(Part 2) The “Good News” For All Mankind: The Misguided "Cross" of Tav Still Points Back To Aleph, Shalom & Salvation
- Kimberly Davis
- May 18, 2025
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 10, 2025
The “Good News” For All Mankind:
The Misguided "Cross" of Tav Still Points Back To Aleph, Shalom, & Salvation
by Kimberly Davis
In Part 1 of this commentary, we learned that the last letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Beit, which Hashem created, is the letter Tav. We learned that according to orthodox Judaism, the Tav represents the “lowest point in Hashem’s creation.” And we also learned that the Tav was first pictured as an X, or a scepter.
Finally, we learned that, according to the website Walking Kabbalah:
Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. Meaning mark, sign, omen, or seal, it is the symbol of truth, perfection, and completion. It represents the restoration Tikkun תיקון of all of existence....As soon as the Tav is reached, we begin again immediately by going back to the Aleph, the one source of everything. The end is never really the end, but the beginning of something new.
When I was in Israel in 2023, I was told that the tav looked like a cross, much like the one used to kill a Jewish brother.
Now, tying the "cross" to the above definition of tav, you might be tempted to think: "ah, see! The Cross is perfection and the end of all truth." But, take a step back and ask yourself, did the cross provide the restoration of Tikkun of the entire world, as only the real moshiach will do?
Is there total world peace? -- NO.
Is there an end to all wars? -- NO.
Is there zero chaos and only order in all things? -- NO.
Does the entire world follow Torah? -- NO.
Is there zero hunger or famine in the entire globe? -- NO.
Does the lion eat grass like the Ox, as is the design of original creation before any sin (remember all animals were given only green herbs to eat)? -- NO.
Does the Temple of Hashem stand in Jerusalem? -- NO.
Have all of The Jewish people's enemies been defeated? -- NO.
Do the Jewish people and Jewish Nation, Israel, live in eternal security and peace? -- NO.
Have the animal sacrifices been reestablished forever? -- NO.
So, even though a cross (or a false representation of tav) was used in a supposed final sacrifice, it was not in the manner of Tav. Thus, for salvation, the cross on its own, is not tov.
Even though the cross was not good for salvation, the cross did (and still does) provide the opportunity to begin again with aleph. For in its own way, the way in which a cross was used to kill a fellow Jewish man for the purposes of "salvation" IS the lowest point of all creation. For, from this use of a cross, a false religion and false god was created.
Indeed, the tragic death of a fellow Jewish man was (and is used) to claim the fulfillment of Torah and the promises of salvation as well as makes the additional "promise" that the death of this Jewish man put an end to all sacrifice--a "promise" that actually removes (not fulfills) the system of atonement, which Hashem put into place for all eternity.
For many reasons, these false claims are profoundly against Torah, which you can read about here.
But, even if we take the tav and tie it to the cross, we can still learn Hashem's truth about Salvation & Shalom with Himself:
Before anything was created, Hashem wrote in eternal stone that the lowest point in His creation would be the tav. Arguably, the initial shape of the tav was no accident made by Hashem. For, being omniscient, Hashem wrote the end of His creation before the beginning and the beginning before the end. He thus would have known how history would unfold. He would know how His Torah would be twisted into various false religions and thus be used to turn His very own Jewish Israelites away from Him.
Thus, in creating the tav, it seems no small coincidence that the shape is (or could be) semi-ambiguous. In creating the tav in this way, Hashem set in stone the war (if you will) between the scepter of the true moshiach and the cross of the false moshiach.
As we know from ancient history, such a clashing has come to pass. And, indeed, a cross took the place of Hashem's promised scepter for a time. Having the cross stand in the place it should not be thus provided the lowest point in human history when the alleged sacrifice of a Jewish man was made thereupon. For, from this dead, crucified Jewish man comes the belief system that this dead, crucified Jewish man saves the entire world.
While everyone is free to believe whatever they wish, it is from belief systems such as this that antisemitism was born.
The belief system has spun the truth of Torah and Tanakh such that though the Jewish man died, he arose from the grave as the god of a new religion. In that religion, Torah is abolished, Jewishness is abolished, and you become "a new creation". Further, it is a common belief that the Jewish god-man was killed by the Jews alive at the time of his ministry.
Thus, from all of these beliefs about the dead Jewish man, the belief that all Jewish people must die has been spurned. I do not say this lightly, but from personal experience, as I mention in my story. The manifestation of this belief may be overt, as in literal murder attempts, or it may be covert, as in telling a Jewish person to "stop being Jewish" and follow "the real messiah." Either way, under this system of belief, in order to live, a Jew must die to his or her Judaism, which fuels the flame of antisemitism.
In the name of antisemitism throughout history, more and more Jews have been:
Killed.
Murdered.
Raped.
Beheaded.
Slaughtered.
Tortured.
Forced to have their civil liberties and rights demolished.
Forced to convert to the faith that says our dead Jewish brother is the only way to be "saved" or die.
Exiled out of our homeland, the land of Israel.
Forced to live without animal sacrifices after our temple was destroyed after the advent of "The Cross," (which, by the way, fulfilled Daniel 9).
...The list of atrocities goes on and on. From the crusades, to progroms, to the Holocaust, to the modern atrocities committed on October 7 and the raging tide of antisemitism that has been birthed globally ever since.
Despite all of this, there is yet good news.
If you are indeed trapped in the system of a false religion and worship a false god, the good news is: you can repent. If you repent, turn back to Hashem, love Him, and follow His Torah He will take you back as if you never went astray (Deuteronomy 29:19-30:10)--this is very much the case in my own long journey to Judaism, and it is the precise way in which Hashem has been drawing people back to Himself, His Torah, and Truth for centuries.
Salvation Seen in The Aleph-Tav Juxtaposition:
Repentance will lead to salvation when you turn to Hashem and follow His Torah. As will be discussed further in Part 3 of this commentary, the Torah is much more than a list of "to dos" and "to don'ts." Rather, the Torah is a series of covental promises, which Hashem has made to His Jewish people, like the clauses in a wedding vow. These laws, when kept, lead to shalom, salvation, and blessing.
Thus, simply looking at the original Aleph and Tav juxtaposition, we can see Hashem's hand of salvation before He created any physical object. Previously, we learned that aleph was first pictured as an ox and represents the complete unity and oneness with Hashem. Thus, since the aleph comes first, before the tav, see that animals came before the scepter and/or cross, and animals are higher than the scepter and/or cross in Hashem's creation design.
According to orthodox teachings, when one gets to the lowest point, he or she can only go back up (Aliyah: “the act of going up”) to the highest point.
The fact that the ox comes before the scepter (and/or cross) means that Hashem set in stone the system of animal sacrifices (and indeed all of Torah) before the scepter of moshiach or the cross of the false moshiach.
So, even if you take the tav to (incorrectly) mean the cross, you can still learn that from that lowest point, one can only ascend back to Aleph—to the Ox (that is, to strength, power, and oneness)—indeed, to Hashem Himself, His Torah, and to the system of animal sacrifice.
Is it any wonder than that Hashem promises in passages such as Isaiah 45:27-25 it is written In the Koren Jerusalem Bible:
17 יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ נוֹשַׁ֣ע בַּֽיהֹוָ֔ה תְּשׁוּעַ֖ת עוֹלָמִ֑ים לֹא־תֵבֹ֥שׁוּ וְלֹא־תִכָּלְמ֖וּ עַד־ע֥וֹלְמֵי עַֽד׃ {פ}
But Yisra᾽el shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: you shall not be ashamed nor confounded to all eternity.
18 כִּ֣י כֹ֣ה אָֽמַר־יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה בּוֹרֵ֨א הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם ה֣וּא הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים יֹצֵ֨ר הָאָ֤רֶץ וְעֹשָׂהּ֙ ה֣וּא כֽוֹנְנָ֔הּ לֹא־תֹ֥הוּ בְרָאָ֖הּ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת יְצָרָ֑הּ אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה וְאֵ֥ין עֽוֹד׃
For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he did not create it a waste land, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.
19 לֹ֧א בַסֵּ֣תֶר דִּבַּ֗רְתִּי בִּמְקוֹם֙ אֶ֣רֶץ חֹ֔שֶׁךְ לֹ֥א אָמַ֛רְתִּי לְזֶ֥רַע יַעֲקֹ֖ב תֹּ֣הוּ בַקְּשׁ֑וּנִי אֲנִ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ דֹּבֵ֣ר צֶ֔דֶק מַגִּ֖יד מֵישָׁרִֽים׃
I have not spoken in secret, in a place of a land of darkness: I said not to the seed of Ya῾aqov, Seek me in an empty waste: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
20 הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וָבֹ֛אוּ הִֽתְנַגְּשׁ֥וּ יַחְדָּ֖ו פְּלִיטֵ֣י הַגּוֹיִ֑ם לֹ֣א יָדְע֗וּ הַנֹּֽשְׂאִים֙ אֶת־עֵ֣ץ פִּסְלָ֔ם וּמִֽתְפַּלְלִ֔ים אֶל־אֵ֖ל לֹ֥א יוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge, those that carry about their wooden carved idol, and pray to a god that cannot save.
21 הַגִּ֣ידוּ וְהַגִּ֔ישׁוּ אַ֥ף יִֽוָּעֲצ֖וּ יַחְדָּ֑ו מִ֣י הִשְׁמִ֩יעַ֩ זֹ֨את מִקֶּ֜דֶם מֵאָ֣ז הִגִּידָ֗הּ הֲל֨וֹא אֲנִ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ וְאֵֽין־ע֤וֹד אֱלֹהִים֙ מִבַּלְעָדַ֔י אֵל־צַדִּ֣יק וּמוֹשִׁ֔יעַ אַ֖יִן זוּלָתִֽי׃
Declare and bring them near; let them take counsel together: who declared this from ancient time? who told it from that time? did not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a deliverer; there is none beside me.
22 פְּנוּ־אֵלַ֥י וְהִוָּשְׁע֖וּ כׇּל־אַפְסֵי־אָ֑רֶץ כִּ֥י אֲנִי־אֵ֖ל וְאֵ֥ין עֽוֹד׃
Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
23 בִּ֣י נִשְׁבַּ֔עְתִּי יָצָ֨א מִפִּ֧י צְדָקָ֛ה דָּבָ֖ר וְלֹ֣א יָשׁ֑וּב כִּי־לִי֙ תִּכְרַ֣ע כׇּל־בֶּ֔רֶךְ תִּשָּׁבַ֖ע כׇּל־לָשֽׁוֹן׃
I have sworn by myself, a word of righteousness is gone out of my mouth, a word that shall not be reversed, That to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
24 אַ֧ךְ בַּיהֹוָ֛ה לִ֥י אָמַ֖ר צְדָק֣וֹת וָעֹ֑ז עָדָיו֙ יָב֣וֹא וְיֵבֹ֔שׁוּ כֹּ֖ל הַנֶּחֱרִ֥ים בּֽוֹ׃
Surely, he said to me, in the Lord there is righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
25 בַּיהֹוָ֛ה יִצְדְּק֥וּ וְיִֽתְהַלְל֖וּ כׇּל־זֶ֥רַע יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
In the Lord shall all the seed of Yisra᾽el be justified, and shall glory.
So, Repent & Return
Thus, whether you are a native born Jewish Israelite who has strayed or a stranger or a foreigner of the Jewish people who is trapped in the system of a foreign god, whoever will turn to Hashem and repent of their sins, Hashem will not turn you away. Rather, Hashem will hear from heaven (as prayed by King Solomon in 2 Chronicles 6-7), and as Hashem has promised in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (The Koren Jerusalem Bible):
הֵ֣ן אֶעֱצֹ֤ר הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְלֹא־יִהְיֶ֣ה מָטָ֔ר וְהֵן־אֲצַוֶּ֥ה עַל־חָגָ֖ב לֶאֱכ֣וֹל הָאָ֑רֶץ וְאִם־אֲשַׁלַּ֥ח דֶּ֖בֶר בְּעַמִּֽי׃
If I shut up the heaven so that there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
וְיִכָּנְע֨וּ עַמִּ֜י אֲשֶׁ֧ר נִֽקְרָא־שְׁמִ֣י עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם וְיִֽתְפַּֽלְלוּ֙ וִיבַקְשׁ֣וּ פָנַ֔י וְיָשֻׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכֵיהֶ֣ם הָרָעִ֑ים וַֽאֲנִי֙ אֶשְׁמַ֣ע מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְאֶסְלַח֙ לְחַטָּאתָ֔ם וְאֶרְפָּ֖א אֶת־אַרְצָֽם׃
if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.
Tying it all together:
At the outset of this commentary, we saw that at the outset of creation, Hashem's first act was to create His word, and therefore the Aleph-Beit. From the Aleph to the Tav, Hashem inscribed His redemptive plans in Hebrew stone.
We said that the aleph represents the oneness and unity of Hashem, and was first pictured as an ox. The Tav on the other hand is the lowest point, pictured as a scepter, though in this commentary, we discuss the misconstrued cross-shape of the tav. Throughout redemptive history, "The Cross" has proven to be the lowest point in Jewish history. Though it has bred antisemitic hatred against, and suffering by, the Jewish people there is still good news.
For, once we are at the bottom, we can only go up, back to aleph, the unity of Hashem, truth, eternal life, and peace. Whether you have been a perpetrator of violence against the Jewish people, a Jewish person who has gone astray, or anything in between the good news is the same: If you will repent of your sins, return (or turn for the first time to) Hashem and keep His Torah, He promises to love you as if you never hurt Him or His people, and like a loving Shepherd, He scoop you into His loving-care, He will secure you from eternal harm, and He will mark you out for eternal life. Thus,
וִידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י בְקֶ֤רֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אָ֔נִי וַאֲנִ֛י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם וְאֵ֣ין ע֑וֹד וְלֹא־יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ עַמִּ֖י לְעוֹלָֽם׃ {פ}
And you shall know that I am in the midst of Yisra᾽el, and that I am the Lord your God, and there it is none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
(Joel 2:27; The Koren Jerusalem Bible)
Am Yisrael Chai!
Kimberly Davis
Thank you for reading! If you are blessed by this work and would like to help keep the lights on (so to speak), please consider donating using the button below.
Comments