דעֶר אַלטעֶר רֶבִּי האָט אַמאָל אַרַיינְגעֶרוּפעֶן אַ יוּנְגעֶרמאַן פוּן דעֶם מַגִּיד'ס תַּלְמִידִים, אוּן האָט אִיהם געֶזאָגט — מִיט אַ נִגּוּן, כְּדַרְכּוֹ: “אִיך האָבּ אַ מִצְוָה פוּן וְלִּמַדְתֶּם אוֹתָם אֶת בְּנֵיכֶם, דוּ האָסט אַ מִצְוָה פוּן זָן וּמְפַרְנֵס בְּנֵי בֵיתוֹ, לאָמִיר זִיך בַּייטעֶן: אִיך וועֶל דִיר געֶבּעֶן דוּ זאָלְסט קעֶנעֶן מְקַיֵּים זַיין דַיין מִצְוָה, אוּן דוּ לעֶרעֶן מִיט מַיין זוּן — דאָס אִיז געֶוועֶן דעֶר מִיטעֶלעֶר רֶבִּי. אוּן האָט אִיהם מְבַאֵר געֶוועֶן סֵדֶר הַלִּמוּד: דאָס עֶרשְׁטעֶ לעֶרעֶנְט מעֶן אוֹתִיוֹת א. בּ... וואָס אִיז אַן אַלֶף — אַ פִּינְטעֶלעֶ פוּן אוֹיבּעֶן, אַ פִּינְטעֶלעֶ פוּן אוּנְטעֶן, אַ קַו בְּאֶמְצַע — דאָס אִיז אַן אַלֶף. אַ קִינְד מוּז ווִיסעֶן, אַז דעֶר אַלֶף פוּן תּוֹרָה אִיז דעֶר יוּד פוּן אוֹיבּעֶן דעֶר יוּד פוּן אוּנְטעֶן מִיט דעֶם קַו פוּן אֱמוּנָה וואָס בּאַהעֶפְט זֵיי. נאָך אַ נוּסְחָא אִיז דאָ: “אַ יוּד לְמַעְלָה דאָס אִיז דִי נְשָׁמָה, אַ אִיד לְמַטָּה דאָס אִיז דעֶר גּוּף אוּן אַ קַו שֶׁל יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם בְּאֶמְצַע".

The Alter Rebbe once summoned a young disciple of the Maggid [of Mezritch]. Speaking in his customary singsong, he said: “I am charged with the commandment,1 ‘And you shall teach them to your children,’ and you are charged with the mitzvah of providing for your family. Let us exchange tasks. I will provide you with what you need to fulfill your mitzvah, and you will teach my son” — who was the Mitteler Rebbe.

The Alter Rebbe then gave him a study plan: “First, you should teach him the letters of the alef-beis. What is an alef? A point above, a point below, and a line in between. That makes an alef.

“A child must know that the first principle of the Torah2 is a yud Above,3 a yid below,4 and a line of faith that connects them.”

Or, according to another version: “The yud above is the soul, the yud below is the body, and the line in the middle is the fear of Heaven.”5

Delving Deeply

The Rebbe explains6 how this teaching encapsulates the entire process of education. For though a young child is capable of understanding only simple matters, a conscientious teacher will strive to communicate deeper concepts that will challenge his desire to learn. Hence, when the teacher prepares his lessons, he contracts the depth of his message and vests it in bite-size terms that the child can digest. This process is alluded to by the miniscule upper yud, which represents the teacher’s self-limitation that enables him to descend to the level of his student and distill all that he wants to communicate into a single, simple point. The student, for his part, must focus his entire attention upon the teacher, and his focus is alluded to by the miniscule lower yud. And the trusting faith that the student invests in the teacher is the line that joins them.