The 22 Letters of the Alphabet — the DNA of the World

The 22 Letters of the Alphabet — Prayers and Segulot

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת א — Alef, ב — Bet, ג — Gimel, ד — Dalet, ה — Hei, ו — Vav, ז — Zayin, ח — Chet, ט — Tet, י — Yud, כ — Kaf, ל — Lamed, מ — Mem, נ — Nun, ס — Samech, ע — Ayin, פ — Pei, צ — Tzadi, ק — Kuf, ר — Resh, ש — Shin, ת — Tav. The 22 letters of the holy tongue אותיות הקודש «Otiyot HaKodesh» are the “building materials” of Creation—the bricks with which Hashem created the worlds. As it says in the book Sefer Yetzirah: “The Almighty created the world through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.”

The life force of the entire world flows through these 22 letters.

The Ramak writes beautifully about this as well: the letters are “avanim” (stones), while the words are “batim” (houses) built from these stones. The world is woven from combinations of letters through which the Almighty continuously sustains Creation.

Rabbi Avraham Hamoy, in his book Yemaleit Nafsho, writes that the human soul consists of 248 parts, while the body correspondingly consists of 248 limbs, matching the 248 commandments. The soul is connected to the body through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which serve as channels linking the 248 limbs with the 248 parts of the soul. When this connection is severed and the letter-channels become detached from a person, that person dies. The secret of the 22 letters of the alphabet can be used to revive a person. Every tzadik mentioned in the Talmud was able to revive the dead—for otherwise his name would not have been immortalized in the Talmud.

Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, one of the greatest Spanish Kabbalists (the Arizal held him in very high esteem), teaches in his book Sha'arei Orah that every organ of the human body was created through a particular letter. Thus, if there is an illness or discomfort in a particular organ, healing can be drawn to it from the letter through which it was created. 

Hasidic literature contains many Sippurei Tzadikim about simple people who, not knowing which prayers to address to the Almighty in times of serious illness or difficulty, would repeatedly recite the entire alphabet from א to ת, and then ask Hashem Himself to compose the necessary prayer from these letters.  Some Kabbalists associated the 22 letters with the 22 paths of wisdom mentioned in Sefer Yetzirah, and would recite the entire alphabet 22 times before reading Tehillim or before a personal prayer of hitbodedut התבודדות.

The Maggid of Mezeritch taught that the world was created through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as it is written: “Bereishit bara Elohim et haShamayim veet haAaretz”—where “et” is את — (alef-tav) — the DNA of the world.

Hashem took the letters יאיא and created the world with them—for יא has the gematria of 11, while two instances of יא equal 22, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

Segulot Involving the 22 Letters of the Alphabet

1. The 22 Letters and Tehillim 86:17

A segula is attributed to Ben Ish Chai that involves harnessing the power of the 22 letters of the alphabet, since the world was created through them. First, recite the entire alphabet 22 times, and then recite the pasuk from Tehillim 86:17 22 times: עֲשֵׂה־עִמִּי אוֹת לְטוֹבָה וְיִרְאוּ שֹׂנְאַי וְיֵבֹשׁוּ כִּי־אַתָּה ה’ עֲזַרְתַּנִי וְנִחַמְתָּנִי — “Aseh-imi ot le-tovah, ve-yiru son'ai ve-yevoshou, ki Atah Ado-nai azartani ve-nichamtani” — (“Show me a sign for good, that my enemies may see and be ashamed, for You, O L-rd, have helped me and comforted me.”) The word אוֹת “ot” means not only “sign” in Hebrew, but also “letter.” Therefore, Kabbalists associated this pasuk specifically with the power of the 22 letters of the alphabet. 2. The 22 Letters and Tehillim 19:15 Many Sephardic Kabbalists, including the great Rabbi Moshe ben Machir, author of the prayer Modeh Ani, had the custom in difficult situations of repeating the alphabet 22 times and then reciting the pasuk from Tehillim 19:15 יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי־פִי וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ ה’ צוּרִי וְגֹאֲלִי — “Yihyu le-ratzon imrei fi, ve-hegyon libi lefanekha, Ado-nai tzuri ve-go'ali” — (May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, O L-rd, my Rock and my Redeemer). The idea is: “I recite the 22 letters of the holy alphabet; may You accept the thoughts of my heart and form the necessary prayer from these letters.” 3. The Sephardic Kabbalists’ Practice Among Sephardic Kabbalists, there is a practice of first opening the channels of the letters before prayer, and then filling them with the words of Tehillim: •⁠ Recite the entire alphabet 22 times; •⁠ ⁠then recite Tehillim 119 (composed according to the 22 letters); •⁠ ⁠then offer a personal prayer. 4. The Custom of the Mekubalim to Read Chapters of Tehillim Based on the 22 Letters of the Alphabet •⁠ ⁠Tehillim 25 — an alphabetical acrostic; •⁠ ⁠Tehillim 34 — an acrostic; •⁠ ⁠Tehillim 37 — an alphabetical structure; •⁠ ⁠Tehillim 111 and Tehillim 112 — 22 half-lines each; •⁠ ⁠Tehillim 119 — the best-known psalm with 22 sections, one for each letter, containing eight verses each.  5. The 22 Letters and Parnassah In some ancient collections of segulot, before reading Tehillim 145 (“Ashrei”), the alphabet was recited from א to ת, since Ashrei is considered a psalm of abundance and blessing. 6. The 22 Letters and Shidduch In the Sephardic tradition, girls and young men awaiting their match were advised, after prayer, to recite the entire alphabet and ask: “Ribono shel Olam, just as You join letters together to form words, join my soul with its other half.” 7. The 22 Letters and Healing Ben Ish Chai, continuing the tradition of earlier generations, taught the following practice. Recite the pasuk: אנא ה’ הושיעה נא — “Ana Ado-nai hoshi'a na” — (“Please, O L-rd, save us, please.”) while bearing in mind all 22 letters through which the Almighty created the world, for the One Who created the world through letters can also save and heal a person. When a person recites the entire alphabet, it is as though he is saying: “I do not know which particular letter, word, or prayer is needed for my salvation. I place all the letters—from alef to tav—in Your hands; compose the necessary prayer.” 8. The 22 Letters and Conception The Ben Ish Chai taught a segula for a childless couple: after the wife immerses in the mikveh (the husband should also immerse that day), they should recite the entire alphabet together 22 times and immediately afterward ask in their own words for a successful conception. P.S.  The Hebrew alphabet consists of 27 letters in total: 22 regular letters and 5 final letters, called ManTzePaCh. More about the 5 final letters here: ManTzePaCh — The Mystery of the 5 Final Letters Mantzepach – The Mystery of the Five Final Letters Hashem’s 5 Fingers versus the 5 Letters of ManTzePaCh 5 Fingers of Hashem and the 5 Letters of Menatzepach