The Hebrew letter Beis
Beis is the second of the 22 letters of the alef beis. It is written ב in print, in ksiva it is written as a single unbroken stroke, and its gematria value is 2. It says b with a dagesh and v without one. My Ksiva Workbook teaches it on page 4.
Beis is the letter the Torah opens with, and the second letter a child learns to write. With a dagesh — the dot inside — it says b; without it, v. The workbook teaches both on one page, because on the page of a siddur they are one letter and the dot is the only thing separating them.
- Position 2 of 22
- Gematria 2
- Sound b / v
- Ksiva strokes One
- Taught on page 4 of 82
How is Beis written?
The workbook teaches every letter the same four ways, so a child always knows what is being asked of them.
See both forms. The workbook opens the letter with Beis in print and in ksiva side by side, and marks the ksiva form with a numbered arrow showing where the stroke begins.
Trace it. A row of dotted outlines gives the whole shape. The child writes over the top of it, so the hand learns the movement before it has to remember the shape.
Finish it. Each box after that gives a little less of the letter than the one before, until the last box is empty and the child writes it unaided.
Use it in a word. The letter then appears in whole words to copy in script, built only from letters already taught, so the child is never asked to write a letter they have not met.
What is it confused with?
Beis and chof are the pair beginners confuse most. Beis has a foot: its base runs past the upright and stops square. Chof is one unbroken curve with nothing projecting at the corner.
How is it spelled in English?
The workbook banners this letter Beis-Veis, naming both of its forms on one page. You will also see it written bet, bais, beth, vet. They are all the same letter.
Where it is taught
Beis is taught on page 4 of My Ksiva Workbook, an 82-page Hebrew handwriting workbook covering all 22 letters in both scripts. Every letterform on this page is taken from the book itself.