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The Hebrew Alphabet

Learning the Hebrew Consonants

To begin studying Hebrew, you must begin with its character set or script. Click on a letter below to begin studying how to pronounce, read, and write the letter (start with Aleph and proceed right-to-left through the entire alphabet):

Otiyot Yesod

The Hebrew word for letter is (ot), which can also mean “sign” or “wonder.” Each letter of the Aleph-Bet, then, may contain signs that point to wonderful truths about life.

According to the mystics of the Jewish tradition, the entire cosmos is said to be created from the 22 consonants of the Hebrew Aleph Bet, called (otiyot yesod), or “foundational letters.” Through the otiyot yesod God formed substance out of chaos and brought forth existence from nonexistence. In other words, the entire universe is created and sustained by divine language (the Word of God). When the LORD spoke the universe into existence, His words still echo throughout all of creation, sustaining it and preserving it in being.

Yeshua the Mashiach is (devar elohim), the Word of God, the (Aleph and Tav) Who upholds all of the created order by the word of His power. It is the Mashiach Yeshua alone Who is the true (yesod - foundation) of life itself. Every holy utterance can be traced back to Him, and He is the Source and Origin of all that is good, lasting, and righteous. Indeed, “He is the zohar of His glory,” that is, the radiance of the glory of God Himself, who “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Since He is the First and the Last, we can see that the otiyot will all reveal something about Him.


A Hebrew Blessing
The following blessing may be recited thanking the LORD for teaching your hand to write the letters of the Hebrew aleph-bet:

Barukh hamelamed et yadi lesapper et ha’otiyot.

Blessed is the One who has taught my hand
to scribe the letters!

Hebrew Script Styles and STA”M

There are a variety of Hebrew script styles used today, though the Hebrew script used for sacred writing is called STA”M (an acronym for Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls), Tefillin (phylacteries), and Mezuzot). STA”M is written using Ketav Ashurit (Aramaic square script) according to a number of detailed rules of how each letter is to be formed.

There are three basic types of STA”M writing performed by STA”M certified Jewish soferim (scribes):

1. Bet Yosef - Ketav Yosef is the style of Hebrew script used by Ashkenazi Jews. Its source is derives from the Gemara and Rabbi Yosef Caro - author of the Bet Yosef and Shulchan Aruch:
   
   
   
   (This is the style used on this website when displaying the STA”M letters).
   
   
   
2. Bet Ari - Ketav Ari is the Hebrew Script written in accordance to the tradition of Rabbi Isaac Luria, 1534-1572 (also known as the Arizal). In Europe most Chassidim use this script for their Sifrei Torah. Notice that it is identical to the ketav Yosef except for the letters Aleph, Vav, Chet, Tsade, Tsade Sofit, and Shin, which have slight modifications:
   
   
   
   
   
3. Sefardi - This style of Hebrew script is used by Sephardic Jews:
   
   
   
   
   

In each case of script style, however, there are a many rules governing the formation of the letters (collectively known as soferut) so that there be no confusion between the letters written in the sacred writings.


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