Whereupon Aleph (א) is asked by the Most High why it alone showed modesty in not complaining, and it is assured that it is the chief of all letters, denoting the oneness of God, and that it shall have its place at the beginning of the Sinaitic revelation.
[1] This competition is followed by an aggadic explanation of the form of the various letters and by interpretations of the different compositions of the alphabet: ATav BSh, AHetSam BTetAyin, and AL BM.
Jellinek even thinks that the Midrash was composed with the view of acquainting the children with the alphabet, while the Shavuot festival furnished as themes God, Torah, Israel, and Moses.
It has, however, become especially valuable as the depository of these very kabbalistic works, which nearly fell into oblivion due to the grossly anthropomorphic views of the Godhead expressed therein, which offended to the more enlightened minds of a later age.
For this reason, the Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva was severely attacked and ridiculed by Solomon ben Jeroham, the Karaite, in the early 10th century.