The Middle Letter of the Torah — Leviticus 11:42
גָּחוֹן
What to look for
The vav in the word gachon is written tall and enlarged.
What it is
By the Masoretic count, this vav is the exact middle letter of the entire Torah, and the scribes enlarged it as a landmark.
Why it matters
The scribes counted every letter of the Torah — that is where the name soferim, 'counters,' comes from. This letter is their halfway marker, proof of how precisely the text was guarded.
How it has been understood
Tradition delights in the humble location: the center of the Torah falls in a verse about creatures that crawl on their bellies. Even there, in the lowest place, stands a letter written tall — a picture of the Torah's reach from the highest to the lowest things.