Christ, our Master and Teacher
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able
by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
For there are many unruly
and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped,
who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
Titus 1:9ff (Spoke 12, Cycle 3)
 The
Twelfth Letter repre- sents the rod of the teacher. It is the "pointer" Letter which is why its taller than the others.
Its ancient form pictured a shepherd's staff, ox goad, or pointer. It was essentially identical to our modern "L"
and corresponds quite naturally to the rod in the classic image of the Good Shepherd. As a verb,
lamad means both to teach and to learn.
It is the root of Talmud, the name of the compendium of Jewish learning and tradition. And just as the role of
the teacher is to point to the truth, so the Lamed Prefix indicates such prepositions as to, for, towards,
and according to in Hebrew grammar.
This is how God used it in most of the corresponding Alphabetic Verses, such
as the three consecutive verses that begin the Lamed section of Psalm 119:
- AV Psalm 119:89 FOR ever (L'olam), O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
- AV Psalm 119:90 Thy faithfulness is UNTO all generations (L'dor vador): thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
- AV Psalm 119:91 They continue this day ACCORDING TO thine ordinances (L'mishpateka): for all are thy servants.
Besides demonstrating the role of Lamed in Hebrew grammar, all three of these verses emphasize its symbolic
meaning as the Faithful Rod of the Supreme Ruler by which all things are settled and established so that they remain,
abide, and continue. Jewish tradition teaches that this is why Lamed stands tall in the center of the
Mem KeyWord melek (king, BW book pg 266), as explained by Rabbi Munk in the twelfth chapter of his book
The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet titled Lamed: The Symbol of Teaching and Purpose.
It is particularly significant that Munk interwove his explanation of Lamed with the symbolic meanings
of Kaph and Mem using exactly the same meanings that we have seen to be profoundly integrated with the
structure of the Christian Bible [references added in square brackets]:
The ל (Lamed) is a majestic Letter, towering above the other Letters from
its position in the center of the Alphabet. Thus it symbolizes the King of Kings, the Supreme Ruler.
On one side Lamed is flanked by the כ (Kaph) which alludes to the kiseh hakavod,
God's Throne of Glory [Spoke 11, BW book pg 239], while on its other side stands מ (Mem),
the Attribute of malkuth, God's Kingship [Spoke 13, BW book pg 266]. Together, these three Letters spell Melek (King).
We have, therefore, a complete integration of the traditional rabbinic understanding of the meaning of
all three of these Letters – Kaph, Lamed, Mem – with what we have discovered from the Alphabetic Verses, and
all of this is fully integrated with the geometric structure of the Wheel in the most astounding ways.
Furthermore, this integrates with the maximized distribution of the word melek (king) on the first Cycle
exactly on Spoke 12 (BW book pg 104), corresponding to the Lamed at its center.
 The Lamed Prefix combines with the Kaph Suffix (sign of you or
yours, BW book pg 113) to form the word lekha meaning to you or for you. Likewise,
the Lamed Prefix combines with the Yod Suffix (sign of me or mine)
to form the word li meaning to me or for me. God used these words in three Alphabetic Verses:
- AV Psalm 119:94 I am thine (Lekha ani), save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
- AV Psalm 119:95 The wicked have waited for me (li qivu) to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies.
The phrase "I am thine" uses the Aleph KeyWord ani (I, BW book pg 125) and literally reads "To thee I am."
The word order of the second verse was also changed in translation; the actual Hebrew begins with Li qivu
(For me they have waited). God used a similar word in AV Psalm 34:
- AV Ps 34:11 Come ye (Lekhu) children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
This verse is particularly rich. It contains three fundamental Lamed KeyWords, including the name of
the Twelfth Letter:
This verse is integrated with the exact sequence of Books in the Bible. It forms an Alphabetic KeyLink to the Book
of 2 Kings, as discussed in Teaching the Fear of the Lord.
It also exemplifies much of what we have learned on other Spokes. The word lekhu is the plural imperative
of the Hey KeyWord halak (walk, BW book pg 194). It means both to come and to go,
the latter being how it
is used twice in the opening passage of 2 Kings below (BW book pg 251). The word li (to me) shows how Lamed
combines with the Yod Suffix (sign of me or mine, pg 114). The word translated as "I will teach you"
exemplifies both the verb lamad and the Aleph Prefix as the sign of "I will" (pg 125), and banim
is the plural of the Bet KeyWord ben (son, BW book pg 136).
Its message closely echoes the call of Christ unto each of us:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28ff
The idea of learning involves both positive and negative commandments, the latter being expressed by
the fundamental Lamed KeyWord לא (lo) which means no or not.
It is called the negative particle and is used in every "thou shalt not" found in the Ten Commandments.
In this word, א (Aleph) functions pretty much as a place holder for the vowel so
its meaning as "no" comes primarily from the elemental force of ל (Lamed)
as the sign of the rod of the teacher. God used this word in three Alphabetic Verses (Lam 1:12, 4:12, Prov 31:21).
This is the essence of the twelfth letter. It represents teaching and learning. It is
the rod of the teacher that points his disciples towards truth and away from error. The miracle of God is
that its symbolic meaning coheres precisely with its grammatical function as the sign of the prepositions
"to," "for" and so forth. This is the supernatural self-reflective integ-rity that unites the Hebrew Language with
its Alphabet. The Twenty-Two Letters carry their distinct and unique meanings into the words that they form.
Yet there is more! God used the symbolic meaning of Lamed as an absolutely unmistakable marker to identify
a singular event in the biography of His Son, the greatest Teacher ever to live...
Next article: The Teacher of Teachers at Age 12
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Christ, our Master and Teacher
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