter Dalet is rooted, and the letter Shin alone serves, and its service is limited because (Psalms 144) 'it is like this to him.' (Song of Songs 1) 'I am Shlomo.' (Genesis 6) Furthermore, the letters Zayin, Tzadi, and Samech, which are the sibilant letters, are very difficult. Also, the letter Reish and the Ayin are difficult for young children who cannot pronounce them until they grow up and strengthen their brain faculties. Therefore, they needed to substitute the three letters of the Shin for them to serve, leaving one letter as a root, which is the Pei. And due to the Aleph being the soft sound of the throat, it comes before the Hei. Thus, it is named at the beginning, and its name comes after it, an letter from the language that is more distant. And after the Hei comes the Vav, and after the Ayin comes the Pei. And behold, the Aleph and Bet serve as a pair, and corresponding to them, Gimel and Dalet have roots from the palate and tongue. Then comes the Vav, which serves as a pair, and corresponding to it, Zayin has roots. And because the ninth letter changes with the Teth, consider it as serving, and after it comes Yod, Kaf, Lamed, Mem, Nun. Thus, there are six letters serving, and after them, there are six roots: Samech, Ayin, Pei, Tzadi, Kuf, Resh. And because the Aleph is the first letter of all the letters, it is not placed at the end, only at the beginning. And the letter Tav serves at the beginning and at the end of the word. And because this letter is similar to the Hei, in the script it was the sign of the feminine language, and the hidden Hei is the letter that reveals wisdom." (Exodus 35) The wisdom of the heart, and the Hei made it so that it, too, became hidden. The Shin was made into a Bat, also causing wonder about the Aleph (Genesis 21). 'Send away this maidservant,' he said; the Hei appears twice, referring to the two maidservants. The Tav is called 'Tav' because of the additional line on the Hei. Now I will speak about the continuing letters, which are the foundation of the glorious name. I say that the Aleph is fitting to be the sign of the speaking desert, as it includes both male and female. And the Hei, at the end, signifies femininity. And the Vav, at the end, with a cholam, represents masculinity—hand, foot, or whip (Deuteronomy 32) They will surround him, establish him, and protect him. And the Yod, its beginning is male, and its end is feminine language. Know and understand that the Aleph, at the end, is forever hidden. This is not the case with its companions, the Vav and the Yod. There is no need to mention that the letters Aleph, Hei, Vav, and Yod interchange, invert, and sometimes appear and sometimes disappear (1 Chronicles 2). Yishai and Ishi (Jeremiah 29). Ha'aman (2 Samuel 18). Hahamon they will call Lemar (2 Samuel 19). And for Amasa, Tamar, and Yish, it is written but not pronounced, like Bari. Only the Aleph is essential, added as in Naki (Joshua 10). Hahalchua (Isaiah 44), and there are some letters merged with a dot, like Imlo (Jeremiah 50), or Ezrecha (Isaiah 43). Also, the Hei merges like the Hei (Job 20), stolen, its end (Ruth 4), Asher ahavtich yaldetu (Exodus 21), and likewise (Exodus 20). I am the one that encompasses all nine, and the body is divided into many parts without end. Therefore, it is called Aleph, and the meaning of the letter Hei is like 'Hineh' (behold), and it consists of two lines. It has a profession, and there is another line close to it. Thus, the letter Hei is a sign of femininity at the end (Job 37). And the Vav is like the shape of upright pillars and is doubled to join the lips. And because the letter Hei represents femininity, it is a sign that males should preserve and keep it alive, pursue it. And due to its connection, the word 'many' is in the feminine form at the end, including both males and females. The Vav changed when it joined its companions. And know that the additional Hei at the beginning can be interpreted in two ways: as a form of knowledge or a question. If it is in the form of knowledge, it is similar to the final Hei. And between them, there is a difference in the dot. The Yod serves at the beginning and at the end. And in its beginning, it signifies singular and plural language that is not connected to the speaker's intent. It is like a thought. Thus, it is reversed, one at the beginning and similar to one at the end. For the Yod is a sign of masculine or feminine language, hand, feet, and the visible Yod represents plural language. And near it, the hidden Yod (Lamentations 4). The hands of women.