Lamed (ל) is the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Numerical value: 30
Sound: "L"
Meaning: 1. learn 2. teach

Story

I was having a hard time disciplining one of my children. Whatever I tried didn’t work. I would tell him, “You will be punished; I won’t give you a Chanukah present; I will not buy you any toys this year for your birthday, etc.” To no avail.

In a shopping center one day, this son began seriously misbehaving. I knew that my previous threats had proven futile and decided to try another strategy. To get his attention, I took out some lollipops and gave them to my other children, but not to him. He started to scream and demanded to know why he didn’t get one. I knelt down and looked at him with compassion. “When a child gets a lollipop,” I said softly, “it is a reward for good behavior. I know you are a good boy so I know you will soon show me that you deserve the lollipop.” This approach caught him off guard. He instantly calmed down, gave me a smile, and put out his hand for the lollipop. I realized then that one can teach discipline with love and kindness rather than with harshness and anger. You just have to raise yourself to a higher consciousness. My son also learned a valuable lesson—that expressing a desirable quality is much more rewarding than misbehaving.

Design

The twelfth letter of the aleph-bet is the lamed. The design of the lamed is two letters merged together1: the vav and the kaf.2 The Kabbalah3 says that the letter lamed is compared to a tower flying in the air.

Gematria

The gematria of lamed is 30. Ethics of the Fathers tells: “When one reaches the age of thirty, he reaches the age of full strength.”4 We find in the Torah that when the Jewish people were in the desert, the Levites who carried the heavy Temple vessels had to be between the ages of thirty and fifty, for these are the mightiest years of man.

What was the underlying purpose of the Jews’ journeying 40 years in the desert? On one hand, we know that it was the result of the sin of the Spies—their negative report after their 40-day scouting mission is what evoked G‑d’s decree that the Jews must remain in the desert for 40 years.5 But why did they specifically have to wander through the desert? Why not stay in one place? Set up camp and stay there for 40 years! What was the reason for having to undertake a total of 42 different journeys in 40 years?

The purpose of the Jewish people’s travels was to transform the desert into a garden; to bring G‑dliness to a desolate place. By carrying the Holy Ark—and within it the Torah—each and every one of the Jews’ encampments became not only a spiritual but a literal garden. This became a lesson and guidepost for the Jewish people in all their future exiles. G‑d was informing them: Throughout history, you will have to travel. You’ll trek from country to country to country. But wherever you go, you must take the Ark of G‑d with you—ushering G‑dliness to that area, elevating it and making its inhabitants more refined and spiritual. This is the purpose of a Jew.6

This power to begin transforming the world in earnest begins when we turn 30. Up until that point, we are in training. The Midrash Shmuel7 states that one has the ability to guide and influence others for good at the age of 30. Until then, he is simply laying his foundation.

We find another interesting gematria in relation to lamed. Both the aleph (in the form of the word ulfana) and the lamed (as in lameid) represent G‑d as a teacher. What’s the connection between the two letters? The aleph comprises two yuds and a vav: 10 and 10 and 6=26. The lamed comprises a kaf and a vav: 20 and 6=26. Twenty-six is the gematria of G‑d’s name, the Tetragrammaton Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei.

Yet there is a marked difference between the teaching styles of the aleph and the lamed. The aleph is more theoretical while the lamed is more practical. For example, the aleph represents the Written Law of Torah (stories and general concepts) while the lamed focuses on the Oral Law (how to practically apply these concepts in one’s day-to-day behavior).8

In another source, the Rebbe writes9 that the kaf of the lamed represents the human being, which contains a G‑dly soul and animal soul, each of which holds 10 faculties (sefirot), for a total of 20. The vav represents G‑d dwelling between them. The numeric value of the kaf is 20. When G‑d dwells between them, He adds His 10 sefirot, or G‑dly ener­gies, making 30, which is lamed.

This is perhaps why the Zohar refers to the lamed as a tower flying in the air. The vav of the lamed represents G‑dliness, spiritual­ity, found high up “in the air.” The vav, which is a chute, draws this G‑dliness down from the spiritual realms into the physical world, until it is internalized into the kaf, the human being. This merging of spiritual and physical imbues the lamed with the ability to teach lofty concepts in a practical way.

Meaning

Lamed means to learn and to teach—found in the daily prayers with the phrase lilmod u’lelameid.10 But the word lamed, the com­mandment to teach, is not directed merely toward school teachers, it is a directive for every individual. Every person can influence his or her friend or student, and every parent has the obligation to teach his or her children the knowledge of G‑d, good deeds and ethics. The Torah tells us11 that “You shall teach your children and talk to them about these things” (i.e., the Torah’s commandments and responsibilities). Maimonides informs us that this passage is the premise for the mitzvah of Torah study; that through the commandment to teach our children, we know of our own obligation to study the Torah. For how can we teach our children the Torah if we haven’t learned it ourselves?

We can all ask a simple question: Why do we have to learn about this most essential commandment indirectly? If G‑d wanted to tell us that we are obligated to learn Torah, why didn’t He just say, “Learn Torah!” Why do we have to learn about this mitzvah via the commandment “Teach your children”?

The Rebbe12 explains that when it comes to studying Torah, a person is always a child, and thus the commandment to “teach your children” can also apply to us. One should never say, “Oh, I’m 50 now. I’ve read through the Torah more than 20 times; you can’t teach me anything new.” On the contrary, Torah is infinite. No matter how many times we’ve set foot in it, we can always discover a new insight or uncover deeper meaning. We must approach it like children and be ready to receive and listen. As we read in Ethics of the Fathers:13 “Who is wise? One who learns from everyone.” “Everyone” can mean even someone younger than you.

Even your children.

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