The positive side of the letter 'ק 

By Rabbi Mendy Greenstein 

The letter 'ק is usually expressed as a letter that connotes negativity, like the Zohar Hakadosh states that it's מאתוון דאתחזיאו על סיטרא בישא (as mentioned in the mamer באתי לגני), and that the leg if the 'ק is compared to a promiscuous woman רגליה יורדות מות - whose "legs point downwards towards death".

However, in מדרש אותיות דרבי עקיבה - Medrash of Rabi Akiva on the letters we find a positive view of the ק׳, that it is from the language of הקפה, to surround. Moshe and Aharon surrounded Paroh and his scribes with wisdom, understanding, cleverness and knowledge. This subjugated their evil when they saw their impressive, holy countenances. 

(Here is also some wonderful imagery. Their "beards that were like palm branches," and that Parohs scribes "threw down their quills from their hands and the parchments that were draped over their shoulders.)

In terms of Chassidus one might say that this a מקיף דחכמה - an encompassing light of wisdom and the concept of מקיף מסמא עיני החיצונים - that the encompassing light "blinds the eyes of external forces." Like a concept of זה לעומת זה - the diametric opposite of the negative ק׳.


Interestingly, our sages say that specifically when Shlomo Hamelech married the daughter of Paroh an angel "drove a staff into the ground and was built upon it the great city of our enemy Rome. This staff is brought down as the leg of the ק׳.

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