Don't have much time now as it is shortly before Shavuot when writing is forbidden, but I feel that I have to at least start writing this 70th Post. You see, a short time ago, I read the part in the holiest part of the Zohar called Tikkunei Zohar, referring to the 70 rectifications of the Zohar based on the first word of the Torah - Bereishit (In the Beginning).
As I did last year, I learn a Daf of Tikkunei Zohar every day from Lag Baomer - 18 Iyar, the Yahrzeit of the author of the Zohar - Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai (or Rashbi for short) through the 4th day of Succot - 18 Tishrei which is the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Among the connection between these two big Tzadikim/righeous people, is that both passed away on the 18th of a month, their names Shimon Ben Yochai & Nachman Ben Simcha each have the same Gematria - 553; and as the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov whose name Nachman is the Gematria of 148, his Yahrzeit is the 148th day from Rashbi's Yahrzeit! Hence, the fact that there are 148 Dafim (double side pages as printed in the first official publication of the Tikkunei Zohar) highlights the connection between Rashbi and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, and thus learning the 148th & final Daf on Rabbi Nachman's Yahrzeit whose name is the Gematria of 148 cannot be said to be a mere coincidence. In turn, Rabbi Nachman in his introductory paragraph right before the beginning of his magnum opus, the Likkutei Moharan, mentions the hint to Rashbi in the Torah. Hence, both the Tikkunei Zohar and the Likutei Moharan hint to the name of the author of the other holy book.
And if this was not enough, it is in the SEVENTIETH Torah of the first part of the Likkutei Moharan where the birthday of its author Rabbi Nachman - Rosh Chodesh Nissan is mentioned, just as there are SEVENTY Tikkunim of the Zohar. And as far as today - the LAST day of the Sephirah - is concerned, the portion that I learned which is called "The other (2nd) introduction to the Tikkunei Zohar (the 70 Tikkunim)" near the conclusion of this 17th Daf of the Tikkunei Zohar corresponding to today, which is the 17th day from Lag Baomer, it mentions that "Rabbi Shimon opened his discourse saying "In the beginning, G-d created" (Genesis 1:1) "The secret of Hashem to those who fear Him and His covenant He makes known to them" (Psalms 25:14) - Sod/Secret (The word Sod being the Gematria of 70) these are the SEVENTY facets through which the word Bereishit is explained".
Hence, as per my learning of the Tikkunei Zohar, the actual start of the learning of the 70 Tikkunim based on the first word of the Torah "Bereishit" begins on Shavuot, the holiday on which we received the Torah which begins with the word Bereishit. And among the names for this holiday that the Torah gives, one of them is Atzeret, which literally means retreat - a one (or two days outside of Israel) retreat from our regular workweek, which begins with the letter Ayin, being the Gematria of SEVENTY.
Similarly, as a side note as it relates to the above - the name of the LAST tractate of Mishnayot which is called Uktzin - which refers to the stem of plants in terms of Halacha/Jewish Law as they relate to impurity - begins with the letter Ayin, which is the Gematria of SEVENTY.
And to note, Rabbi Nachman's first wife passed away on this very day - 5 Sivan - Erev Shavuot, the 49th and concluding day of the Sefirah, corresponding to the spiritual Sephira of Malchut She'B'Malchut - Kingdom within Kingdom. As Malchut is the Gematria of 496, I am presently in my 496th month of life, beginning days ago on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, which marks the very day that the Jews arrived at Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah (NOTE: I was born in Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach). Hence, this day - 5 Sivan - of Malchut She'B'Malchut is especially related to me this year.
Will continue, G-d willing, in the coming week following Shavuot when I will elaborate on the connections between the concept of 70, the aspect of King, and which Millenium that I am referring to (there are two of them).
5 Sivan 5770, 49th & Final Day of the Sephira
Continuing on now on the last of the seven days of what is called Shivat Yemai Tashlumin, the seven days from Shavuot through 12 Sivan during which time, the holiday sacrifice could be brought in the Temple, like Passover & Succot during which it could be brought during these week long holidays, this is an excellent time to continue on the above theme.
As I had mentioned last about the concept of Malchut/Kingdom being noted three times - Malchut She'B'Malchut in my 496th month of life being that Malchut is the Gematria of 496, there are two places where this concept of Malchut is mentioned three times. First, in some prayer books which I believe is originally mentioned in the Zohar, it states Hashem Melech - Hashem Malach - Hashem Yimloch Leolam Vaed
"Hashem is King, Hashem was King, and Hashem will be King forever and forever". And then in the very last Psalm in Tehillim/Book of Psalms which is mentioned as attributed to King David who was born and passed away on Shavuot, which is the famous Ashrei prayer recited three times daily, it states (Psalms 145:12-13) "...and the glorious splendor of His kingdom. Your kingdom is a kingdom spanning all eternities..."
It's interesting to note that this Psalm's verses each begin in order of the letters of the Alef Beit except for the letter "Noon" which is omitted (besides the reason given for this in the Talmud, it could hint to the fact that as the last Psalm mentioned to the attributeship of King David, he passed away on Shavuot which is called the "50th day" being it's the 50th day from the start of Sefirat HaOmer/Count of the Omer, and the letter "Noon" is the Gematria of 50). With this being said, the second of the verses that is mentioned here in connection with kingdom begins with a Mem - Malchutcha/Your KINGDOM, which can also hint to the fact that King David, as author of this Psalm, was the first king of the Davidic dynasty who reigned for 40 years, being that the letter Mem is the Gematria of 40. Accordingly, as Moses, the one who taught the Torah to the Jewish people, was their leader for 40 years, and is in fact called a king, as the verse "There was a king in Jeshurun..." (Deutronomy 34:5) hints to, and his name begins with a Mem=40.
Speaking of kingdom being mentioned three times, in Talmud Shabbat 88a where the details of the Torah being given on Shavuot is mentioned, it states that "The Torah of thirds (Torah, Prophets, Writings) was given to a people of thirds (Cohen, Levy, Yisrael) through one who was born third in his family (Moses) on the 3rd day of abstinence from women (6 Sivan being the 3rd of these days) of the 3rd month (Sivan)." And to note, when Hashem first spoke to Moses upon the Jews arriving at Mt. Sinai, He called us Mamlechet Cohanim V'Goy Kadosh "A kingdom of priests and a holy nation".
WHEN WILL HASHEM BE KING FOREVER?
While Hashem has always been king, not everyone always acknowledged it or have yet to acknowledge it. Even among the nations who say they believe in G-d, so many of them hate Hashem's Chosen People, even as the Bible says straight out the boundries of Israel which was given to us, but they shut their Bibles (to be specific, the Old Testament part of it) on this page and declare that we are terrorizing the poor "Palestinians" and "occupying" the West Bank, which is clearly part of Israel's territories as mentioned in the Bible. Numerous millions of Jews were murdered in Jesus' name, which just comes to show that in effect, Christians who have hated Jews through murdering us via the sword to forced baptisim, to missionary conversion, really consider Jesus, rather than G-d, as king, while calling him "G-d's son".
While the real Messiah will reveal himself in this 6th millenium of the world's existance of which only 230 years are left, during which time, the whole world that is left after G-d punishes the evildoers will acknowledge Him being King, it will be only in the entire 7th millenium continuing on forever that everyone will acknowledge Him as King. And as there are seven spritual emanations (Sephirot) as related to action, the last of these is Malchut/Kingdom, hence corresponding to Shabbat - the 7th day of the week, and the 7th millenium when the world will become desolate of inhabitation following the six milleniums of the world's existance. Indeed, these facts which I just mentioned are contradicted by the Christian calendar which states the year as 2010 as though the period of time before Jesus was born means nothing and that Sunday - Church Day - is considered the end of the week as opposed to the holy Sabbath which begins on Friday evening and concludes on Saturday evening.
And while one may argue stating that both Judaism & Christianity believes in a Messiah; forgetting even who is considered the Messiah, the key difference here is that the Christians consider Jesus, whom they believe as the Messiah, as a god, or part of G-d. And while there are rabbis who state that non-Jews are in fact allowed to believe in what is called the Trinity since the verse states Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad "Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One" (Deutronomy
6:4), thus stating that it is only Jews who are obligated to believe in only one
G-d with no partnership, it's the fact that the Christians who attempted to convert Jews all through the last two milleniums is what the big sin here is. In fact, ours is the only religion which states that even those (non-Jews) who do not practice our religion can still go to Heaven if they observe the "Seven Laws of Noah".
But perhaps the most rediculous claim of Christianity is right from the start of the New Testament which traces Jesus' parental line to King David, thus claiming his rights as the Messiah as Christians also know that the Messiah is destined to be a descendant of King David. However, in claiming Jesus to be a god, the New Testament also claims that he was born through Divine Matriculation, which means that his mother Mary's husband John could not have been Jesus' father, and hence "G-d is the Father, and Jesus is the Son". Now, let the Pope & Vatican figure out once and for all as to who was the father of Jesus, and then decide whether Jesus is a god or the Messiah. Thank You!
In any case, while the Chumash/Penteteuch/Five Books of Moses is the most important part of the Tanach/Bible, no doubt that the most popular book of the Bible - to both Jews & (L"Havdil) Christians - is Tehillim/Psalms, as it is also a book of prayers, the bulk of which was composed by King David who combined it with Psalms composed by other Biblical figures, and in time, became composed of 150 Psalms, the Book of the Bible with the most chapters.
As the last of the Shiva Ro'im "Seven Shepherds", who are the Ushpizin/Heavenly Guests of Succot, King David corresponds to the last of the seven Sephirot which is Malchut/Kingdom, and Shabbat - the last of the seven days, which was indeed the day of the week on which he passed away on. Hence, it was most fitting that it should be King David of all people to be the compiler of the Book of Psalms, praising G-d and describing G-d as being King, since he himself knew what it was like to be a king.
Now, the Midrash states "There is no king without a nation". This is primarily why the Torah was not officially given until the Jews became a nation and accepted G-d as King over them, as the beginning of the Ten Commandments, the foundation of the 613 Mitzvot/Commandments of the King, states "I am Hashem, your G-d". Even so, Adam as G-d's first human creation, declared G-d as his King right from the start, stating "Come, let us prostrate and bow, let us kneel before G-d our Maker" (Psalm
95:6), using all three forms of physical submission to G-d as performed in the Temple
acknowledging G-d as King as performed in front of an earthly king. (Note: This verse is in Psalm 95, and HaMelech/THE King is the Gematria of 95!)
With this being said, the very first word of the 24th and final book of the Tanach - Divrei HaYomim/Chronicles (NOT the Old Testament which treats Malachi as the last of 39 books) is Adam. As I had mentioned in past posts, the first letter of Adam's name
as mentioned here is spelled as a large Aleph. Among other reasons given for this, I had mentioned that as a large Aleph, it signifies the other Gematria of Aleph which is usually the number one. In this instance, it can also refer to the Gematria of 1000, as placed in front of a number. This signifies the fact that when Hashem told Adam that "on the day that you eat from the Tree of Knowledge, you will die". Now technically, when Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he was really supposed to die on that day. However, Hashem in His infinite mercy interpreted His own statement of one day to mean a 1,000 years as "A thousand years in Your eyes is like yesterday" (Psalms 90:4), and alloted 1,000 years to Adam. However, when Hashem showed Adam his future descendants featuring King David as living for only three hours, it didn't add up for his future accomplishments. Hence, Adam awarded 70 years of his own life to King David. Indeed, it has been said that the letters of Adam - Aleph, Dalet, Mem - spell the names Adam - DAvid - Messiah.
As it relates to Shavuot, the first of the Ten Commandments is the belief in the existance of Hashem. An example of displaying this Mitzva is the acceptance of what is called Ohl Malchut Shamayim - the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom. As I already mentioned here about Malchut being the Gematria of 496, the other two words of this phrase Ohl/yoke & Shamayim/heaven(ly) when added together is also the Gematria of
496. Also, the first word Ohl is the Gematria of the name of the letter Noon, and in turn, the letter Noon is the Gematria of 50, hinting to the "50th day" referring to Shavuot when we received the Torah which began with the Ten Commandments starting from this very concept.
And as related to this year, the first letter of this phrase Ohl Malchut Shamayim - is Ayin, the last letter of the number of this Hebrew year. Indeed, it has been mentioned that the word Shema, the first word of the Mitzva of reading the twice daily Shema, beginning the verse "Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One" (Deutronomy 6:4) - contains the letters Shin, Mem, Ayin - beginning the letters of the phrase Ohl Malchut Shamayim in reverse. In any case, the Ayin of the word Shema in the Sefer Torah is BIG in comparison to the other letters, just as the first letter of the Torah which is a Beit is also BIG.
THE LAST 1,000 YEARS
While I already mentioned the first and last periods of 1,000 years, I am actually referring to another slot of a thousand years, that is, the last 1,000 that has just happened. While I am very surprised that except for a mention or two of this on the internet, and not mentioning anything of holding a thousand year anniversary, there is something most significant that took place exactly 1,000 years ago during the month of Sivan. It was in Sivan 4770 (1010) that for the first time in history, the
first Tanach was written complete with vowels and cantillation notes, popularly known as the Codex. You see, in a Sefer Torah/Torah Scroll, you only see letters, as the vowels and cantillation notes had to be memorized as part of the Torah She'B'Al Peh/Oral Torah. This was compiled together by someone named Aharon Ben Moshe Ben Asher, whose version of the Tanach is quoted by the Rambam/Maimonides in his Hilchot Sefer Torah - The Laws of a Torah Scroll.
As a side note, it can be said that the internet is the vowels and cantillation notes of communication, the information superhighway that has changed lives - for the better or worse - forever. The reason that I thought to say this is that the first letter for vowels in Hebrew is Nekudot, and the first letter for cantillation notes in Hebrew is Te'amim, which together spell the word Net, as referring to the internet as used in Modern Hebrew! And it is on my 41st day of my 41st year that I am writing this, as the word Blog in Hebrew is the Gematria of 41.
Now, while we may not know the exact date that the conclusion of this Codex was written in the month of Sivan, we do know that we received the Torah on this month.
While I do not know how long it will take for the word to spread on the net and elsewhere, for after all, I only have so much time between being married, working, and writing my blogs, I felt that it was about time to start reading a daily chapter of the Bible, beginning with the holiday of Shavuot when we received the Torah, right from Chapter 1 of Bereishit/Genesis. I launched this on Shavuot night when I read aloud the first chapter of the Bible - which deals with the six days of creation - at the conclusion of the holiday meal in front of my wife Yael.
Now, for those who may consider themselves B'nei Torah, living a more observant Jewish life as reflected from learning in Yeshiva as opposed to college for some, this may sound very non-Jewish. After all, at least with the Chumash, we have it divided according to Parshiyot which we learn in its entirety every year. The system of chapters in the Bible as we see them today in fact did not take place for another over 500 years until 1524-5 when Daniel Bomberg, a non-Jew, divided the Bible accordingly with the recent invention of the printing press (NOTE: The number one printed book in history is the Bible (particularly the Old Testament part of it as Jews don't read the New Testament) - and by the way, NOT the Koran). While his division of the chapters of the Bible do not reflect the Masoretic division as Parshiyot, there are some amazing hints to Torah concepts which are hinted by the number of the chapter and/or verse as I have demonstrated in past blogs. After all, Hashgacha Pratit/Divine Providence is in every step of the way in the actions of this
world, especially the Bible, the number one printed book in world history. And by the way, the famous Daf Yomi, the daily learning of the double sided page of the Talmud, is printed the way that it was originally set up - by a non-Jew!
But don't worry, there are only 187 chapters in the Chumash, so in half a year's time, I will have read the entire English translation of it - something that I normally do not do when I read and learn the weekly Parsha in Hebrew. And perhaps reading it like this, I will come up at times with another perspective or question on what I am reading. And then there are 742 chapters of the rest of the Tanach, also known as Nach - Nevi'im/Prophets & Ketuvim/Writings; hence, a total of 929 chapters, of which the daily learning of a chapter a day can be finished within three years. And while there are in fact more than one daily schedules of a chapter of Tanach, or at least the Nach part of it, I found it most significant to begin learning a daily chapter of Tanach on the 1,000th anniversary of the fully annotated Tanach, launching this on the day that we received the Torah, right from Genesis Chapter 1.
Indeed, Rashi points out that the very first word of the Torah - Bereishit - can be read to mean Bishvil Torah, "FOR THE SAKE OF THE TORAH, G-d created the heavens and the earth". And as the very last Rashi on this first chapter notes, among the reasons that unlike the other days of the week when it says "One Day, Second Day, etc", for the sixth day, it says "THE sixth day", because it hints to THE sixth day of Sivan which was the date that was slated for the Jews in the future nearly 2,450 years later to receive the Torah, and it was considered only at the time that the Torah was given that the world was only created then, because had the Jews not accepted the Torah, the world would have returned to its original state of being "void and empty". (Note: Based on the discussion in the Talmud about the date of Matan Torah/Giving of the Torah, it seems that in fact that it happened on the
7th of Sivan, on Shabbat, because Moses asked Hashem to allow one more day for the Jews to prepare for this momentous occasion. Perhaps this is what it means when Rashi says here about Yom HaShishi "THE sixth day" "which was PREPARED for Matan Torah" but in fact was another PREPARATION day for the Jews to be totally sanctified and purified to receive the Torah under the right circumstances).
Speaking of the chapters and verses being divided through Divine Providence, perhaps even the non-Jewish year of when the first complete Tanach was finished written - Year 1010 - could have significance here. You see, our rabbis tell us that there is in fact a parallel between the 10 Statements through which the world was created, of which the word Bereishit is considered the first of these 10 Statements, and the 10 Commandments which actually in Hebrew - Aseret HaDibrot - means the 10 Statements! And as per the previous paragraph, the world which was created by G-d's 10 Statements existed only because of the Jews in the future who received the Torah, of which the foundation Mitzvot of it - The 10 Commandments - was given on Shavuot. And by the way, the non-Jewish/Christian year, while based on when Jesus was born, in fact seems to have been in error in regard to this fact, as you will see in encyclopedias placing his birth at 4 B.C. or 6 B.C., but by the time that the Christians realized their mistake, it was a bit too late to change the number of the year. Indeed, true Divine Providence here!
Another concept as related to 10-10 is how you will see Hashem's name written in some sources, as two letter Yuds - as the letter Yud is the Gematria of 10 - written next to each other. As a Chasidic Rebbe pointed out, it is only when two Yuds - as two Yidden (Jews) who are next to each other in friendship - are next to each other horizontally - that Hashem's name is considered holy. Indeed, as Rashi notes on the Jews arrival at Mt. Sinai when the Torah says Vayichan Sham Yisrael - The Jews encamped there, the word Vayichan being in the singular, as they came "as one man, with one heart". Indeed, there is a statement in the Zohar that states which today is a song, Yisrael V'Oraita V'Kudsha Brich Hu Chad Hu "The Jews, the Torah & the Holy One Blessed Be He are One". While indeed Hashem is only One G-d, this statement is speaking of the great union and unity that there is between G-d who gave the Torah to the Jews, as a man who gives a marriage contract to his wife-to-be.
Now, as Hashem's main name begins with a Yud, the Jews' name Yisrael begins with a Yud, and the Torah's foundation principles are the Ten Commandments as the letter Yud is the Gematria of 10, when you multiply these three tens - 10*10*10 - it equals, presto! ONE THOUSAND!
And speaking of the name Yisrael which is the very last word of the Chumash, and as Rashi also notes on Yom HaShishi, the letter Hei of HaShishi - THE - is the Gematria of five, as there are five books to the Chumash that the Jews received on the "6th day of Sivan", there is a most famed rabbi whose name was also Yisroel who passed away 250 years ago on this very date of the 6th of Sivan - the Ba'al Shem Tov (literally, "Owner of a good name")! As founder of the Chasidic movement that forever changed the character of the Jewish people, he instilled hope in so many Jews who were devastated by the Anti-Semitic exile and attacks in Europe. And lo and behold - his name and title "Yisroel Ba'al Shem Tov" is the exact Gematria of 1,000! Indeed, a most special time to begin reading a daily chapter of the Tanach, marking 1000 years from when it was first completely written out with Nekudot/vowels and Te'amim/cantillation notes, just like the Ba'al Shem Tov who introduced Torah to Jews as Nekudot/points - pointers highlighting the positive side of Judaism, and as Te'amim/tastes - bringing out the good taste of Judaism.
Speaking of the LAST word of the Torah/Chumash and the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov who passed away on Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah, adding the numbers of the Gematria of the name Yisrael - 541, and 70 - the number of the Tikkunim of Rashbi based on the FIRST word of the Torah, the total is 611, which is the Gematria of the word TORAH!
And while I am at it, I would like to point out to a website that is dedicated to the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov - www.baalshemtov.com or www.baalshemtov.org. Enjoy.
I am reminded of a Midrash that notes on the words as found both in Psalms and Chronicles, Davar Tziva L'Eleph Dor "It (the Torah) is a thing that Hashem commanded to the 1000th generation" that there were 974 generations before the world was created, and then Hashem gave the Torah to the 26th generation (that is, Moses who taught the Torah to the Jews was the 26th generation in parental descent from Adam), since this world's existance (NOTE: There is much discussion in Kabbala about worlds being created and destroyed in reference to the above 974 generations, but this is beyond the scope of this post). And being that this Shavuot marked the 250th Yarhzeit of the Ba'al Shem Tov, the number 250 is the Gematria of the word Ner/Candle, as it says in Mishlei/Proverbs, Ner Mitzva V'Torah Ohr "The Commandment is the candle, and the Torah is the light". And it was on Shavuot that the Ten Commandments as representative of the 613 Mitzvot/Commandments that are compared to a
Ner/Candle, was given on Shavuot.
Speaking of which, I have a set of Chasidic commentary on the Chumash called Peninei HaTorah, of which the very first thing is what the letters of the word Bereishit can spell as the first words of a phrase, quoting a Sefer called Igra D'Kalla - Ohr Torat Rabbi Yisrael Ba'al Shem "Light of the Torah of Rabbi Yisrael Ba'al Shem"! By the way, along the lines, it can also be said for the letters of Bereishit to also begin the words that spell - Ohr Torat Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai "Light of the Torah of Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai" as indeed, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi) composed 70 explanations on the word Bereishit!
By the way, as I began this post speaking about Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and his connection with Rashbi, I should note that he was the great grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov. And as this Shavuot marked 250 years from the passing of the Ba'al Shem Tov, the Hebrew number for 250 is Reish Noon, which can also spell the beginning letters of the words Rabbeinu Nachman, as Breslover followers of Rabbi Nachman refer to as such. Indeed, of all the Chasidic movements, it is Breslov that most closely resembles the original intent of the Ba'al Shem Tov in founding the Chasidic movement. For example, it is a big Mitzva for a Jew to always be happy - especially in serving Hashem, never giving up hope, and reaching out to Jews regardless of their spiritual level without a judgmental attitude.
RECTIFYING THE WORLD OF 70
It seems that the world began with and will end spiritual and physical world suffering with the number seventy. Just note the connection of 70 throughout the period of history.
As Shavuot is the holiday of the giving of the Torah, it should be noted that Moses explained the Torah in SEVENTY languages (besides Hebrew). That way, should a Jew ever get lost in exile, he could always refer to the Torah to keep oneself afloat.
And as I mentioned earlier, the first complete Tanach with vowels and cantillation notes was finished being written in 4770, the year ending with the number 70 (SEVENTY)!
There are numerous references in the Zohar to the number 70, as especially related to the Torah, including the piece of Zohar learned in the Tikkun Leil Shavuot, a compilation of Torah learning for Shavuot night, which mentions 70 crowns of the Torah. Without going through an exhaustive list, the most notable one of them is the fact that Rashbi composed 70 explanations on Bereishit - the first word of the Torah. And in Tikkun 70, the last of the 70 Tikkunim of the Tikkunei Zohar, it mentions about rabbis learning on Shavuot night, and towards the very end, it mentions about Adam giving 70 years of his life to King David - who was born and passed away on Shavuot, as I wrote earlier in this post.
As the Talmud notes, Hashem sends the cure before the blow. The Torah is the ultimate spiritual, and quite often - also a physical, cure of what bad things, G-d forbid, happen to us. Note how the number 70 comes up in every exile of the Jewish people.
To begin with, Abraham, at the age of SEVENTY, had a vision in which Hashem appeared to him, relating to him the future bad news of Jews being in exile. The first exile of the Jews beginning their descent to Egypt as a family of 70 people (besides their wives) would last for 210 years, a multiple of SEVENTY: 210=70*3, until the Exodus. Then, the Jews were exiled to Babylonia upon the destruction of the First Temple for a period of SEVENTY years. The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans took place in 3828, which is the non-Jewish year 68. How interestingly, the non-Jews insist to this day that this took place in the year 70 (SEVENTY)! After all, there are - at least as of a few hundred years after Noah's children had families following their year in Noah's Ark - 70 nations of the world. And at the end of our exile, at the turn of the coming of Moshiach which is just about to happen - Gog U'Magog - whose Gematria is SEVENTY - will be fighting us. As I mentioned in my previous post how Obama who is shown to be Gog in the Hidden Codes of the Torah, he is going to rouse ALL the nations of the world to fight Israel. And this year, which began the final phase of Chevlei Moshiach/Birthpangs of the Messiah, which I proved through the Hidden Codes of the Torah which happened on the last day of Succot
of this year 5770 when Obama was nominated for the Nobel "peace" prize, now giving him the green light to tell the world to fight Israel, and this Hebrew year ends with the number 70 (SEVENTY)! And as exile represents suffering to the Jewish people, King David's SEVENTY years was full of suffering. Hence, it is no wonder why Jews of all walks of life feel a connection to King David's Book of Psalms.
Unlike most of the 70 members of Jacob's family who descended to Egypt were men (besides their wives), the only two women included in this count of 70 was Serach Bat Asher, who knew the secret code of the one (Moses) who would declare the redemption of the Jews from Egypt and also knew the whereabouts of Joseph's grave which would otherwise hold the Jews back from leaving Egypt due to an oath Joseph's family made to take Joseph's bones from Egypt; and Yocheved who was literally the SEVENTIETH person as she was born just as they were entering the environs of Egypt. It's interesting to note that Rabbi Akiva, in a lecture to his students, referred to Yocheved as the mother of 600,000 people, being that her son Moses was the leader of the Jews who consisted of 600,000 men from the age of 20 at the time of the Exodus. And in connection to this, the letters of the word Yisrael begin the phrase Yesh Shishim Ribo Otiyot LaTorah - "There are 60 myriads (600,000) of letters in the Torah". While there are in fact only 304,805 letters in the Sefer Torah/Chumash, without getting into details of this discrepancy which is beyond the scope of this post, the point is that each Jew has a share in the Torah, regardless of his level of Torah knowledge.
Indeed, the number 70 is related to Hashem, the Jews, the Torah, & Jerusalem. As mentioned in Midrash Zuta on Shir HaShirim, each one of these has SEVENTY names!
A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS
As it is now 7:00 PM, the last hour of the SEVENTH and final day of the Shivat Y'mei Tashlumin as I mentioned earlier in this post, I would like to conclude on good notes here.
First, on this day of 12 Sivan, I learned Genesis Chapter 7. The beginning of this chapter relates that G-d told Noah to invite SEVEN pairs of pure animals into the Ark. Now, as we know as Jews, pure animals means kosher animals. But, if Noah wasn't Jewish, then how did he know? Rashi tells us that we learn from here that Noah learned Torah. Yes, Noah learned his Bible, and instead of shutting it due to prejudices like some Christians who shut their Bibles when they don't want to see Jews "settling" the land disallowing "Palestinian" terrorists from living there, learned how to live a good godly life which saved himself and his immediate family from perishing in the Flood. Anyways, the concluding verse of this Chapter is "The waters (of the Flood) remained over the earth for 150 days." To note, there are 150 Chapters in the Book of Psalms composed by King David.
While the BIG Aleph in Adam's name, the first word of the 24th and final book of the Tanach signifies the shortened life that he was given following eating of the forbidden fruit, the first letter of The Ten Commandments is the first letter of the Aleph Beit - Aleph, beginning the word Anochi - "I am Hashem your G-d".
And speaking of the number 24, today is the 24th day from Lag Ba'Omer - 18 Iyar, Yahrzeit of Rashbi. (Accordingly, Shavuot - 6 Sivan, the Yahrzeit of the Ba'al Shem Tov, is the 18th day from 18 Iyar - the Yahrzeit of Rashbi.) Hence, as per what I wrote at the beginning of this post, today I learned the 24th Daf of the Tikkunei Zohar. Right from the start, "...your composition (the Zohar) WHEN (KAD - Aramaic for when and also spells the number 24) it will be revealed to this world in the last generation at the end of days, of which it says "You shall declare freedom in the land..." (Leviticus 25:10). Elijah (the prophet) opened his discourse saying "WHEN (KAD) the Sabbath and Holidays are over, and Jews are under the rule of Samael (Satan) & the SEVENTY nations, oppressing the Jews..." which about concludes Tikkun Number SIX.
Now, there are 24 periods of 250 years that total the 6,000 years of this world's existance. Now, the Hebrew year 5750/5751 which marked the beginning of the 24th period of 250 years, the beginning of the conclusion of the SIXTH Millenium, marked the fall of Communism which allowed millions of Jews to be FREE to leave Russia for Israel and the United States, as well as freedom of religion within that country, allowing many Jews to become observant Jews, indeed "You shall declare FREEDOM in the land". According to Kabbalists, this marked the beginning of the period of Kibbutz Galuyot, the ingathering of the exiles that we mention in our daily prayers.
But also, we Jews will be oppressed at the very end of our exile as predicted by the Zohar here - by the 44th president of the United States, and as the 44th word of the Torah is V'LaChoshech "For the darkness", this word is the same Gematria as HaSatan -364, and the word SATAN is mentioned in Obama's subliminal messages when recordings of his such as "Yes, I can" is played in reverse, as I wrote about in my 44th Post -
"Messages in REVERESE Wording" (Sep 2009), as well as playing the role of Gog as in Gog U'Magog, the Gematria of SEVENTY. How chilling!
Then, in the beginning of Tikkun Number SEVEN, it states, "Woe is to Samael (Satan), WHEN (KAD) Hashem will redeem the Divine Presence and the Jews, and will exact revenge from the SEVENTY nations who oppressed the Jews in exile, and will show them the reward they would have had had they honored the Jews instead".
Now, the name of the holiday of Shavuot literally means WEEKS, and is cognate of the word Sheva or Shiva, which means SEVEN. And as this holiday is sometimes called Chag HaShavuot, the word HaShavuot includes the letters of this Hebrew year 5770 - Hei Tav Shin Ayin, which is the holiday of the birthday and passing of King David. Accordingly, Hoshanot - the word for the ritual on Succot of taking the Arba Minim/Four Species and circling the podium on which the Sefer Torah is read, also includes the letters of this Hebrew year, and it is on the SEVENTH and last day of Succot on which we especially honor the Ushpizin/Heavenly Guest of King David in our Succah, that we encircle the podium SEVEN times, unlike the first six days of Succot when we do so only once each day. And as we know, Moshiach will be a descendant of King David. And as I mentioned earlier about 24 period of 250 years each, the 250th Yarhzeit of the Ba'al Shem Tov was this Shavuot 5770. Hence, let's hope that this is truly the year of our redemption!
These last 1,000 years since the first complete Tanach was finished being written, known as the Codex, while the Jews went through much suffering in exile, this Tanach made it a little easier for the Jewish nation, knowing that despite everything we have gone through, Hashem doesn't forget us, and not only we haven't vanished or lost the Torah writings of the past like the lost civilizations of the vast might empires of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and Rome, we have more written Torah, more Jewish holy books, than ever in history! Even the Holocaust couldn't keep us down from continuing Jewish life in all remote parts of the world. Yes, the Hebrews - whose Hebrew word begins with the letter Ayin whose Gematria is SEVENTY, are well and alive, and despite the rule of the very end of the exile as predicted in the Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, of the Aravim/Arabs, whose letter also begins with an Ayin=SEVENTY, in a world whose world leader is Obama, a Muslim Arab. But Hashem will soon show him, as mentioned in the Tanach, that Hashem is the KING of the world,
as written throughout the Tanach that has been complete with vowels and cantillation notes IN THE LAST MILLENIUM, in this past 1,000 years.
Actually, the ultimate country with world power among today's nations is Rome with its rule and the world's rule by the Vatican. While references of Rome as in the Zohar has been pointed out in its predictions of world events do indeed refer to the United States, today's Rome; in fact, Rome itself to this day is the center of spiritual contamination and theft of Jewish books and items from the Holy Temple, which is controlled by the Vatican. While it is ironic how the Romans who burned our last Temple and exiled Jews, also hated and persecuted the early Christians, Rome in time became the hotbed and headquarters of the Christian world, especially of the Catholic sect which is the particular sect that clearly idol worships Jesus in contrast to other Christian groups. The Vatican refuses to release our Jewish items, even as it had a part in torturing and murdering Jews in the Holocaust, despite claims of the previous Pope being a friend of the Jews from day one. May it be G-d's will that shortly, this evil force will vanish from the face of this earth, and we Jews will once again have full and total possession of all our Torah writings and Holy Temple items.
Yes, the Romans indeed exiled us in what is called the year 70, as they attempted to destroy the Torah that is represented by the number 70, but shortly after this, Rashbi revealed secrets of the Torah, of which the holiest secrets were the 70 Tikkunim, the 70 rectifications of the Torah which have been ultimately the greatest spiritual force to keep us in existance in our bitter exile of nearly 2,000 years.
As King David, the 33rd generation in parental descent of Adam, composed the Book of Psalms that have accompanied the Jews throughout their long and bitter exile; Rashbi who passed away on Lag BaOmer - the 33rd day of the Omer, composed the Zohar of which it says in its commentary on Parshat Naso, the Parsha of the week in which Shavuot falls out on, (Zohar Volume 3, Page 124) that it is this book through which we will leave the exile in Hashem's mercy for us. And as Moshiach told the Ba'al Shem Tov (also known as the Besht), he will arrive once the Besht's teachings, based on Kabbala, but brought down closer to a person's understading, are spread out in the public.
As a Torah trivia, the MIDDLE letter of the MIDDLE verse of the MIDDLE chapter of the Chumash - Leviticus 4:18 - is the letter AYIN (in the word Moed) - which is the Gematria of SEVENTY. And the MIDDLE letter of the word SEVENTY in Hebrew - Shiv'im, or in Aramaic - Shav'in, is the letter AYIN, and the last three letters of this word in Aramaic spells the word Ayin, which means EYE. Yes, the word EYE is pronounced the same way as the word "I - am the L-rd your G-d..." of the Ten Commandments given on Shavuot, of which the MIDDLE or one of the MIDDLE letters is the letter Ayin.
And on a personal note, both the MIDDLE letter of my name Shimon and my wife's name Yael, is the letter Ayin. And as today is the 41st day of my 41st year, it would be most noteworthy to mention today that the section of the Torah called Bircat Cohanim/Blessing of the Priests (Numbers 6:22-27), read in Parshat Naso during which Shavuot falls out on (is at the end of the 4th Aliyah which was learned by many on this Shavuot as it fell out on the 4th day of the week - learning an Aliyah per day)also recited as the very first Torah following the daily Birchot HaTorah/Blessings for Learning Torah (except for Nusach Ashkenaz which includes only the actual verses of the blessing), consists of exactly 150 letters - corresponding to the 150 Psalms compiled by King David who was born and passed away on Shavuot, and 41 words. Accordingly, the last Parsha of the Torah - V'Zot HaBeracha, consists of 41 verses which concludes with the word Yisroel, also the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov who passed away on Shavuot. And indeed, the word BLOG in Hebrew - using the letters Beit, Lamed, Vav, Gimmel - is the Gematria of 41. And I am writing this at the conclusion of my SEVENTIETH Post of www.gematriot.blogspot.com, bearing in mind that my namesake Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai composed SEVENTY Tikkunim, the last of which mentions rabbis learning on the night of Shavuot. What timing!
Before closing, mentioning that today is the 41st day of my 41st year, which is in the 496th month of my life bearing in mind that Malchut is the Gematria of 496, and it was the 49th and last day of the Sephira corresponding to the Sephirah combination
of Malchut She'B'Malchut falling out on my 496th month, I should note that when you multiply 41*41, the total is 1681. Now, breaking down this four digit number a bit, the square root of 1,600 is 40, and the square root of the number 81 is nine. Hence, adding the square roots together - 40 & 9 - to be 49, the number representing the final day of the Sephirah, preparing the Jewish people to accept the Malchut/Kingship of Hashem before giving us the Torah - Malchut She'B'Malchut, just as the number 41 that started this chain number reaction corresponds to the day of the Sephirah - the 41st day of the Sephirah - that represents Yesod She'B'Yesod - Foundation that is within Foundation.
And now that I have concluded my (first) 70 Tikkunim (G-d willing, I will continue blogging though), I want to say that when you type the word "Gematriot" on Google, this blogspot - www.gematriot.blogspot.com - is the NUMBER ONE spot out of 5,900 entries! Yes, my blogspot is the KING of Gematriot websites. But don't take my word for it, just go straight to www.google.com and see for yourself.
G-d willing, hope to post early next week about the biggest group of Jews who uphold the laws of the Torah, called the...
12 Sivan 5770 - End of the Shivat Y'mei Tashlumin - 41st day of my 41st year
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
#69 - Same History Upside Down
Thought of naming this 69th Post - Same Number Upside Down. But then again, there are other numbers that also fit this category, like 96. Whether there is an actual connection of the number 69 with the contents of this post may be possible, but there is no question that what is going on these days in the pre-Messianic era is echoing what happened right before the Exodus.
But first, today was 43 years from the liberation of Jerusalem, which included the holiest area in the world - Temple Mount & Western Wall. I didn't quite have a chance to write about this earlier today, unlike last year when I wrote during the second half of the night of Yom Yerushalayim/Jerusalem Day and some time into the morning writing about this most special day. As it turned out, I have something to share with you that I noticed today when I visited the Western Wall in honor of Jerusalem Day that I can now write about pertaining to the number 44, which will be the main focus of tonight's blog.
As 43 years have passed since the miracles of that miraculous day of 28 Iyar 5727/1967, this date is the 43rd day of the Sephira. Last year, as you can check my blogpost for May 2009 - #29 - JERUSALEM: The END of Our Journey, I focused on the number 43, being that it was the beginning of the 43rd year from the original Jerusalem Day as the 43rd day of the Sephira. While I certainly will not repeat everything from that post, I will bring here only one paragraph to make a connection with something that I want to point out.
"In terms of the last week of the Sefira having a connection with the last day of the week - Shabbat, the Sefer Yetzira, a kabbalistic book describing how Hashem created the world using the letters of the Alef Beit, notes that there are seven letters - Beit, Gimmel, Dalet, Kaf, Pei, Reish & Tav that correspond to the seven days of the week. Thus, the letter Tav, also the last letter of the Alef Beit, corresponds to Shabbat. Now, if you recall in a previous blog where I wrote about the BIG letter Tav in the word VaTichtov - "Esther wrote" referring to the Megilla that Esther wrote to be read on Purim, you will see an intrinsic connection here of the letter Tav as it relates to both Purim, the holiday corresponding to the Sefira of Netzach according to the Vilna Gaon & (Yom) Yerushalayim which is Netzach according to the Talmud (In the Kedusha prayer for Shabbat morning, we ask Hashem when He will be "King in Zion...within Jerusalem Your city and for all eternity" - U'leNeitzach Netzachim). Thus, Tav is intrinsically related to the last week of the Sefira (Also, there are 49 letters in a verse in Psalms 67:5) that correspond to the 49 days of the Sefira. The 43rd letter of this verse is a Tav - corresponding to this 43rd day of the Sefira - Jerusalem Day!)"
The reason that I mention the above paragraph here is that indeed in this past year which was the 43rd year from the liberation of Jerusalem, I was liberated of my single status and married my wife, whose full Hebrew name Yael Miriam is the Gematria of the letter Tav - 400! And our personal connection in meeting each other in connection with Jerusalem is double. Firstly, I had prayers said on my behalf to find a Shidduch/marriage match at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Secondly, the one flyer about myself that I placed in the Old City of Jerusalem - when I placed almost 500 such flyers in another town - was the one flyer that caught my wife's attention when as a resident of another city in Israel, visited the area on the very next day when she saw that flyer, and it was four months after she made that first call that we were together under the Chupa. Indeed, in the LAST of the Sheva Berachot/SEVEN Blessings recited under the Chupa, it states "May we quickly hear in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the voices of gladness, happiness, bridegroom and bride..."
And along these lines, this year's Jerusalem Day was the first Jerusalem Day being married. In fact, on Jerusalem Day last year, I didn't even know of my wife's existance. It would be three months before first meeting each other, and if I would have chosen to be a little more picky, I might have still been single today.
Before I graduate from the 43rd year of the liberation of Jerusalem, I want to make one more connection here, something that I was not able to write a year ago when I wrote my post on Jerusalem Day. The day after Jacob married first thinking that it was Rachel who was his bride when it was Leah, his father-in-law Laban told him to celebrate his first week of marriage, and then he could marry "ALSO this one (Rachel)" - GAM Et Zot. Now, when Leah gave birth to her second son Shimon, she declared that Hashem gave her "ALSO this one" - GAM Et Zeh. In both cases, the word
GAM (also) is used - one in reference to marriage and the other to the birth of Shimon, my namesake. And bearing in mind that the word GAM is the Gematria of 43, I got married in the 43rd year from the liberation of Jerusalem.
44 VERSUS 44
Now that it is the 44th President of the United States that is presently in office, and the United States is the country with the world power, it is the number 44 that is presently ruling the world. That is, there is a spiritual force that is controlling the world that is related to this number. And accordingly, we are now in the beginning days of the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem. And by the way, tonight as I am writing this blog is the 44th day of the Sephira.
While atheists and critics who mock spirituality in the "real world" can have a field day laughing at blogs such as mine; the recent months, weeks, and days have shown Obama to not only be working on preventing construction in Israel from taking place even in Jerusalem, but now almost half of United States Jews who voted for Obama feel that they were given a real ride here. (Imagine the Yetzer Harah/evil inclination here that still over HALF of the Jews who voted for Obama tell themselves that they made the right decision). Isn't it interesting that while previous presidents of the United States may have put pressure on Israel pertaining to other parts of the Holy Land, Obama is focusing much more of his energies that construction is not happening especially in Jerusalem. And he is very clever. You see, if Obama forbids Jews to build even in their own, holy capitol, because this will offend the Arabs, then certainly there is no reason to build elsewhere because it's questionable if it has as much rights as Jerusalem, where we used to have the Holy Temple.
I have mentioned in my blogs - only G-d knows how many times - about Obama being the Gog that is written about in Ezekiel 38 & 39 as hinted in the Hidden Codes of the Torah. However, as scary as this may be when you read this, what is what I believe that the scariest part of this war of Gog U'Magog is what is mentioned in the beginning of Zechariah 14, what is read as the Haftara on the 1st day of Succot.
"Behold, a day is coming for Hashem, when your spoils will be divided up in your midst. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for the war; the city will be captured, the houses will be pillaged and the women will be violated; half of the city will go out into exile..."
Why Jerusalem of all cities? Even if the Arabs don't want to accept Jerusalem in their Jerusalemless Korans, what about the other nations who are supposed to be practicing Christianity who should believe that the Jews would one day return to their homeland, especially Jerusalem, as written in any Bible or Old Testament?
My friends, when it comes to Anti-Semitism, there is NO LOGIC. Read what it says, "I (G-d) will gather ALL the nations to Jerusalem". Yes, G-d has a plan that
He will somehow have ALL the nations to be convinced that the Jews have no say or rights to live in Jerusalem. Yes, the Bible does not lie. Yes, may G-d lessen the tragedies that is written here, but...many of the Jews who live in Jerusalem will have their property taken away and divided among the fighting nations. Yes, homes will be barged into it and totally plundered, like the circumstances in the Holocaust. Yes, Jewish women - and the enemy won't care if they are "religious" women or not - will be raped. And no doubt is that if this a full scale war, very unfortunately, many Jews will die, may G-d spare us the worst. Yes, much bloodshed here.
By the way, I am presently not living in Jerusalem (like I used to live for two and a half years), and moving to Jerusalem is not in my wife's or my near future plans.
To come to think of it, even if I won the lottery today, I would only consider visiting Jerusalem like I did today. Even if I have work in Jerusalem, I know that I can always take the bus home if I hear impending signs of an upcoming war, but people who live there cannot just as easily put pick themselves up overnight and find an alternate place to live.
With this being said, I fear that this war fighing the Jews in Jerusalem will be taking place in this 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem which will be led by the 44th president of the United States. You see, in a war, two opposing nations always have something in common - their want or need to kill the other nation, which is full scale bloodshed.
OBAMA - REINCARNATE OF EGYPTIAN PHARAOH SMITTEN WITH THE TEN PLAGUES
This information connecting Obama with Egypt is taken from http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com for April 26, 2010, as a guestpost from Daniel S. I will just write here a few highlights.
The Zohar states that the Anti-Semitic leading world leaders of all time will come back as reincarnates in the generation of the redemption, only to be destroyed once and for all.
Just as it is known that Saddam Hussein who didn't spare his hatred for Jews,said that he was Nebuchadnezar who destroyed the First Temple, and at the end was hung; so too, there are very startling connections between Obama and the Pharaoh who ruled the Jews at the time of the Exodus.
*As recorded in Egyptian history, this Pharaoh (Akhenaten) ruled for four years up until the time of the Exodus - Obama is slated to be president for four years.
*There is a strong resemblance between the mummied recreation of Pharaoh's face and Obama's, as well as other family members of Pharaoh's in comparison to Obama's family members (see for yourself)
*Obama first spoke to the world from Cairo, Egypt. While there, he visited the city El Amarna that Pharaoh built following the drowning of the Egyptians in the Reed Sea of which Pharaoh was the sole survivor.
*Pharaoh's name is the Gematria of 355 plus the word itself making this 356. The name of Barack Obama in Hebrew is the Gematria of 356! (Note: This is taking into account that there is only one Aleph in Obama's name spelled in Hebrew - in other Gematria uses, Obama can have a second Aleph, but both spellings can be read identically the same).
BLOOD VS BLOOD
Now, why am I writing this? You see, Dam/Blood was the first of the ten plagues that Hashem spoke Egypt with for refusing to let the Jews leave the country. Now, DAM which can also mean bloodshed, is the Gematria of 44. And the first letters of the Hebrew names of the 10 plagues D"Tzach Adash B"Achab, as mentioned in the Haggadah, has the same Gematria as Barack Hussein Obama - 501! (This is where Obama's family name includes a second Aleph in the Hebrew spelling). Yes, Obama as the reincarnate of Pharaoh wants to take revenge on the Jews, who according to Rabbi Isaac Luria, the leading Kabbalist in the 1500s, are reincarnates in the generation of the redemption of the Jews of the Exodus. Obama's FIRST and primary objective of his 10 objectives corresponding to the 10 plagues that spote him when he was Pharaoh, corresponding to his first plague of DAM/blood, is to bring bloodshed to the Jews in Jerusalem for refusing to listen to him 100% of the way (Stop playing games, Bibi! Obama is not fooled by you playing on both sides of the fence!); and towards this end, as the leader of the world power country, he will order ALL of the nations - regardless of religion or non-religion - to come and fight us in our holy capitol - probably in OUR present 44th year celebrating Jerusalem's liberation.
There are two places in the Bible where the word DAM/blood is mentioned twice right next to each other. The first is in Deutronomy 17:8 "If a matter of judgment(in Jewish law) is hidden from you, between BLOOD AND BLOOD..." Rashi explains that this means between spritually impure blood and spiritually pure blood. The second is in II Chronicles 19:10 where Jehoshaphat, King of Judea, tells the Jewish Supreme Court (unlike today's unSupreme Court in Israel who make rulings against the Torah) in JERUSALEM, "Any case about which there is an argument that is presented to you from your brothers who live in the cities, whether it is between BLOOD AND BLOOD". In this instance, Rashi explains that this is referring to murder. How spooky!
WHAT HAPPENED FIVE WEEKS AGO?
On 24 Nissan, the 9th day of the Omer, I decided to stay home that day from work. Why? To begin with, this Hebrew year spelling the letters Hei Tav Shin Ayin can also read HaTeisha "The Nine". As mentioned in past posts of mine, nine is a number that signifies darkness, particularly as related to Tisha B'Av which is the 9th day of the month of Av that is represented kabbalistically by the letter Teit which is nine. And the 9th plague to smite the Egyptians was darkness. Indeed, Tisha B'Av is the darkest day in the Jewish calendar when some of the greatest tragedies occured to the Jewish people, including the destruction of both Temples. And as we know, there are nine months of pregnancy which concludes with birthpangs. Accordingly, the Chevlei Moshiach "birthpangs/labor pains of tbe Messiah" will take place right before Moshiach comes. In the Hidden Codes of the Torah, I discovered that this final process would begin on Succot 5770, this year of "THE NINE"!
Indeed, on the final day of Succot of this year, Obama who barely was president of the United States for several months, was elected to receive a Nobel peace prize. Logically, there is no logic to this. Most earn this after a long record of showing their peaceful capabilities. As Anti-Semitic as Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States, is, I would well understand if he would be elected for a peace
prize, even as part of earning it would be because he convinced Israel to give some of its land to Egypt. The only logic for Obama receiving this is that he was politically born on Tisha B'Av in 2004 when he made his first political speech when only a small fraction of the American public barely heard of him. Indeed, this is a true world of darkness.
Now understand the dynamics of the election of the peace prize for Barack Hussein Obama. Through this, he will automatically be viewed as someone who represents the essence of peace, and his word will now be infinitely more respected than ever. And if someone who is viewed as represents peace will tell the world to fight Israel for refusing his demands, then small wonder that ALL the nations will gather together to fight Israel.
With this being said, the 49 days of the Sephira are represented by corresponding 49 combinations of seven Sephirot/Divine Emanations. The NINETH day of the Sephira corresponds to the attribute of Gevurah She'B'Gevurah. Gevurah normally just means strength, but in this instance, it means more like strict judgment. Hence, it is strict judgment that is within strict judgment - which is in fact the strictest of the 49 combinations of the Sephirot.
In a normal year, I don't get all paranoid with this date. However, being that this date was in the year of "THE NINE" with all the negative connotations related to this number, I feared that G-d forbid something could happen to me, or at the very least not be successful with what I would want to accomplish in the way of work on that day.
Personally, I had a negative experience with this number in the beginning of this year. In the first post of this year of 5770, I wrote in detail about the number nine as related to this year in terms of the "labor pains of the Messiah", in reference to which I mentioned the date of 9 Tishrei - the 9th day of the Jewish year - as recorded in the Torah, the day before Yom Kippur. Well, it was during the earlier part of this night which was after Shabbat, I had unusual stomach cramps that made it difficult for me to walk home from the short distance that I was in this synagogue near home. Yes, I felt something like you would call "labor pains". Thank G-d, after a few hours in the midst of taking care of myself, I felt better, and during the day, I felt fine. Being that I have a very strong connection to numbers as you will read on the left side of the beginning of my blog page, I had a very personal experience related to the negativity as related to the number nine, especially as the date of the nineth of Tishrei is mentioned in the Torah. Speaking of which, on this 9th day of the Sephira, I found myself at one point with a very strong cold which sprang on me all of a sudden.
With this said about my personal experience, what about what took place in the world on this 9th day of the Sephira? There was a significant peace of news that indeed happened, in fact, it seemed like it was a good thing that happened. On this day, Obama and the leader of Russia jointly signed a document promising to reduce their respective nuclear arms. And indeed, the Bible does fortell of the time when the nations will stop fighting each other. But, I knew in my heart that there was some sort of tradeoff.
My friends, I think Rabbi Nachman Kahana, brother of murdered Rabbi Meir Kahana, HY"D, may G-d avenge his blood, explained it best. Again referring to http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com, I will have the following copied verbatim, so you will feel the full brunt of what REALLY happened on this day that will serve to be a MAJOR negative force against Jews in the United States.
"In our time, we are again witness to the phenomena whereby HaShem plucks out an unknown personality from "nowhere", and catapults him to the highest position in his land."
"Barack Chussein Obama, whose place of birth is unclear, whose time of study at Columbia University is not recorded in the records of the institution, whose years at Harvard are cloudy - now sits in the Oval Office of the President of the United States. On the 10th of September 2001, if someone would have suggested that a black man with Moslem leanings, who attended the church of a masochistic self-hating pastor, would be the United States’ next president, he would have been considered to be mad."
"And yet it has happened. The hand of God has plucked out this man from nowhere in order to set the next stage for the world’s change of gear in its bumpy ride towards the future."
"It will be a ride where the passengers will witness the United States as the leader of the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic peoples of the world."
"I am not sure if the correct description of the Jews’ situation in America is the slow closing of a window or the quick descent of the guillotine, but with every passing day their situation is more precarious, without their being aware of the shifts."
"The American President and his administration have voiced their intention to reduce the United States’ dependence on nuclear weapons in favor of increasing their conventional weapons option. This will, by necessity, require enlarging army manpower through re-enacting the Selective Service Act."
"As I have often written in the past, your holy sons and daughters will be inducted into the US army for several years; instead of their planned year of study in Eretz Yisrael. Your children will not be permitted to leave the US, even for a visit, from the age of 14 until 28."
"A limit will be placed on the amount of money you will be permitted to withdraw from the United States. Your personal liberties will be infringed upon, to the point that you will all feel caged in."
"On the other hand, the clever and prudent Jews who will leave in time, will find an Eretz Yisrael enjoying an ever increasing per capita income. A land blessed by HaShem, developing in all ways despite the many enemies who are daily frustrated in their attempts to harm us. A land that despite its problems, the satisfaction level of its citizens is among the highest in the world."
"A neighbor just returned from a visit to Brooklyn, New York. He describe the spread of Jewish "colonization" - both Sephardic and Ashkenasic - into the old Italian and Irish neighborhoods, where, as boys, we feared to tread."
"Yeshivot, Shuls, Shtieblich, and all the trappings of Jewish communal life now exist there."
"I can see what the future holds for my well intentioned brothers and sisters who remain there, but I can only cry for them."
"But not as much as our Father in Heaven is crying for them!"
Nachman Kahana
Now mind you, Rabbi Nachman Kahana, a big Torah scholar and the younger brother of Rabbi Meir Kahana who wrote and spoke very strongly about making Aliyah, moved to Israel ten years before Rabbi Meir Kahane. Reading the above, no doubt that he is privy to some crucial details, including the exact ages of the youngsters in the United States who will soon find themselves being trained to serve in the army FOR FOURTEEN YEARS! Yes my friends, G-d forbid, this will be similar to the Jews of over a hundred years ago who were forcibly conscripted into the Russian Army for 25 years until some time in their 40s, all during that time not being married.
Yes indeed, the strictest judgment of wasting fourteen years of Jewish lives without being allowed to even visit Israel! (NOTE: Even if Moshiach comes soon, it doesn't mean that all Jews will be allowed overnight to leave the country they live in. It is precisely during this time that the nations of the world will stupidly make their final attempt to fight us and Moshiach, knowing that this will be their last chance to fight us. This is precisely why it is crucial that ALL Jews who can physically move around get their act together, get the money for airfare in any legal means possible, including borrowing from credit cards, and run out of their respective countries, ESPECIALLY the United States, heading towards Israel. Remember, Moshiach will only take care of Jews who are living in Israel. Moving to Israel is YOUR part).
It was precisely during the NINETH plague of darkness of the 10 plagues that stroke the Egyptians that the Jews who didn't want to leave Egypt who died. While it seems from Rashi and other sources that they physically died, the question can be asked is that even if they died during the days of darkness when the Egyptians wouldn't have known then that some Jews died, wouldn't they have noticed the difference afterwards?
The truth is that I heard from the webowners of www.redemption5768.com that indeed, this was a spiritual death. Just as the Egyptians were smotten with a very thick darkness; so in the spiritual sense, so many Jews who prefered the Egyptian way of life despite the slavery involved as opposed to traveling to Israel were in the midst of spiritual darkness, blinding themselves to what they were supposed to realize as Jews that the exile is not our real place to live but only in Israel, and were thus left to stay in Egypt, eventually dying out as being part of the Jewish people.
Also on this very date of 24 Nissan 5770, the Tekufat Nissan according to the calculations of the Sage Shmuel in the Talmud, took place at 11:39 PM Jerusalem time.
As noted in a Midrash, each of the four Tekufot, or the beginning of the four seasons, is a time that represents some negative thing that took place on or in connection with that Tekufah/period. It was on Tekufat Nissan that Moses hit the rock to bring forth water instead of speaking to it as Hashem told him to do, the result of which was that Hashem did not allow Moses to enter Israel. Hence, it is mentioned in Halacha/Jewish Law not to drink water during this time of the beginning of each Tekufah. And as we know, water represents the aspect of Chesed/Kindness as opposed to fire that represents the aspect of Gevurah/Strict Judgment. What a combination of Gevurah that took place on this day, especially in this year. Wow!
AND NOW...
Here I am writing on the 44th day of the Sephira about the 44th president of the United States and the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem.
In Hebrew, the words for the number 44 is Arba'ah V'Arbaim, which literally means "four and forty". Now if you look in the Hebrew, these two words have a total of 12 letters. Out of these 12 letters, HALF of them will spell...Obama's family name using the letters Aleph Vav Beit Aleph Mem Hei - including the first and last letters of these two words! And it is on this day that the combinaton Sephira is Gevurah She'B'Malchut - "Strict Judgment within Kingship". Indeed, the ultimate revelaton of strict judgment as it relates to being "king", the leader of the world leading country as the FORTY FOURTH president of the United States!
As you will see in many Siddurim/prayer books that for each of the 49 days of the Sephirah, there is a corresponding letter taken from Psalms 67:5 consisting of 49 letters, BOTH the 9th day & the 44th day have the corresponding letter Noon, which equals 50. According to Obama's claims, he was supposedly born in Hawaii, which is the 50th and LAST state of the United States. What is perhaps even more interesting,
is that in his cover up for where he was REALLY born, there are conflicting reports based on what his own sister claims, that there is a discrepancy as to which one of two hospitals he was supposedly born in. But the ultimate significant thing here is that his smokescreen for his claim to the presidency as a "natural born citizen" is his claim of being born in Hawaii. He took the oath of office on January 20, 2009, in the midst of the FIFTIETH year from when Hawaii, the FIFTIETH state, became a state on August 21, 1959, where he falsely claims he was born in (when he was really born in Kenya).
Indeed, the word Tamei - spiritually impure, as mentioned earlier in reference to blood, is the Gematria of 50. As mentioned by our Rabbis, had the Jews remained in Egypt for even a moment longer, they would have been drawn into the FIFTIETH level of impurity from which it would have been spiritually impossible to ever get out of. Indeed, Obama - the reincarnate of Pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the Exodus, claims his TAMEI/impure - the Gematria of FIFTY - spiritual powers from his claims to birth in the FIFTIETH state. (No American President has yet to have been born in this state). And the fact that he really wasn't born there doesn't really matter - it's his claim of being born there that brought him to be the leader of the United States - plain and simple!
Yes, there is a connection of the number 69, the number of this post, to here. You see, in the Aramaic phrase of Sitra Achara/Other Side which is another name for SPIRITUAL IMPURITY, the first two letters of this phrase is Samech Teit, which is the number 69! And indeed, it was in the Hebrew year of 5769 ending with this number
that Obama got elected and took the oath of office. What is also significant here is that the phrase of Sitra Achara is in Aramaic. The Hebrew word for Aramaic is Aramai, similar to the word Ramai/trickster.
It is only now that many Jews who voted for Obama are beginning to realize that Obama indeed was nothing but a trickster, the very word that describes Laban, Jabob's father-in-law, whose name means WHITE, reminding one of the WHITE House, which is for the first time in United States history being run by someone who is black (though technically "half" black). Indeed, our Rabbis comment that Laban reached a new level of a spiritual low in the sense that until his days, people who committed sins at least didn't pretend that their sins were good, upright deeds until he came along and made sins look like white. In this way, Obama indeed can be said about his way of doing things as president is unlike what all the previous presidents of the United States did things. Yes, some of them did wrong things, but they didn't act in the clever way that Obama is behaving.
WHAT I SAW AT THE WESTERN WALL TODAY
In the entrance room left of the Western Wall, included there is the Tehillim/Book of Psalms on parchment that is guarded by glass, but can be rolled to anywhere within this Tehillim. I don't know how long it was left the way it was when I noticed it, but curious to see what it was on, I noticed that it basically was showing the 44th Psalm. While there is no why for me to know for sure why it rolled particularly on this Psalm, being that today was the beginning of the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem which included the Western Wall, a few minutes later, someone came and rolled it to another part of the Tehillim.
Psalm 44, as mentioned by commentaries, laments bitterly of this bitter exile, including mentioning of how we Jews used to have it very good and that we lost it, with a request that we will once again be returned to the state that we once had our virtual utopian existance. Yes, Jews in the United States who are presently under the dictatorship of the 44th president Barack Hussein Obama have to realize that they are indeed living in a bitter exile - spiritually, and soon to be proven physically; and if they want to live a better life, they need to return to Hashem, including returning to our long-awaited homeland, and then they can hope to be returned to the best life possible.
To note, this anniversary date of Yom Yerushalayim in this year fell out on the same day of the week as when the miraculous day took place - on Wednesday (4th day of the week). The Shir Shel Yom/Psalm for this day of the week is Psalm 94, which was the very last Psalm that the Levites in the First Temple sang, right before the Babylonian forces took control and burned the Temple on that day of Tisha B'Av. It it mentioned in Midrash Me'Am Loaz that had the Levites would have been able to have finished the Psalm, the Temple would not have been destroyed. But in any case, being that I mentioned earlier that Obama was politically born on Tisha B'Av, our Rabbis tell us that Hashem sends us the cure before the blow. Thus, it is significant that this 44th year from Jerusalem's liberation began first of all on the same day of the week as when the liberation took place; but also, it is this very psalm that the Levites almost finished when the Temple was destroyed that ends off with "May Hashem our G-d cut them off (our enemies)".
And as per what I wrote a little earlier about spiritual impurity, Obama's first political speech was his endorsement of then Democratic candidate John Kerry. As it turns out, the name Kerry in Hebrew - Koof Reish Yud - spells the very word related to sexual impurity! And speaking of Obama as the reincarnate of Pharaoh king of Egypt, the Torah tells us that the Egyptians were full of sexual perversions.
And as far as Bibi Netanyahu is concerned, who is more like a baby (Baby Bibi) showing a lack of trust in Hashem, lack of use of leadership skills and is afraid of what Obama and other world leaders will react to his ever slightest consent of construction even within confined areas in Jerusalem, will find at the end that it will all be in vein, and ALL the nations of the world, as predicted in the Bible, will not only cry bloody murder, they will come to perform bloody murder on us Jews, may G-d spare us the worst. And worst of all for Bibi, he will forever go down in history and in Gehinnom/Hell as one who endangered Jews in the name of politics, power, and money. Isn't it interesting that his nickname Bibi spells this year's secular year twice? In Hebrew, the number 2010 is spelled as Beit Yud, where the Beit assumes the Gematria of 2,000, as opposed to the usual value of the number two, and the Yud is 10, hence 2,010, which is repeated twice in his nickname. What this signifies is that to begin with, he lives a non-Jewish lifestyle of not keeping the Torah (though he does have a daughter from a previous marriage who is in fact living as an observant Jewess); and secondly, he shows major fear of the non-Jewish world who lives according to the Christian calendar which shows the number 2010 as the number of the secular year. And it is in THIS secular year in which he is showing this the most between fearing Obama more than ever and not doing anything in the offensive to prevent an attack from Iran when he is more afraid of what the world would say if Israel would attack first.
Let's hope that indeed, the conclusion of the "labor pains of the Messiah" will conclude in this Hebrew year of 5770, as Moses predicted as being the year of the end of the troubles of the Jewish people as hinted in the Talmudic Tractate of Berachot on the first Parsha of the Book of Exodus, as I wrote about in a previous blog a few months ago. And in the wording of the date of Tisha B'Av, it can be reread using the same letters as B'Av Hei Tav Shin Ayin - In Av (or 2 Av) 5770 (the word Tisha itself when rearranging this word spells this very year of 5770!) And as mentioned in Talmudic literature, Moshiach was born on the day that the Temple was destroyed. Meaning, that the potential of Moshiach coming even on the very day that the Temple was destroyed already existed. It is only up to us to start listening to what the Torah is telling us to do, and then we will have no reason to fear what the nations of the world will say or do.
In conclusion, I want to point out one more thing related to the 49 days of the Sephira. There is a another prayer that we say in connection to counting the Sephira - the famed Kabbalistic prayer called Ana B'Ko-ach. It consists of 42 words and after each phrase of six words, there is an acronym written in the Siddur/prayer book of each corresponding phrase. Hence, there are a total of 49 words/acronyms that correspond to the 49 Sephira days. Hence, the 44th day of the Sephira corresponds to the word Kabel/accept of the Ana B'Ko-ach prayer. This word is in the phrase that reads "ACCEPT our outcry and hear our screaming - the knower of hidden things". As it turns out, this word KABEL is the Gematria of 132, a multiple of 44 three times, or 44*3! Indeed, in this year, the number 44 displays itself three times simultaneously - the 44th day of the Sephira falls out on the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem, in the midst of the leadership of the 44th president of the world leading country.
While some Jews focus on the three middle letters of Jerusalem - U.S.A., the rest of us who will have trust in Hashem instead of Obama can indeed hope that Hashem will ACCEPT our outcry. Indeed, we are days away from the holiday of Shavuot - the day of KABBALAT HATORAH - our ACCEPTANCE & receiving of the Torah, which is the 50th day from Sephirat HaOmer, the Sephira count, which will counteract the spiritual impurity as implied by the word Tamei which is the Gematria of 50. Perhaps the all time irony about Obama is that he is misuing Hawaii - the 50th State - for his own purposes of being the president of the United States claiming that he was born there when he wasn't, wants to control Israel by forbidding Jews to build in their own capital city Jerusalem who have been its sole owners for a few thousand years. Jerusalem is in fact called Ir David, the city of King David - who was born and passed away on Shavuot - whose name in Hebrew is the Gematria of 14, and Noon which is the Gematria of 50 is the 14th letter of the Alef Beit. May Moshiach, a descendant of King David, soon reveal himself, and show that Hashem is the Ultimate Boss, Who will take us out of the impurities of exile, just like He took out of Egypt with a YAD(=14) Chazaka - "Strong HAND", and then we Jews will live once and for all in ALL of our Land of Israel.
G-d willing, I will be writing right before Shavuot of next week about the positive side of this year as related to the number...(you can guess what is next)
29 Iyar 5770, 44th day of the Sephira
But first, today was 43 years from the liberation of Jerusalem, which included the holiest area in the world - Temple Mount & Western Wall. I didn't quite have a chance to write about this earlier today, unlike last year when I wrote during the second half of the night of Yom Yerushalayim/Jerusalem Day and some time into the morning writing about this most special day. As it turned out, I have something to share with you that I noticed today when I visited the Western Wall in honor of Jerusalem Day that I can now write about pertaining to the number 44, which will be the main focus of tonight's blog.
As 43 years have passed since the miracles of that miraculous day of 28 Iyar 5727/1967, this date is the 43rd day of the Sephira. Last year, as you can check my blogpost for May 2009 - #29 - JERUSALEM: The END of Our Journey, I focused on the number 43, being that it was the beginning of the 43rd year from the original Jerusalem Day as the 43rd day of the Sephira. While I certainly will not repeat everything from that post, I will bring here only one paragraph to make a connection with something that I want to point out.
"In terms of the last week of the Sefira having a connection with the last day of the week - Shabbat, the Sefer Yetzira, a kabbalistic book describing how Hashem created the world using the letters of the Alef Beit, notes that there are seven letters - Beit, Gimmel, Dalet, Kaf, Pei, Reish & Tav that correspond to the seven days of the week. Thus, the letter Tav, also the last letter of the Alef Beit, corresponds to Shabbat. Now, if you recall in a previous blog where I wrote about the BIG letter Tav in the word VaTichtov - "Esther wrote" referring to the Megilla that Esther wrote to be read on Purim, you will see an intrinsic connection here of the letter Tav as it relates to both Purim, the holiday corresponding to the Sefira of Netzach according to the Vilna Gaon & (Yom) Yerushalayim which is Netzach according to the Talmud (In the Kedusha prayer for Shabbat morning, we ask Hashem when He will be "King in Zion...within Jerusalem Your city and for all eternity" - U'leNeitzach Netzachim). Thus, Tav is intrinsically related to the last week of the Sefira (Also, there are 49 letters in a verse in Psalms 67:5) that correspond to the 49 days of the Sefira. The 43rd letter of this verse is a Tav - corresponding to this 43rd day of the Sefira - Jerusalem Day!)"
The reason that I mention the above paragraph here is that indeed in this past year which was the 43rd year from the liberation of Jerusalem, I was liberated of my single status and married my wife, whose full Hebrew name Yael Miriam is the Gematria of the letter Tav - 400! And our personal connection in meeting each other in connection with Jerusalem is double. Firstly, I had prayers said on my behalf to find a Shidduch/marriage match at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Secondly, the one flyer about myself that I placed in the Old City of Jerusalem - when I placed almost 500 such flyers in another town - was the one flyer that caught my wife's attention when as a resident of another city in Israel, visited the area on the very next day when she saw that flyer, and it was four months after she made that first call that we were together under the Chupa. Indeed, in the LAST of the Sheva Berachot/SEVEN Blessings recited under the Chupa, it states "May we quickly hear in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, the voices of gladness, happiness, bridegroom and bride..."
And along these lines, this year's Jerusalem Day was the first Jerusalem Day being married. In fact, on Jerusalem Day last year, I didn't even know of my wife's existance. It would be three months before first meeting each other, and if I would have chosen to be a little more picky, I might have still been single today.
Before I graduate from the 43rd year of the liberation of Jerusalem, I want to make one more connection here, something that I was not able to write a year ago when I wrote my post on Jerusalem Day. The day after Jacob married first thinking that it was Rachel who was his bride when it was Leah, his father-in-law Laban told him to celebrate his first week of marriage, and then he could marry "ALSO this one (Rachel)" - GAM Et Zot. Now, when Leah gave birth to her second son Shimon, she declared that Hashem gave her "ALSO this one" - GAM Et Zeh. In both cases, the word
GAM (also) is used - one in reference to marriage and the other to the birth of Shimon, my namesake. And bearing in mind that the word GAM is the Gematria of 43, I got married in the 43rd year from the liberation of Jerusalem.
44 VERSUS 44
Now that it is the 44th President of the United States that is presently in office, and the United States is the country with the world power, it is the number 44 that is presently ruling the world. That is, there is a spiritual force that is controlling the world that is related to this number. And accordingly, we are now in the beginning days of the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem. And by the way, tonight as I am writing this blog is the 44th day of the Sephira.
While atheists and critics who mock spirituality in the "real world" can have a field day laughing at blogs such as mine; the recent months, weeks, and days have shown Obama to not only be working on preventing construction in Israel from taking place even in Jerusalem, but now almost half of United States Jews who voted for Obama feel that they were given a real ride here. (Imagine the Yetzer Harah/evil inclination here that still over HALF of the Jews who voted for Obama tell themselves that they made the right decision). Isn't it interesting that while previous presidents of the United States may have put pressure on Israel pertaining to other parts of the Holy Land, Obama is focusing much more of his energies that construction is not happening especially in Jerusalem. And he is very clever. You see, if Obama forbids Jews to build even in their own, holy capitol, because this will offend the Arabs, then certainly there is no reason to build elsewhere because it's questionable if it has as much rights as Jerusalem, where we used to have the Holy Temple.
I have mentioned in my blogs - only G-d knows how many times - about Obama being the Gog that is written about in Ezekiel 38 & 39 as hinted in the Hidden Codes of the Torah. However, as scary as this may be when you read this, what is what I believe that the scariest part of this war of Gog U'Magog is what is mentioned in the beginning of Zechariah 14, what is read as the Haftara on the 1st day of Succot.
"Behold, a day is coming for Hashem, when your spoils will be divided up in your midst. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for the war; the city will be captured, the houses will be pillaged and the women will be violated; half of the city will go out into exile..."
Why Jerusalem of all cities? Even if the Arabs don't want to accept Jerusalem in their Jerusalemless Korans, what about the other nations who are supposed to be practicing Christianity who should believe that the Jews would one day return to their homeland, especially Jerusalem, as written in any Bible or Old Testament?
My friends, when it comes to Anti-Semitism, there is NO LOGIC. Read what it says, "I (G-d) will gather ALL the nations to Jerusalem". Yes, G-d has a plan that
He will somehow have ALL the nations to be convinced that the Jews have no say or rights to live in Jerusalem. Yes, the Bible does not lie. Yes, may G-d lessen the tragedies that is written here, but...many of the Jews who live in Jerusalem will have their property taken away and divided among the fighting nations. Yes, homes will be barged into it and totally plundered, like the circumstances in the Holocaust. Yes, Jewish women - and the enemy won't care if they are "religious" women or not - will be raped. And no doubt is that if this a full scale war, very unfortunately, many Jews will die, may G-d spare us the worst. Yes, much bloodshed here.
By the way, I am presently not living in Jerusalem (like I used to live for two and a half years), and moving to Jerusalem is not in my wife's or my near future plans.
To come to think of it, even if I won the lottery today, I would only consider visiting Jerusalem like I did today. Even if I have work in Jerusalem, I know that I can always take the bus home if I hear impending signs of an upcoming war, but people who live there cannot just as easily put pick themselves up overnight and find an alternate place to live.
With this being said, I fear that this war fighing the Jews in Jerusalem will be taking place in this 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem which will be led by the 44th president of the United States. You see, in a war, two opposing nations always have something in common - their want or need to kill the other nation, which is full scale bloodshed.
OBAMA - REINCARNATE OF EGYPTIAN PHARAOH SMITTEN WITH THE TEN PLAGUES
This information connecting Obama with Egypt is taken from http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com for April 26, 2010, as a guestpost from Daniel S. I will just write here a few highlights.
The Zohar states that the Anti-Semitic leading world leaders of all time will come back as reincarnates in the generation of the redemption, only to be destroyed once and for all.
Just as it is known that Saddam Hussein who didn't spare his hatred for Jews,said that he was Nebuchadnezar who destroyed the First Temple, and at the end was hung; so too, there are very startling connections between Obama and the Pharaoh who ruled the Jews at the time of the Exodus.
*As recorded in Egyptian history, this Pharaoh (Akhenaten) ruled for four years up until the time of the Exodus - Obama is slated to be president for four years.
*There is a strong resemblance between the mummied recreation of Pharaoh's face and Obama's, as well as other family members of Pharaoh's in comparison to Obama's family members (see for yourself)
*Obama first spoke to the world from Cairo, Egypt. While there, he visited the city El Amarna that Pharaoh built following the drowning of the Egyptians in the Reed Sea of which Pharaoh was the sole survivor.
*Pharaoh's name is the Gematria of 355 plus the word itself making this 356. The name of Barack Obama in Hebrew is the Gematria of 356! (Note: This is taking into account that there is only one Aleph in Obama's name spelled in Hebrew - in other Gematria uses, Obama can have a second Aleph, but both spellings can be read identically the same).
BLOOD VS BLOOD
Now, why am I writing this? You see, Dam/Blood was the first of the ten plagues that Hashem spoke Egypt with for refusing to let the Jews leave the country. Now, DAM which can also mean bloodshed, is the Gematria of 44. And the first letters of the Hebrew names of the 10 plagues D"Tzach Adash B"Achab, as mentioned in the Haggadah, has the same Gematria as Barack Hussein Obama - 501! (This is where Obama's family name includes a second Aleph in the Hebrew spelling). Yes, Obama as the reincarnate of Pharaoh wants to take revenge on the Jews, who according to Rabbi Isaac Luria, the leading Kabbalist in the 1500s, are reincarnates in the generation of the redemption of the Jews of the Exodus. Obama's FIRST and primary objective of his 10 objectives corresponding to the 10 plagues that spote him when he was Pharaoh, corresponding to his first plague of DAM/blood, is to bring bloodshed to the Jews in Jerusalem for refusing to listen to him 100% of the way (Stop playing games, Bibi! Obama is not fooled by you playing on both sides of the fence!); and towards this end, as the leader of the world power country, he will order ALL of the nations - regardless of religion or non-religion - to come and fight us in our holy capitol - probably in OUR present 44th year celebrating Jerusalem's liberation.
There are two places in the Bible where the word DAM/blood is mentioned twice right next to each other. The first is in Deutronomy 17:8 "If a matter of judgment(in Jewish law) is hidden from you, between BLOOD AND BLOOD..." Rashi explains that this means between spritually impure blood and spiritually pure blood. The second is in II Chronicles 19:10 where Jehoshaphat, King of Judea, tells the Jewish Supreme Court (unlike today's unSupreme Court in Israel who make rulings against the Torah) in JERUSALEM, "Any case about which there is an argument that is presented to you from your brothers who live in the cities, whether it is between BLOOD AND BLOOD". In this instance, Rashi explains that this is referring to murder. How spooky!
WHAT HAPPENED FIVE WEEKS AGO?
On 24 Nissan, the 9th day of the Omer, I decided to stay home that day from work. Why? To begin with, this Hebrew year spelling the letters Hei Tav Shin Ayin can also read HaTeisha "The Nine". As mentioned in past posts of mine, nine is a number that signifies darkness, particularly as related to Tisha B'Av which is the 9th day of the month of Av that is represented kabbalistically by the letter Teit which is nine. And the 9th plague to smite the Egyptians was darkness. Indeed, Tisha B'Av is the darkest day in the Jewish calendar when some of the greatest tragedies occured to the Jewish people, including the destruction of both Temples. And as we know, there are nine months of pregnancy which concludes with birthpangs. Accordingly, the Chevlei Moshiach "birthpangs/labor pains of tbe Messiah" will take place right before Moshiach comes. In the Hidden Codes of the Torah, I discovered that this final process would begin on Succot 5770, this year of "THE NINE"!
Indeed, on the final day of Succot of this year, Obama who barely was president of the United States for several months, was elected to receive a Nobel peace prize. Logically, there is no logic to this. Most earn this after a long record of showing their peaceful capabilities. As Anti-Semitic as Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States, is, I would well understand if he would be elected for a peace
prize, even as part of earning it would be because he convinced Israel to give some of its land to Egypt. The only logic for Obama receiving this is that he was politically born on Tisha B'Av in 2004 when he made his first political speech when only a small fraction of the American public barely heard of him. Indeed, this is a true world of darkness.
Now understand the dynamics of the election of the peace prize for Barack Hussein Obama. Through this, he will automatically be viewed as someone who represents the essence of peace, and his word will now be infinitely more respected than ever. And if someone who is viewed as represents peace will tell the world to fight Israel for refusing his demands, then small wonder that ALL the nations will gather together to fight Israel.
With this being said, the 49 days of the Sephira are represented by corresponding 49 combinations of seven Sephirot/Divine Emanations. The NINETH day of the Sephira corresponds to the attribute of Gevurah She'B'Gevurah. Gevurah normally just means strength, but in this instance, it means more like strict judgment. Hence, it is strict judgment that is within strict judgment - which is in fact the strictest of the 49 combinations of the Sephirot.
In a normal year, I don't get all paranoid with this date. However, being that this date was in the year of "THE NINE" with all the negative connotations related to this number, I feared that G-d forbid something could happen to me, or at the very least not be successful with what I would want to accomplish in the way of work on that day.
Personally, I had a negative experience with this number in the beginning of this year. In the first post of this year of 5770, I wrote in detail about the number nine as related to this year in terms of the "labor pains of the Messiah", in reference to which I mentioned the date of 9 Tishrei - the 9th day of the Jewish year - as recorded in the Torah, the day before Yom Kippur. Well, it was during the earlier part of this night which was after Shabbat, I had unusual stomach cramps that made it difficult for me to walk home from the short distance that I was in this synagogue near home. Yes, I felt something like you would call "labor pains". Thank G-d, after a few hours in the midst of taking care of myself, I felt better, and during the day, I felt fine. Being that I have a very strong connection to numbers as you will read on the left side of the beginning of my blog page, I had a very personal experience related to the negativity as related to the number nine, especially as the date of the nineth of Tishrei is mentioned in the Torah. Speaking of which, on this 9th day of the Sephira, I found myself at one point with a very strong cold which sprang on me all of a sudden.
With this said about my personal experience, what about what took place in the world on this 9th day of the Sephira? There was a significant peace of news that indeed happened, in fact, it seemed like it was a good thing that happened. On this day, Obama and the leader of Russia jointly signed a document promising to reduce their respective nuclear arms. And indeed, the Bible does fortell of the time when the nations will stop fighting each other. But, I knew in my heart that there was some sort of tradeoff.
My friends, I think Rabbi Nachman Kahana, brother of murdered Rabbi Meir Kahana, HY"D, may G-d avenge his blood, explained it best. Again referring to http://shiratdevorah.blogspot.com, I will have the following copied verbatim, so you will feel the full brunt of what REALLY happened on this day that will serve to be a MAJOR negative force against Jews in the United States.
"In our time, we are again witness to the phenomena whereby HaShem plucks out an unknown personality from "nowhere", and catapults him to the highest position in his land."
"Barack Chussein Obama, whose place of birth is unclear, whose time of study at Columbia University is not recorded in the records of the institution, whose years at Harvard are cloudy - now sits in the Oval Office of the President of the United States. On the 10th of September 2001, if someone would have suggested that a black man with Moslem leanings, who attended the church of a masochistic self-hating pastor, would be the United States’ next president, he would have been considered to be mad."
"And yet it has happened. The hand of God has plucked out this man from nowhere in order to set the next stage for the world’s change of gear in its bumpy ride towards the future."
"It will be a ride where the passengers will witness the United States as the leader of the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic peoples of the world."
"I am not sure if the correct description of the Jews’ situation in America is the slow closing of a window or the quick descent of the guillotine, but with every passing day their situation is more precarious, without their being aware of the shifts."
"The American President and his administration have voiced their intention to reduce the United States’ dependence on nuclear weapons in favor of increasing their conventional weapons option. This will, by necessity, require enlarging army manpower through re-enacting the Selective Service Act."
"As I have often written in the past, your holy sons and daughters will be inducted into the US army for several years; instead of their planned year of study in Eretz Yisrael. Your children will not be permitted to leave the US, even for a visit, from the age of 14 until 28."
"A limit will be placed on the amount of money you will be permitted to withdraw from the United States. Your personal liberties will be infringed upon, to the point that you will all feel caged in."
"On the other hand, the clever and prudent Jews who will leave in time, will find an Eretz Yisrael enjoying an ever increasing per capita income. A land blessed by HaShem, developing in all ways despite the many enemies who are daily frustrated in their attempts to harm us. A land that despite its problems, the satisfaction level of its citizens is among the highest in the world."
"A neighbor just returned from a visit to Brooklyn, New York. He describe the spread of Jewish "colonization" - both Sephardic and Ashkenasic - into the old Italian and Irish neighborhoods, where, as boys, we feared to tread."
"Yeshivot, Shuls, Shtieblich, and all the trappings of Jewish communal life now exist there."
"I can see what the future holds for my well intentioned brothers and sisters who remain there, but I can only cry for them."
"But not as much as our Father in Heaven is crying for them!"
Nachman Kahana
Now mind you, Rabbi Nachman Kahana, a big Torah scholar and the younger brother of Rabbi Meir Kahana who wrote and spoke very strongly about making Aliyah, moved to Israel ten years before Rabbi Meir Kahane. Reading the above, no doubt that he is privy to some crucial details, including the exact ages of the youngsters in the United States who will soon find themselves being trained to serve in the army FOR FOURTEEN YEARS! Yes my friends, G-d forbid, this will be similar to the Jews of over a hundred years ago who were forcibly conscripted into the Russian Army for 25 years until some time in their 40s, all during that time not being married.
Yes indeed, the strictest judgment of wasting fourteen years of Jewish lives without being allowed to even visit Israel! (NOTE: Even if Moshiach comes soon, it doesn't mean that all Jews will be allowed overnight to leave the country they live in. It is precisely during this time that the nations of the world will stupidly make their final attempt to fight us and Moshiach, knowing that this will be their last chance to fight us. This is precisely why it is crucial that ALL Jews who can physically move around get their act together, get the money for airfare in any legal means possible, including borrowing from credit cards, and run out of their respective countries, ESPECIALLY the United States, heading towards Israel. Remember, Moshiach will only take care of Jews who are living in Israel. Moving to Israel is YOUR part).
It was precisely during the NINETH plague of darkness of the 10 plagues that stroke the Egyptians that the Jews who didn't want to leave Egypt who died. While it seems from Rashi and other sources that they physically died, the question can be asked is that even if they died during the days of darkness when the Egyptians wouldn't have known then that some Jews died, wouldn't they have noticed the difference afterwards?
The truth is that I heard from the webowners of www.redemption5768.com that indeed, this was a spiritual death. Just as the Egyptians were smotten with a very thick darkness; so in the spiritual sense, so many Jews who prefered the Egyptian way of life despite the slavery involved as opposed to traveling to Israel were in the midst of spiritual darkness, blinding themselves to what they were supposed to realize as Jews that the exile is not our real place to live but only in Israel, and were thus left to stay in Egypt, eventually dying out as being part of the Jewish people.
Also on this very date of 24 Nissan 5770, the Tekufat Nissan according to the calculations of the Sage Shmuel in the Talmud, took place at 11:39 PM Jerusalem time.
As noted in a Midrash, each of the four Tekufot, or the beginning of the four seasons, is a time that represents some negative thing that took place on or in connection with that Tekufah/period. It was on Tekufat Nissan that Moses hit the rock to bring forth water instead of speaking to it as Hashem told him to do, the result of which was that Hashem did not allow Moses to enter Israel. Hence, it is mentioned in Halacha/Jewish Law not to drink water during this time of the beginning of each Tekufah. And as we know, water represents the aspect of Chesed/Kindness as opposed to fire that represents the aspect of Gevurah/Strict Judgment. What a combination of Gevurah that took place on this day, especially in this year. Wow!
AND NOW...
Here I am writing on the 44th day of the Sephira about the 44th president of the United States and the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem.
In Hebrew, the words for the number 44 is Arba'ah V'Arbaim, which literally means "four and forty". Now if you look in the Hebrew, these two words have a total of 12 letters. Out of these 12 letters, HALF of them will spell...Obama's family name using the letters Aleph Vav Beit Aleph Mem Hei - including the first and last letters of these two words! And it is on this day that the combinaton Sephira is Gevurah She'B'Malchut - "Strict Judgment within Kingship". Indeed, the ultimate revelaton of strict judgment as it relates to being "king", the leader of the world leading country as the FORTY FOURTH president of the United States!
As you will see in many Siddurim/prayer books that for each of the 49 days of the Sephirah, there is a corresponding letter taken from Psalms 67:5 consisting of 49 letters, BOTH the 9th day & the 44th day have the corresponding letter Noon, which equals 50. According to Obama's claims, he was supposedly born in Hawaii, which is the 50th and LAST state of the United States. What is perhaps even more interesting,
is that in his cover up for where he was REALLY born, there are conflicting reports based on what his own sister claims, that there is a discrepancy as to which one of two hospitals he was supposedly born in. But the ultimate significant thing here is that his smokescreen for his claim to the presidency as a "natural born citizen" is his claim of being born in Hawaii. He took the oath of office on January 20, 2009, in the midst of the FIFTIETH year from when Hawaii, the FIFTIETH state, became a state on August 21, 1959, where he falsely claims he was born in (when he was really born in Kenya).
Indeed, the word Tamei - spiritually impure, as mentioned earlier in reference to blood, is the Gematria of 50. As mentioned by our Rabbis, had the Jews remained in Egypt for even a moment longer, they would have been drawn into the FIFTIETH level of impurity from which it would have been spiritually impossible to ever get out of. Indeed, Obama - the reincarnate of Pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the Exodus, claims his TAMEI/impure - the Gematria of FIFTY - spiritual powers from his claims to birth in the FIFTIETH state. (No American President has yet to have been born in this state). And the fact that he really wasn't born there doesn't really matter - it's his claim of being born there that brought him to be the leader of the United States - plain and simple!
Yes, there is a connection of the number 69, the number of this post, to here. You see, in the Aramaic phrase of Sitra Achara/Other Side which is another name for SPIRITUAL IMPURITY, the first two letters of this phrase is Samech Teit, which is the number 69! And indeed, it was in the Hebrew year of 5769 ending with this number
that Obama got elected and took the oath of office. What is also significant here is that the phrase of Sitra Achara is in Aramaic. The Hebrew word for Aramaic is Aramai, similar to the word Ramai/trickster.
It is only now that many Jews who voted for Obama are beginning to realize that Obama indeed was nothing but a trickster, the very word that describes Laban, Jabob's father-in-law, whose name means WHITE, reminding one of the WHITE House, which is for the first time in United States history being run by someone who is black (though technically "half" black). Indeed, our Rabbis comment that Laban reached a new level of a spiritual low in the sense that until his days, people who committed sins at least didn't pretend that their sins were good, upright deeds until he came along and made sins look like white. In this way, Obama indeed can be said about his way of doing things as president is unlike what all the previous presidents of the United States did things. Yes, some of them did wrong things, but they didn't act in the clever way that Obama is behaving.
WHAT I SAW AT THE WESTERN WALL TODAY
In the entrance room left of the Western Wall, included there is the Tehillim/Book of Psalms on parchment that is guarded by glass, but can be rolled to anywhere within this Tehillim. I don't know how long it was left the way it was when I noticed it, but curious to see what it was on, I noticed that it basically was showing the 44th Psalm. While there is no why for me to know for sure why it rolled particularly on this Psalm, being that today was the beginning of the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem which included the Western Wall, a few minutes later, someone came and rolled it to another part of the Tehillim.
Psalm 44, as mentioned by commentaries, laments bitterly of this bitter exile, including mentioning of how we Jews used to have it very good and that we lost it, with a request that we will once again be returned to the state that we once had our virtual utopian existance. Yes, Jews in the United States who are presently under the dictatorship of the 44th president Barack Hussein Obama have to realize that they are indeed living in a bitter exile - spiritually, and soon to be proven physically; and if they want to live a better life, they need to return to Hashem, including returning to our long-awaited homeland, and then they can hope to be returned to the best life possible.
To note, this anniversary date of Yom Yerushalayim in this year fell out on the same day of the week as when the miraculous day took place - on Wednesday (4th day of the week). The Shir Shel Yom/Psalm for this day of the week is Psalm 94, which was the very last Psalm that the Levites in the First Temple sang, right before the Babylonian forces took control and burned the Temple on that day of Tisha B'Av. It it mentioned in Midrash Me'Am Loaz that had the Levites would have been able to have finished the Psalm, the Temple would not have been destroyed. But in any case, being that I mentioned earlier that Obama was politically born on Tisha B'Av, our Rabbis tell us that Hashem sends us the cure before the blow. Thus, it is significant that this 44th year from Jerusalem's liberation began first of all on the same day of the week as when the liberation took place; but also, it is this very psalm that the Levites almost finished when the Temple was destroyed that ends off with "May Hashem our G-d cut them off (our enemies)".
And as per what I wrote a little earlier about spiritual impurity, Obama's first political speech was his endorsement of then Democratic candidate John Kerry. As it turns out, the name Kerry in Hebrew - Koof Reish Yud - spells the very word related to sexual impurity! And speaking of Obama as the reincarnate of Pharaoh king of Egypt, the Torah tells us that the Egyptians were full of sexual perversions.
And as far as Bibi Netanyahu is concerned, who is more like a baby (Baby Bibi) showing a lack of trust in Hashem, lack of use of leadership skills and is afraid of what Obama and other world leaders will react to his ever slightest consent of construction even within confined areas in Jerusalem, will find at the end that it will all be in vein, and ALL the nations of the world, as predicted in the Bible, will not only cry bloody murder, they will come to perform bloody murder on us Jews, may G-d spare us the worst. And worst of all for Bibi, he will forever go down in history and in Gehinnom/Hell as one who endangered Jews in the name of politics, power, and money. Isn't it interesting that his nickname Bibi spells this year's secular year twice? In Hebrew, the number 2010 is spelled as Beit Yud, where the Beit assumes the Gematria of 2,000, as opposed to the usual value of the number two, and the Yud is 10, hence 2,010, which is repeated twice in his nickname. What this signifies is that to begin with, he lives a non-Jewish lifestyle of not keeping the Torah (though he does have a daughter from a previous marriage who is in fact living as an observant Jewess); and secondly, he shows major fear of the non-Jewish world who lives according to the Christian calendar which shows the number 2010 as the number of the secular year. And it is in THIS secular year in which he is showing this the most between fearing Obama more than ever and not doing anything in the offensive to prevent an attack from Iran when he is more afraid of what the world would say if Israel would attack first.
Let's hope that indeed, the conclusion of the "labor pains of the Messiah" will conclude in this Hebrew year of 5770, as Moses predicted as being the year of the end of the troubles of the Jewish people as hinted in the Talmudic Tractate of Berachot on the first Parsha of the Book of Exodus, as I wrote about in a previous blog a few months ago. And in the wording of the date of Tisha B'Av, it can be reread using the same letters as B'Av Hei Tav Shin Ayin - In Av (or 2 Av) 5770 (the word Tisha itself when rearranging this word spells this very year of 5770!) And as mentioned in Talmudic literature, Moshiach was born on the day that the Temple was destroyed. Meaning, that the potential of Moshiach coming even on the very day that the Temple was destroyed already existed. It is only up to us to start listening to what the Torah is telling us to do, and then we will have no reason to fear what the nations of the world will say or do.
In conclusion, I want to point out one more thing related to the 49 days of the Sephira. There is a another prayer that we say in connection to counting the Sephira - the famed Kabbalistic prayer called Ana B'Ko-ach. It consists of 42 words and after each phrase of six words, there is an acronym written in the Siddur/prayer book of each corresponding phrase. Hence, there are a total of 49 words/acronyms that correspond to the 49 Sephira days. Hence, the 44th day of the Sephira corresponds to the word Kabel/accept of the Ana B'Ko-ach prayer. This word is in the phrase that reads "ACCEPT our outcry and hear our screaming - the knower of hidden things". As it turns out, this word KABEL is the Gematria of 132, a multiple of 44 three times, or 44*3! Indeed, in this year, the number 44 displays itself three times simultaneously - the 44th day of the Sephira falls out on the 44th year from the liberation of Jerusalem, in the midst of the leadership of the 44th president of the world leading country.
While some Jews focus on the three middle letters of Jerusalem - U.S.A., the rest of us who will have trust in Hashem instead of Obama can indeed hope that Hashem will ACCEPT our outcry. Indeed, we are days away from the holiday of Shavuot - the day of KABBALAT HATORAH - our ACCEPTANCE & receiving of the Torah, which is the 50th day from Sephirat HaOmer, the Sephira count, which will counteract the spiritual impurity as implied by the word Tamei which is the Gematria of 50. Perhaps the all time irony about Obama is that he is misuing Hawaii - the 50th State - for his own purposes of being the president of the United States claiming that he was born there when he wasn't, wants to control Israel by forbidding Jews to build in their own capital city Jerusalem who have been its sole owners for a few thousand years. Jerusalem is in fact called Ir David, the city of King David - who was born and passed away on Shavuot - whose name in Hebrew is the Gematria of 14, and Noon which is the Gematria of 50 is the 14th letter of the Alef Beit. May Moshiach, a descendant of King David, soon reveal himself, and show that Hashem is the Ultimate Boss, Who will take us out of the impurities of exile, just like He took out of Egypt with a YAD(=14) Chazaka - "Strong HAND", and then we Jews will live once and for all in ALL of our Land of Israel.
G-d willing, I will be writing right before Shavuot of next week about the positive side of this year as related to the number...(you can guess what is next)
29 Iyar 5770, 44th day of the Sephira
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
#68 - SECOND Chance at LIFE
In the second year of the Jews having left Egypt, in the month of Nissan, Moses was instructed by Hashem to tell the Jews to commemorate the first anniversary of the Exodus with the Pascal lamb as they had done right before the Exodus took place.
Following Moses' relating Hashem's instructions, there was a group of people who told Moses that they were not able to bring the Pascal lamb on time with the slaughter of it on the 14th of Nissan since they were impure due to contact with the dead; and hence, as it is forbidden for an impure person to bring sacrifices in the Temple or eat of their meat, they would not qualify in time to bring the Pascal sacrifice. Of course they knew that they would have no sin for not being able to participate along with the rest of the Jewish nation. However, they felt that they would be left out of performing this Mitzvah that most of the other Jews would be able to perform.
As Moses had no answer for them, he turned to Hashem, Who replied that indeed, these Jews who were presently contaminated with the dead would have a chance to offer the Pascal sacrifice - one month later with the slaughter of it on the 14th of Iyar. This would be the option in future years for those who were impure with whatever type of impurity from which they would not be able to get rid of in time or were too far from the Temple in the morning of the 14th of Nissan to arrive in time to bring the sacrifice.
The above is what makes up the section of the Torah in Numbers 9:1-14. But perhaps more than what is amazing that a holiday can be officially celebrated a month after the holiday has passed, is the fact that is seems that the only reason why there is such a concept as bringing up this make-up sacrifice that we call Pesach Sheni -
"Second Passover Sacrifice" is because of a small amount of Jews who felt that as a result of their impurity disqualifying them from being able to bring the Pascal sacrifice that they would be left out, that it was specifically because of them that Hashem added a whole section in the Torah, which encompasses four Mitzvot/Commandments of the 613 Mitzvot pertaining to this Pesach Sheni sacrifice.
Today is 14 Iyar, the anniversary of the date that the make-up Pascal sacrifice was slaughtered, and then eaten at night; the same way that the Pascal sacrifice in Nissan is brought - slaughter of the lamb on the day of the 14th, and eaten on the night of the 15th. While we have yet to bring the first sacrifice since the day that the Temple was destroyed nearly two thousand years ago; the Torah as an instruction guide, hence called Torah from the word Hora'ah/Instruction, has what to teach us from this whole concept of the Pesach Sheni.
As evident from here, you do not necessarily need to be a big Torah scholar or saint to have a positive, spiritual effect on others. Sometimes, it is precisely those who have some type of physical or spiritual disability who can make a difference precisely because of their disability. This is part of Hashem's overall plan of preparing something for everyone's benefit, and all of us have a chance in our own set of background and circumstances to make our unique, individual contribution.
Especially in these days when so many Jews have been brought back to the Jewish faith, it is often many of these Jews who are labeled as "Ba'alei Teshuva" - which basically means to some who have always been observant Jews that these are Jews who weren't always religious are now religious - who have made significant contributions to Judaism due to their professional careers and experience, and having been well colleged educated. While they may have had some exposure to some ideas that oppose Torah, they also have picked up concepts and ideas that relate to their profession that have helped Jews immensely, such as in psychology, health, marital issues, etc.
Anyways, why is it specifically Passover that there is this concept of "making it up"
as evident by the fact that the name of the sacrifice is called Pesach, just as the name of the holiday? Why don't any of the other Jewish holidays include this concept?
Passover marks the physical birth of the Jewish nation. What this means is that it was the first time since Jacob and his children and grandchildren came together to Egypt that the Jews were together as a nation which was a few million people. Now that the Jews were all together having left the womb of Egypt, they would be able to grow spiritually without the hindrance of physical and spritual slavery. It was the Pascal sacrifice that signified the birth of the Jewish nation.
One of the many Mitzvot that relate to the Exodus is Pidyon HaBen/the redemption of the firstborn by handing over five silver coins to a Cohen. This was to commemorate how Hashem saved the firstborn Jews from death when He smote dead the Egyptian firstborn. In any case, the Mitzva is performed only from the 31st day of the baby's life. Why? According to Jewish law, it is uncertain that the newborn baby will life, for after all, there are times, G-d forbid, that they may have complications that indicate that the baby may die. However, it is assumed that if the baby has lived for one month, that this baby has the status of a Ben Kayama/a being that is able to live.
Hence, why the make-up Passover sacrifice was performed only a month after the date of the anniversary of the Exodus, as the 14th & 15th of Iyar have no special significance otherwise, is that it represents the fact that the Jewish people have now shown that they could indeed exist as a nation after the challenges of Egyptian life - even before the Torah was given (though the first time that the Pesach Sheni sacrifice was brought was a year later). In fact, it was after a month that Hashem started raining down the manna that the Jews would subsequently eat until after the
1st day of Passover following their entry in Israel forty years later. As Rashi notes, the Matza that the Jews took with them from Egypt lasted until after the evening of the 15th of Iyar. From henceforth, Hashem arranged for them to continue their spiritual sustenance via the manna until they were ready to start eating from the produce of the Holy Land.
I should note that the very end of the Talmudic Tractate of Pesachim which is all about the holiday of Passover deals with the Berachot/blessings recited at the Pidyon HaBen ceremony. Perhaps the final message of this Talmudic tractate is that no matter how far we stray from Judaism, there is hope for us just like the concept of the Pesach Sheni, even though it is one month after the date of the real Passover, the same way that the Pidyon HaBen is performed one month after the baby is born. And as the baby is now termed a Ben Kayama - a being that is able to live, so too, we can always repent so long as Hashem grants us the breath of life, and we are able to use our mind to think.
Speaking of life, this is my 68th post, and Chayim/life is the Gematria of 68. For many, after a close call in their life - physically or spiritually (see the beginning of my last post) - they change over as a new leaf. Some may have messed up in life like marrying when not quite prepared in life to face the challenges in married life or didn't spend adequate time beforehand to see if one's mate would be good for oneself. Others may have been given a spiritual ride in the negative sense such as being enticed to be baptized or spending time at an ashram in India. While people in these circumstances may feel that now it is too late for them to have a second chance in life to get back on track, with some effort with the help of others,
and certainly help from Hashem, one can hope to have that second chance in life. Perhaps they will be at an older age than many others when it comes to marrying for good the second time around, or joining the fold of Judaism; but as we all know, better late than never. But on a more positive spin, it is precisely sometimes these type of people who messed up earlier in life who can have a positive effect on others who are going through troubled times in their life.
As the verse states U'Bacharta B'Chayim "You shall choose life" (Deutronomy 30:19). The Torah leading up to this tell us that we have the choice of life and death, the blessing and the curse. Why it may seem self evident to some that of course we should choose life, including spiritual life; there are unfortunately many others who have their own concept of what spiritual life is about. That is precisely why the Torah has to tell us to choose life - a life that will ensure the existance of our descendants as this verse concludes.
You see, a life without Judaism, G-d forbid, ends with that person who chose to live life the way that he or she imagines as a "Jewish lifestyle" such as "kosher style" food which give no long term meaning to living as a Jew. This does not prevent Jews from marrying out of the faith should they wish. After all, the nice Shiktza girl doesn't hate Jews (or so it seems) and will even sit down to a Passover Seder. But...the next generation has been shut out of Judaism or is not Jewish to begin with to be able to continue the chain that was unbroken for thousands of years. Without following the Torah manual of how the Torah is meant to be kept, there is no guarantee that Judaism will be kept alive in the next generation. Sure, there are individuals from non-observant homes who become observant, and individuals from observant homes who choose the carefree non-observant lifestyle; but as a rule, if we follow the rules, this will continue on with the coming generations to come.
To note, it was specifically the Jews who were impure from contact with the dead who approached Moses about their disappointment of being left out of bringing the Passover sacrifice. The siginficance of this kind of impurity, though having other types of impurity were also able to prevent one from bringing the Passover sacrifice, is that the concept of impurity of the dead represents the fact that once one no longer lives, he no longer serves a function in this world, and hence, there is a sort of spiritual impurity that the dead person gives to others.
In living terms, one either serves Hashem or does something that goes against serving Hashem. So long as one chooses the correct path of spritual life, he or she can have a positive, spiritual effect on others. However, by not observing this type of lifestyle; it's not simply that one chooses not to live a nice observant Jewish way of life - this person chooses to live an impure, spiritual type of life that can be very negative on others' spiritual wellbeing. There are indeed some Jews who aren't observant, who don't keep Shabbat, Kashrut or the laws of family purity who are truly good people in the sense that they want to be nice to everyone and aren't even prejudiced against observant Jews, and want to help Israel. The sad thing about some of these people is that indeed if they would have been shown the beauty of Judaism, especially in their younger years, many of them would have indeed took up on the offer. However, in spiritual terms, Judaism simply cannot remain among their future descendants if they don't have that Jewish pride and sense to stay married within the Jewish fold and at least give their children some sort of Jewish education that will at least raise a spark in some of them to want to grow more in Judaism. Once there is a want and need for spiritual improvement, such as the want of the Jews with the spiritual impurity of the dead who felt that there would be something missing from their spirituality if they wouldn't bring the Passover sacrifice, then there is at least hope that the torch of Judaism will continue in the coming generations.
As a tidbit to conclude this, the final word of the section of the Torah about the Pesach Sheni is Ha'aretz/the land. This is twice the Gematria of the word Pesach - 148*2=296, which hints to the Pesach Sheni, the second Passover sacrifice that is the subject of this portion of the Torah. As long as we are living on the land, which is Planet Earth, there is hope for us to repent and live a better spiritual Torah way of life, because once we pass away, we have no more opportunity to do so. Many are fortunate that Hashem allowed them to continue living despite having had a physical danger that could have snatched their life in a fraction of a second, such as a car accident, or shot point blank. And just as we praise Hashem at the Seder for all the miracles that He performed for us Jews to facilitate our exit from Egypt and our journey towards Israel, so should we thank Hashem everyday for giving up another opportunity to come closer to Him. In relating to other people, just as Hashem constantly does kindnesses to us - the biggest kindness allowing us to live one more day to have one more chance to earn eternal life in the world to come - so should we reciprocate to other people everyday in some way to have a positive compact on others, and in this way, we will bit by bit be able to bring other Jews closer to the fold of Judaism, so they too will not be left out from the spiritual benefits that observant Jews have.
14 Iyar 5770, Pesach Sheni
Following Moses' relating Hashem's instructions, there was a group of people who told Moses that they were not able to bring the Pascal lamb on time with the slaughter of it on the 14th of Nissan since they were impure due to contact with the dead; and hence, as it is forbidden for an impure person to bring sacrifices in the Temple or eat of their meat, they would not qualify in time to bring the Pascal sacrifice. Of course they knew that they would have no sin for not being able to participate along with the rest of the Jewish nation. However, they felt that they would be left out of performing this Mitzvah that most of the other Jews would be able to perform.
As Moses had no answer for them, he turned to Hashem, Who replied that indeed, these Jews who were presently contaminated with the dead would have a chance to offer the Pascal sacrifice - one month later with the slaughter of it on the 14th of Iyar. This would be the option in future years for those who were impure with whatever type of impurity from which they would not be able to get rid of in time or were too far from the Temple in the morning of the 14th of Nissan to arrive in time to bring the sacrifice.
The above is what makes up the section of the Torah in Numbers 9:1-14. But perhaps more than what is amazing that a holiday can be officially celebrated a month after the holiday has passed, is the fact that is seems that the only reason why there is such a concept as bringing up this make-up sacrifice that we call Pesach Sheni -
"Second Passover Sacrifice" is because of a small amount of Jews who felt that as a result of their impurity disqualifying them from being able to bring the Pascal sacrifice that they would be left out, that it was specifically because of them that Hashem added a whole section in the Torah, which encompasses four Mitzvot/Commandments of the 613 Mitzvot pertaining to this Pesach Sheni sacrifice.
Today is 14 Iyar, the anniversary of the date that the make-up Pascal sacrifice was slaughtered, and then eaten at night; the same way that the Pascal sacrifice in Nissan is brought - slaughter of the lamb on the day of the 14th, and eaten on the night of the 15th. While we have yet to bring the first sacrifice since the day that the Temple was destroyed nearly two thousand years ago; the Torah as an instruction guide, hence called Torah from the word Hora'ah/Instruction, has what to teach us from this whole concept of the Pesach Sheni.
As evident from here, you do not necessarily need to be a big Torah scholar or saint to have a positive, spiritual effect on others. Sometimes, it is precisely those who have some type of physical or spiritual disability who can make a difference precisely because of their disability. This is part of Hashem's overall plan of preparing something for everyone's benefit, and all of us have a chance in our own set of background and circumstances to make our unique, individual contribution.
Especially in these days when so many Jews have been brought back to the Jewish faith, it is often many of these Jews who are labeled as "Ba'alei Teshuva" - which basically means to some who have always been observant Jews that these are Jews who weren't always religious are now religious - who have made significant contributions to Judaism due to their professional careers and experience, and having been well colleged educated. While they may have had some exposure to some ideas that oppose Torah, they also have picked up concepts and ideas that relate to their profession that have helped Jews immensely, such as in psychology, health, marital issues, etc.
Anyways, why is it specifically Passover that there is this concept of "making it up"
as evident by the fact that the name of the sacrifice is called Pesach, just as the name of the holiday? Why don't any of the other Jewish holidays include this concept?
Passover marks the physical birth of the Jewish nation. What this means is that it was the first time since Jacob and his children and grandchildren came together to Egypt that the Jews were together as a nation which was a few million people. Now that the Jews were all together having left the womb of Egypt, they would be able to grow spiritually without the hindrance of physical and spritual slavery. It was the Pascal sacrifice that signified the birth of the Jewish nation.
One of the many Mitzvot that relate to the Exodus is Pidyon HaBen/the redemption of the firstborn by handing over five silver coins to a Cohen. This was to commemorate how Hashem saved the firstborn Jews from death when He smote dead the Egyptian firstborn. In any case, the Mitzva is performed only from the 31st day of the baby's life. Why? According to Jewish law, it is uncertain that the newborn baby will life, for after all, there are times, G-d forbid, that they may have complications that indicate that the baby may die. However, it is assumed that if the baby has lived for one month, that this baby has the status of a Ben Kayama/a being that is able to live.
Hence, why the make-up Passover sacrifice was performed only a month after the date of the anniversary of the Exodus, as the 14th & 15th of Iyar have no special significance otherwise, is that it represents the fact that the Jewish people have now shown that they could indeed exist as a nation after the challenges of Egyptian life - even before the Torah was given (though the first time that the Pesach Sheni sacrifice was brought was a year later). In fact, it was after a month that Hashem started raining down the manna that the Jews would subsequently eat until after the
1st day of Passover following their entry in Israel forty years later. As Rashi notes, the Matza that the Jews took with them from Egypt lasted until after the evening of the 15th of Iyar. From henceforth, Hashem arranged for them to continue their spiritual sustenance via the manna until they were ready to start eating from the produce of the Holy Land.
I should note that the very end of the Talmudic Tractate of Pesachim which is all about the holiday of Passover deals with the Berachot/blessings recited at the Pidyon HaBen ceremony. Perhaps the final message of this Talmudic tractate is that no matter how far we stray from Judaism, there is hope for us just like the concept of the Pesach Sheni, even though it is one month after the date of the real Passover, the same way that the Pidyon HaBen is performed one month after the baby is born. And as the baby is now termed a Ben Kayama - a being that is able to live, so too, we can always repent so long as Hashem grants us the breath of life, and we are able to use our mind to think.
Speaking of life, this is my 68th post, and Chayim/life is the Gematria of 68. For many, after a close call in their life - physically or spiritually (see the beginning of my last post) - they change over as a new leaf. Some may have messed up in life like marrying when not quite prepared in life to face the challenges in married life or didn't spend adequate time beforehand to see if one's mate would be good for oneself. Others may have been given a spiritual ride in the negative sense such as being enticed to be baptized or spending time at an ashram in India. While people in these circumstances may feel that now it is too late for them to have a second chance in life to get back on track, with some effort with the help of others,
and certainly help from Hashem, one can hope to have that second chance in life. Perhaps they will be at an older age than many others when it comes to marrying for good the second time around, or joining the fold of Judaism; but as we all know, better late than never. But on a more positive spin, it is precisely sometimes these type of people who messed up earlier in life who can have a positive effect on others who are going through troubled times in their life.
As the verse states U'Bacharta B'Chayim "You shall choose life" (Deutronomy 30:19). The Torah leading up to this tell us that we have the choice of life and death, the blessing and the curse. Why it may seem self evident to some that of course we should choose life, including spiritual life; there are unfortunately many others who have their own concept of what spiritual life is about. That is precisely why the Torah has to tell us to choose life - a life that will ensure the existance of our descendants as this verse concludes.
You see, a life without Judaism, G-d forbid, ends with that person who chose to live life the way that he or she imagines as a "Jewish lifestyle" such as "kosher style" food which give no long term meaning to living as a Jew. This does not prevent Jews from marrying out of the faith should they wish. After all, the nice Shiktza girl doesn't hate Jews (or so it seems) and will even sit down to a Passover Seder. But...the next generation has been shut out of Judaism or is not Jewish to begin with to be able to continue the chain that was unbroken for thousands of years. Without following the Torah manual of how the Torah is meant to be kept, there is no guarantee that Judaism will be kept alive in the next generation. Sure, there are individuals from non-observant homes who become observant, and individuals from observant homes who choose the carefree non-observant lifestyle; but as a rule, if we follow the rules, this will continue on with the coming generations to come.
To note, it was specifically the Jews who were impure from contact with the dead who approached Moses about their disappointment of being left out of bringing the Passover sacrifice. The siginficance of this kind of impurity, though having other types of impurity were also able to prevent one from bringing the Passover sacrifice, is that the concept of impurity of the dead represents the fact that once one no longer lives, he no longer serves a function in this world, and hence, there is a sort of spiritual impurity that the dead person gives to others.
In living terms, one either serves Hashem or does something that goes against serving Hashem. So long as one chooses the correct path of spritual life, he or she can have a positive, spiritual effect on others. However, by not observing this type of lifestyle; it's not simply that one chooses not to live a nice observant Jewish way of life - this person chooses to live an impure, spiritual type of life that can be very negative on others' spiritual wellbeing. There are indeed some Jews who aren't observant, who don't keep Shabbat, Kashrut or the laws of family purity who are truly good people in the sense that they want to be nice to everyone and aren't even prejudiced against observant Jews, and want to help Israel. The sad thing about some of these people is that indeed if they would have been shown the beauty of Judaism, especially in their younger years, many of them would have indeed took up on the offer. However, in spiritual terms, Judaism simply cannot remain among their future descendants if they don't have that Jewish pride and sense to stay married within the Jewish fold and at least give their children some sort of Jewish education that will at least raise a spark in some of them to want to grow more in Judaism. Once there is a want and need for spiritual improvement, such as the want of the Jews with the spiritual impurity of the dead who felt that there would be something missing from their spirituality if they wouldn't bring the Passover sacrifice, then there is at least hope that the torch of Judaism will continue in the coming generations.
As a tidbit to conclude this, the final word of the section of the Torah about the Pesach Sheni is Ha'aretz/the land. This is twice the Gematria of the word Pesach - 148*2=296, which hints to the Pesach Sheni, the second Passover sacrifice that is the subject of this portion of the Torah. As long as we are living on the land, which is Planet Earth, there is hope for us to repent and live a better spiritual Torah way of life, because once we pass away, we have no more opportunity to do so. Many are fortunate that Hashem allowed them to continue living despite having had a physical danger that could have snatched their life in a fraction of a second, such as a car accident, or shot point blank. And just as we praise Hashem at the Seder for all the miracles that He performed for us Jews to facilitate our exit from Egypt and our journey towards Israel, so should we thank Hashem everyday for giving up another opportunity to come closer to Him. In relating to other people, just as Hashem constantly does kindnesses to us - the biggest kindness allowing us to live one more day to have one more chance to earn eternal life in the world to come - so should we reciprocate to other people everyday in some way to have a positive compact on others, and in this way, we will bit by bit be able to bring other Jews closer to the fold of Judaism, so they too will not be left out from the spiritual benefits that observant Jews have.
14 Iyar 5770, Pesach Sheni
Friday, April 23, 2010
#67 - Age of UNDERSTANDING
Here I am. Now that I am forty years old, I reflect back on what I went through during my life until now. I had a lot of close calls, including incidents where I could have, G-d forbid, lost my life or be seriously injured. Like the time that I was almost attacked by a huge dog at the age of 17 when I was walking a long way home from synagogue on Shabbat, from which I was spared only because I raced across the street of cars running in both directions and the big dog got caught between two cars going opposite ways, which gave me enough time to run far enough for the dog not to continue hunting me down. And then there was the time when I suddenly lost control of my car on the highway when it spun around until it suddenly stopped facing the opposite side of traffic instead of rolling over several feet down on the side of the highway. And for car accidents, I was very lucky among the number of times that I never even got injured. Indeed, miracles happened in my life.
It is true that many of us when much younger do stupid things that puts us at risk in life. Some live on while others aren't so lucky and either perish or their lives will never be the same again. But one thing is for sure. Many reach a level of maturity later in life with the understanding that we have only one life (I'm not going to get into reincarnations now) and that we need to make wise decisions while we still our in the prime of our life before nearing retirement age.
And so, Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers states at the end of Chapter 5 - Ben Arba'im L'Binah "Forty is the age of understanding". To note, Binah/Understanding is the Gematria of 67, and this is my 67th Post. And being that my birthday is Rosh Chodesh Iyar - 1 Iyar - the beginning of the month of Iyar, I would like to point out that as shown on the calendar chart displayed at www.inner.org, which focuses on kabbala, Gematriot, and other Torah secret goodies, Iyar is the very month that represents the Sephirah of Binah.
Indeed, the very first of the middle blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer in which we request various things, is called the blessing of Binah. Before I go again, I want to mention that some of the things here about this blessing is taken from the book in English called "Shemoneh Esrei" authored by Rabbi Zev Leff, Shlita, Rav of Mashav Matisyahu, who was my first Gemara Rebbe.
There is something unique about this blessing that is not found in the subsequent middle blessings that are blessings of requests. Like the first three blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei that involve praising Hashem, so to does the blessing of Binah start off this way "You grant knowledge and teach understanding to mankind", instead of saying "Grant knowledge...". This is quite significant because on Shabbat, we do not recite these middle blessings, and instead we have one middle blessing which focuses on Shabbat. Then in the evening Shemoneh Esrei after Shabbat is over, we insert a paragraph within this blessing of Binah after the praise element of it before the request part of it, since it is only when we make a separation between Shabbat and the weekdays as the inserted paragraph is about, that we can begin making our regular requests once again.
It can be said that this blessing is the bridge between the first three blessings of praise and the following blessings of requests. Perhaps the same can be said about the age of 40, the age of understanding, reflecting on our past, and looking towards the future in terms of future accomplishments.
The last letters of the first phrase Atah Chonein L'Adam Da'at "You grant knowledge to mankind" can be rearranged to spell the word Matanah/Gift, since knowledge is the ultimate heavenly gift. As Matanah is the Gematria of 495, it's interesting to note that the beginning of being 40 years old began my 495th month - of course I mean months according to the Jewish calendar. For others who may have lived through another Jewish leap month of an additional Adar, they had lived 495 months to reach the age of understanding. Indeed, it is at this age of understanding that one realizes that life is a gift of Hashem, and we must be very careful to preserve this gift, both by living a safe life and making it a most productive spiritual life.
And not forgetting the women, especially as I am in my first year of marriage, the Talmud in Tractate Niddah 45b notes Binah Yeteirah Nitnah B'Ishah Yoteir M'BaIsh -"A woman was given more understanding than what was given to a man". While those men in the workforce may want to deny this fact, we do see that a girl matures mentally quicker than a boy from the fact that a girl becomes Bat Mitzvah at age 12, while a boy becomes Bar Mitzvah at age 13.
In Kabbalistic sources, the word Binah can be rearranged to spell Ben Yud Hei, which literally means the son of, or having the characteristic of Yud Hei, about which these two letters can spell one of Hashem's names or the first two letters of Hashem's main name. As pointed out by the Chasidic Master Rabbi Israel of Koznitz, this signifies that one needs to be a son to Hashem, as the verse states Banim Atem L'Hashem Elokeichem - "You are sons to Hashem your G-d" (Deutronomy 14:1) Bearing in mind that this name of the letters Yud Hei is the Gematria of 15, we can refer again to the list of ages in Pirkei Avot which reads Ben Chamesh Esrei L'Gemara, "Fifteen years old is the age of (learning) Gemara, which involves the very process of understanding the laws of the Mishnah as to how we learn them from the Torah, which is understanding one thing from another. And as Rashi explains the definition of understanding (on Exodus 31:3), it's understanding things on one's own out of things that he has learned.
In terms of being a good son (or daughter) to our parents, we have to know the rules of how to behave properly to them. And in terms of learning Torah which is supposed to teach us how to be good children to Hashem, it is the Gemara/Talmud which is the meat of Torah learning, based on which is the Code of Jewish Law which is the end product of what began in the Gemara.
And as this week's Parshat Kedoshim (the second of two Parshiyot that will be read this Shabbat) includes the most famous dictum of V'Ahavta L'Reiacha Camocha "Love thy neighbor as yourself", which is called the Mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael/Love for Jews, based on the count of the 613 Mitzvot as arranged by the Rambam/Maimonides, this is the 244th Mitzva that is listed in the Torah, and the word Gemara - another name for the Talmud - is the Gematria of 244. And the word Talmud is the Gematria of Ahavat Chesed/Love of Kindness - which is 480, and the 480th Mitzva of the Torah is giving Tzedaka/charity! This is similar to the concept that the words Torah & Gemilut Chasadim/Doing acts of kindness, have the same Gematria of 611. What we can learn from all this is that we need a balance in Judaism, and being a good Jew includes both learning Torah (to the best of one's ability), of which Gemara is the meat of Torah learning, and doing acts of kindess which is an expression of the Mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael. And for a blogspot that illustrates good examples of this, turn to http://levechad.blogspot.com/.
And speaking of loving Jews, the commentary of Ohr Torah on the Jewish book of Ma'alot HaTorah mentions that there are exactly 67 words of the last verses of the Chumash/The Five Books of Moses, which is related to Binah, as demonstrated as being the Gematria of 67. Now, the last of these 67 words, which is the concluding word of the Chumash, is Yisrael, referring to the Jewish nation. Now, to put a spin on this, Yisrael is the Gematria of 541. Add to this the number 67 being that this is the 67 word of the concluding verses of the five books of the Chumash, and being that this is at the end of the fifth book of the Torah, add five to this, and presto!
We have a total of 613, corresponding to the 613 Mitzvot And being that 67+5 equals 72 which is the Gematria of Chesed/Kindness, this most relates to the Mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael, of which Rabbi Akiva says that this is the big principle of the Torah, on which all the Mitzvot of the Torah are based, as we Jews are all one spiritual body, and so even our observance or non-observance, G-d forbid, of the Mitzvot that are related between oneself & Hashem, in contrast to the Mitzvot that involve human relationships, affect us all spiritually, which can signal either reward or punishment, G-d forbid.
To note, my birthday on 1 Iyar when I turned 40 - was the 541st day from when I began www.gematriot.blogspot.com, which is a forum for me to write Chiddushei Torah -original or new thoughts on Torah, which is an aspect of the 613th & final Mitzvah of the Torah, which is to write a Sefer Torah/Torah Scroll; and the last word of the Sefer Torah is Yisrael, which is the Gematria of 541. Hence, in relationship to the previous paragraph, this is just one more show of Hashgacha Peratit/Divine Providence that has been quite evident in writing my blogspot on www.gematriot.blogspot.com.
The Vilna Gaon points out that the source of age 40 being the age of understanding is the verse in Proverbs 2:3 - Ki Im L'Binah Tikra "For only if you call out to understanding", being that the word Im (if) which is right next to the word L'Binah (to understanding) is the Gematria of 41, as the aspect of understanding begins in the 41st year. By the way, the word Im with a change of vowels can also be read to read Eim/Mother, as the verse in Psalms 113:9 declares Eim HaBanim Semeicha "Glad mother of children". To note, this is the name of the Sefer which Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal, HY"D, may his blood be avenged which was spilled by the Nazi beasts, wrote about the Mitzva/Commandment and importance of living in Israel, which is something that he only realized so many years earlier in the midst of rabbis who were against having Jews moving to Israel in the wake of the secular Zionistic movement. Ironically, he himself never stepped foot in Israel as his life was snatched before he had a chance to make Aliyah. Indeed, it was following virtually 40 years in the desert that the Jews crossed the Jordan river to arrive in Israel under the leadership of Joshua, in the wake of their 41st year from the Exodus.
And as we already mentioned how Binah is related to the words Ben/Banim, it is also related to the word Binyan/building. With the proper frame of understanding we can build on our knowledge to derive at conclusions in learning and the daily way of living which includes the household and workplace.
To note, there are 39 major categories of work which are forbidden to be performed on Shabbat. The 12th Chapter of Tractate Shabbat of the Mishnayot begins with the word HaBoneh - "One who builds", as building something is one of these 39 categories of work. Also in this chapter is mentioned the category of writing, as writing is a form of building, as we use letters to build a word. It is most fascinating to note that in the Babylonian Talmud to this chapter, there is a section about the spiritual significance of the letters of the Alef Beit.
Now, combining these two definitions of Binah - understanding & building - as it relates to my 40th anniversary of my birthday, the Daf Yomi - worldwide daily study of a double sided page of the Babylonian Talmud on my birthday of 1 Iyar this year when I turned 40 - was Sanhedrin 62. On this very Daf, it mentions examples of the prohibition of writing on Shabbat - mentioning of all words - my first name Shimon!
In this context, if one wrote two or more letters to form a word without intending to do a sin on Shabbat, he or she is liable to bring a Korban Chatat/Sin Offering. Hence, one who writes, for example, the name Shimon, is liable as such. Now, the question can be asked, if one wrote only the first two letters of this name - Shin & Mem - as an abbreviation for this name, would one be liable since he didn't intend to write these two letters as a word?
The answer to this is that although normally, if writing the first two letters of a word as an abbreviation would not spell a word on its own; in this case, the first two letters of this name Shimon indeed spell a word on its own - Shem - either as the name of Shem the son of Noah, or as the meaning of the word name (NOTE: These letters - Shin & Mem - are the initials of my full Hebrew NAME Shimon Matisyahu!). Even though normally, one who does an action on Shabbat which results in a forbidden work on Shabbat which he or she did not intend by his/her action - is exempt, at least if it was not inevitable according to Rabbi Shimon (Bar Yochai) of the Mishna, which is the Halachic view that we normally follow (as opposed to Rabbi Yehuda who says that one is liable in any case); IN THIS CASE, one is nevertheless liable, though he or she did not intend to write the word Shem as referring to the name Shem or its meaning of the word name, but merely as an abbreviation of the name Shimon, since indeed it does spell a word, as it is an inevitable consequence of writing the abbreviation of the name Shimon.
Well, I have to admit that the fact that this worldwide study of this page of Talmud fell out on my 40th birthday discussing the name Shimon as a case subject is a real birthday treat! This is bearing in mind that the word Binah as it relates to turning age 40 can be rearranged to spell the words Ben Yud-Hei, which can be translated as a "fifteen-year-old", the age that Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers mentions as the time to start studying the Gemara/Talmud!
Getting back to the number 67 which is the Gematria of Binah - and the number of this Post - there is a most significant part of the Bible related to this number - Psalm 67. Unlike all of the other Psalms, this one was sent to King David by Hashem within the drawing of a Menorah which King David used in his battles (this means that this is the one psalm in the Book of Psalms that was composed by Hashem Himself!). We recite this psalm especially during the 49 days of the Sephira of which we are almost halfway at the time of this writiing, as there are 49 words besides the introductory verse, and the fifth verse contains 49 letters.
And being that I am writing this on the 24th day of the Sephira, I am reminded of the 24 Books of the Tanach/Bible (NOT 39 books as displayed in the "Old Testament").
It was just yesterday that I was reading in the Midrash Tanchuma on Parshat Ki Tisa where it comments on the verse "He (Hashem) gave to Moses when finished speaking with him (the words of the Torah)" (Exodus 31:18), which took place at the conclusion of the first period of 40 days that Moses spent with Hashem. There are in fact three statements on this verse that a rabbi of my namesake, Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish, states. Perhaps this is hinted by the fact that the beginning word of this verse Vayiten/He gave is the Gematria of the name Shimon - 466.
"When a teacher begins teaching Torah to a student, the teacher teaches and the student repeats after him. After being taught, his teacher tells him to recite the words of Torah together. Similarly, when Moses learned the Torah from Hashem, Hashem told him, "Come, let's recite it together" as it says, "When He finished speaking WITH him"."
About the word KeChaloto/When He finished, which can be alternatively be read without the vowels as KeChalato "like his bride" - "It's forbidden for a Torah scholar to teach Halacha/Jewish Law in public until the words of Torah are pleasing to the listeners, just as a bride that is pleasing to her husband who wishes to hear what she has to say".
"Just like a bride is decorated with 24 types of jewelry (as listed in Isaiah Chapter 3), so too does a Torah scholar needs to be well versed in the 24 Books of the Tanach. And just like a bride is modest in hter parent's home and doesn't publicize herself until she enters the bridal canopy as if to say "If anyone knows anything about me, let him come and testify", so does a Torah scholar need to be modest and well known for his good deeds".
Now for the connection of the number 40 with Matanah/Gift as I had mentioned earlier, the Midrash Tanchuma continues, "Rabbi Abahu said: "All the 40 days that Moses spent on the mountain, he learned Torah and forgot it. At the end, Moses said, "Master of the universe, forty days passed by and I don't know anything". What did Hashem do? At the end of FORTY days, Hashem gave the Torah to him as a GIFT, as it says, "He gave to Moses when He finished."""
Anyways, why did the Jews spend 40 years in the desert when they were almost ready to move to Israel early on? It was thanks to the 10 evil spies that Moses sent upon the request of the Jewish people who wanted to first know how Israel was like without having faith and trust in Hashem, who came back saying terrible things about Israel, declaring that it would be impossible to conquer the land with all the nations that were settled there. This resulted in the Jewish men (besides the Tribe of Levi who weren't enslaved in Egypt and hence didn't have the slave mentality like the rest of the Jews had, along with their full faith and trust in Hashem) crying that very night following the news. For this, Hashem declared that for the 40 days that these evil spies traveled, the Jews would be spending 40 years in the desert and the ones who cried would die out during their stay in the desert.
If the Jews would have realized that Hashem was in fact giving them a gift - the Land of Israel, perhaps they would have behaved a little more rationally. But since they saw this only as a challenge which they believed that even Hashem, so to speak, would not be able to overcome in terms of fighting the strong nations there, they obviously were not able to see this as a gift, let alone as Hashem's land in which it is only in this land that we can perform all the Mitzvot/Commandments that are possible to be fulfilled. And so, since the Jews who were cry-babies were not able to appreciate this gift, then Hashem figured, why give it to them? Certainly, it would be the next generation who would be raised in the spiritual environment while in the desert who would have a true appreciation of the gift that they would eventually receive. It would be this new generation that would have the proper UNDERSTANDING of how the Torah is our way of life. It is only when we trust in Hashem & in the Torah - Hashem's wisdom - that we can hope that we can overcome any and all challenges if this is indeed Hashem's will; and not give up hope because of a few rotten apples who as supposed leaders present "logic" as to why the Torah cannot work for us, G-d forbid.
To conclude, being that I am a Levite at the age of 40, I am halfway between the ages of 30 & 50 when the Levites performed certain tasks in the Temple which were only valid to perform during these twenty years. I certainly hope that the Temple will be rebuilt shortly and then I will have a chance to perform these duties sometime during this coming decade before I turn the age of 50, G-d willing.
G-d willing, I will be writing another post next week.
9 Iyar 5770, 24th day of the Sephirah
It is true that many of us when much younger do stupid things that puts us at risk in life. Some live on while others aren't so lucky and either perish or their lives will never be the same again. But one thing is for sure. Many reach a level of maturity later in life with the understanding that we have only one life (I'm not going to get into reincarnations now) and that we need to make wise decisions while we still our in the prime of our life before nearing retirement age.
And so, Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers states at the end of Chapter 5 - Ben Arba'im L'Binah "Forty is the age of understanding". To note, Binah/Understanding is the Gematria of 67, and this is my 67th Post. And being that my birthday is Rosh Chodesh Iyar - 1 Iyar - the beginning of the month of Iyar, I would like to point out that as shown on the calendar chart displayed at www.inner.org, which focuses on kabbala, Gematriot, and other Torah secret goodies, Iyar is the very month that represents the Sephirah of Binah.
Indeed, the very first of the middle blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer in which we request various things, is called the blessing of Binah. Before I go again, I want to mention that some of the things here about this blessing is taken from the book in English called "Shemoneh Esrei" authored by Rabbi Zev Leff, Shlita, Rav of Mashav Matisyahu, who was my first Gemara Rebbe.
There is something unique about this blessing that is not found in the subsequent middle blessings that are blessings of requests. Like the first three blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei that involve praising Hashem, so to does the blessing of Binah start off this way "You grant knowledge and teach understanding to mankind", instead of saying "Grant knowledge...". This is quite significant because on Shabbat, we do not recite these middle blessings, and instead we have one middle blessing which focuses on Shabbat. Then in the evening Shemoneh Esrei after Shabbat is over, we insert a paragraph within this blessing of Binah after the praise element of it before the request part of it, since it is only when we make a separation between Shabbat and the weekdays as the inserted paragraph is about, that we can begin making our regular requests once again.
It can be said that this blessing is the bridge between the first three blessings of praise and the following blessings of requests. Perhaps the same can be said about the age of 40, the age of understanding, reflecting on our past, and looking towards the future in terms of future accomplishments.
The last letters of the first phrase Atah Chonein L'Adam Da'at "You grant knowledge to mankind" can be rearranged to spell the word Matanah/Gift, since knowledge is the ultimate heavenly gift. As Matanah is the Gematria of 495, it's interesting to note that the beginning of being 40 years old began my 495th month - of course I mean months according to the Jewish calendar. For others who may have lived through another Jewish leap month of an additional Adar, they had lived 495 months to reach the age of understanding. Indeed, it is at this age of understanding that one realizes that life is a gift of Hashem, and we must be very careful to preserve this gift, both by living a safe life and making it a most productive spiritual life.
And not forgetting the women, especially as I am in my first year of marriage, the Talmud in Tractate Niddah 45b notes Binah Yeteirah Nitnah B'Ishah Yoteir M'BaIsh -"A woman was given more understanding than what was given to a man". While those men in the workforce may want to deny this fact, we do see that a girl matures mentally quicker than a boy from the fact that a girl becomes Bat Mitzvah at age 12, while a boy becomes Bar Mitzvah at age 13.
In Kabbalistic sources, the word Binah can be rearranged to spell Ben Yud Hei, which literally means the son of, or having the characteristic of Yud Hei, about which these two letters can spell one of Hashem's names or the first two letters of Hashem's main name. As pointed out by the Chasidic Master Rabbi Israel of Koznitz, this signifies that one needs to be a son to Hashem, as the verse states Banim Atem L'Hashem Elokeichem - "You are sons to Hashem your G-d" (Deutronomy 14:1) Bearing in mind that this name of the letters Yud Hei is the Gematria of 15, we can refer again to the list of ages in Pirkei Avot which reads Ben Chamesh Esrei L'Gemara, "Fifteen years old is the age of (learning) Gemara, which involves the very process of understanding the laws of the Mishnah as to how we learn them from the Torah, which is understanding one thing from another. And as Rashi explains the definition of understanding (on Exodus 31:3), it's understanding things on one's own out of things that he has learned.
In terms of being a good son (or daughter) to our parents, we have to know the rules of how to behave properly to them. And in terms of learning Torah which is supposed to teach us how to be good children to Hashem, it is the Gemara/Talmud which is the meat of Torah learning, based on which is the Code of Jewish Law which is the end product of what began in the Gemara.
And as this week's Parshat Kedoshim (the second of two Parshiyot that will be read this Shabbat) includes the most famous dictum of V'Ahavta L'Reiacha Camocha "Love thy neighbor as yourself", which is called the Mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael/Love for Jews, based on the count of the 613 Mitzvot as arranged by the Rambam/Maimonides, this is the 244th Mitzva that is listed in the Torah, and the word Gemara - another name for the Talmud - is the Gematria of 244. And the word Talmud is the Gematria of Ahavat Chesed/Love of Kindness - which is 480, and the 480th Mitzva of the Torah is giving Tzedaka/charity! This is similar to the concept that the words Torah & Gemilut Chasadim/Doing acts of kindness, have the same Gematria of 611. What we can learn from all this is that we need a balance in Judaism, and being a good Jew includes both learning Torah (to the best of one's ability), of which Gemara is the meat of Torah learning, and doing acts of kindess which is an expression of the Mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael. And for a blogspot that illustrates good examples of this, turn to http://levechad.blogspot.com/.
And speaking of loving Jews, the commentary of Ohr Torah on the Jewish book of Ma'alot HaTorah mentions that there are exactly 67 words of the last verses of the Chumash/The Five Books of Moses, which is related to Binah, as demonstrated as being the Gematria of 67. Now, the last of these 67 words, which is the concluding word of the Chumash, is Yisrael, referring to the Jewish nation. Now, to put a spin on this, Yisrael is the Gematria of 541. Add to this the number 67 being that this is the 67 word of the concluding verses of the five books of the Chumash, and being that this is at the end of the fifth book of the Torah, add five to this, and presto!
We have a total of 613, corresponding to the 613 Mitzvot And being that 67+5 equals 72 which is the Gematria of Chesed/Kindness, this most relates to the Mitzva of Ahavat Yisrael, of which Rabbi Akiva says that this is the big principle of the Torah, on which all the Mitzvot of the Torah are based, as we Jews are all one spiritual body, and so even our observance or non-observance, G-d forbid, of the Mitzvot that are related between oneself & Hashem, in contrast to the Mitzvot that involve human relationships, affect us all spiritually, which can signal either reward or punishment, G-d forbid.
To note, my birthday on 1 Iyar when I turned 40 - was the 541st day from when I began www.gematriot.blogspot.com, which is a forum for me to write Chiddushei Torah -original or new thoughts on Torah, which is an aspect of the 613th & final Mitzvah of the Torah, which is to write a Sefer Torah/Torah Scroll; and the last word of the Sefer Torah is Yisrael, which is the Gematria of 541. Hence, in relationship to the previous paragraph, this is just one more show of Hashgacha Peratit/Divine Providence that has been quite evident in writing my blogspot on www.gematriot.blogspot.com.
The Vilna Gaon points out that the source of age 40 being the age of understanding is the verse in Proverbs 2:3 - Ki Im L'Binah Tikra "For only if you call out to understanding", being that the word Im (if) which is right next to the word L'Binah (to understanding) is the Gematria of 41, as the aspect of understanding begins in the 41st year. By the way, the word Im with a change of vowels can also be read to read Eim/Mother, as the verse in Psalms 113:9 declares Eim HaBanim Semeicha "Glad mother of children". To note, this is the name of the Sefer which Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal, HY"D, may his blood be avenged which was spilled by the Nazi beasts, wrote about the Mitzva/Commandment and importance of living in Israel, which is something that he only realized so many years earlier in the midst of rabbis who were against having Jews moving to Israel in the wake of the secular Zionistic movement. Ironically, he himself never stepped foot in Israel as his life was snatched before he had a chance to make Aliyah. Indeed, it was following virtually 40 years in the desert that the Jews crossed the Jordan river to arrive in Israel under the leadership of Joshua, in the wake of their 41st year from the Exodus.
And as we already mentioned how Binah is related to the words Ben/Banim, it is also related to the word Binyan/building. With the proper frame of understanding we can build on our knowledge to derive at conclusions in learning and the daily way of living which includes the household and workplace.
To note, there are 39 major categories of work which are forbidden to be performed on Shabbat. The 12th Chapter of Tractate Shabbat of the Mishnayot begins with the word HaBoneh - "One who builds", as building something is one of these 39 categories of work. Also in this chapter is mentioned the category of writing, as writing is a form of building, as we use letters to build a word. It is most fascinating to note that in the Babylonian Talmud to this chapter, there is a section about the spiritual significance of the letters of the Alef Beit.
Now, combining these two definitions of Binah - understanding & building - as it relates to my 40th anniversary of my birthday, the Daf Yomi - worldwide daily study of a double sided page of the Babylonian Talmud on my birthday of 1 Iyar this year when I turned 40 - was Sanhedrin 62. On this very Daf, it mentions examples of the prohibition of writing on Shabbat - mentioning of all words - my first name Shimon!
In this context, if one wrote two or more letters to form a word without intending to do a sin on Shabbat, he or she is liable to bring a Korban Chatat/Sin Offering. Hence, one who writes, for example, the name Shimon, is liable as such. Now, the question can be asked, if one wrote only the first two letters of this name - Shin & Mem - as an abbreviation for this name, would one be liable since he didn't intend to write these two letters as a word?
The answer to this is that although normally, if writing the first two letters of a word as an abbreviation would not spell a word on its own; in this case, the first two letters of this name Shimon indeed spell a word on its own - Shem - either as the name of Shem the son of Noah, or as the meaning of the word name (NOTE: These letters - Shin & Mem - are the initials of my full Hebrew NAME Shimon Matisyahu!). Even though normally, one who does an action on Shabbat which results in a forbidden work on Shabbat which he or she did not intend by his/her action - is exempt, at least if it was not inevitable according to Rabbi Shimon (Bar Yochai) of the Mishna, which is the Halachic view that we normally follow (as opposed to Rabbi Yehuda who says that one is liable in any case); IN THIS CASE, one is nevertheless liable, though he or she did not intend to write the word Shem as referring to the name Shem or its meaning of the word name, but merely as an abbreviation of the name Shimon, since indeed it does spell a word, as it is an inevitable consequence of writing the abbreviation of the name Shimon.
Well, I have to admit that the fact that this worldwide study of this page of Talmud fell out on my 40th birthday discussing the name Shimon as a case subject is a real birthday treat! This is bearing in mind that the word Binah as it relates to turning age 40 can be rearranged to spell the words Ben Yud-Hei, which can be translated as a "fifteen-year-old", the age that Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers mentions as the time to start studying the Gemara/Talmud!
Getting back to the number 67 which is the Gematria of Binah - and the number of this Post - there is a most significant part of the Bible related to this number - Psalm 67. Unlike all of the other Psalms, this one was sent to King David by Hashem within the drawing of a Menorah which King David used in his battles (this means that this is the one psalm in the Book of Psalms that was composed by Hashem Himself!). We recite this psalm especially during the 49 days of the Sephira of which we are almost halfway at the time of this writiing, as there are 49 words besides the introductory verse, and the fifth verse contains 49 letters.
And being that I am writing this on the 24th day of the Sephira, I am reminded of the 24 Books of the Tanach/Bible (NOT 39 books as displayed in the "Old Testament").
It was just yesterday that I was reading in the Midrash Tanchuma on Parshat Ki Tisa where it comments on the verse "He (Hashem) gave to Moses when finished speaking with him (the words of the Torah)" (Exodus 31:18), which took place at the conclusion of the first period of 40 days that Moses spent with Hashem. There are in fact three statements on this verse that a rabbi of my namesake, Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish, states. Perhaps this is hinted by the fact that the beginning word of this verse Vayiten/He gave is the Gematria of the name Shimon - 466.
"When a teacher begins teaching Torah to a student, the teacher teaches and the student repeats after him. After being taught, his teacher tells him to recite the words of Torah together. Similarly, when Moses learned the Torah from Hashem, Hashem told him, "Come, let's recite it together" as it says, "When He finished speaking WITH him"."
About the word KeChaloto/When He finished, which can be alternatively be read without the vowels as KeChalato "like his bride" - "It's forbidden for a Torah scholar to teach Halacha/Jewish Law in public until the words of Torah are pleasing to the listeners, just as a bride that is pleasing to her husband who wishes to hear what she has to say".
"Just like a bride is decorated with 24 types of jewelry (as listed in Isaiah Chapter 3), so too does a Torah scholar needs to be well versed in the 24 Books of the Tanach. And just like a bride is modest in hter parent's home and doesn't publicize herself until she enters the bridal canopy as if to say "If anyone knows anything about me, let him come and testify", so does a Torah scholar need to be modest and well known for his good deeds".
Now for the connection of the number 40 with Matanah/Gift as I had mentioned earlier, the Midrash Tanchuma continues, "Rabbi Abahu said: "All the 40 days that Moses spent on the mountain, he learned Torah and forgot it. At the end, Moses said, "Master of the universe, forty days passed by and I don't know anything". What did Hashem do? At the end of FORTY days, Hashem gave the Torah to him as a GIFT, as it says, "He gave to Moses when He finished."""
Anyways, why did the Jews spend 40 years in the desert when they were almost ready to move to Israel early on? It was thanks to the 10 evil spies that Moses sent upon the request of the Jewish people who wanted to first know how Israel was like without having faith and trust in Hashem, who came back saying terrible things about Israel, declaring that it would be impossible to conquer the land with all the nations that were settled there. This resulted in the Jewish men (besides the Tribe of Levi who weren't enslaved in Egypt and hence didn't have the slave mentality like the rest of the Jews had, along with their full faith and trust in Hashem) crying that very night following the news. For this, Hashem declared that for the 40 days that these evil spies traveled, the Jews would be spending 40 years in the desert and the ones who cried would die out during their stay in the desert.
If the Jews would have realized that Hashem was in fact giving them a gift - the Land of Israel, perhaps they would have behaved a little more rationally. But since they saw this only as a challenge which they believed that even Hashem, so to speak, would not be able to overcome in terms of fighting the strong nations there, they obviously were not able to see this as a gift, let alone as Hashem's land in which it is only in this land that we can perform all the Mitzvot/Commandments that are possible to be fulfilled. And so, since the Jews who were cry-babies were not able to appreciate this gift, then Hashem figured, why give it to them? Certainly, it would be the next generation who would be raised in the spiritual environment while in the desert who would have a true appreciation of the gift that they would eventually receive. It would be this new generation that would have the proper UNDERSTANDING of how the Torah is our way of life. It is only when we trust in Hashem & in the Torah - Hashem's wisdom - that we can hope that we can overcome any and all challenges if this is indeed Hashem's will; and not give up hope because of a few rotten apples who as supposed leaders present "logic" as to why the Torah cannot work for us, G-d forbid.
To conclude, being that I am a Levite at the age of 40, I am halfway between the ages of 30 & 50 when the Levites performed certain tasks in the Temple which were only valid to perform during these twenty years. I certainly hope that the Temple will be rebuilt shortly and then I will have a chance to perform these duties sometime during this coming decade before I turn the age of 50, G-d willing.
G-d willing, I will be writing another post next week.
9 Iyar 5770, 24th day of the Sephirah
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
#66 - Just About COMPLETE
Have you ever waited for your computer to update or download the latest version of Internet Explorer or Adobe, and at the end of the download, the message reads something like "Download in now complete."? For all that you are concerned, as long as the system will have some added benefit for you, then that is all that matters.
Well, this is the type of message that is crossing my mind as I approach the end of the first 40 years of my life, as I am writing this within my last 24 hours before the 40th anniversary of my birthday, G-d willing.
Yes, I have made some decisions in my life which may have not been the best in my interest. After all, who doesn't make mistakes? But in the long term, I do look at my accomplishments, or at least the potential that I have utilized and what is yet to be utilized. While some may have not appreciated what I have to offer and turned me down from taking courses or being hired based on their narrow minded judgment even as of late today, I have to focus on what I have now and what I believe that I can be good at, and move full speed ahead.
Well, among my accomplishments, though perhaps at a little older age than for some other people, I earned my rabbinic ordination, I made Aliyah (five years ago), I started www.gematriot.blogspot.com (a year and a half ago), and just four months ago...I married my beloved wife Yael. What seemed to me to be something that for all that I knew could possibly never happen for me, took place in a blink of an eye. It was a mere eight months ago when I first met my wife, and if you would have asked Yael or I at the end of our first date if we would consider marrying each other, either of us answering "yes" would have been saying more of a lie than the truth. But...the two of us focused on what really matters in life, and seeing each other for what we respectively represented, we started feeling a bond for each other. For this, it took a few meetings to realize that indeed, we had tremendous potential to have a good marriage, despite the challenges which we both knew would be involved.
While many potential marriage partners fuss about far more pettier things, as one of the two dating partners will fool himself or herself thinking that their relationship won't work, when the only reason he or she is right is because he/she tells himself/herself this but not because it would be true otherwise (and this is why I wasn't married for so many years until now - there are very few women today especially in their 30s and up who are truly open-minded), Yael and I both realized that the essence is how one deals with challenges rather than the challenges
"defining" who we are which is quite often not the case.
So, at the end of 40 years which is JUST ABOUT COMPLETE, while I have yet to accomplish much of my potential, the way I see it, the files of my brain (human computer) are just about completely downloaded.
And I will prove it. Near the end of Moses' life, he tells the Jewish nation "Hashem didn't give you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day. I walked you for 40 years in the desert..." (Deutronomy 29:3-4). Nearing 40 years in the desert since the Exodus, the Jews did not have full comprehension of the message of the Torah until that point in time when Moses was about to pass away. Indeed, the Sages in the Talmud learn from here that one doesn't fully comprehend what one's Rebbe/Torah teacher teaches him until after 40 years. (NOTE: This is one out of many reasons why it is important to learn Torah as much as possible while one is young).
Following the beginning words of the first chapter of Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers which was learned this past Shabbat, "Moses received the Torah from (Mt.) Sinai, and handed it over to Joshua...", we see that Joshua (whose Yahrzeit of 26 Nissan fell out on this past Shabbat) was a devoted student of Moses right from the start, and hence, he was the most qualified person to be the next leader and Torah teacher of the Jewish people - not one of Moses' sons or nephew Elazar, who was the present Cohen Gadol/High Priest following his father Aaron's passing. It took Joshua just about 40 years as Moses' most devoted student to be qualified to step into Moses' shoes.
Yes, the first letter of Moses's name Moshe is a Mem which is the Gematria of 40, which was a number that kept popping up in Moses's life, including the fact that Moses spent three periods of 40 days each in Hashem's presence and Moses led the Jewish people for the last 40 years - the last of the three thirds of his life from the time of the Exodus, in the same way that he was the third and last one of his siblings following Miriam and Aaron. Along these lines, I am reminded of a good friend of mine, Rabbi Dovid Bryn of blessed memory, who sacrificed so much of his life bringing Jews closer to Judaism in a loving way despite his illness of 20 years until his untimely passing at the age of 40, about whom a friend of his remarked that he lived 120 years (as Moses physically lived) in a third of the time. I guess you can say that this is the positive side of the other side of the coin where criminals get out of prison after doing a third of the time for "good behavior".
And speaking of time, there is a Mitzva/Commandment that we perform for seven weeks every year called Sephirat HaOmer, which means counting 49 days from the 16th of Nissan when the Omer offering, consisting of barley flour, was offered in the Temple, following which is the holiday of Shavuot/Pentacost. The barley flour signified the aspect of animalism, a trait within human beings when we follow our "human" animalistic instincts rather than our HUMANE instincts, just like the Jews leaving Egypt needed a period of seven weeks to be spiritually prepared to receive the Torah, beginning with the Ten Commandments, which was given on Shavuot.
The source in the Torah for this Mitzva begins with the word Usphartem "You shall count" (Leviticus 23:15). What is most unique about this Mitzva is that based on the list of Mitzvot of the Rambam/Maimonides, this is the MIDDLE MITZVAH of the Torah.
Perhaps what is more significant than the fact that this is the MIDDLE MITZVAH is that the lesson we can learn from this is that it is time that is the center of everything and that time can either be our biggest friend or our biggest enemy, based on how we utilize time. Even time is a creation of Hashem, as Hashem is beyond time and Who always existed, long before anything else besides Him existed, but it is time that ultimately defines who we are as one who thinks about what is important in life, and it is only time that will motivate us to do the right things as we don't have so much time to get it all right and we don't even know how long we will actually life, when G-d forbid, our life can be over in a blink of an eye.
Hence, it is the MIDDLE MITZVAH of the Sephira that teaches us that our main spiritual goal is to work on our animalistic self until we reach the ultimate level of spirituality. While it is technically never too late to begin working on ourselves as long as we can breathe and move around, even as Rabbi Akiva who was one of the greatest Sages of all time only began learning Torah at the age of 40, it has been mentioned that our lifespan from 20 years old until our 70th year correspond to the 49 days of the Sephira. As physically, our animalistic hormones are at an all time high at the age of 20; and after our parenting and working years when coming close to being 70 years old, most of us don't quite feel the same even sexually; on the flipside, we hope that our spiritual level will be at an all time high by the time that we reach old age from our young adulthood when parenting and working posed challenges to improve on our own self, except that we learn to use the physical for spiritual purposes.
With the above being said, I would like to note that the first two letters of the verse beginning noting the Mitzva of Sephirat HaOmer - Usphartem - are Vav & Samech.
These two letters are the letters for the number 66, and this is my 66th post. And as we mentioned the Ten Commandments as what Hashem gave to us following the end of the Sephira period, it's interesting to note that when writing the number 66 in Hebrew in script letters as opposed to the standard block letters which we see in printed material in books and publications, it looks just like the letter TEN!
And there is a word that is the Gematria of the number 66 - Vayeilech, the name of the 52nd Parsha of the Torah, which is no stranger to the Gematria blogspot. You see, I had mentioned in the past that being that this Parsha contains 30 Pesukim/verses, which contains the least amount of verses of the 54 Parshiyot of the Torah, as the first 24 verses of this Parsha correspond to the 24 books of the Bible - the WRITTEN Torah (NOT 39 books as protrayed in the "Old" Testament) - as the 24th verse reads "When Moses finished WRITING the words of the Torah in a BOOK until their completion" (Deutronomy 31:24), and the last six verses correspond to the six orders or volumes of the Mishna or Mishnayot - the ORAL Torah - as the concluding verse of the Parsha reads "Moses SPOKE in the EARS of the entire congregation of Israel the words of this song until their conclusion" (Deutronomy 31:30). And indeed, the letter for the number 30 - Lamed, has the connotation of the words Lilmod-Lelamed, (to) learn - (to) teach.
As we note, the exact wording of the letter Lamed means teach, which is the greater aspect of Talmud Torah, which is not just learning, but teaching Torah to others, the greatest merit that one can have, and it was Moses who was the first to have this greatest merit, who is called Moshe RABBEINU, Moses OUR TEACHER, as he not only taught his own immmediate generation and succeeding generation, but in effect has been our teacher until this day, and the ultimate proof for this is that the Torah is called Torat Moshe, the Torah of Moses. While I am writing my words here rather than speaking them, this too is an aspect of teaching Torah, and is also a form of the LAST Mitzva of the Torah mentioned in Parshat Vayeilech of every Jew writing a Sefer Torah, which according to many Poskim/Halachic deciders, can be fulfilled by owing Jewish books, which includes the Bible, Talmud, and Halachic works.
Speaking of 40 years, the word Mishna is a contraction of the words Mem (the letter)
Shana - 40 years, or can be read as Shana Mem - Year 40. In connection to this, Pirkei Avot Chapter Six notes that there are 48 acquisitions or ways of acquiring the Torah, meaning, that through 48 various ways of working on ourselves, we can make the Torah part of us rather than something that is studied strictly on an "intellectual" level without treating it as Torat Hashem, the Torah of Hashem. Anyways, it has been pointed out that the 48 ways of acquiring the Torah correspond to the first 48 days of the Sephira, while the last day of the Sephira in effect corresponds to all the 48 acquisitions. In any case, bearing this in mind, as I writing my post on this 15th day of the Sephira, this day corresponds to the Torah acquisition of MISHNA! Yes, the last day of my 40th year corresponds to the Torah acquisition that means 40 years or Year 40! And by the way, the second chapter of Pirkei Avot which will be learned this coming Shabbat begins with Rebbe Omeir -
"Rebbe says..." referring to Rabbi Judah the Prince who compiled the Mishnayot.
And speaking of the last day of my 40th year in connection with the Mishna, it's most interesting to note that the final statement of the Mishna is mentioned by a Rabbi with my namesake Shimon - "Rabbi Shimon Ben Chalafta said: The Holy One Blessed Be He didn't find a vessel to hold a blessing for Israel except for peace, as it says "Hashem will give strength to His nation, Hashem will bless His nation with peace".
And it was in my 40th year that I married my beloved wife Yael. Her full Hebrew name is Yael Miriam which is the Gematria of 400, the same Gematria as the LAST letter of the Alef Beit - Tav. In relationship to the Mishna, there are two things that have the Gematria of 400. The first - HaMishna - the Mishna, in the definitive form, equals 400, and the first letters of the phrase Shisha Sidrei Mishna - Shin,
Samech, Mem - also equals 400.
Now the Mishna in connection with my name Shimon Matisyahu. The plural form for Mishna - Mishnayot, is the same Gematria as Shem Shimon - (the) name (of) Shimon - 806. And, if you add the word Mishna=395 to my name Shimon=466, this adds up to the Gematria of my second name Matisyahu=861!
On an incidental note, there are two names of Masechtot/Tractates of Mishnayot that have the same Gematria as my two names Shimon Matisyahu, Shimon=Makkot (another name for Malkot/lashes which used to be administered for certain sins by the Jewish court)and Matisyahu=Rosh HaShana (named after the New Year holiday which includes the history and laws of Rosh Chodesh, and I was born on Rosh Chodesh Iyar (1 Iyar), and the upcoming 1st day of Rosh Hashana will always fall out on the same day of the week as my birthday!)
In any case, as the Mishnayot concludes with the word BaShalom - with peace, the most crucial element that keeps a Jewish marriage together is called Shalom Bayit, marital peace, which literally means peace of the house. And as we know, the very first letter of the Torah is a Beit, the name for which is the same lettering as the word Bayit/house. In any case, the fact that the word BaShalom is a composite of the letter Beit & Shalom hints to the concept of Shalom Bayit, marital harmony that keeps a Jewish couple together. And just at the conclusion of 40 years, the Jews were able to fully comprehend how the Torah, the marriage contract, was able to keep them connected to Hashem; in the same way, it is Middot, character traits, literally meaning measures, beginning with the letter Mem, that is behind the concept of Shalom Bayit, as one's behavior and attitude towards one another is what ultimately determines whether a relationship will continue or fall apart.
Indeed, the word Middot is also the name of the Tractate of Mishnayot which focuses on the measurements of the different parts of the Temple or Beit HaMikdash (the same Gematria as the names Matisyahu & Rosh Hashana - 861). Perhaps it is not coincidental that it is the same meaning as character traits, as we know that the Bayit Sheni/Second Temple was destroyed due to Sinat Chinam/baseless hatred which is the reason why we have yet to have our Bayit Shelishi/Third Temple that we have been waiting for for nearly 2,000 years. Indeed, if one is on the correct path of Midot Tovot, good character, Sinat Chinam simply does not exist.
Unfortunately, it was during the Sephira period that Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students perished due to not giving the proper respect to one another. It was particularly during this period that these students perished, as they did not refine their character in sync with the spirit of the period when we are supposed to refine our animalistic or non desirable traits to the extent that we will be quite more prepared for the Torah on Shavuot with an improvement in some way that we can feel good about, even if we have yet a lot more to work on.
Indeed, the name of the Parsha that hints to the two Torot - Written Torah & Oral Torah - is Vayeilech=66 (in the same way that the first two letters of the verse of the Mitzva of Sephirat HaOmer are the letters that spell the number 66), "Moses went...I am 120 years old" (Deutronomy 31:1-2). Yes, Moses did not stop walking spiritually until his dying day, even though Moses was the greatest Tzadik/righteous person who walked this planet. He was never satisfied with his present spiritual level, as he knew that as long as he lived, it meant that there is always a higher level to strive for. And if this can be said about Moses, then the rest of us have to realize that there is always room for growth, as it is only Hashem who is truly complete. And if we are not constantly walking in spirituality and our characteristic traits, then it isn't simply that we are not improving, but that we are digressing.
And in case anyone should ask, "It may be true that Rabbi Akiva's students weren't exactly the most wanting in terms of behavior; but is this a reason why they should all perish? Imagine all the Torah that was lost as a result! After all, they weren't just anyone's students - they were Rabbi Akiva's students!" it should be noted that if Hashem simply wanted people to learn and teach Torah, he could have non-Jews do the same for that matter. But...it has to be learned and taught through holy and proper means. After all, the Torah is HASHEM'S WISDOM, and cannot be treated like other wisdom.
Though technically, the sciences, mathematics, and the like all come from Hashem, it is only the Torah which has holiness which is most representive of Hashem's wisdom; in the same way that although non-Jews also have a soul even as they too can qualify to be in Heaven for living a righteous life, it is only Jews who have a holiness that separates them from the rest of mankind, even if they are only like a thousandth of the six plus billion people on this planet. It is not always quantity that makes the big chart - but quality; and if G-d forbid the quality of the Torah could be compromised, then it will not have the impact on people that Hashem wants it to be, and cannot continue having its proper spiritual effect without going through the refining process as demonstrated through the Sephira period in which the Jews waited seven weeks to receive the Torah.
And just when you thought it was over, there is another connection to the numbers 40 & 66 with this week's Parshat Tazria (actually, this is the first of two Parshiyot that we read this coming Shabbat).
Parshat Tazria begins mentioning that when a woman gives birth to a boy, then she is impure for seven days, and following this has a period of 33 days of purity (NOTE: As far as the laws of family purity is concerned, the Code of Jewish Law - and NOT the literal meaning of the Bible - have to be thoroughly learned, along with one's questions being answered by a rabbi or a woman trained to know these laws), thus adding to a total of 40 days, following which the mother brings special birth sacrifices in the Temple. For a female, the mother had 14 days of impurity followed by 66 days of purity following which she brought her birth sacrifices.
Little did I know that my last birthday anniversary (one is born only once so it is technically called a birthday anniversary, but I will use the word birthday for short) a year ago which would be the last one before marrying would hint to my upcoming marriage within this past year. You see, my birthday beginning my 40th year fell out on Shabbat when we read the Parshiyot Tazria-Metzora, the two middle Parshiyot of the Torah, which are the 27th & 28th Parshiyot. Adding 27 & 28 to equal 55, 55 is the Gematria of the word Kala/Bride. Now, my birthday fell out a number of times in the past on Shabbat when reading these two Parshiyot. However, being that this was the beginning or Rosh Hashana/New Year as you will of my 40th year, bearing in mind that the letter Mem is 40, the letter Mem with the word Kala/Bride spells the word Malka/Queen which is another name for a bride as well as the Shabbat, Shabbat HaMalka/Queen Shabbat (and yes, there is a real spiritual Shabbat Queen, besides the day of Shabbat, but I will not get into details in this post). Moreover, the word Malka/Queen is the Gematria of 95, and according to the Midrash, the 95th Psalm - which begins the Kabbalat Shabbat prayers - corresponds to the Tribe of Yissaschar, which in turn corresponds to the month of Iyar, on which I was born on the first day of this month! And if this was not enough, we got married on the 2nd day of Chanuka, on which we read in the Torah about the sacrifices that the leader of the Tribe of Yissaschar brought!
And as I mentioned earlier in this post, Parshat Vayeilech is the 52nd Parsha of the Torah. Accordingly, the word Ben/son is the Gematria of 52. And as mentioned near the end of the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot - BEN Arbaim L'Binah, 40 years old is the time for understanding.
I am just near the conclusion of 40 years when as a newly married person, I will G-d willing be ready to offer spiritual sacrifices that will benefit the Jewish people as it is only when a person gets married that he becomes complete, as noted in Kabbalistic sources that a man and woman marrying becomes one soul. And as the end of the 52nd Parsha states, Ad Tumam "Until they (Moses' words of Torah) were completed" and the last two letters of Tumam spells the word for the letter Mem=40.
And as for 40 years old being the age of understanding, this will be the topic of my upcoming birthday post, G-d willing...
30 Nissan 5770 - 1st day of Rosh Chodesh Iyar & 15th day of the Sephira corresponding to the Mishna.
Well, this is the type of message that is crossing my mind as I approach the end of the first 40 years of my life, as I am writing this within my last 24 hours before the 40th anniversary of my birthday, G-d willing.
Yes, I have made some decisions in my life which may have not been the best in my interest. After all, who doesn't make mistakes? But in the long term, I do look at my accomplishments, or at least the potential that I have utilized and what is yet to be utilized. While some may have not appreciated what I have to offer and turned me down from taking courses or being hired based on their narrow minded judgment even as of late today, I have to focus on what I have now and what I believe that I can be good at, and move full speed ahead.
Well, among my accomplishments, though perhaps at a little older age than for some other people, I earned my rabbinic ordination, I made Aliyah (five years ago), I started www.gematriot.blogspot.com (a year and a half ago), and just four months ago...I married my beloved wife Yael. What seemed to me to be something that for all that I knew could possibly never happen for me, took place in a blink of an eye. It was a mere eight months ago when I first met my wife, and if you would have asked Yael or I at the end of our first date if we would consider marrying each other, either of us answering "yes" would have been saying more of a lie than the truth. But...the two of us focused on what really matters in life, and seeing each other for what we respectively represented, we started feeling a bond for each other. For this, it took a few meetings to realize that indeed, we had tremendous potential to have a good marriage, despite the challenges which we both knew would be involved.
While many potential marriage partners fuss about far more pettier things, as one of the two dating partners will fool himself or herself thinking that their relationship won't work, when the only reason he or she is right is because he/she tells himself/herself this but not because it would be true otherwise (and this is why I wasn't married for so many years until now - there are very few women today especially in their 30s and up who are truly open-minded), Yael and I both realized that the essence is how one deals with challenges rather than the challenges
"defining" who we are which is quite often not the case.
So, at the end of 40 years which is JUST ABOUT COMPLETE, while I have yet to accomplish much of my potential, the way I see it, the files of my brain (human computer) are just about completely downloaded.
And I will prove it. Near the end of Moses' life, he tells the Jewish nation "Hashem didn't give you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day. I walked you for 40 years in the desert..." (Deutronomy 29:3-4). Nearing 40 years in the desert since the Exodus, the Jews did not have full comprehension of the message of the Torah until that point in time when Moses was about to pass away. Indeed, the Sages in the Talmud learn from here that one doesn't fully comprehend what one's Rebbe/Torah teacher teaches him until after 40 years. (NOTE: This is one out of many reasons why it is important to learn Torah as much as possible while one is young).
Following the beginning words of the first chapter of Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers which was learned this past Shabbat, "Moses received the Torah from (Mt.) Sinai, and handed it over to Joshua...", we see that Joshua (whose Yahrzeit of 26 Nissan fell out on this past Shabbat) was a devoted student of Moses right from the start, and hence, he was the most qualified person to be the next leader and Torah teacher of the Jewish people - not one of Moses' sons or nephew Elazar, who was the present Cohen Gadol/High Priest following his father Aaron's passing. It took Joshua just about 40 years as Moses' most devoted student to be qualified to step into Moses' shoes.
Yes, the first letter of Moses's name Moshe is a Mem which is the Gematria of 40, which was a number that kept popping up in Moses's life, including the fact that Moses spent three periods of 40 days each in Hashem's presence and Moses led the Jewish people for the last 40 years - the last of the three thirds of his life from the time of the Exodus, in the same way that he was the third and last one of his siblings following Miriam and Aaron. Along these lines, I am reminded of a good friend of mine, Rabbi Dovid Bryn of blessed memory, who sacrificed so much of his life bringing Jews closer to Judaism in a loving way despite his illness of 20 years until his untimely passing at the age of 40, about whom a friend of his remarked that he lived 120 years (as Moses physically lived) in a third of the time. I guess you can say that this is the positive side of the other side of the coin where criminals get out of prison after doing a third of the time for "good behavior".
And speaking of time, there is a Mitzva/Commandment that we perform for seven weeks every year called Sephirat HaOmer, which means counting 49 days from the 16th of Nissan when the Omer offering, consisting of barley flour, was offered in the Temple, following which is the holiday of Shavuot/Pentacost. The barley flour signified the aspect of animalism, a trait within human beings when we follow our "human" animalistic instincts rather than our HUMANE instincts, just like the Jews leaving Egypt needed a period of seven weeks to be spiritually prepared to receive the Torah, beginning with the Ten Commandments, which was given on Shavuot.
The source in the Torah for this Mitzva begins with the word Usphartem "You shall count" (Leviticus 23:15). What is most unique about this Mitzva is that based on the list of Mitzvot of the Rambam/Maimonides, this is the MIDDLE MITZVAH of the Torah.
Perhaps what is more significant than the fact that this is the MIDDLE MITZVAH is that the lesson we can learn from this is that it is time that is the center of everything and that time can either be our biggest friend or our biggest enemy, based on how we utilize time. Even time is a creation of Hashem, as Hashem is beyond time and Who always existed, long before anything else besides Him existed, but it is time that ultimately defines who we are as one who thinks about what is important in life, and it is only time that will motivate us to do the right things as we don't have so much time to get it all right and we don't even know how long we will actually life, when G-d forbid, our life can be over in a blink of an eye.
Hence, it is the MIDDLE MITZVAH of the Sephira that teaches us that our main spiritual goal is to work on our animalistic self until we reach the ultimate level of spirituality. While it is technically never too late to begin working on ourselves as long as we can breathe and move around, even as Rabbi Akiva who was one of the greatest Sages of all time only began learning Torah at the age of 40, it has been mentioned that our lifespan from 20 years old until our 70th year correspond to the 49 days of the Sephira. As physically, our animalistic hormones are at an all time high at the age of 20; and after our parenting and working years when coming close to being 70 years old, most of us don't quite feel the same even sexually; on the flipside, we hope that our spiritual level will be at an all time high by the time that we reach old age from our young adulthood when parenting and working posed challenges to improve on our own self, except that we learn to use the physical for spiritual purposes.
With the above being said, I would like to note that the first two letters of the verse beginning noting the Mitzva of Sephirat HaOmer - Usphartem - are Vav & Samech.
These two letters are the letters for the number 66, and this is my 66th post. And as we mentioned the Ten Commandments as what Hashem gave to us following the end of the Sephira period, it's interesting to note that when writing the number 66 in Hebrew in script letters as opposed to the standard block letters which we see in printed material in books and publications, it looks just like the letter TEN!
And there is a word that is the Gematria of the number 66 - Vayeilech, the name of the 52nd Parsha of the Torah, which is no stranger to the Gematria blogspot. You see, I had mentioned in the past that being that this Parsha contains 30 Pesukim/verses, which contains the least amount of verses of the 54 Parshiyot of the Torah, as the first 24 verses of this Parsha correspond to the 24 books of the Bible - the WRITTEN Torah (NOT 39 books as protrayed in the "Old" Testament) - as the 24th verse reads "When Moses finished WRITING the words of the Torah in a BOOK until their completion" (Deutronomy 31:24), and the last six verses correspond to the six orders or volumes of the Mishna or Mishnayot - the ORAL Torah - as the concluding verse of the Parsha reads "Moses SPOKE in the EARS of the entire congregation of Israel the words of this song until their conclusion" (Deutronomy 31:30). And indeed, the letter for the number 30 - Lamed, has the connotation of the words Lilmod-Lelamed, (to) learn - (to) teach.
As we note, the exact wording of the letter Lamed means teach, which is the greater aspect of Talmud Torah, which is not just learning, but teaching Torah to others, the greatest merit that one can have, and it was Moses who was the first to have this greatest merit, who is called Moshe RABBEINU, Moses OUR TEACHER, as he not only taught his own immmediate generation and succeeding generation, but in effect has been our teacher until this day, and the ultimate proof for this is that the Torah is called Torat Moshe, the Torah of Moses. While I am writing my words here rather than speaking them, this too is an aspect of teaching Torah, and is also a form of the LAST Mitzva of the Torah mentioned in Parshat Vayeilech of every Jew writing a Sefer Torah, which according to many Poskim/Halachic deciders, can be fulfilled by owing Jewish books, which includes the Bible, Talmud, and Halachic works.
Speaking of 40 years, the word Mishna is a contraction of the words Mem (the letter)
Shana - 40 years, or can be read as Shana Mem - Year 40. In connection to this, Pirkei Avot Chapter Six notes that there are 48 acquisitions or ways of acquiring the Torah, meaning, that through 48 various ways of working on ourselves, we can make the Torah part of us rather than something that is studied strictly on an "intellectual" level without treating it as Torat Hashem, the Torah of Hashem. Anyways, it has been pointed out that the 48 ways of acquiring the Torah correspond to the first 48 days of the Sephira, while the last day of the Sephira in effect corresponds to all the 48 acquisitions. In any case, bearing this in mind, as I writing my post on this 15th day of the Sephira, this day corresponds to the Torah acquisition of MISHNA! Yes, the last day of my 40th year corresponds to the Torah acquisition that means 40 years or Year 40! And by the way, the second chapter of Pirkei Avot which will be learned this coming Shabbat begins with Rebbe Omeir -
"Rebbe says..." referring to Rabbi Judah the Prince who compiled the Mishnayot.
And speaking of the last day of my 40th year in connection with the Mishna, it's most interesting to note that the final statement of the Mishna is mentioned by a Rabbi with my namesake Shimon - "Rabbi Shimon Ben Chalafta said: The Holy One Blessed Be He didn't find a vessel to hold a blessing for Israel except for peace, as it says "Hashem will give strength to His nation, Hashem will bless His nation with peace".
And it was in my 40th year that I married my beloved wife Yael. Her full Hebrew name is Yael Miriam which is the Gematria of 400, the same Gematria as the LAST letter of the Alef Beit - Tav. In relationship to the Mishna, there are two things that have the Gematria of 400. The first - HaMishna - the Mishna, in the definitive form, equals 400, and the first letters of the phrase Shisha Sidrei Mishna - Shin,
Samech, Mem - also equals 400.
Now the Mishna in connection with my name Shimon Matisyahu. The plural form for Mishna - Mishnayot, is the same Gematria as Shem Shimon - (the) name (of) Shimon - 806. And, if you add the word Mishna=395 to my name Shimon=466, this adds up to the Gematria of my second name Matisyahu=861!
On an incidental note, there are two names of Masechtot/Tractates of Mishnayot that have the same Gematria as my two names Shimon Matisyahu, Shimon=Makkot (another name for Malkot/lashes which used to be administered for certain sins by the Jewish court)and Matisyahu=Rosh HaShana (named after the New Year holiday which includes the history and laws of Rosh Chodesh, and I was born on Rosh Chodesh Iyar (1 Iyar), and the upcoming 1st day of Rosh Hashana will always fall out on the same day of the week as my birthday!)
In any case, as the Mishnayot concludes with the word BaShalom - with peace, the most crucial element that keeps a Jewish marriage together is called Shalom Bayit, marital peace, which literally means peace of the house. And as we know, the very first letter of the Torah is a Beit, the name for which is the same lettering as the word Bayit/house. In any case, the fact that the word BaShalom is a composite of the letter Beit & Shalom hints to the concept of Shalom Bayit, marital harmony that keeps a Jewish couple together. And just at the conclusion of 40 years, the Jews were able to fully comprehend how the Torah, the marriage contract, was able to keep them connected to Hashem; in the same way, it is Middot, character traits, literally meaning measures, beginning with the letter Mem, that is behind the concept of Shalom Bayit, as one's behavior and attitude towards one another is what ultimately determines whether a relationship will continue or fall apart.
Indeed, the word Middot is also the name of the Tractate of Mishnayot which focuses on the measurements of the different parts of the Temple or Beit HaMikdash (the same Gematria as the names Matisyahu & Rosh Hashana - 861). Perhaps it is not coincidental that it is the same meaning as character traits, as we know that the Bayit Sheni/Second Temple was destroyed due to Sinat Chinam/baseless hatred which is the reason why we have yet to have our Bayit Shelishi/Third Temple that we have been waiting for for nearly 2,000 years. Indeed, if one is on the correct path of Midot Tovot, good character, Sinat Chinam simply does not exist.
Unfortunately, it was during the Sephira period that Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students perished due to not giving the proper respect to one another. It was particularly during this period that these students perished, as they did not refine their character in sync with the spirit of the period when we are supposed to refine our animalistic or non desirable traits to the extent that we will be quite more prepared for the Torah on Shavuot with an improvement in some way that we can feel good about, even if we have yet a lot more to work on.
Indeed, the name of the Parsha that hints to the two Torot - Written Torah & Oral Torah - is Vayeilech=66 (in the same way that the first two letters of the verse of the Mitzva of Sephirat HaOmer are the letters that spell the number 66), "Moses went...I am 120 years old" (Deutronomy 31:1-2). Yes, Moses did not stop walking spiritually until his dying day, even though Moses was the greatest Tzadik/righteous person who walked this planet. He was never satisfied with his present spiritual level, as he knew that as long as he lived, it meant that there is always a higher level to strive for. And if this can be said about Moses, then the rest of us have to realize that there is always room for growth, as it is only Hashem who is truly complete. And if we are not constantly walking in spirituality and our characteristic traits, then it isn't simply that we are not improving, but that we are digressing.
And in case anyone should ask, "It may be true that Rabbi Akiva's students weren't exactly the most wanting in terms of behavior; but is this a reason why they should all perish? Imagine all the Torah that was lost as a result! After all, they weren't just anyone's students - they were Rabbi Akiva's students!" it should be noted that if Hashem simply wanted people to learn and teach Torah, he could have non-Jews do the same for that matter. But...it has to be learned and taught through holy and proper means. After all, the Torah is HASHEM'S WISDOM, and cannot be treated like other wisdom.
Though technically, the sciences, mathematics, and the like all come from Hashem, it is only the Torah which has holiness which is most representive of Hashem's wisdom; in the same way that although non-Jews also have a soul even as they too can qualify to be in Heaven for living a righteous life, it is only Jews who have a holiness that separates them from the rest of mankind, even if they are only like a thousandth of the six plus billion people on this planet. It is not always quantity that makes the big chart - but quality; and if G-d forbid the quality of the Torah could be compromised, then it will not have the impact on people that Hashem wants it to be, and cannot continue having its proper spiritual effect without going through the refining process as demonstrated through the Sephira period in which the Jews waited seven weeks to receive the Torah.
And just when you thought it was over, there is another connection to the numbers 40 & 66 with this week's Parshat Tazria (actually, this is the first of two Parshiyot that we read this coming Shabbat).
Parshat Tazria begins mentioning that when a woman gives birth to a boy, then she is impure for seven days, and following this has a period of 33 days of purity (NOTE: As far as the laws of family purity is concerned, the Code of Jewish Law - and NOT the literal meaning of the Bible - have to be thoroughly learned, along with one's questions being answered by a rabbi or a woman trained to know these laws), thus adding to a total of 40 days, following which the mother brings special birth sacrifices in the Temple. For a female, the mother had 14 days of impurity followed by 66 days of purity following which she brought her birth sacrifices.
Little did I know that my last birthday anniversary (one is born only once so it is technically called a birthday anniversary, but I will use the word birthday for short) a year ago which would be the last one before marrying would hint to my upcoming marriage within this past year. You see, my birthday beginning my 40th year fell out on Shabbat when we read the Parshiyot Tazria-Metzora, the two middle Parshiyot of the Torah, which are the 27th & 28th Parshiyot. Adding 27 & 28 to equal 55, 55 is the Gematria of the word Kala/Bride. Now, my birthday fell out a number of times in the past on Shabbat when reading these two Parshiyot. However, being that this was the beginning or Rosh Hashana/New Year as you will of my 40th year, bearing in mind that the letter Mem is 40, the letter Mem with the word Kala/Bride spells the word Malka/Queen which is another name for a bride as well as the Shabbat, Shabbat HaMalka/Queen Shabbat (and yes, there is a real spiritual Shabbat Queen, besides the day of Shabbat, but I will not get into details in this post). Moreover, the word Malka/Queen is the Gematria of 95, and according to the Midrash, the 95th Psalm - which begins the Kabbalat Shabbat prayers - corresponds to the Tribe of Yissaschar, which in turn corresponds to the month of Iyar, on which I was born on the first day of this month! And if this was not enough, we got married on the 2nd day of Chanuka, on which we read in the Torah about the sacrifices that the leader of the Tribe of Yissaschar brought!
And as I mentioned earlier in this post, Parshat Vayeilech is the 52nd Parsha of the Torah. Accordingly, the word Ben/son is the Gematria of 52. And as mentioned near the end of the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot - BEN Arbaim L'Binah, 40 years old is the time for understanding.
I am just near the conclusion of 40 years when as a newly married person, I will G-d willing be ready to offer spiritual sacrifices that will benefit the Jewish people as it is only when a person gets married that he becomes complete, as noted in Kabbalistic sources that a man and woman marrying becomes one soul. And as the end of the 52nd Parsha states, Ad Tumam "Until they (Moses' words of Torah) were completed" and the last two letters of Tumam spells the word for the letter Mem=40.
And as for 40 years old being the age of understanding, this will be the topic of my upcoming birthday post, G-d willing...
30 Nissan 5770 - 1st day of Rosh Chodesh Iyar & 15th day of the Sephira corresponding to the Mishna.
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