Vav

Vav, the sixth letter, means "hook" or "peg" -- it is the connector. In Hebrew grammar, the letter Vav at the beginning of a word typically means "and," linking words, clauses, and ideas together. This grammatical function reflects its deeper spiritual role: Vav is the letter of connection, joining heaven and earth, the spiritual and the material, one person to another. In the Tetragrammaton, Vav stands between the two He's, serving as the pillar that unites the upper and lower worlds. The shape of Vav is the simplest in the alphabet -- a single vertical line, like a pillar or a spine. The Kabbalists associate it with the sefirah of Tiferet (Beauty/Harmony), which stands at the center of the sefirot tree, mediating between Chesed (Lovingkindness) and Gevurah (Strength). Vav is thus the letter of balance and integration. The number six connects to the six days of creation, the six directions of physical space (up, down, north, south, east, west), and the six orders of the Mishnah. In Torah scrolls, certain Vav letters are written larger or smaller than normal, and each such anomaly carries homiletical meaning. The most famous is the enlarged Vav in the word "gachon" (Leviticus 11:42), which the tradition identifies as the middle letter of the entire Torah -- Vav stands, quite literally, at the center of everything.

Vav has multiple roles in Hebrew. As a consonant, it is pronounced "V" (in modern Israeli Hebrew). As a vowel marker, it can represent the "O" sound (when a dot appears above it, called cholam malei) or the "U" sound (when a dot appears in its middle, called shuruk). Learning to distinguish these uses is essential for reading Hebrew fluently. Writing Vav is simple -- it is a single vertical stroke with a slight head or serif at the top. It is the narrowest letter in the alphabet. Be careful to make it long enough to distinguish from Yod (י), which is a similar but much shorter mark. The difference between a Vav and a Yod can change the meaning of a word entirely.