א, the Hebrew cursive letter alef

History

א is the 1st letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 1. In traditional and modern Hebrew and Yiddish, it represents a glottal stop /ʔ/, though in modern spoken Hebrew and Yiddish it is frequently silent or represents an onset vowel sound.

In Hebrew cursive, alef bears little resemblance to its printed square form; instead of an angled central diagonal stroke with two detached arms, cursive alef is written with a rounded stroke and loop, allowing for rapid execution without lifting the pen.

In family letters, communal pinkasim, and mercantile ledgers across Eastern Europe, handwritten alef frequently opens greeting formulas such as "Adoni" (my lord) or "Akhi" (my brother), as well as serving as a vowel marker in Yiddish orthography.

Written at the start of a Hebrew year, alef means a thousand.^[1] Alef cannot receive a dagesh.^[2] It is sometimes used as a mater lectionis, a vowel letter, usually for /a/,^[3] and that use is more common in words of Aramaic and Arabic origin, in foreign names and in other borrowed words.^[4]