אַדְמוּ"ר הַזָּקֵן הוֹרָה לִכְתּוֹב פְּצוּעַ דַכָּא בְּאָלֶף לִבְסוֹף וְלֹא בְּהֵא. בִּפְראַג יֵשׁ סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה שֶׁקַּבָּלָה בְּיָדָם שֶׁהִגִי-הַּ עֶזְרָא הַסּוֹפֵר, אֵין קוֹרִין בּוֹ אֶלָּא בְּשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה וְגוֹלְלִין אוֹתוֹ תָּמִיד בְּפָרָשַׁת שְׁמַע. כְּשֶׁהָיִיתִי בִּפְראַג בִּשְׁנַת תרס"ח רְאִיתִיו וְכָתוּב בּוֹ דַכָּא בְּאָלֶף. כֵּן כְּשֶׁהָיִיתִי בְּואָרְמס בִּשְׁנַת תרס"ז רָאִיתִי שָׁם סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר מְקוּבָּל בְּיָדָם שֶׁכְּתָבוֹ מוֹרֵנוּ הָרַב ר' מֵאִיר מֵרוֹטֶנְבוּרְג, וְגַם בּוֹ כָּתוּב דַכָּא בְּאָלֶף. וְעַיֵּין בִּשְׁאֵרִית יְהוּדָא (יוֹרֶה דֵעָה סִימָן ט"ז) וְדִבְרֵי נְחֶמְיָה (יוֹרֶה דֵעָה סִימָן כ"ב). וּבְסֵפֶר מִשְׁנַת אַבְרָהָם (סִימָן ל"ב) מְצַיֵּן כַּמָּה סְפָרִים הַדָּנִים בָּזֶה.

The Alter Rebbe directed that the word דכא in the phrase פצוע דכא1 be written with an alef at the end, not with a hei.

In Prague, there is a Torah scroll which according to local tradition was checked by Ezra the Scribe.2 They read from it only on Simchas Torah and always roll it closed at the passage beginning Shema [Yisrael]. When I3 was in Prague in 5668 (1908) I saw this scroll, and דכא was spelled there with an alef. Similarly, when I was in Worms in 5667 (1907), I saw a Torah scroll which according to the tradition of that community was written by Maharam4 of Rothenburg. There, too, the word דכא is written with an alef.5

Delving Deeply

A Torah scroll is no mere book of information; it is a sacred object that draws down G‑dly energy into the created universe. If only the content mattered, what difference would it make how a word was spelled? The understanding that we gain from studying the Torah is certainly critical, but hidden beyond the meaning of the words lies the Torah’s mystical quality. This mystical dimension is also communicated by the precisely-inscribed letters, and even by the diminutive “crowns” that surmount some of them. Together, they convey G‑d’s light and influence from their sublime source into this material world.6