#155 - Sabbath 11

Any clues to what I mean by the title of this post?  Stay tuned for the answer in this post.

But first, I want to point out something that is related to the general concept of Daf Yomi.  It is true that Post 150 was focused on the 13th cycle of Daf Yomi, mentioning various things as related to the numbers 13 & 150, as well as the 13th letter Mem, including the fact that the phrase Daf Yomi is the Gematria of 150, and that the 150th and final psalm of Tehillim has 13 mentions of Hillul (one of the synonyms of the meaning praise in Hebrew), as well as the amazing Gematria of the 13th of the Shlosh Esrei Middot HaRachamim - Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy as recorded at the end of Micha (7:20) - Mimei Kedem, which is the Gematria of the word Gemara - 244.

Now, there is another Gematria about the phrase Daf Yomi that relates very specifically to the 13th Divine Attribute of Mercy.  Well, not exactly.  You see, sometimes, the phrase describing the study of the daily Talmud folio is called Daf HaYomi - Page of THE day.  In this case, this phrase is actually the Gematria of 155 - the number of this post.  With this said, this is related directly the 13th Divine Attribute of Mercy - the original list that Hashem dictated to Moses on Mt. Sinai in the beginning of the month of Elul, which is nicknamed Chodesh HaRachamim - The Month of Mercy.  This Attribute is the word V'Nakeh (and Who Cleanses).  Actually, since the Vav in this instance means "and", this letter is technically not part of the 13th Attribute, but rather indicates the last one on the list as we normally write a sentence when mentioning a list, ending off noting the final item on the list, "and...""  With this said, we note that the word Nakeh has the same letters as the Hebrew number for 155!  That's right folks, the Gematria of the name of the 13th Divine Attribute in the original list of the 13 Divine Attributes of Divine Mercy is the SAME Gematria as the phrase Daf HaYomi!  So as you see everyone, this 13th cycle of Daf Yomi is especially an auspicious time to learn Daf Yomi which began on the most special day of Tu B'Av, the date about which the rabbis of the Talmud declared is the time to begin learning more Torah at nights as the nights start to become longer around this time of year.

There is a question that has been asked on this.  We know that the timing of the seasons, and how long the days and nights are, are in fact based on the solar calendar.  If so, then why pick specifically the date of Tu B'Av as the date to declare as the time to learn more Torah at nights because "this is around the time that the nights become longer"?  And even if one were to say that this is because a number of happy events happened on this date, what does this directly have to do with Torah learning?  Why not already pick Rosh Chodesh Av or Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of a Jewish month for that matter to start doing so?

And now an obvious question as related to this post.  What is the practical difference between the phraseologies of Daf Yomi and Daf HaYomi - or maybe there isn't?

OK, so let's get to the bottom of this.  The Daf for the first day of the week of Parshat Noach of this year - 28 Tishrei is Sabbath 11.  But normally, if I were to write about a theme on some Talmud page, rather than writing the name of the page, it would make a little more catchy title to write some theme that is mentioned on this page.  However, in this case, the whole reason for the name of the title of this post has everything to do with the name of this page.

You see, there are 2,711 pages of Daf Yomi cycle of the Babylonian Talmud.  Well, close to it, for in fact, Tractate Shekalim of the Jerusalem Talmud is included in the Daf Yomi, as there is no Gemara on Tractate Shekalim in the Babylonian Talmud.  In fact, for the first seven cycles of Daf Yomi, this Tractate Shekalim of the Jerusalem Talmud was in fact not included in the Daf Yomi, and was decided since to add this tractate to the Daf Yomi; hence, making the total amount of Talmud pages in the Daf Yomi cycle to 2,711.

Now in Hebrew, the number for 2,711 is made up of the letters - Beit, Tav, Shin, Yud, Aleph.  When these letters are rearranged, we see that we can spell this as... Shabbat Yud-Aleph (11).  So amazingly, the number of Daf Yomi pages is made up of the same letters as the name of one of its pages.  Now, this is a little nice mathematical game, or is it?

Actually, this is actually more of a scientific discovery - in fact in more than one way - as I will shortly explain.  But first, one will be curious as the contents of this Daf Yomi page.  There are actually several themes on this page, but the one concluding the explanation of the Mishna about the activities that we don't perform to begin with when it is the time to pray the Mincha (afternoon prayer) quotes a Baraita (similar to Mishna but refers to other teachings that were not included in the Mishna) that notes that just as one does not interrupt for prayer, so too one does not interrupt for the recital of the Shema, which is contrary to what our Mishna says that we interrupt for the Shema but not for prayer, the latter referring to Torah scholars who were so involved in Torah learning, that they were actually exempt from prayer, but they still have to say the Shema (which is not applicable nowadays considering the decline in the level of Torah learning compared to how it was thousands of years ago).  The Talmud answers the discrepancy between the two texts, noting that the Baraita refers to those who are involved in deciding whether to add an extra month to the Hebrew year, making the year 13 months instead of the usual 12 months, called the intercalation of the year.  This is necessary according to the Torah, since we see that the Torah calls the month on which we celebrate Passover - Chodesh HaAviv "The month of spring".  Now, unlike the solar calendar which needs an adjustment of once every four years usually to maintain the balance of its calendar to be in sync with the seasons, as the cycle of the sun is close to 365.2425 days, the Hebrew calendar on a regular year consists between 353-355 days, with an average of 11 days shorter than the solar calendar; and hence, as we have it on our Jewish calendar these days, every two or three years is declared a leap year with the month of another Adar added.

Tosfos, one of the main commentaries on the Talmud, explains that since the deciding of whether a leap month should be added to the year helped decide when the Jewish holidays would be celebrated, even the recital of the Shema, which is a declaration of Hashem as the One and Only, was able to be pushed aside to allow the Jewish court to be distraction free to make this crucial determination.

In connection to this, I would like to quote another Talmudic piece that is found in the same Talmudic Tractate Shabbat (75a):  Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan:  From where to we learn that it is a commandment to calculate  the cycles and constellations? As it says, "For it is your wisdom and understanding in front of the nations" (Deutronomy 4:6).  What is this wisdom and understanding  in front of the nations? You have to say that this is the calculation of the cycles and seasons.

Basically, since this science is something that the non-Jews are into, this is why this is refered to as (the literal meaning of the words "in front of the eyes of the nations".  Moreover, the Talmud declares that should one say that the non-Jews have wisdom, believe him, but if should one say that the non-Jews have Torah, do not believe him.  For while all wisdom in fact is Hashem's wisdom, only the Torah is actually called Hashem's wisdom, for the Torah is the holy part of Hashem's wisdom which was granted solely to the Jews.  Along these lines,  in the previous Daf Yomi page (Shabbat 10), we see that the Sabbath was also something that Hashem gave specifically to the Jews as a present.

In any case, in the count of the 2,711 pages of the Talmud in the Daf Yomi cycle, the Daf of Shabbat 11 is the 73th page, and Chachma (wisdom) is the Gematria of 73.  Moreover, this takes place in this Hebrew year 5773 which ends with the number 73.

Now, for our other scientific mention, which is also astronomical, has to do with the fact that the letters that spell the total number of pages of Daf Yomi are the very letters that spell one of the planets - Shabtai (Saturn).  And if this was not enough, in the entire Talmud, the one place that has a discussion about the planets, and one's destiny based on the hour related to which planet that he or she is born on, is again - in Tractate Shabbat Daf 156(a), which is actually the 155th Daf of the tractate being that all tractates of the Babylonian Talmud begin with Daf 2, and this section about the planets is part of the Talmudic discussion that is based on the Mishna on Daf 155,  and don't forget that we are on Post #155.

Anyways, the Talmud mentions that one who is born during the hour of Saturn will be someone whose plans won't come out to anything, while there are those who say that any plans that are plotted against him won't come out to anything.  Regardless of the exact outcome, this is based on the wording of the Hebrew name of this planet, as in a phrase in this very week's Parshat Noach - Lo Yishbotu - "They will not cease" which is referring to the planetary system.  In this context, Hashem was saying following everyone exiting from Noah's Ark after being cooped up for one year during the Flood and the aftermath, that unlike during the flood - the planets ceased working, and hence, one could not tell between day and night because the planetary system includes the sun and moon; from henceforth, never again will the planets cease from functioning.

Now, while we see in the Torah that the Sabbath is clearly Hashem's gift to the Jewish people, it is this phrase Lo Yishbotu, which also refers to the Halacha (Jewish Law) that non-Jews are forbidden to rest on the Sabbath - "they shall not cease", that is, cease from work, just like the planets who do not take off a day in the week from moving in the planetary system.  In fact, our rabbis tell us that a non-Jew who does rest on the Sabbath is liable to death (at the hands of Heaven).  Now, there are varying opinions as to how far it goes in terms of a non-Jew not being allowed to work on the Sabbath, whether this only applies to the actual day of the week that we observe it, or even if it a different day in the week.  There may be other questions about this issue, such as, are they simply forbidden to treat the day of rest as their own concept of rest from labor, or are they simply forbidden to observe it the same exact way that Jews observe the Sabbath with all the details of the 39 categories of forbidden labor?  Does not working for a non-Jew mean not working one's regular job where one gets a paycheck when taking off on Saturday or Sunday, or not even doing basic household chores?  These questions may be based on whether the prohibition of a non-Jew resting from work is based on one's intent, or even without intent simply because the non-Jew is making a appearance of not working looking like he wants a Sabbath to rest on just like Jews.  Thus, it would seem according to some, a non-Jew is only allowed to take on a paying job at which one's boss allows or demands that he works seven days a work, such as a restaurant; or, if he can't or doesn't want certain types of jobs, that he start his own business in which he will be able to work seven days a work.  Thus, it would seem that some forbid a non-Jew from ever going on vacation (which wasn't something that people always did until recent times being that travel was more of a pain than a luxury), aside from taking off of work because one is sick or is ordered by the doctor to take a rest to maintain one's health.

Anyways, in this phrase Lo Yishbotu - the middle five letters of this phrase does indeed spell the exact same letters as the Hebrew word for Saturn - Shabtai.  It seems that for some reason, the Torah wants to hint especially to this planet in its mention of the planets not ceasing from functioning.  In fact, the name Saturday of the day on which most of the Jewish Sabbath is observed on, is named after Saturn, but as far as Saturn is concerned, it is one of the planets with rings, consisting of nine rings.  This is quite interesting, because the Hebrew word for ring is Taba'at, which begins with the letter Teit, the numerical value of nine.

As a Midrash tells us, at the beginning of this world's creation, the Sabbath voiced a complaint to Hashem. It stated that all the other days of the week has a partner, except for itself - the first day with the second day, the third day with the fourth day, and the fifth day with the sixth day.  In reply, Hashem told the Sabbath that the Jewish people will be its partner.  In fact, there is a Shabbat Queen - Shabbat HaMalka, which is indeed spiritual like the angels.  And so in effect, we are partners with the Sabbath like a husband is partners with his wife, which began by the husband placing a ring on the wife's finger, as the beginning of Tractate Kiddushin tells us that a man weds a woman in Jewish law in one of two ways - with money (which nowadays is exclusively a ring) and a document.  In relationship to this, there is no concept of an official marriage ceremony for non-Jews to marry one another, but their official relationship in terms of not being allowed to sleep outside of their relationship is based on whether they are living together, regardless of whether they have a copy of the fine print marriage contract or not.  Now, the actual phrase that the Mishna begins with is HaIsha Nikneit "The woman is purchased", which is not meant to be demeaning by any means, but rather, how one can claim a woman to be one's wife rather than someone else, the same way that a purchase is made which makes it officially one's possession as opposed to anyone else.  And noting this, the root word in Hebrew for purchase is Kano - spelling the very Hebrew number for 155, the number of this post.

Anyways, getting back to the part of the Talmud about the planets, it does state Ein Mazal L'Yisrael "There is no fortune/constellatons for Jews".  This means that if Jews do what they are supposed to in serving Hashem, then even if there is a store of bad fortune that is meant for someone based on what hour related to its planet that one is born on, it will not affect him or her.  For after all, it is Hashem Who runs the world, and the planets are merely among Hashem's myriads of servants fulfilling His will.

With this said, we see that the number 13, while it seems to a number of bad fortune for non-Jews, is a most fortune number for Jews.  I have already written in past posts while significant this number is to Jews, including in this post, so I will leave it at that.

Now, let us get our above questions answered.  First about Tu B'Av - why is it particular on this date that we begin learning more Torah at nights based on the reason that the nights start getting longer around this time, when it fact, this is an occurrence that is based on the solar system, particularly the sun?  I heard an answer for this at one of the English speaking celebrations of the conclusion of the last Daf Yomi cycle a couple of months ago.  In reference to the fact that the new Daf Yomi cycle began on Tu B'Av, it was mentioned that Tu B'Av is the anniversary of Teshuva (repentance).  How do we see this?  Tu B'Av is 40 days before 25 Elul, the anniversary of the creation of the world, and as we know from the Talmud, Teshuva is one of the seven times that Hashem created before the creation of the world.  And as the Talmud in the beginning of Tractate Sota tells us, there is a Heavenly voice that matches one's intended mate 40 days before the creation of his embryo.  In another words, this world's continued existence is only possible due to Teshuva, for without it, the world would be too unworthy for it to continue to exist with all of its sins; and hence, the Teshuva and the world (the only planet that human beings live on) are partners with one another.  Hence, Tu B'Av is the anniversary of the creation of Teshuva.  And so, we look to improve our ways - most especially in increasing our Torah learning on this very date of Tu B'Av; and as a Midrash tells us, if one has sinned and is used to learning one chapter of Mishna (a day), he should now learn two chapters; if one Daf of Torah, he should not learn two Dafim.

Now that I mentioned Daf Yomi in terms of Tu B'Av and Teshuva, the letters that make up the number of Dafim of the Daf Yomi and the word Shabtai (Saturn - which is also used as a Hebrew name for a male), equal the Gematria of the word Teshuva!  Now bear in mind, the Daf spoken of in the days of the Midrash was more like a piece of parchment rather than the page that we turn in a book nowadays, being that the printing press had yet to print its first book.  But perhaps, the Midrash is hinting to something else - that one should not just learn the Daf Yomi for the day, and then tada...off with the T.V. night sitcom, but quite the contrary, if anything, to go over that same Daf that you learned earlier that day instead, to review it, understand it better, and remember it better.  For in fact, regardless of what you learn, it is the same Mitzva of Torah learning if you learn it once, or the 101th time, or the 1,001st time.

Now, is it Daf Yomi or Daf HaYomi?  Indeed, the phrase Daf Yomi is used most often to refer to the daily folio of the Babylonian Talmud that is learned by Jews throughout the world.  However, Daf HaYomi - Daf of THE day, carries with it its own meaning.  It means that the Daf learned on that particular day is THE page for THAT day.  Meaning, there is no such thing as that day passing by without learning the Daf meant to be learnt for that day.  If the Daf Yomi of Sabbath 11 is scheduled to be learned on 28 Tishrei, then there is no such thing as going though this date without learning this page of the Talmud, for Ki Hem Chayeinu V'Orech Yameinu - the Torah is our life and the length of our days.  O.K., I myself have a challenge at times to be able to learn a whole Daf of Talmud on a particular day depending on how the day goes between work and taking care of the baby.  But certainly, at least one should feel something is missing or needing to catch up on, without letting go of this thought until one has caught up learning the same Daf as everyone else is doing worldwide.  So at least, one can be said to be learning Daf Yomi, even if it isn't always Daf HaYomi - Daf of THE day, but the main thing is not to be distracted to the point that one feels totally behind and not even attempt to catch up until it is too late.  For this, we need to set goals for ourselves, and have two plans for ourselves, so that if the plan for Daf HaYomi doesn't work out for ever reason to always learn the day's Daf, that one can still have the plan of Daf Yomi to be said to be learning the same Gemara as everyone else, even if not everyday works it that it will be the same exact Daf, but in 2,711 days time, one will have finished the entire Talmud like everyone else because of his determination to learn the entire Talmud based on the Daf Yomi schedule.

Now, remember when I mentioned that Tractate Shekalim, though not part of the Babylonian Talmud, but rather part of the Jerusalem Talmud, is included now in Daf Yomi, something that wasn't the case for the first seven cycles of Daf Yomi?  There is special significance with this.  For first, the name/word Shekalim (coins) is the same Gematria as the word Talmud.  Moreover, the subject of this tractate, which was the annual donaton of the Machatzit HaShekel (half coin) that every adult male Jew was obligated to donate towards Temple expenses for certain sacrifices, took place during the month of Adar, the last of the 12 months that we begin counting from the month of Nissan.  Now, in a regular year, Adar is the 12th month.   However, if it is a leap year with the addition of another month of Adar, then it was in the second Adar that this took place; hence this happening during the 13th and final month of the Jewish months.  And so, the intercalation of the year, as mentioned on the Daf of Shabbat 11 involves the addition of a 13th month, for which the Torah scholars who were involved in doing this were even exempt from saying the Shema; and as we see in the first verse of the Shema, the last word is Echad, from which is the Mitzva in the belief of Hashem as One, and is the Gematria of 13.

Oh, I didn't quite finish the Daf of Sabbath 11 yet.  But what I should tell you, is that I spent quite a few hours the night before catching up on a few pages of the Daf Yomi, because if not now, then who knows when I will ever catch up.  So I couldn't do so during the work week, but when I am not working, I have a better shot of doing it right.

And before I sign out here, connecting the word in Hebrew for acquire - Kenei with the word Chochma, as they are the Gematriot of 155 & 73 respectively, there are three times in the entire Tanach (Bible) that the phrase Kenei Chachma  "Acquire wisdom" is mentioned.  The three times are found in only one book - Mishlei (Proverbs) - 4:5, 4:7, 16:16.  After all, Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon), author of Proverbs, was the wisest person to live on the face of this earth.


Written for 28 Tishrei 5773

#154 - A Portion of Torah Please?

Once again, welcome to a new year at www.gematriot.blogspot.com, which began exactly four years ago on the night following Simchat Torah.

Looking back at this past year, I had the great fortune of becoming a daddy of my now 10 month old Tamar Tzadika, something that I could merely dream about years ago doubting if I Hashem would allow me to get married.  But I believe that if you truly want something, that it will happen unless Hashem does not want it to happen; and as it happened in my case, aside from prayers, an idea came to my head upon seeing an English publication in Israel to have a full page ad written about my quest, leading to me making fliers of that page, and the one flyer that I posted in the Old City of Jerusalem is what led to a phone call from my wife-to-be on her way to the Western Wall who was visiting from another town in Israel, who saw it the next day after I posted it.

Now, on the universal side, the once in seven and a half (or close to it) year Daf Yomi cycle celebrations took place,  having concluded the universal learning of the daily folio of the Babylonian Talmud for the 12th time, and the 13th cycle beginning on Tu B'Av, which is among the happiest days in Jewish history.

On this note, the day that we just celebrated - Simchat Torah, combines both of these aspects - it is also among the happiest days of the Jewish calendar - because on this day, we conclude the annual reading of the Sefer Torah, and we immediately begin it anew.

Now note, my description of the two days of Tu B'Av and Simchat Torah are a little different from each other.  You see, Tu B'Av became the happy day that it is today specifically because of various happy events that occurred on this day.  In this past year 5772, it became one more reason to celebrate due to the fact that it began the 13th worldwide Daf Yomi cycle of the seven and a half year study of the Talmud.  In stark contrast, Simchat Torah became the day that it became due to the decision of rabbis that it should be the designated day of concluding the reading of the Sefer Torah with its last of the 54 Parshiyot, which was set to be on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret.

You see, while Moshe Rabbeinu instituted that we should read from the Torah every Shabbat, Mondays and Thursdays, so that there should not be three days without the Torah being read from, there was no set Parsha that was to be read from.  Whether it began from day one or during the course of time, the Torah was read in order, but there was not necessarily a time frame that it had to be concluded by.  Eventually, there was a more orderly fashion in terms of dividing the Torah to be read as Parshiyot.  However, even at that, not everyone always read the same exact thing every Shabbat.  What we may take for granted today as 54 Parshiyot with combining a few of the Parshiyot in order to conclude the entire Chumash every Simchat Torah, there were communities that finished it more like in three years - as 154 Parshiyot, exactly 100 more than today's 54 Parshiyot.  Oh yes, this is my 154th Post, but aside from this, the 154th Parsha of the early days was the exact same Parsha that we now call V'Zot HaBeracha.

Anyways, looking at the number 154, we can divide this number into two parts - one (1) and fifty-four (54). And indeed, immediately upon concluding the Torah with its 54th Parsha on Simchat Torah, we immediately begin with the 1st Parsha starting with Bereishit.  With this said, the one who is called for the final Aliya of the Sefer Torah is called Chatan Torah (Bridegroom of the Torah) and the one who is called for the first Aliya of the Sefer Torah is called Chatan Bereishit.  In fact, before each of these two people are called, it is proceeded by a special paragraph that is recited in honor of these respective Aliyot.

It was only today, on this Simchat Torah, that I thought of the following question.  Why do we call specifically the person called for the last Aliya of the Torah as Chatan Torah, with the name Torah rather than the one for the first Aliya which is named after the first word of the Torah?  Why don't we call this the opposite way, naming the one for the final Aliyah after either the name of the Parsha as Beracha, which means blessing which would be a most beautiful word, being that it is the name of the last Parsha, or the word Yisrael which is the last word of the Torah; and call the one with the first Aliya of the Torah as Chatan Torah instead?

Of course if it were to be the opposite, then I would be asking the same kind of thing - why is it this way and not the reverse?  But while I can't swear that I have the full answer, there is one thing that I did notice - a reason why we call the one for the first Aliya as Chatan Bereishit.

As it is well known, this first word of the Torah - Bereishit, makes up the same letters as the date Aleph B'Tishrei (One in Tishrei), meaning, the date of 1 Tishrei, the (first) day of Rosh Hashana, which is the first day of the Jewish New Year.  And while we learn that the world began to be created on 25 Elul, it was five days later, on the 1st of Tishrei, that Adam and Eve were created by Hashem.  As Midrashic sources tell us, Adam and Eve wed on that very day that they were created, their wedding being attended to by Hashem and the angels - the first wedding that ever took place.  And so indeed, Adam was a Chatan on the 1st of Tishrei, this date having the same letters as the word Bereishit.  O.K, let us not forget Eve the Bride, but since only men are called up to the Torah, this explains why they are called Chatan, aside from the fact that in Hebrew, the word for wedding is Chatuna, which is based on the word Chatan (or the other way around).  So as you can see, the word Bereishit is most related to the word Chatan via the date the Adam wed Eve.  (Ironically, being that the date of 1 Tishrei is now the date of Rosh Hashana, it is forbidden for a Jewish wedding ceremony to take place on this day).

This is all very nice, but what does Adam's wedding have to do with our beginning the Torah other than a historical fact that is related to the first Parsha of the Torah?  True, the whole world are descendants of Adam and Eve, and hence, we the Jewish people are in existence.  However, I believe that what is meant to teach us here is that we should feel the happiness of the Torah in the same way as we felt on what most of us would call the happiest day of our lives - the day of our wedding to our beloved spouse.  After all, in Adam's case especially, he felt very desperate being that he saw all other moving creatures having a mate for themselves, but none for himself; at which point, Hashem created Eve from his rib.  Sure, Hashem could have created both Adam and Eve the same time the same way that He did it for all other creatures, but as our rabbis tell us, He didn't want Adam to take his mate for granted.  As it is, following the sin of eating the forbidden fruit, Adam blamed Eve for having brought him to eat of it.  In any case, at least at his wedding, he
had to have been most happy, especially after what he went through, including being put to sleep by Hashem to create Eve (the first surgical operation in the world).  And so, we in turn have to learn from this not to take the Torah for granted, for in fact, we too went through various hardships, including exile and slavery, to officially receive the Torah once we became a nation.

Now, when many people get married, they don't quite know everything about their significant other.  In fact, even in relationships where boyfriend and girlfriend shack it up for several years living together most romantically, the ball ends once they get married because now, things are viewed in a very different manner, and everyone's true colors "all of a sudden" appear.  But one thing is for sure - if it is a good marriage, there is more appreciation than ever for each other after so many years of marriage, as many will be able to attest at their golden wedding anniversary.

With this said, this would explain why particularly for the one called up for the last Aliya of the Torah, he is called the Chatan Torah, using the word Torah particularly for the end of the Torah rather than the beginning, for it is only after once we go through the entire Torah that we can appreciate the true value of the Torah more than ever.

We see another major connection of the word Torah as related especially to the last Parsha of the Torah.  The fourth Pasuk (verse) of this Parsha begins with the word Torah - Torah Tziva Lanu Moshe Morasha Kehillat Yaacov "The Torah that Moses commanded us is an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deutronomy 33:4).  The Talmud in Tractate Succa (42a) informs us that this is the very first verse that a Jewish child is taught.  That's right, the very first word of Torah that a Jewish child is taught is the very word Torah, though in his mental self, he has a very limited concept of what Torah represents, and it is largely through the example of others - between family and school - of living the Torah way of life, that the young child will understand more and more as time moves on as to what Torah is about in addition to his increasing studies in Torah.  (Note: On Simchat Torah 5767 ('06) in Israel - 22 Tishrei - the Daf Yomi page was Succa 42 mentioning this very verse that is read in the Sefer Torah as part of the last Parsha read on this day!)

Now, getting back to numbers, we know that each Parsha is divided up into seven Aliyot.  This was always the case - whether they read the Torah based on the 54 or the 154 Parshiyot of the Torah.  However, with the number 154, we see another significant thing.  This number can be divided as 77 plus 77.  Thus, we see that there is an intrinsic connection between the number seven and the Torah, which of course also has to do with Shabbat, the seventh day.  For in fact, the very first Aliya of the Torah is about Hashem creating the world in the first week of this world's existance on each of the seven days of the week, culminating with Hashem resting on Shabbat, and indeed, the first of the 154 Parshiyot is this very section of the Torah, hence beginning with a special connection to the number seven.

And in the final three verses of this first section which is about Shabbat, it mentions "Seventh Day" three times.  I already wrote about this in my previous post, but today, it is relating the number seven to the number four, for as we see, it takes four of the number seven as 77+77 for the amount of Parshiyot that used to be in existance for the weekly Shabbat reading.  For in fact, the Mitzva of Shabbat is the FOURTH of the Ten Commandments as it mentions Shabbat as the "Seventh Day".

With this, we see a little irony.  The only Parsha that is not read on Shabbat is the last Parsha of the Torah (except when Shemini Atzeret falls out on Shabbat in Israel).  And the question begs to be asked - since we know that in fact, Shabbat is holier than the other Jewish holidays, why was there a date fixed for reading the final portion of the Torah over which we rejoice rather than designating a certain Shabbat, let us say the Shabbat after Shemini Atzeret, as the one day in the year to conclude the Torah?

For this, let us mention Rashi (on Numbers 29:35) who quotes the Talmud (Succah 55b) which gives the reason for the observance of the holiday of Shemini Atzeret; which in sharp contrast to the seven days of Succot on which animal offerings were brought in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) corresponding to the 70 nations of the world, on this final "Eighth Day", it is devoted exclusively between us and Hashem, offering animal sacrifices only on our own behalf.  Similarly, we see in the Talmud in the first chapter of Tractate Shabbat (that we are presently learning in Daf Yomi) that Shabbat in particular is Hashem's special gift to the Jewish people, and is not meant for non-Jews to celebrate.  You see, with the other Jewish holidays, they are quite obvious that they are meant only for Jews because of events that happened to the Jewish people which would give no other nation any reason to celebrate.  However, the concept of rest, which is related to Shabbat, isn't such a foreign idea, and so, Hashem makes it clear that Shabbat is in fact His special gift only for His Chosen Nation.

This is all nice, but why is Shemini Atzeret THE designated day to conclude the Torah as if it is on an equal footing with Shabbat?  After all, we have Passover - a SEVEN day holiday, the birth of the Jewish nation, which would seem to be a good time to not only conclude the Torah, but to begin it corresponding to our birth?  Or better yet, Shavuot - the day that marks the Giving of the Torah would seem to be most appropriate for this, even as the name Shavuot itself means weeks, which is also based on the word Sheva or Shiva (seven), as there were seven weeks of preparation for this momentous occasion, thus having a special connection with Shabbat, the Seventh day.  Or, why not Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish New Year, for after all, the very first word of the Torah is Bereishit, which makes up the same letters as the date "1st of Tishrei" - A(leph) BeTishrei, and thus we would perhaps think to begin the Torah on the beginning day of the year.  And then of course we have the most solemn day of Yom Kippur, though it probably would not be a very good idea to celebrate on a day of major fasting.  And then we have the SEVEN day holiday of Succot, except for the fact that since on this holiday, animal sacrifices were brought on behalf of the nations of the world, and so this is not exclusive time between us and Hashem to celebrate without distractions from the outside world so to speak.

There is one common theme between Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret.  Shabbat follows a week of work that involves much toil, suffering, working hard to earn a half decent living, etc.  In the old days of the Jews living in the poor ghettos of Europe, Shabbat was truly a day of happiness to help them forget how they half starved during the week, along with the worries of threats or attacks from Anti-Semites which was bound to happen at any time; and truly felt the loss of Shabbat when the sky darkened on Saturday night.  And so with Shemini Atzeret, we first celebrate Succot, which is in fact a most joyous time in the Jewish calendar, but we are reminded of the non-Jewish nations who hate us, even as on our part, we brought offerings on their behalf to atone for them, even if they didn't have any appreciation of this.  And so, Shemini Atzeret steps forward to remind us that at the end of the day, it is our relationship with Hashem that counts the most, just as it is with celebrating Shabbat.

Now, just as we have similarities in almost any two items, so too will there be differences between the two.  And so, while even Shabbat relates to the realm of nature, as there are six days of work and then one rests on Shabbat from the work week, only to face another such week; Shemini Atzeret follows a week of major joyous celebration so that by the time we have Shemini Atzeret, even though it is technically a separate holiday not celebrating with the Succa or Lulav, it is called Shemini "Eighth", highlighting the fact that this number is ABOVE the number seven, being that it represents what is ABOVE nature (as noted in the writings of the Maharal of Prague).  And so, it is most fitting that on this day that we read the concluding portion of the Torah, as after all, the Torah is after all above nature, as evident with stories of many holy rabbis who were hardly affected by nature due to their most highly spiritual state.

Now, there is something that I want to mention from the Hidden Codes of the Torah.  The phrase Simchat Torah (having a total of eight Hebrew letters) can be spelled equidistantly only one time in the entire Chumash - every 1444th letter.  This code is spelled in the three Parshiyot in the Book of Genesis - Vayeishev, Miketz, and Vayigash, which is largely about Joseph from his time in prison to being Pharaoh's viceroy.  In any case, upon a little observation in the Jewish calendar, one will notice that the holiday of Chanuka can only occur during one of the three weeks that these Parshiyot are read on the coming Shabbat (obviously only on two of the weeks on any given year, but will vary as to when Chanuka begins from year to year).   And while Chanuka is not one of the holidays from the time of Moses, but is only some 2,150 years old, it does celebrate our victory over the Syrian-Greeks who wanted to de-sanctify our Torah as a mere nice book of wisdom in the form of Bible stories, G-d forbid taking away the holiness from our holy Torah.  You see, if the Torah is just another nice book of wisdom, then why celebrate the reading of the Torah any more than any other book?  Hence, it is precisely because our holy Torah is "our life and the length of our days", which the cause of us having eternal spritual bliss, that is has such value, and all the materialism that the Syrian-Greeks, who were the world leaders at the time of the Chanuka story, had to offer, even their warped wisdom from Aristotle, Hippocrates, Plato, and Socrates, was of no lasting value to Jews understanding their purpose in life.

Having mentioned that the phrase Simchat Torah is spelled equidistantly every 1,444th letter in the Chumash,
there is a phrase in Tehillim (Psalms) that is the Gematria of 1,444 - Ahavti Toratecha "I love Your Torah" (Psalms 119:97).  Now, the first word Ahavti is the same Gematria as the word for the letter Cheit - 418, and the numerical value of the letter Cheit is eight.  So as you can see, it is the letter eight, that represents what is above nature, that above all represents the eternal value of the Torah which is way above nature that is of a limited existance in the physical world that the Syrian-Greeks worshiped.  And hence, realizing the eternal value of the Torah which is above all other wisdoms and philosphies, one cannot help but love the Torah, which we most express on Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, singing among the more popular songs dancing with the Sifrei Torot (Torah Scrolls) - Ma Ahavti Toratecha Kol HaYom Hi Sichati "How do I love Your Torah, it is my conversation all day long".  OK, not all of us are big Torah scholars who learn in Yeshiva all day, but one who does have a love for Torah will undoubtedly start speaking words of Torah without even thinking twice at times when others would be talking about everything else under the sun.

And in terms of Gematria of what is known as Mispar Katan "Small Number" when adding the immediate sums of the numbers of a give word, the word Torah being the Gematria of 611, becomes eight when we add the numbers of the Gematria of Torah like this: 6+1+1=8.  In fact, in terms of the eight days of Succot-Shemini Atzeret, following the first six days, the final day of the seven days of Succot is called Hoshana Rabba, being that we say special prayers called Hoshanot "Salvations" asking Hashem for His salvation, especially in terms of bringing water/rain to the world so we can survive, as Hashem judges the world especially in terms of water during the course of this holiday, sealing our fate on this final day of Succot.  But the point that I want to mention here is that it is customary among many Jews in terms of the importance of this day to learn Torah the whole night as all good healthy Jews do on the night of Shavuot.  Then, we have the final day of Shemini Atzeret which is also uniquely marked in term of the Torah.  Hence, the equation of 6+1+1 seems to hint to this breakdown of this eight day holiday period.  This doesn't seem coincidental to me.

On a personal note, being that my daughter was born in this past year, having celebrated her first Simchat Torah with me in the synagogue dancing around with dozens of other young children and babies, as well as having received her very first Aliya along with the other children who are given an Aliya that is entitled Kol HaNearim "All the Lads", both of her names have similar roots in this last Parsha of the Torah.  First, for her first name Tamar, right before Moses' passing, Hashem showed him both the entire land as well as the history of the Jews in the land until the end of time.  Among the places in Israel mentioned is Yericho Ir HaTemarim "Jericho, the city of date palms", as Temarim (dates or date palms) is the plural of the word/name Tamar.  And for her second name Tzadika, which is the feminine form of the word Tzadik (righteous person), earlier among the blessings that Moses gave the various Tribes, there is a phrase that refers to Moses (which he said prophetically rather than look just to praise himself being that he was the most humble person to walk this earth) - Tzidkat Hashem Asa U'Mishpatav Im Yisrael  "He performed the righteousness and ordinances of Hashem with Israel (the nation)".. Additionally, there is another phrase among the blessings that states Yizbechu Zivchei Tzedek "They will offer sacrifices of justice", for the word Tzedek (justice) is etymologically related to the word Tzadik or Tzidkut.

Ther is one more thing pertaining to my daughter Tamar as related to the last Parsha of the Torah.  There is a custom among a group of Jews to learn one or more tractates of Mishna corresponding to the Parsha of the week as related to a common theme between the two.  For example, the tractate Berachot (Blessings), which is the first tractate of the Mishna, is learned during the week of Parshat Toldot in which Isaac gave his blessings to his son Jacob.  It would seem to make more sense for this tractate to rather be learned along with the last Parsha of the Torah called V'Zot HaBeracha ("This is the blessing"), but instead, we see that it is Tractate Temurah.  Now, the word/name Tamar is very similar to the name of this tractate, as even the three Hebrew letters of Tamar is spelled in order within the name of Tractate Temurah, though the meanings of these two words don't seem to have any direct connection.  Perhaps they got the idea for this tractate from the phrase in the Parsha - Ir HaTemarim, but first, we need to note that the meaning of Temurah is exchange, referring to the laws and prohibition of exchanging a sanctified animal for the Temple with a different animal, even if the latter is a superior animal; in which case if done, the one who did this was lashed while both animals were now considered sanctified.

Now, in this final Parsha of the Torah, Moses confirms his love and Hashem's love for the Jewish people with the blessings that he granted them.   Along these lines, Hashem has promised us that He will never exchange us with another nation to be the ones to be His nation to observe the Torah and Mitzvot (commandments), which may be the symbolic reason as to why once an animal is sanctified as a sacrifice for the Temple, that it is forbidden to be exchanged for a different animal.  Additionally, the Talmud compares the Jewish people to the Tamar (date or date palm) in terms of its positive qualities, aside from the fact that it is one of the seven species of the Land of Israel (described in the Torah as honey, referring to date honey).  And in connection to Succot, where the Torah commands us to take for ourselves various items to shake which are called the Arba Minim "Four Species", which are the Etrog, Lulav, Hadasim, and Aravot, the Torah describes the Lulav as Kapot Temarim "branches of date palms"; and in fact, the blessing that we say on the Arba Minim mentions specifically the Lulav of the four species, being that it is the tallest.  But perhaps, it is also related to the fact that it is related to one of the species of fruit of the Land of Israel.  Guess it wasn't a bad idea to give the first Sabra (born in Israel) of my side of the family in 2,000 years - a name like Tamar, which seems to be most representative of the Holy Land of Israel of all the other fruits and plants.

Looking forward to many more exciting Gematriot posts in this year.


Motzoei Simchat Torah 5773

#153 - Ending the Year on All Sevens

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

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

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

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

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

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

Erev Rosh Hashana 5773

#152 - A Jew's BANK

Many years ago, there was an observant Jew, when talking to me about the anti-Semites who complain about Jews having "all the money", asked, "Hey, where is my bank, where is your bank?"  Indeed, quite logical if we are to say that the vast majority of Jews are not millionaires.  To be sure, a good percentage of Jews in the United States, at least until the last few years with the sliding economy, have had some of the higher upscale careers, and not just doctors or lawyers either.  The truth is that the wealthiest people in the world are not doctors or lawyers, like the Yiddishe Mammas of yesteryear hoped for their children to be, after their fathers or husbands had worked some 12 plus hours a day for six days a week (except for Sunday) when they first came off the boat at Ellis Island.  Ultimately, the big wealth is made through investments, some through stocks and bonds, some others through very successful businesses that they founded, and still others through major real estate investments.  And in fact, while there are at least a few Jewish billionaires, the world's wealthiest people are not Jewish.

The truth is that the anti-Semites have much to be jealous of the Jews.  However, I am not referring to the successes of the Jews' brains or wealth, though this is usually what seems to trigger the jealousy of the Jew, but rather, to the spiritual wisdom and deeds of kindness that we Jews perform and get major credit for, which is exclusively for Jews.  Last night, reading a piece of Torah of the Chofetz Chaim, whose Yahrzeit is today - 24 Elul, he notes how easy Hashem made it for us Jews to acquire major spiritual wealth via eternal spiritual reward for each and every word of Torah recited/learned, for which there is nothing equal to this in terms of value, because all the physical wealth in the world combined is only temporary, and will be of zero value in itself after we will no longer need money or wealth to acquire things once we live in a pure, spiritual state.  In fact, we were all at one time enjoying the spiritual bliss in the presence of angels, but in order for us to earn our keep, Hashem sent us all to this finite, coarse world to earn eternal spiritual reward - for free.  And certainly after the slated 6,000 years of this physical world's existance, which will end in just another 228 years, everything that we see around us - the high scale business buildings, centers, towers, etc., the factories, the hospitals, the well designed multi-million dollar homes, the internet, will be puff!  They will all be history - forever.

Of course Hashem knew beforehand how everything was going to be.  The truth is that the physical world, as we see in Kabbala, is a mere reflection of the spiritual world.  But the most important thing about this is that the physical that we have in this world is meant to be used for spiritual purposes.  So, while the physical objects themselves will eventually be obsolete, the benefits of the physical items being used for spiritual purposes will be eternal.  In fact, this is the same reasoning why the anti-Semitic kings, rulers, and presidents, while Hashem had used them to keep the Jewish people in tow to remind them who they are instead of continuing to follow the non-Jewish way of life, were and will themselves be doomed to be puff with the wind after being majorly punished, for these anti-Semites were merely tools to be used for Hashem's purposes, only to be permanently obsolete afterwards.

So yes, the words of Torah are the most valued items that exist.  But as we know, they are only worth of value if we follow what these words of Torah tells us to do; otherwise, as far as Hashem is concerned, we are learning the Torah merely as a mental exercise, or as just another college course under the guise of "Judaic studies".  And so, when it is time to pray, we can't excuse this by saying that we are busy learning Gemara for the next six hours.  And so too, when it comes to doing acts of kindness for others, whether it is helping an old or blind person cross the street, giving Tzedaka, or visiting a sick person who is especially expecting your visit, we have to act accordingly, even if it means that we are not learning Torah at the time that we are performing these seemingly mundane acts.  Speaking of which, we are obligated by the Torah to maintain our health, especially since this helps us serve Hashem, which means that we have to eat, sleep, use the facilities, and of course do something to make a living, spending time with family, even as it seems that Hashem created a world which is self-defeating when between all these things, we aren't left with much time to fulfill the most important Mitzva of learning Torah.

Now, it is true that when it comes to doing a favor for someone else, if one is in the midst of learning Torah, and there is someone else available who can help the person just as quickly and easily, then one is not to interrupt one's Torah learning, since the Mitzva of Torah learning is the greatest.  However, at the same time, we have to have a balance and make ourselves conscious of when it is time to learn, and when it is time to do other things that are necessary, especially if people are relying on us to perform certain tasks so they won't get delayed, upset, or miss out financially.

Included in this balance is the following.  Aside from the above about the availability of someone being able to perform a favor for another, we are supposed to set aside time every day to learn Torah.  However, this does not mean that are exempt for the next 23 hours from learning any more Torah after our daily hour Daf Yomi.  In fact, we are supposed to learn Torah whenever we have what is called spare time, which for a Torah Jew, it only means that there is no other Torah obligation or physical necessity at the moment that warrants attention.  The only difference is that for the set time for learning Torah everyday, it is a set time - not to be interrupted for anything (unless one needs the facilities, since not doing so can not only cause harm to one's body G-d forbid, but is also a violation of the Torah not to "make our souls detestable").  It is just that since most of us are busy with our work, families, and all, that as long as we are doing what is needed to be done without any violations of the Torah, we are exempt at the moment from learning Torah, and will not be held accountable for wasted time if we needed the time for constructive purposes, which by the way does not include watching the annual Super Bowl.

With this said, Hashem does not necessarily expect all Jews to become Torah scholars and teachers.  However, what Hashem does expect from all of us is using the Torah to serve Hashem and mankind.  Yes, I didn't write - to serve Hashem and our Jewish brethren, though our main interaction in the Torah world is with our fellow Jews whom we are supposed to help out in preference to people who aren't of the Jewish faith.  However, we are supposed to set a good example even for non-Jews and treat them fairly as well, so long as they aren't attacking us verbally or physically, and it is a sin to murder or steal from a non-Jew if it isn't to protect our lives.

In fact, there is one way that one can do another Mitzva and be considered as though we have learned Torah.  It is the support of Torah scholars, making a deal with them that one will have half the reward of their Torah learning, because without his support, some of them wouldn't be able to afford to learn Torah all day, and so, they have nothing to loose if they were to work for most of the day otherwise.  We see that twice in the Torah, in the blessings that Jacob and Moses gave to the tribes, the younger brother Zevulun is mentioned before Yissaschar, because it was thanks to Zevulun's support of Yissaschar that Yissaschar was able to learn Torah interruption free.

In a more demonstrative way, money being used to give to Tzedaka, or loans to help another out, turns into eternal spiritual coins and currency, for it was with this money that allowed Jews to live, Torah to be learned, and in short, peace of mind for people who can now continue serving Hashem without worries of where their next meal will come from.   In fact, there is an organization in Israel called Bank HaChesed (means Bank of Kindness) that one puts money into for the purpose of providing loans, copying the general trend in the Jewish communities in Europe who used to have what is called a Gemach loan society.  Indeed, in one of the many composed works of the Chofetz Chaim called Ahavas Chesed (means love of kindness), he writes the book on the laws of providing loans, paying wages on time, and other Mitzvot Bein Adam LaChaveiro - commandments involving dealing with people that he compiled to learn these laws very well.

So the bottom line is, some Jews are the wealthiest people living in this world.  However, I am referring specifically in terms of their spiritual bank, for between their Torah learning and the money which they give away - more than what they keep - being used to help other Jews with Tzedaka, loans, and other forms of kindness, these are preserved for their eternal bank which will never close once a person has lived his life in this world and has been a good boy in his service of Hashem, as the verse in Tehillim (Psalms) states V'Tzidkato Omedet La'ad - "his righteousness (Tzedaka) stands forever".

And in case you are wondering what all this has to do with Gematria - the word for bank in Hebrew - at least how it is in modern Hebrew is the same word.  This word in Hebrew, being spelled as the letters Beit-Noon-Koof, is the reversed spelling of the Hebrew number 152, and this is my 152nd post.


WHAT HAPPENED EXACTLY 11 YEARS AGO?

As I am writing this, it is around the same time of day that the horrific events of 9/11 happened that fateful day of September 11, '01.  Now in fact, the Yarhzeit, as you will, of some nearly 3,000 people who woke up that morning not knowing that they would not live to see that evening, was yesterday - 23 Elul.  But in a way, the secular date does coincide with something else in Judaism that was the same timing on that day 11 years ago.  You see, Ashkenazic Jews begin saying the Selichot prayers on the first day of the week before Rosh Hashana, unless there aren't at least four days before RH, in which case, we begin these prayers on the first day of the week before, at it is this year when we begin RH on this coming Sunday night.  Hence, it was on the third day of Selichot (on the third day of the week - Tuesday) that 9/11 took place, and this year today - it is also 9/11 and the third day of Selichot.  This phenomenon also occurred in between in '07, when in that year, it fell out on the 28th of Elul.  The difference is that back in '07, I had yet to begin my Gematriot post, and today, I am in the midst of writing my 152nd post on www.gematriot.blogspot.com.

But aside from this, there is an exclusive connection between the Tuesday of 9/11 of the year that that fateful date occurred, and today's Tuesday which is also the date of 9/11.  Both of these Tuesdays fell out during the week of Parshat Nitzavim.  And corresponding to the third day of Parshat Nitzavim is the third Aliyah of this Parsha.  So, let us look at what this part of the Parsha has to tell us: "Hashem won't want to forgive him...Sulfur and salt, all its land will be burnt, it won't produce seed, sprouts, or vegetation, like the overturn of Sodom, Amora, Adma and Tzevoim that Hashem overturned in his anger and rage" (Deutronomy 29:19,22).  First, just as sometimes, the week of Selichot prayers for Ashkenazim begin during this week of Parshat Nitzavim, so too, we see the exact wording of forgiveness - Selicha - in terms of Hashem not forgiving a person who has the attitude that everything will be O.K., when he is doing everything just the opposite of what he is supposed to be feeling or doing, which will ensure G-d's wrath against him.  And second, reading this verse about how the land (though in the original context, it would seem to be the Land of Israel that G-d has promised us that we have in fact been kicked out of upon the burning of the Temple) will be totally burnt with no vegetative life left in it as the destruction of Sodom and other cities that occurred in Abraham's times very much matches the state of Ground Zero following the burning and falling of the Twin Towers.  Indeed, this event, though in fact happened in the United States, rather than in Israel where there were suicide bombing occurring right and left that began within that past year, was a major worldwide event happening in the capital of the Capitalistic country of the world that caused the murder of nearly 3,000 people of many races.  You see, Hashem showed people that money, though it seems to be an assurance of "peace will be with me" as mentioned in the context of this section of the Parsha, can vanish in a moment's notice, and it happened in the very description of the verse denoting the destruction of land.

In fact, until the events of 9/11, it was thought to refer to the Holocaust, and for good reason.  Indeed, the murder of 6,000,000 Jews, along with other races that the evil Hitler has prejudice against, included the murder of some using crematoriums.  In fact, some visiting the areas where the Jews were murdered in the Holocaust can feel an eerie silence, including those who actually hear the screams of the Jews who were being gassed to death in the "shower" rooms.  As we know, though the Holocaust happened mostly between the years 5700-5705 (1939-1945), the events leading up to one of the worst atrocities of mankind began in the last several years beforehand.  The reason that I say this is because the destructive events that are mentioned in this section of the Torah are in the 5693th through the 5702nd verses of the Torah, which was the result of many Jews who felt complacent of being a better Goy (literally means nation, but it refers in this case to mean a non-Jew) than the Goyim (non-Jews) themselves.  Following this, the Torah speaks of the time of Jews being gathered back to the land (Israel) that they were exiled from, these verses being the 5703rd through the 5708th verses of the Torah, corresponding to the very years 5703-5708 that Jews started arriving in Israel, some of whom came to Israel following their horrifying experience in the Holocaust.

And so, history repeats itself, howbeit in a little different way.  And so indeed, the Torah can hint to more than one event through the same verses.  You see, following the events of 9/11 in '01, Nefesh B'Nefesh - a leading organization in helping Jews make Aliyah, held their first flight in the following summer of '02.  No doubt that some Jews making Aliyah since the 9/11 event of 11 years ago came to make Aliyah with the realization that in fact, we are no safer outside of Israel, than in Israel, the early ones who arrived with this organization in the midst of the years of various suicide bombings in Israel.  Though sadly, so many more Jews of all spectrums of the Jewish faith are still feeling comfortable in the country of capitalism despite the receding economy, there has been a significant increase of Jews making Aliyah from the United States as well as from other countries, especially where anti-Semitism is rampant.  In fact, it was in recent years that it has been noted that there are now more Jews living in Israel than in any other country in the world, including the United States.  Indeed, a repeat of the prophecy of the Torah in the very same verses, howbeit in a little different way.

And speaking of 9/11 and 11 years from that time, the initials of the phrase Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel) spells the number 11 in Hebrew.  And being that the event of 9/11 happened during the midst of the weeks that we read from Sefer Devarim (Deutronomy) in the Torah, this Book begins with the date of the first of the 11th month (Shevat) when Moses began his final address to the Jewish people before his passing, having mentioned right before this of the "ELEVEN days from Mt. Horeb", the time of the journey that it could have took for the Jews to arrive in Israel from this mountain had they not sinned, but instead, wound up in the desert for 40 years.  Moreover, Deutronomy consists of 11 Parshiyot, and in the 11th and final Parsha of this Book, Moses gives indivudual blessings to 11 of the Tribes (except for the Tribe of Shimon).  In any case, being that both the events of the Holocaust and 9/11, followed in each case by massive amounts of Jews moving to Israel, happening during the earlier part of the eighth century of the sixth millenium (5701-5800) of the world's existance, we notice - when the Parshiyot of Nitzavim and Vayeilech are combined as one Parsha - that there are 100 years corresponding to each of the Parshiyot of Deutronomy; and hence, the events happening during the eight century of this millenium, especially in the earlier part of it, corresponds to Parshat Nitzavim(-Vayeilech), the eighth of these Parshiyot where these very events are hinted in them!

Indeed, it is most important to learn from history - not to let history repeat itself.  True, the Messiah is supposed to be coming shortly.  However, the only question is - under what circumstances will he come, and how long will it be, even after he comes, until things are settled down for the Jewish people, depending on our present deeds.  Indeed, the only things that will ensure our safety net, will be our Torah, Teshuva, and Ma'asim Tovim (good deeds) - which is the real BANK OF A JEW.


24 Elul, 5772

#151 - The 1st Gematria of the Gemara

While Gematriot is not something that you will see in the Gemara every day; when they do appear, there is a very good reason for this.  Now, this can be divided into two categories - Halacha and Aggada.  You see, there are times that to prove what the Halacha is, Gematriot come into play.  For example, the Gemara tells us straight out that we learn that the minimum amount of time that a Nazarite vow is applicable is 30 days, which is learned out as the Gematria of the word Yihyeh (will be) which is the Gematria of 30, as in the verse “until the days are filled up that he has made a Nazarite vow to Hashem, holy he WILL BE” (Numbers 6:5).  And amazingly, we learn that there are 39 categories of forbidden work on Shabbat, which is learnt out specifically from the verse where it says Eileh HaDevarim “Therse are the things...” which is only the introuductory verse for the next two verses which is about the prohibition of violating the Shabbat.  But how we learn out the 39 forbidden work practices - since the word Eileh (these) is the Gematria of 36, the word Devoraim (things) represents the minimum of two, and HA-Devarim (THE things) represents the minimum of one.

Certainly, there are many ways in which Hashem could have told us the minimum time that a Nazarite vow is applicable or how many different categories of work that are forbidden to be performed on Shabbat. This could have been written out explictly in the Torah, Hashem could have just said this straight out to Moses on Mt. Sinai as with many other general rules that He told him, or through one of the 13 ways through which the Torah is expounded. However, the fact that we see that particularly, Gematriot are employed to teach major halachic principles, this comes to show us of how important Gematriot can be in our study of the Torah. Indeed, it has been said that the phrase Ki Lo Davar Reik Hu Mikem "for there is nothing that is empty for you" (Deutronomy 32:47), which refers to the Torah, is the Gematria of the word Gematriot.

Now that we have clearly established how Gematriot play a role in the aspect of Halacha (Jewish law), we are now going to see its usage in the aggadic part of the Talmud. In fact, in beginning the very first tractate of the Babylonian Talmud - Berachot, which by the way is full of aggadic material, perhaps more than just about any other Talmudic tractate, it won't take long to discover the very first Gematria of the Gemara; and particular, in the first week of learning the daily page of Daf Yomi. The word in question is Totzaot, in a verse in Psalms (68:21) (Berachot 8a), quoting the phrase LaMavet Totzaot - "issues of death".

Now, before getting into the Gematria of this word, the reason why this was brought to begin with, is because of another verse in Psalms where it states "for this, every pious person will pray to You at a time of FINDING" - Eit Metzo (Psalms 32:6). The Gemara gives five different interpretaions as to what this finding refers to - 1)Good wife, 2)Torah, 3)Death, 4)Burial, 5)Restroom. Now, as you can see, the Gematria word of Totzaot is related to the third of this list. I think that hands down, most will agree that death is the worst thing on this list, at least outwardly. For while we believe that the main place of living is in the world to come, the eternal place of enjoying bliss; death is not something that most of us look forward to to say the least. And so, why should the very first Gematria of the Gemara deal with rather an unpleasant topic?

In attempting to answer this question, I would like to first get into the Gematria of this word - 903, indicating that there are 903 types of death; meaning, there are 903 "issues of death". Now, in all of the Chumash, there is exactly one word, mentioned only once, that is the Gematria of this word - Geirashta - "You have chased", what Kain, who just committed the first murder of history with the murder of his brother, pleading with Hashem "Behold, You have chased me from the face of the earth, and I will be hidden from Your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on earth, and hence, whoever finds me will kill me".  Actually, what Kain may have realized is that Hashem wanted to punish him Mida K'Neged Mida "Measure for measure", the typical way of how Hashem punishes. You see, Kain literally chased his brother Abel's soul from his body by murdering him; and so, after Hashem telling him of how He wanted to punish him for this, Kain came to this realization telling Hashem "You have chased me..."

In fact, the connection between chasing and killing or the prevention of living is mentioned just a little earlier in the previous chapter of the Torah, when after the first sin of mankind of eating of the forbidden fruit, Hashem showed his concerns "...for he might stretch out his hand and eat of the tree of life and life forever". However, since Adam & Eve were so tempted to eat of the forbidden fruit before being smart by eating from the tree of life, Hashem would now not allow them to eat of the tree of longevity, and subsequently - Vayegaresh Et HaAdam "He chased mankind" from Eden where the Tree of Life was.

And in terms of the soul, we see that the word for divorce in Hebrew is Geirush, and a woman who is divorced from her husband is called a Gerusha. We learn in Kabbala that at one time, the souls of the destined or basherte couple was at one time one soul, but was divided into two - one for male and one for female, and it is through the holy marriage that the souls of the husband and wife unite to be as one once again; so that now they are still technically two souls being that they reside in two separate bodies, the two souls still became one on a certain spiritual level. Hence, if G-d forbid, a divorce happens between the two, then while the ex-husband and ex-wife may still be living while their souls remain in their body, the connection between the two souls that at one time was one soul is not only completely divided once again, but they are now also being chased way from one another, which is the result of the death of their marriage.

As it turned out, due to Kain's pleadings, Hashem took a little pity on him, and allowed him to settle down for some time until he would eventually be accidentally killed by a descendant of his. But what we do see here is an incredible match here of the ONLY WORD IN THE ENTIRE CHUMASH THAT CONSISTS OF NEARLY 80,000 WORDS that has the same Gematria as the word in the Tanach refering to the number of types of death, in the very verse that the first person in the world who physically brought death to another human being is pleading his own case, worried that he would be killed as result of being chased away in this world! Moreover, as Kain concludes in this verse, "Whoever will FIND me will kill me", the word "find" in the above verse "time of FINDING", of which one of the five interpretations of the Gemara is death! In fact, as our rabbis tell us, we die in this world against our world, which is an indication that we are being chased out of our bodies, especially in view of the fact that we are not anxious to leave when it is our time, unless it is someone who has been suffering plenty due to sickness and all, and is prepared to leave this world to stop suffering.

Now, let us play with the number 903 itself. Noting that this number is used as the very first Gematria of the Gemara, both the words Gematria and Gemara begin with the letter Gimel, having the numeral value of three. With this said, let us first divide this number 903 by three - 301. Yep, this is the Gematria of the word Eish (fire). I think it is quite obvious that fire is one of the 903 forms of death, and can have a number of similar forms to this in terms of burning, noting that one of the four methods of execution by the Jewish court in the old days was pouring down hot molten lead down one's throat, a use of fire, but not using fire itself to burn someone at the stake. In fact, in the very paragraph that I quoted earlier as to how we see that there are 39 types of work on Shabbat, the next two verses state "...whoever does work in it (on Shabbat) will die. You shall not kindle a fire in all of your habitations on Shabbat." While one may wonder why the Torah picked kindling a fire of the 39 types of work as an example of forbidden work on Shabbat, this is the source of the final Mitzva of Sefer Shemot (Exodus) that the Jewish court does not perform executions on Shabbat, of which burning, which is related to fire, is one of the four executions that it employed. Hence, it seems that the Torah picked the one item that is related BOTH to the forbidden types of labor on Shabbat AND related to one of the executions that the Jewish court employed which weren't performed on Shabbat. In any case, as we see, immediately after the Torah mentions that the person who violates the Sabbath is put to death, which refers to the death of stoning employed by the Jewish court, it immediately mentions the prohibition of kindling a fire.

Now that I showed a co-relationship between the word Eish, which is exactly a third of the Gematria of the number of types of death, let us now multiply the number 903 by three, which is 2709. We find that one of the verses in Tanach has the exact same Gematria - "He shall say on that day - "This is our G-d, we hoped for Him and He saved us, this is Hashem Whom he hoped for, let us exalt and be joyous in His salvation" "(Isaiah 25:9). This is a special verse on two accounts. First, this is one of the 17 verses that are recited aloud right before the Hakafot, the dancings that we have on SImchat Torah celebrating the CONCLUSION of the reading of the Sefer Torah with the last Parsha of the Torah. Second, this is the very CONCLUSION of the Gemara in Tractate Ta'anit. Now, let us note the word Ta'anit, which means fast as in not eating, which is an act of withholding a bit of physical needs from ourselves, just as death is a total cessation of this. We see an amazing resemblance between the words Totzaot=903 and Ta'anit=930. Both of these words begin and end with the same letter - Tav - the LAST letter of the Alef Beit". Moreover, we see that the Gematriot of these two words employ the same numbers - 0,3,9. In fact, as you can see here, we can spell the number 039 which is 39; and aside from the 39 forbidden labors on Shabbat, this is also the number of total lashes that one used to receive for certain sins in the old times. In Hebrew, the word for lashes is Malkut, whose word can be read as the same letters as Mavet Kal - light death, for while the punishment of lashes may have seemed to be quite cruel, this was the guy's atonement in lieu of death; as technically, death is really what one deserves every time one does a sin, having disobeyed the King of kings. However, in Hashem's great mercy for us, there are many substitutions of death. In fact, after Adam and Eve committed their sin of eating of the forbidden fruit, Hashem technically could have kept his promise of "on the day that you eat of it, you will die", and had them die on that very day. However, since in Hashem's book, a day is considered like a thousand years, he spared the immediate death of the ancestors of mankind, and allowed them to live for 1,000 years (at least for Adam). Since then, Adam gifted 70 years for King David, who was originally slated to live for only three hours; and hence, Adam actually lived for 930 years. But what is interesting is that the number 930 is the Gematria of the word Ta'anit, the name of the Talmudic tractate that concludes with the verse which is the Gematria of the number that is three times the number of the types of death! Moreover, for the first 130 years of his life since his sin, Adam fasted in penance of his misdeed.

But before leaving the number 2709, this is very close to another number - 2711. Looks familiar? You are right. As you may have read recently about the celebrations of the conclusion of Daf Yomi, there are exactly 2711 pages of Talmud that are learned in the Daf Yomi cycle. Moreover, in the Holocaust memorial in Germany (though it would be better if all the Jews in Germany would pack up their bags and move to Israel), thousands of pillars were placed in the midst of this memorial, but had to reduce their planned amount due to the lack of space. As it turned out "accidentally", there are exactly 2711 pillars, which can be called Dafim in Hebrew! As we see an amazing resemblance of numbers between these two factors, no doubt that the ultimate message here is that the TRUE AND EVERLASTING memorial for the Jews murdered in the Holocaust is the study of the Talmud. But as we see, the number 2711 is used to memorialize the Jews who were murdered. And noting that the multiple of 903 by three times is 2709, the number 2711 is adding to two thirds to the next number. Hence, the next number 904, if multiplied by three, is 2712, but the number 2711, though not completing the fraction, is still two thirds towards completing the multiple of 904, being the majority of the number.

Now, the reason that I mention this is twofold. First, by studying the Talmud, we come closer to spiritual life, taking ourselves one step away from spiritual death. However, the difference between 903 and 904, while two-thirds of a number, via their multiples by three, bearing in mind that the word Gemara (Talmud) begins with the letter Gimel=3, has to be completed by our observance of what we learn in the Talmud to be complete - espcially through Gemilut Chasadim - doing acts of kindness, being that the word Gemilut is similar to the word for the letter Gimel. Second, on a personal note, I was born at 9:04 in the morning.

The bottom line is, it is the letter Tav that is most associated with the concept of death; for after all, just as Tav is the CONCLUDING letter of the Alef Beit, so is death the CONCLUSION of life in this physical world. And while death in this sense is the conclusion of physical life, rather than spiritual life, at least for those who lived a righteous life (unlike for those who led an evil life, death is indeed the end of their spiritual life as well, because now, it is too late for them to repent), it is true that Hashem created the world using the Alef Beit. Indeed, the word Mavet (death) ends with the letter Tav.  And so accordingly, the word in Tanach that hints to the number of types of death both begins and ends with Tav.

In sharp contrast, we see that the letter Tav in the beginning of the word is found with words that represent some of the most importance concepts or Mitzvot in Judaism - Torah, Tanach, Tehillim, Talmud, Tefilla, Tefillin, Teshuva. But more than simply the position of Tav in the word, what explains why Tav, as the last letter of the Alef Beit, should be the first letter of some of these most important concepts in Judaism can be explained in one word - Tachlit (purpose). You see, the word Tachlit itseld both starts and ends with a Tav. In another words, if we understand what our purpose in life is, this means that we understand the ultimate purpose, or the end result, of life, which is of course, what our good deeds will accomplish at the end - both in this world, and in the next. Even though our purpose in serving Hashem is to do just that and not for any reward, even though that may be Hashem's main purpose in having us serve Him is in order for us to earn our eternal reward by how we perform serving Him.

We see a phenomenal thing about the letter Tav in the Talmud Bavli. It is the letter that begins the Gemara text, where we see that the Gemara begins off following the first Mishna in Tractate Berachot - Tana Heicha Ka'ei D'Katanei Me'aimatai- "To what is the Tana (the rabbi in the Mishna) referring that he asks when we begin reading the Shema (instead of first asking about the source of the obligation of reciting the Shema itself)?"

And the very end of Talmud Bavli in Tractate Nida concludes with the word Halachot (laws), ending with a Tav. Hence, the Gemara text begins and ends with a Tav! Truly amazing.

But wait, there is more to this! The very last Perek (Chapter) of the Talmud Bavli - in Tractate Nida - is called Tinoket, the first word of this final chapter of the Talmud (beginning of the 10th chapter of Tractate Nida in the Mishna) - referring to a young girl who hasn't begun having her period yet and gets married as to what the status of her virginity blood is whether it is considered to be impure blood like it is with a woman who already had her period (Note: Though the literal meaning of Tinoket is a female baby, this is not the meaning in this context). And then at the conclusion of this chapter that ends the Talmud, the very last piece of Talmud is the following: Tana Devei Eliyahu - A Beraita of the school of Eliyahu (Elijah the prophet) teaches (this is the well famous Sefer called Tana Devei Eliyahu - teachings of Eliyahu who taught them to the Amora - Rav Anan): Whoever learns Halachot (literally means laws, but according to some - this refers specifically to the teachings of the Gemara that leads to Halachic conclusions) every day is granted that he will have a share in the world to come. For it states: Halichot Olam Lo "The ways of the world belong to Him". Do not read the word as Halichot (interpretation wise, not that the literal meaning is not applicable) "ways", but Halachot." Thus, we see that the FINAL piece of the Talmud, in the FINAL chapter of the Talmud that is called by a name/word that begins and ends with the last letter Tav, also BEGINS AND ENDS WITH THE LAST LETTER TAV! Yes indeed my friends, this phenomenal feature of the letter Tav in the Talmud cannot simply be ignored!

Now, even if I were not to mention anything else about the concept of the letter Tav being related to life or death, it would be what we would say Dayeinu "It would be enough". However, we see a clear proof from the Talmud about the letter Tav being most related to this very concept.

In Talmud Shabbat 55a, it is mentioned that before the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash (Temple), as per Hashem's instructions to the angel Gabriel, he was to mark the letter Tav of ink on the foreheads of the Tzadikim (righteous people) to mark them for life, as the verse states "You shall mark the letter Tav on the foreheads of the people who sighed and moaned over all the abominations that have taken place..." (Exekiel 9:4), and the letter Tav of blood on the foreheads of the Reshaim (wicked people) to mark them for death in the ensuing destruction of the Temple. Now, it is true that before this could take place, the Attribute of Justice accused the Tzadikim of not protesting the evil of the Reshaim; and despite Hashem knowing that even if the Tzadikim would have done so, it wouldn't have made a difference, since they didn't do their job of reproving the people, the Tzadikim were also marked with the Tav of blood to mark them to be killed by the Babylonian enemies as well. But what we do see here is that it is particularly the letter Tav that can denote either life or death, depending on how this letter is used.

There is one more prominent word that I have yet to mention that also begins and ends with a Tav - Tosfot, one of two commentaries of the Talmud that surround the Talmud text (the other being Rashi), which is considered a hard commentary to understand and seems to be even harder understand than the Talmud itself, and requires much application to understand it. Indeed, the biggest Torah scholars of any given generation have learned, understand, and remember all of the Tosfot, something that few of us ever dream of accomplishing. Speaking of what is hard to understand, one of the three most difficult Talmudic tractates to understand is the final one called Nida whose final chapter begins and ends with the letter Tav. And so, we see that the letter Tav, being the conclusion of the Alef Beit, represents the hardest study of the Talmud.

Now, I mentioned before that unlike the Tav ending in the word Mavet (death), it is the beginning of words that represent the greatest accomplishments of spiritual life. However, with words such as Tosfot, that begin and end of Tav, just like the word Totzaot that represents the number of types of death, does it carry just the same meaning as the other words that just begin with a Tav?

We see near the end of the first Talmudic Tractate called Berachot (63b): "Reish Lakish said: From where do we learn that the words of Torah lasts only with one who kills himself over it? As it says: Zot HaTorah Adam Ki Yamut B'Ohel "This is the Torah (law) about a person who dies in a tent" (Numbers 19:14) (the original text discussing the laws of impurity when it comes to a dead person in a tent)". So as we see, one who truly wants to understand the Torah and maintain his Torah learning, needs to toil over his studies, rather than reading it as a comic book on the beach. O.K., just about all of us would not learn Torah like this at the beach, but the point is that truly Torah scholarship involves self-sacrifice. Some may think that it is only possible to master a subject if one has all the right circumstances of maximum physical needs with sufficient food, and comfortable temperature in the room, etc. But at least when it comes to Torah, quite often the opposite has been proven true. This was especially true of the hard times in Europe when young students, barely having a meal a day and sleeping either on the floor or bench not allowing them to even sleep half decently in the few others that they slept having learned Talmud for some 16 plus hours a day from old, yellowish texts, wound up mastering the Talmud, some of whom became the biggest Torah scholars of the day, who in turn wrote explanations to the Talmud.

Today, we are quite spoiled in stark contrast to the times of yesteryear, when most students in Yeshivot today are far from starving, and at least have a bed to sleep on. While students are expected to learn the Talmud the same way as it was in earlier times, from a text with no vowels or translation; just about everyone else has various ways to their disposal of being able to learn the Talmud so much easier, from voweled texts with translation on fresh, white paper with very legible type sets, to the free lectures that one can listen to online, choosing any page of the Talmud. However, one thing that can be agreed upon that without some sort of toiling over the Talmud to understand its basic meaning, one will not remember too much of it, and for one simple reason. You see, if something means a lot to you, you spend time with it until you find yourself dreaming about it, because of your heavy involvement with it. Well, this is the same way that Torah is meant to be learnt. The more time that one spends with it, not continuing on until one has spent the time needed to master the particular subject, the more of a chance that he will remember it long afterwards.

So as we see, the phrase "killing onself over it", while not meant to be literally when it comes to learning Torah, is used in this very wording to illustrate what it takes to master the Torah. Accordingly, the Tosfot commentary, which is obligatory learning in Yeshivot, is considered the ultimate challenge in terms of Talmudic learning; and hence, is demonstrated by the fact that this word Tosfot begins and ends with a Tav, just like the Hebrew word for death ends with a Tav; for certainly, it is far better to apply oneself to Torah study, than to pursue the physical pleasures in life that sometimes lead one to both a physical and spiritual death. I think that this is not hard to understand when we know that in the non-Torah world, people pretty much do what they want in terms of physical pleasures, and won't hesitate, pending the law of the country, to follow through with their desires, whether it comes to money or sex. And as some learned the hard way, HIV infections stole away the lives of many, which began with homosexuals who most certainly live a perverted life, continuing on with those who were quite sexually active, not even having the self-control of using condoms if they already were going to be sleeping with more than one partner. And so, while unfortunately, there are some non-observant Jews who are critical of "Orthodox old men with white long beards praying in the synagogue all day", it is due to their ignorance that they have been living with all their lives, who were less concerned about their maximum of three children living even a drug-free life. But even they themselves have to admit that the biggest accomplishment of their life, especially the ones who had failed marriages, is when their children became doctors, lawyers, etc. which in itself involved learning for their profession countless of sleepless hours, exams, and serious application to their studies.

On a personal note, having mentioned earlier the a good wife is one of the five meanings of the word finding in the context of "time of finding", the Gematria of my wife's name Yael Miriam is 400, the numerical value of the letter Tav. Moreover, I named my Tinoket - baby girl - with the first name of Tamar, which begins with a Tav, and was born on 15 Kislev, the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Judah the Prince, the one who compiled the Mishnayot. Indeed, the letters of the name Tamar begin the words - Torat Moshe Rabbeinu, the Torah of our teacher Moses, for he was the first one to teach Torah to the Jewish people as a nation. So, while females do not learn Mishnayot as males do, there are those who do learn Tractate Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) in Yeshiva day schools, for this unique tractate is not about the laws of the Torah, but rather about the ethics of the Torah, which even women are expected to acquire to live as good Jews. And it is this tractate that begins with Moshe Kibel Torah M'Sinai "Moses received the Torah from Mt. Sinai..." And the second chapter on this tractate begins with Rebbe Omer "Rebbe (Rabbi Judah the Prince) says..."

And so in conclusion, the word Totzaot, which also means results or accomplishments, can carry rather a positive message more than just the meaning of the original text LaMavet Totzaot - the Totzaot of death. For indeed, the word representing the first Gematria of the Talmud, wasn't picked by the Sages of the Talmud at random to be the very first Gematria in the midst of Aggadic text. It is chosen to teach us a most valuable lesson in our approach of studying Torah, and especially the Talmud. In case one thinks that studying the Talmud with Tosfot is quite hard, let him try dealing with the outside world which involves cut-throats who will stop at nothing to make the big bucks on everyone else's expense. But, even if one winds up needing to make a living outside of the confines of the Yeshiva world, the Torah learning that one acquired during his Yeshiva years helps him cope with life's challenges, knowing that if we follow the ways of the Torah, then we will have Hashem's help in our need of supporting our families, so long as he devotes some time to learning Torah every day, which involves the learning of Daf Yomi for many. In fact, the word Totzaot is mentioned one more time in the entire Tanach - "Keep your heart at all diligence, for from it are the ISSUES OF LIFE (Totz'ot Chaim)" (Proverbs 4:23). Indeed, with due diligence to our Torah studies - both in study and practice, we will live a meaningful spiritual and physical life, living life to the fullest extent, for even it is our time to take leave of this world, we will leave this world knowing that the life that we had on this earth was well worth living, and that death is only a transition from the physical state to the spiritual state of eternal bliss.

And just as we conclude the Torah on Simchat Torah with the last Parsha called V'Zot HaBeracha and then immediately begin the Torah again from Bereishit, so too we can say, at least as a sign if not a hint, that we end off with the word Totzaot - that begins and ends with the LAST LETTER Tav - which can refer either to the meaning of life or death, but that even in death, it is the transition for the righteous to their eternal life, so is the Torah, in Aramaic - the main language of the Gemara - called Oraita, which begins and ends with the FIRST LETTER Aleph, and is the same Gematria as the word Berachot (blessings), the name of the FIRST tractate of the Talmud. And at this, we see another amazing phenomenon. Typically, as we know about how babies are raised, their very first words are "daddy" and "mommy". Well, in Hebrew, as you will see in Israel, their first words are Abba and Imma - both of these words beginning and ending with the first letter Aleph, signifying the beginning of their speech with words that begin and end with the first letter of the Aleph Beit. Coincidence?

Written on Motzoei Shabbat Parshat Ki-Teitze 5772