Pe

Pe means "mouth" and represents the power of speech, expression, and communication. In Judaism, speech is not merely a practical tool but a creative force -- God spoke the world into existence ("Let there be light"), and human beings, created in the divine image, share this power to create and destroy through words. The Talmud teaches that lashon hara (evil speech) can kill three people: the speaker, the listener, and the subject. Pe reminds us of the awesome responsibility carried by the mouth. The shape of Pe in its traditional form contains a Bet (ב) inside it -- a house within the mouth. The Kabbalists interpret this as teaching that the inner life (the Bet, the home of thought and intention) gives birth to outer expression (the Pe, the spoken word). What we say reveals what we have built within ourselves. Furthermore, the Torah was given through speech ("Anokhi" -- I am) and is transmitted through speech (oral tradition, teaching, prayer). Pe is thus the letter through which Torah flows from generation to generation. The gematria of 80 connects to the age at which Moses first spoke to Pharaoh, demanding freedom for the Israelites. Yet Moses described himself as "heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue" -- a person with a speech impediment became God's greatest spokesperson. Pe teaches that the power of speech comes not from eloquence but from truth, and that even the most halting mouth can channel divine words that change the world.

Pe has two pronunciations. With a dagesh (dot inside), it produces a "P" sound as in "peace" (פּ). Without a dagesh, it softens to an "F" sound as in "friend" (פ). This follows the begadkephat pattern shared with Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, and Tav. In modern Israeli Hebrew, this P/F distinction is actively maintained and is important for correct pronunciation. Pe has a final form: ף ("Pe sofit" or "Fei sofit"), used at the end of a word. The regular Pe (פ) is a curved, somewhat spiral shape. The final Pe (ף) extends below the baseline with a descending stroke. Note that the final form is almost always pronounced as "F" (without dagesh). Be careful with the spiral shape of the regular Pe -- it somewhat resembles a Kaf but with an inward curl.