A wealthy Hasid came to his rebbe and said, “I will provide for your
family if you will teach my boy the alef-bet.” The Hasid was a bright young man and he knew that his son should gain
something beyond an understanding of money.
The rebbe answered the young Hasid, “To support my family you know what
is needed. But to teach your son you would
first have to know what an alef is. An
alef is a yud on top and a yud below, with a line that crosses the middle. That is an alef. The yud on top is the neshama and the yud
beneath is the body. The line is awe of
the Creator that unites them. That,” he rebbe concluded, “is
yiddishkeit.” -Rabbi Nathan Zelizer
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