Kaf — the 11th Hebrew letter
כ ך
Symbolism
Palm, covering, capacity; likeness (the prefix ke-, 'like'); twenty — the joined hands (10+10)
What the letter is built from
A bent vessel — an open palm curved to receive or to cover; the sofit straightens and drops below the line
Its first root in Scripture
The first kaf root is kochav, star — 'and the stars' of the fourth day
Messianic thread
The open palm receives and gives; the priestly hands spread in blessing are kaf's picture. 'Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands' (Isa 49:16) — kaf carries the promise Messianic readers hear fulfilled in pierced palms.
In the mystical tradition
Kaf begins keter, the crown — the bent letter beneath the crown it cannot see. Its two forms teach bending in this world and standing upright in the world to come.
Wisdom of the letter
Kavanah — intention — begins with kaf: what the hand does matters less than what the palm holds it with.