#153 - Ending the Year on All Sevens

Don't have much time now before the New Year, but I want to conclude on a sevenish note.  Within the last hour of the Year 5772, I want to point out the good side of this year.  But first, as I have mentioned before, this is a year that is associated with the number 777 in terms of Gematria.  You see, the Hebrew letter for 5,000 is the letter Hei in front of a number.  However, in its regular Gematria value, it has the numerical value of five.  Hence, adding the number five to 772 equals - 777.  Yes, it may be quite a familiar number to those who drink or gamble; but in Judaism, it means quite the opposite.  The number seven represents foremost the  seventh day of the week as Shabbat, and as we see in the first few verses of Genesis Chapter 2, the seventh day is mentioned three times in terms of Hashem resting on His very first Shabbat since He created the world.  Indeed, Shabbat is a day that we are not enslaved to the rut of the workweek, which is drowned out by non-Jews via drinking, gambling, and other ways that their man-made religion cannot provide, even as they want to fool themselves thinking that Sunday is the Sabbath only because their false Christian god supposedly went to heaven on Sunday, rather than what it states in the beginning of the Bible as to which day is the Sabbath.

In Hebrew, there are two similar words that means seven - Sheva and Shiva.  While the latter word Shiva is often used in terms of what is called "sitting Shiva" upon the passing and burial of a close relative; it is ironically the Gematria of the phrase Shana Tova (Good Year) - 377.  And while this number when read backwards read the last three numbers of this coming year which will begin within the hour - 5773, and we certainly hope that this coming year will be far better, especially with the coming of the long awaited Messiah, than this year was with the various tragedies that happened to Jews and Israel, including the passing away of some of the greatest righteous people and Torah scholars of the generation, this year 5772 has been a Shana Tova in respect to at least two accounts - one personal and one general.  The personal one - the birth of my first child Tamar Tzadika.  The general one - the celebration of the conclusion of the Daf Yomi cycle of seven and a half years, and the beginning of the new cycle on the most happy date of Tu B'Av.

While we are at it, there is another word that is the Gematria of 377 - the word Shmuel, the name of Samuel the Prophet.  In fact, we always read for the Haftora for the first day of the Jewish year from the beginning of the Book of Samuel, as his mother Hannah became pregnant with him after Hashem answered her prayers after being barren for many years.  And of course, the Jewish New Year actually begins with the SEVENTH month of the Jewish calendar; since in fact, we count the Jewish months beginning with Nissan, the month of Passover which marks the birth of the Jewish nation.

Speaking of Daf Yomi, there is actually a major connection with the number seven and this year in terms of Daf Yomi.  You see, this year 5772 began with the daily Daf in the midst of Chapter SEVEN of Tractate Chulin (Daf 95) which is called Gid HaNashe, which is the sciatic nerve of the animal which is forbidden for us to eat, which is the first Negative/Non-Active Mitzva of the Torah, and the THIRD Mitzva of the Torah, and this phrase begins with the letter Gimel, the THIRD letter of the Alef-Beit.  And this year 5772 concludes today in the midst of Chapter SEVEN of Tractate Berachot (Daf 46) which is called Shlosha Sheachlu K'Echad "THREE people who eat together AS ONE" who bless Birchat HaMazon (Grace after Meals) together after eating bread.  As you can see, there is a strong connection here, especially in term of the Daf Yomi beginning and ending this year 5772 which I related to the number 777 which in turn represents the concept of seven - three times via the seventh day which is Shabbat.  In fact, the name Shabbat itself is related to the number seven, for when we say Ha-Shabbat "The Sabbath", this word is the Gematria of 707.

Well, got to go now.  Expect to resume blogging after the Jewish holidays culminating with Simchat Torah; at which time, I will be celebrating four years of blogging on www.gematriot.blogspot.com.

Shana Tova U'Metuka - Wish you all a good and sweet upcoming year with the traditional wish of Ketiva V'Chatima Tova - May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!

Erev Rosh Hashana 5773