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Aleph

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, often symbolizing the oneness and primacy of God in Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah).

Detailed Definition
In Kabbalistic thought, the Aleph is a profound symbol representing the divine origin of all creation, the unutterable name of God, and the unity that precedes all duality. It is considered to contain all other letters and thus all of existence. Poets, particularly those influenced by mysticism like Jorge Luis Borges, use the Aleph as a powerful image for the infinite, a point that contains all other points in the universe, and the ineffable mystery of the divine. It serves as a concise symbol for the ultimate source and the paradox of expressing the inexpressible through language.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Jewish mystical poetry, Aleph—the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet—signifies the silent origin of creation, as in the Zohar-inspired verse: “Before the Word, Aleph hummed in the void”; Poets like Paul Celan evoke Aleph as the unspeakable presence behind language: “Aleph, you are the breath between letters”; In Kabbalistic poetry, Aleph represents the unity of divine opposites, embodying both judgment and mercy; Modern Hebrew poets use Aleph to meditate on beginnings: “Aleph is not a letter but a door left ajar by God.”
Additional Notes
In Kabbalah, Aleph (א) represents the silent, infinite breath of God preceding creation and embodies the unity of all existence; its numerical value (1) and shape (comprising upper and lower elements joined by a diagonal) invite poetic meditation on divine immanence and transcendence, making it a potent symbol in Jewish mystical poetry and interfaith contemplative verse.
Also Known As
Aleph (Hebrew letter) א
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