Tzadik vs. Tzadi

Question:

There is an error on your website. You call the 18^th letter of the Hebrew alphabet "tzadik" but there is no "k" at the end of its name.

Answer:

You are correct that the proper name of the letter is "tzadi" and it has indeed been suggested calling the צ "tzadik" is a misnomer, which developed as result of the "tzadi" being followed by the "kuf"—kind of like the "elemeno," which many English-speaking tots think is one letter when they learn the ABCs.

However, it is not a simple error. There is a very old tradition of referring to the צ as a "tzadik," which means "righteous person" In fact Rabbi David ibn Zimra testified that the Torah teachers of his 15^th century Spanish childhood would teach their charges to call the letter "tzadik."1

Now, the association of the צ and the tzadik go back even further. The schoolchildren in the days of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi would draw this connection and say that the bowed צ preceding the straight ץ teaches that the tzaddik who is bowed and humble in this world will stand tall and proud in the world to come.2 3