#219 - First Day of Earthly Life

Technically, this is a continuation of my previous post which focused on Adam the first man, being that the Gematria of his name is 45, as I have entered my 45th year of life in this world a few days ago.  In my previous post, the focus about Adam was about him being the head of creation - though he was created last in Creation - being that Hashem created mankind superior to other creatures in various ways, since it is mankind in particular that is commanded to serve Hashem, so we need all the resources possible for this to happen.  Today, the focus about Adam will be about him being Adam HaRISHON, Adam the FIRST human being.

With this said, we must not forget that behind virtually every accomplished man, is the woman, his wife.  And so, we must mention Adam's wife Chava (Eve), the "first" First Lady (there is really only one first, this title designated for the wife of the U.S. President is just an honorary title); though it is true that it didn't start off this way, being that it was Chava who convinced Adam to eat from the forbidden tree, and the rest is history.
And just as I mentioned Adam's name in reference to Gematria, so will I will mention Chava's name as being the Gematria of 19, and today, as I am writing this, it is the 19th day of the Sephirat HaOmer.

But there is more than just this about today.  You see, just as Adam is called HaRishon, so is the first day of the week called Yom RISHON, though in fact, Adam was created on the sixth day of Creation.  And what is especially significant today about being Yom Rishon, as it relates to Adam, is that this coincides with the 19th day of the Sephira as it relates to the Gematria of Chava's name.  Now if you noticed, Chava is in fact not called HaRishona (the first in feminine form) as Adam is; presumably because Chava was not created at the same time as Adam, but only afterwards as the second human being, being created from Adam's rib. (There is in fact another view that mankind was first created with the figure of Adam on one side and Eve on the other, and only later were they separated as distinct human beings, but I don't wish to get into this in my post). Anyways, as it relates to me, today is the FIRST Yom Rishon in my 45th year.

And speaking of the "first Yom Rishon", there is some interesting information about the first Yom Rishon - that is, the first Yom Rishon of the week of Adam's life, which was the second Yom Rishon of the week from Creation.  The following will be a narrative that will help us imagine what it was life.

It was Motzaei Shabbat, the first Saturday night of Adam's and Eve's life.  After the chain of events that happened to them on the day that they were created, finding themselves doomed to a life with misery following their sin of eating from the forbidden tree and being kicked out of Eden Paradise, the two at least had a chance to spend their first Shabbat knowing that their lives had been spared - at least from not dying anytime soon for their misdeed.  In fact, on this very first Shabbat of Creation, Adam even sang what would later be known as Psalm 92, the Shir Shel Yom (Song of the Day) that the Levites sang in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) on Shabbat, which begins with Mizmor Shir L'Yom HaShabbat, the only mention of Shabbat in the entire Tehillim (Book of Psalms).  Anyways, getting back to the present moment of time, while it seemed that earlier, there was some sort of spiritual light that they encountered throughout Shabbat, it was now after Shabbat, and all they saw was this darkness - the same darkness that we all see when it becomes night.  However, not knowing that this is how nature is in this world outside of Eden Paradise, they were quite scared, with thoughts going on in their mind as per their past misdeed, aside from the fact that they could hardly see anything, except with a little light from the cresent moon that appeared on the night of the third of the month (Tishrei), appearing slightly bigger than when it was the New Moon two nights earlier when the moon was yet be able to be seen. In any case, this hardly sufficed for them and were beside themselves.  All of a sudden, Adam thought of an idea.  He took two pieces of wood, rubbed them together, and...fire appeared.  It is based on this true story that in the Havdala service that we perform following the conclusion of Shabbat that we make a special blessing over seeing fire - Borei Meorei HaEish, the blessing that concludes with the words "the Creator of lights of the fire", marking the time of the week that fire first appeared in this world.

The next morning, Adam woke up on his first Sunday, his first day of what we call reality - no more Eden Paradise, no Shabbat for the next five and a half days, and felt tremendous remorse for his misdeed. He wanted to do something to somehow purify himself.  He decided to dip himself in a body of water that we call a Mikva (ritualarium), connecting himself with the opposite type of nature than what he encountered last night.  In the midst of this, he cried out to Hashem, begging Him for His forgiveness.  And if this was not enough, following this, he offered an animal sacrifice (Kudos to yeranenyaakov.blogspot.com for bringing this last point just days ago) on the very grounds of what would be the future site of the Temple.

So as we see, there is a very strong connection here between Adam HaRISHON and Yom RISHON.  To more appreciate the connection between the two here as it relates to us, the name Adam, which he gave to himself when naming all the various creatures in this universe, is actually based on the word Adama, which means earth, or more specifically, the dust of the earth, for it was from this source that Hashem created his body.  Moreover, it was his head, the ROSH (related with the word RISHON), that was created from the grounds of the future Temple.

Hence, we see here a paradox:  Adam was created from a very physical, earthly substance, from the lowest form of existance - both in terms of the level of existance, which is the lowest of the four (mankind, moving creatures, plant life, non moving), as well as its treatment, which is trodded upon by every creature that does not live solely in water.  And yet, with Adam being created, his head was formed from what would become the holiest spot of the world.

Having said this, let us now turn to Gematriot.  The word Adama is the Gematria of 50, while the name Adam which is based on the word Adama is the Gematria of 45.  In similar fashion, near the beginning of the Zohar, it mentions the concepts of Mi (Who) which is related to the heavenly sphere, and Mah (What) which is related to the earthly sphere, having the Gematriot of 50 and 45, respectively.

With this said, we see even an even greater paradox, or perhaps more of an irony.  You see, the Adama=50, being a most physical substance, became the very source of Adam's physical creation. However, unlike the Adama, Adam=45 (mankind) has the potential to rise up spiritually way above the Adama, for after all, this is the whole purpose of Hashem creating Adam to begin with.  However, in the context of the Zohar, the word Mi, having the same Gematria as Adama, represents the greater spirituality than the word Mah, which is connected specifically with this world.  What's the deal here?

True, it is only Adam (mankind) that has the potential to reach the greatest spirituality; in fact, even greater than angels who don't have the free choice that we do, since they are surrounded by spirituality, and aren't with a physical, earthly form which comes with its base pleasures and all.  However, believe it or not, it is specifically BECAUSE he was created from the Adama that this is possible.  The proof?  First, we know that the Adama itself can be holy, or become holy, and not just in the Temple either.  We see that when Hashem appeared to Moses for the very first time, He told him to remove his footwear since he was stepping on Admat Kodesh "holy ground".  But ultimately, the number 50, which is the Gematria of the words Adama and Mi, represents the 50 gates of purity, and the 50 levels of understanding.  In terms of the 50 levels of purity, the Jewish people reached the 50th level of purity on the day that they received the Torah, for being steeped in the 49 levels of impurity in Egypt, one step away from the 50th level of impurity which would be the point of no return, the Jews had 49 days following the Exodus to shed one level of impurity per day, and acquiring on level of purity per day.  And in terms of the 50 levels of understanding, Moses acquired 49 levels of understanding, and it was on the final day of his life that he reached the 50th level of understanding.

And so, while Adam (mankind) was created with the potential for base desires and temptations, this does not have to define him.  For ultimately, the roots of his source, the Adama, are from the highest levels of spirituality, but quite hidden in this world, and it is up to Adam to claim these levels.

And now, we see what brought Adam to bring a sacrifice on the grounds of the future Temple on that first Yom Rishon of his life.  We know that at least with a Korban Chatat or Asham (sin or guilt offering), a Jew who brought such a Korban was able to see that the animal was slaughtered, its blood was poured in a vessel and poured on the altar, etc., reminding him that in fact, what was happening to the animal really should have happened to him for his sin, except for the fact that Hashem is ever merciful, and it is His wish that we should rather repent and resume serving Him.  And so, while the animal itself is not what we would call a holy creature to say the least, for after all, an animal follows its base desires, it became the vehicle for a Jew to better his ways, being the cause for the Jew to serve Hashem better.  In fact, once an animal was formally designated as a sacrifice of whatever type, it became sanctified, and having illegal benefit from it was a sin, requiring one to bring a sin offering for inadvertently committing this sin.

And so, we see that objects other than mankind can become holy, such as the ground in the midst of the Divine Presence as it was with Hashem's revelation to Moses, and animals in the service of the Temple. Hence, before Adam would start his long life being busy working with the sweat of his brow, he first reminded himself with his animal sacrifice that really, he should have already been dead, especially since in fact, Hashem told him that on the day that he would eat from the forbidden tree, he would die.  However, Hashem in His great mercy reinterpreted His statement of "on the day", so to speak, since Hashem's own definition of "one day" is "one-thousand years", and so, instead of dying on that fateful Friday, Adam would be granted to live more than one physical day, but not to exceed 1,000 years.


AND FOR THE FIRST LADY...

O.K, so Eve is not called Chava HaRishona (Eve the First) in all of the Talmudic or Midrashic lore. However, being that after all, she was Adam's wife, her name that Adam named her requires explanation.

The Torah notes that the reason that Adam named his wife Chava is "because she was the mother of all living beings" (Genesis 3:20); in short, the ancestor of all mankind.  On this, Rashi notes that her name is actually based on the word Chaya, which means "living", for she grants life (as a mother) to her children, going on to explain the other part of the root word of the name Chava as related to the word "is".

This is very nice, but if this is the case, why couldn't Adam have named his wife as Chaya, which today is a very common name for females?  Was Adam trying to hide something here?

Actually, there are two answers that I have to offer here.  First, we see that the terminology of Chava is actually used in the sense of speech, which is in fact the ultimate feature that separates mankind from the rest of creation.  We see in Tehillim where it says V'Layla L'Layla YeCHAVEH Da'at "Night after night DECLARES knowledge" (Psalms 19:3), using the letters of Chava as a verb meaning declaring.  Second, it relates to the Gematria of Chava, which is 19.  In fact, my first answer is related to the Gematria of Chava's name, because the terminology of this word is in Psalm 19!

And why 19?  You see, this is the amount of blessings that we recite in the weekday Shemoneh Esrei prayer. In fact, it is based on this, as noted in the Talmud (Berachot 10), that we recite the verse Yihyu L'Ratzon "May it be Your will...", the final verse of Psalm 19, at the end of every Shemoneh Esrei, paralleling the first 19 psalms ending with this verse.  This is especially in light of the fact that in fact, we call our main prayer the Shemoneh Esrei, which means eighteen, rather than nineteen, because at one time, there were 18 blessings, but an additonal one was added at one point, asking Hashem to remove the evildoers from our midst.  In a similar vein, in the early version of Tehillim, as noted in the above Talmudic source, Psalms 1 and 2 were at one time one psalm, but was divided up later.

Noting that Chava's name is 19, which is the number of blessings that the Shemoneh Esrei prayer consists of, we learn from this that when we TALK to Hashem, we are in fact creating a relationship with Him, in similar fashion to how we create our relationship with our wives, and communication, which is usually through speech, is how we most relate to them (and vice-versa of course), and is the usual determinent of what makes or breaks a marriage.

Taking a brief moment within the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, we see that the FIRST time that the word Adam is used is in the fourth blessing, the first of 13 blessings that are recited during the weekday, excluding Shabbat (and certain Jewish holidays) - Ata Chonein L'Adam Da'at  "You grant knowledge to mankind", and it is in this very blessing, on Motzaei Shabbat, the beginning of Yom RISHON, that we recite a paragraph in similar fashion to the Havdala service that we perform over a cup of wine, declaring differences between what is holy and secular.

Now, one of these differences is the separation between Jews and the other nations (in terms of holiness). To note, the Hebrew terminology used for nations is Amim, rather than perhaps the more familiar term Goyim, plural for Goy.  It seems that in certain contexts, the term Goy or Goyim is used in a derogatory sense, especially when refering to anti-Semites.  However, in the Mincha (afternoon service) Shemoneh Esrei of Shabbat, we actually call ourselves a Goy - Goy Echad Ba'Aretz "One nation on earth", which is based on a phrase in the Tanach (Jewish Bible).  And why do I mention this specific point? You see, the word Goy is also the Gematria of 19.

Yes indeed, the entire human population, Jew or non-Jew, all come from the same two people who were created by Hashem Himself.  And while a human being looks like a human being, and not like an animal, it is Hashem Who made the distinction between Jews and non-Jews, specifically in term of holiness.  For otherwise, everyone else would be right - why should Jews behave differently and refrain from marrying outside their professed faith?  After all, if we really believe in G-d, Who created this universe, and we all come from the same people who were created from G-d, then what is determine who is holier or of a higher species than another, other than what we ourselves perceive to be a difference, such as color or race.  But just like we see physical differences that often determine with whom we will or will not spend the rest of our lives with; so too, Hashem decided that there would be spiritual differences.  However, unlike with color or race, this can actually be changed, because a non-Jew can decide to become a Jew, and then he or she is welcome to the Jewish fold, acquiring the same holiness that a born Jew has, and with the exception of marrying Cohanim, one who converts to becoming Jewish can marry - and only marry - someone else who is Jewish.

And so, unlike the claims of some who call us Jews racists, this could be nothing further from the truth.  For as Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZT'L, HY'D (may G-d avenge his blood) put it, being racist is saying that one cannot change to be something else, which would be applicable to color or race.  However, in terms of being Jewish, we state that in fact, one who is not born Jewish can change his status, can become Jewish, and color or race is not a factor in this.

After all is said and done, in certain contexts, it is specifically the Jewish people who are called with the terminology of Adam.  And the reason for this is because it is specifically the Jewish people who are accomplishing the ultimate purpose of the creation of Adam.  And as we know, had Adam not sinned, he would have been in the highest spiritual level possible.  In fact, the Torah states that Hashem placed Adam in the Garden of Eden "to work it and to guard it".  As our rabbis explain, working refers to the Mitzvot Asei (Positive or Active Commandments) and guarding refers to the Mitzvot Lo Ta'asei (Negative or Non-Active Commandments), which in essence is what we are commanded to do (the non-Jews were given only seven categories of commandments, but are not categorized as Mitzvot Asei or Lo Ta'asei as is done for Jews who were given 613 Mitzvot).  However, since Adam fell short of his mission, a large part of it would be resumed nearly 2,000 years later, when Abraham, whose name begins with the letter Aleph and ends with the letter Mem Sophit, as it is with Adam's name, would arrive at the scene, and on his own, derived the 613 Mitzvot commanded to the Jews.

One more connection of the number 19 as it relates to both Jews and non-Jews relates to the calendars - the solar and the Jewish calendars.  Now notice, I didn't write lunar calendar, for while the solar calendar that the non-Jews, or at least the Christian world uses, is totally based on the sun; the Jewish calendar, while it is based largely on the moon in terms of when a month begins or ends, its seasons are based on the sun, for every so often (in our present time, every two or three years), a 13th month is added to maintain a balance between the months and the seasons, unlike the Moslem calendar that is totally based on the moon, and its months in one year during one season will appear in the opposite season some 15 years later.  In any case, it takes 19 years of our Jewish calendar to fall out in the same time of the season as it is with the solar calendar, maintaining a extra month for seven out of every 19 years.

With this said, while there are some that want to maintain good connections between Jews and Christians, let's say, to have a better understanding of each others' religions and all, it must be remembered that the ultimate way that we can get the world to accept us for who we are is our own strict observance of our Judaism, which will set the ultimate example for the world to see how life should be lived and what is most important in life.  It is this and only this, that has served us in good stead throughout Jewish history, unlike the periods of the Holocaust for example when before this happened, there were many Jews whose only wish was to be the best Goy (living as a non-Jew in this instance) possible, but the day came when these most assimilated Jews were standing side by side with Jews who strictly observed our holy faith.

And one more point solidifying the similarity/contrast between the Jewish people and the other nations, the phrase Adam V'Chava (Adam and Eve) is the Gematria of 70, noting that there are 70 nations (aside from the Jews).  On our side, there were 70 "souls" who came to Egypt where we lived for 210 years, dealing with the struggles of assimilation; but at the end, we came out whole as a nation, to receive the Torah a mere seven weeks later.


IN THE MISHNA

As I have mentioned in the past, there is a study program of learning a Perek (chapter) of Mishnayot a day. Presently in its ninth cycle, the chapter for today's date is the FOURTH chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin (Note: the FOURTH letter of the word Sanhedrin is a DALET=4), the FOURTH tractate of Seder Nezikin, the FOURTH volume of the six volumes of the Mishnayot.  Being that the feature of this post is Adam, the middle letter of his name in Hebrew is Dalet, which is the numerical value of FOUR, and is the FOURTH letter of the Aleph-Beit.  Also, the three letters of his name - Aleph, Dalet, Mem - begin the words Adam, David, and Moshiach; for King David, to whom Adam granted 70 years of his life, partly rectified Adam of his sin, and it will be King David's descendant Moshiach who will finish the rectification, and then the world will be in a state like the Garden of Eden before Adam sinned.  As for King David's name himself, it both begins with a DALET and ends with a DALET.  And if we count the number of letters of these names/words Adam, David, Moshiach, the FOURTH letter is the first DALET=4 of King David's name.

Having said this, let us now turn to the very beginning of this chapter that is most connected with the letter FOUR - Echad Dinei Mamonot V'Echad Dinei Nefashot...  "The same law applies to both monetary laws and capital laws regarding the cross examination fo witnesses".  Amazingly, the first letters of the first three words of this chapter - Aleph, Dalet, Mem - spells Adam's name!  Now note, the very first word of this chapter is Echad, which means one.  Now in this post, I spoke of the first day of the week as Yom Rishon, and this is normally how we refer to this day, including in our prayers in the Shir Shel Yom (Song of the Day) for the first day of the week.  However, in the story of the account of Creation, the first day is refered to as Yom Echad, hinting to Hashem as Echad, for no other creatures were created on this day, and it was only on the second day that the angels were created.  And as for the number FOUR, the last letter of this first word Echad is a DALET=4, and the first letter of the next word Dinei is also a DALET=4, noting that the DALET appears here twice right next to each other.

Now, to more appreciate the significance of what is mentioned here - Dinei Mamonot (monetary laws), these are the opening words of Tractate Sanhedrin (which begin both the first and three chapters of this tractate), and as it relates to me personally, the chapter learned on my birthday of 1 Iyar a few days ago was the first chapter of Sanhedrin beginning with these words.  To note, the first letters of these first two words - Dalet and Mem - are the same letters as the Hebrew number for 44 - DOUBLE FOUR, and most significantly in my case, this day was my 44th birthday, or in another words, the day to reflect on my past 44 years of my life in terms of how I spend my years on a spiritual level and what I can now do to improve or move forward, now that I am beginning my 45th year.

But the main reason that I mention this first chapter particularly is because this phrase Dinei Mamonot is the same Gematria as HaTorah (the Torah) - 616, for the very reason of the Sanhedrin or any Beit Din (Jewish court) for that matter is to enforce the laws of the Torah and to decide cases, which are often money related cases, in accordance with the Torah.  Anyways, in the context of the first chapter of Sanhedrin, it states Dinei Mamonot B'Shelosha - "Monetary cases are decided by a Beit Din of three judges".  In terms of the phrase Dinei Mamonot having the same Gematria as HaTorah, the following word B'Shlosha which in some contexts can be translated as "in three", this is in effect saying "The Torah in three", for as we see in the Talmud in Tractate Shabbat, the Torah is referred to as the "Threefold Torah", whether in terms of the Tanach (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) or as Tanach-Mishna-Gemara.  Accordingly, we see that Adam's name consists of THREE letters.

Having said this, let us now turn back to the opening words of the fourth chapter of Sanhedrin where it starts off with the word Echad (one), for indeed, regardless of how the Torah is apportioned, the Torah is all ONE, the wisdom of the One.  Now, the word Echad itself is the Gematria of 13, and this is a most significant number both in terms of the Torah She'B'Ketav (Written Law or Tanach), as Moses wrote the first 13 Sifrei Torah (Torah Scrolls) on the day of his passing (this was done in a most miraculous way), and the Torah She'B'Al Peh (Oral Law or Talmud), for in terms of how the laws are interpreted, among the methods that make up the oral tradition are the 13 ways through which the Torah is interpreted.

Now, if this was the only mention or hint to Adam HaRISHON, especially being that this fourth chapter of Sanhedrin is always learned on Yom RISHON, as the Mishnayot consists of 525 chapters (which includes two chapters that are techincally not part of the Mishna) which is equally dividable by seven, would itself be very significant, aside from the fact that this is the first Yom Rishon of my 45th year as it relates to the Gematria of Adam's name - 45, and being the 19th day of Sephirat HaOmer as it relates to the Gematria of Adam's wife's name Chava - 19.  But in this chapter of all the chapters of the Mishnayot, IT CONSISTS OF THE SOLE MENTION OF THE PHRASE ADAM HARISHON IN ALL OF THE MISHNAYOT, as mentioned in the last Mishna of this chapter (Chapter FOUR (4), Mishna FIVE (5) - and putting these two numbers together, it spells 45=ADAM!), which mentions the word Adam (though not necessarily every time referring to Adam per se, but rather as "person") seven times.  So with no further ado, let me quote this Mishna directly:

"How was the process of frightening the witnesses for capital cases? They were entered into a room and were frightened with the following: "Is there a chance that perhaps you are giving witness out of estimation or hearsay such as from another witness or trustworthy person (ADAM)?  Or perhaps, you weren't aware that we would be cross examining you?  You should know that capital cases are not like monetary cases.  You see, when it comes to monetary cases, a person (ADAM) gives money that he is ordered to pay and he is then atoned for.  However, when it comes to capital cases, the blood of the accused and the blood of his would-have-been-descendants are dependent on the word of the witnesses until the end of time.  As we see with Kain (who was ADAM's firstborn) who murdered his brother (Abel), it is written "The bloods of your brother are crying" (Genesis 4).  It is not written as "The blood of your brother", but rather "The bloods of your brother" (in plural form), indicating not only his own blood, but the blood of his would-have-been-descendants (who would have been born otherwise had Abel not been murdered by Kain).""

"(The Mishna continues on with its own comments on the above verse following the statement from the court to the witnesses).  Another interpretation of the phrase "The bloods of your brother", for his blood was thrown on wood and stone.  Therefore, ADAM was created alone, to teach you

1)One who murders one Jew is considered by the Torah as if he murdered the entire world; while conversely, one who causes one Jew to live is considered by the Torah as if he caused the entire world to continue living.

2)There should be peace between mankind, so one person (ADAM) should not say to another "My father is greater than your father".

3)Those who don't believe in Hashem as the One and Only shouldn't claim that there are many Higher Authorities.

4)To declare the greatness of the Holy One Blessed Be He.  For a person (ADAM) mints coins with one seal, each one looking the same.  However, the King of kings, the Holy One Blessed Be He minted each person (ADAM) with the seal of ADAM HARISHON, and no one resembles one another.

5)(Therefore) Each and every one is obligated to say "For my sake was the world created""

Believe it or not, this is not the conclusion of this Mishna, but I am here to focus on Adam HaRishon.  But as you can see here, it is nothing short of Hashgacha Peratit (Divine Providence) that the first letters of the opening phrase of this chapter that especially mentions Adam HaRishon should be the very letters that spell Adam's name (in order of the letters)!  At this point, it is noteworthy to mention that there is one more chapter in all of the Mishnayot where the first letters of the first three words also spells the word Adam, the FOURTH chapter of Tractate Eiduyot (Testimonies), which is also a tractate in the FOURTH volume of the Mishnayot - Eilu Devarim M'Kulei... "These are the things that are among the leniencies of Beit Shammai...", and similarly, the word Adam (as person) is mentioned twice in the last Mishna of this chapter, in which this Mishna begins with the word Adam.


THE CORRESPONDING SEPHIRA

Moving right along with each post corresponding in order of the 49 combination Sephirot, this post corresponds with the 28th Sephira of Malchut She'B'Netzach.  Today, I am going to focus on the number of this Sephira - 28.  First, the very first verse of the Torah which begins off with the account of Creation which culminated with the creation of mankind, consists of 28 letters.  But as especially related to Adam, there is a Halachic Sefer on the laws that make up the first section of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) in the Orach Chaim section about the laws of daily prayers, blessings, eating, Shabbat and holidays, composed by Rabbi Abraham Danzig, and is called  Chayei Adam (Life of a Person), for indeed, the laws of the Torah, especially the ones that we daily observe, is what are spiritual lives consist of, our daily spiritual nutrients.  To note, the Gematria of this first word Chayei is 28.  Significantly, one of the words in Hebrew which means strength is Ko'ach, which also spells the Hebrew number 28; for indeed, following the laws of the Torah gives one spiritual strength.  Moreover, the total Mispar Katan ("Small Number" refering to a reduced Gematria value) of the names of Adam and Chava adds up to a total of 28, as illustrated like this: Adam (Aleph=1, Dalet=4, Mem=40), where when we remove the zero and then add the three numbers together, the total is nine, and with Chava's name (Cheit=8, Vav=6, Hei=5), the total is a straight 19 as the regular Gematria of her name.  Now, as the number 28 is the combined Mispar Katan, or small Gematria of the names of Adam and Chava, we see that one's children are called one's strength (Ko'ach), as we see for example with Jacob's blessing for his firstborn Reuben where he states Kochi "My strength" (Genesis 49:3), as the children of Adam and Chava were the very first ones (Kain and Abel) who were born from the womb of the mother.


4 Iyar, 5774 - 19th day of Sephirat HaOmer

#218 - Head of CREATION

As my first post since my Jewish birthday on 1 Iyar, I want to focus today on the number of my present year of life in this world - 45.

First, aside from how the number 45 is spelled in Hebrew as the letters Mem-Hei, it also spells the word that reads Mah.  Typically, this word is translated as meaning "what", but at times, depending on the context in the Tanach (Jewish Bible), is means "how" - not necessarily as a question, but rather as an exclamation of praise, such as "HOW goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your living quarters, O Israel" (Numbers 24:5) and "Oh HOW do I love Your Torah, it is my conversation all day long" (Psalms 119:97).

More on this later, but first, I want to write about Adam, the father ancestor of all mankind, since his name is the Gematria of 45, and today is Friday, or the sixth day of the week, the first one in my 45th year, noting that Adam was created on the sixth day of the week.  Indeed, I have started a new beginning, so to speak, with the commencement of my 45th year.  Thank G-d, I am already a parent of both a girl and a boy.

While Adam is called Adam HaRishon, the first, this is not referring to him as being the first of creation, but rather, the first of all mankind.  However, Adam can rightfully be called the HEAD of all creation, since of the four categories of vitality in creation - speaker, living, sprout, and inanimate - it is mankind who is called speaker, since it is only mankind of all creations that are able to speak as coming from the soul (Note: While we see animals, birds, etc. using their mouths in communication, this is not on the same level as it comes for human beings).  The ultimate proof of this, aside from the fact that we know that it is mankind of all creatures that is expected to serve Hashem, is that mankind was created last of all creations.  You see, it is just as it is in a gathering that is together to meet the king, president, or some other important personage.  As it always happens, everyone else is together, and it is they who are waiting for the last one to show up - the important person that they are waiting for.  After all, this important person's time is very valuable, and neither does he have the time nor is it respectful to expect him to have him wait for everyone else to show up.  Similarly, Hashem created everything else first, so that by the time Adam and Eve would be created on the sixth day following the first five days, including the animals who were created on the sixth day, everything would be ready for them rather than them having to wait for Hashem to create other things that would be of service to them.

With this said, when it comes to the various parts of the body, it is the head that is both literally the head, or the top of the body, and also the leader of the body, because this is where the brain resides, without which, there is no way that the body could survive, and as we know, the various limbs of the body move according to the thinking and will of the brain.  Moreover, we usually communicate with each other by seeing each other's faces that are part of the head and speaking to each other with our mouths.  And so in essence, mankind is the brainpower of all creation; for after all, what other creature in this universe, for example, is able to create the various modern technologies that mankind has invented, which happen not only because mankind has far more flexibility in moving their limbs than animalistic creatures, but ultimately, it is their brains that are far superior to that of all other creatures.  And finally, an injury to the head is far worse than to other parts of the body; for if a part of the body is injured, it is usually just that limb that is affected, but an injury to the head affects not only the head, but quite oftentimes, the rest of the body as well, as is most evident when one is in a coma.

In any case, it is true that the word Rishon (first) is actually based on the word Rosh (head), for indeed, it is the head that is the first to know of something happening, and it is only afterwards that other parts of the body react accordingly.  And speaking of the head of creation, the word for creation in Hebrew is Beriah, the Gematria of 218, and this is my 218th post.

Now, I personally believe that if Adam and Eve would not have sinned with the forbidden tree, then Hashem would have picked a different couple who would have sinned.  To make this clear, Hashem knew beforehand that Adam and Eve were going to sin; though in fact, they had a choice not to sin, so it isn't like they were forced with eating food that they weren't supposed to eat.  However, if Hashem would not have wanted a world with suffering physically or spiritually, he wouldn't have had a couple as the first couple that were going to sin.  After all, the very reason why Hashem put us all in this world to begin with was in order for us to earn reward, rather than receiving it par bono, which would make us always feel bad that we are receiving something for nothing.  And so, if this world would have been without suffering or temptations, it would defeat the whole purpose of Hashem taking us from a high spiritual place to a rather very low one.  And so, even as Adam and Eve were righteous people, Hashem already knew that they were going to sin, and hence, since everyone descended from them who were stricken with punishment, we are all stuck with the same deal, whether it is men working with the sweat of the brow or women dealing with the pains and all of menstration and pregnancy.  Hence, since Adam and Eve, as the heads or ancestors of mankind were affected as a result of their sin, we as their descendants are all affected accordingly.

In a similar vein, we Jews started off good with Hashem giving us the Torah and in fact, the impurity that attached to everyone else beginning with Adam and Eve as a result of the original sin, hence causing death, was removed at first from the Jewish people, but was returned followed the sin of the Golden Calf.  However, as bad as this was, aside from the much shorter life now that the impurity returned to the Jewish people, it was the crying of the Jews at the evil report of the Spies on the night of the date of Tisha B'Av (9th of Av) that made a major spiritual decline, first delaying them from coming to Israel for nearly 40 years, and this resulted with Moses not being able to come with them to Israel when the time come, for as our Sages say, had Moses entered the Land with the Jewish people, the Temple would have never been destroyed.  However, not only one Temple, but two Temples were destroyed - both on this very date of Tisha B'Av, along with a multitude of other major sufferings that happened to the Jewish people on this date.

In any case, we see that the date of Tisha B'Ab is the NINTH day of the FIFTH month (counting from Nissan, the month of the Exodus and birth of the Jewish people).  The reason that I write this is becuase the number 45, which is the Gematria of Adam's name, is a multiple of NINE and FIVE.  Now, we see that following the sin of the forbidden tree, Hashem confronts Adam, and the very first word that Hashem says to him is Ayeka (Genesis 3:9), which can be translated as "Where have you been", meaning, asking Adam as to how he could have allowed himself to be brought down spiritually from committing this sin.  In any case, we see that the word in the text as Ayeka is the very same word, except with different Hebrew vowels, as the word Eicha, the word that begins the book in Tanach that is called Eicha (Lamentations) that is read on Tisha B'Av.

And having said this, it is nothing short of Hashgacha Peratit (Divine Providence) that this word Ayeka is found in Chapter 3, Verse 9 of Genesis - for two reasons.  First, the letter with the numerical value of three is Gimel and the letter with the numerical value of nine is Teit, and these two letters when spelled together as this, is the word Get, the name of the document that the husband gives to his wife in divorcing her, and in essence,  Adam and Eve were divorced from Hashem's Presence "He (Hashem) chased away mankind" (Genesis 3:24), this word "chasing away" or Vayegaresh in Hebrew, whose root word is used in Tanach in reference of divorcing one's wife.  Second, these two numbers together - three and nine - when put together, spells the number 39, and as the Zohar notes (Tikkun 48), there were a total of 39 curses as a result of this sin - 10 for the snake, 10 for Adam (men), 10 for Eve (women), and 9 for the earth (the source of the forbidden tree).  This is also related to the 39 types of work which are forbidden to be performed on Shabbat, as these types of work are related to the curse of working that Hashem placed on mankind which are forbidden to be performed on Shabbat, the source of blessing.  And by the way, the story of the destruction of the second Temple can be found in the midst of the fifth chapter of Tractate Gittin, the tractate that is all about Jewish divorces, of the Babylonian Talmud.

Now, in a more positive sense, the 45th day from Rosh Hashana (1 Tishrei), the date of the creation of Adam whose name is the Gematria of 45, is the Yahrzeit of Matisyahu (my second Hebrew name that I adopted six years ago) of the Chanuka story - 15 Cheshvan. And it is Matisyahu, who led the rebellion that led to the victory of the Jews over the Syrian Greeks that allowed them to reenter the Temple after an absence of time due to the foreign oppression to attempting to prevent the Jews from observing the Torah, who was responsible for the holiday of Chanuka, marked by lighting the lights of the Menorah for eight nights, and is the 620th and last of the 613 Mitzvot of the Torah and seven Mitzvot instituted by the Rabbis, and the word Keter (crown) consists of the letters that spell the Hebrew number 620.  The reason that I write this is because the first days of the year beginning with Rosh Hashana and culminating with Yom Kippur correspond to the total of 10 Sephirot (Keter, Chachma, Bina, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut) as mentioned in the writings of the Ramak (Rabbi Moshe Cordovero); and hence, Rosh Hashana corresponds to the Sephira of Keter.  With this said, the name of Matisyahu who was responsible for the 620th Mitzva is the same Gematria as the name of the holiday Rosh Hashana - 861, of which the first day (which is really only one day according to the Torah, but due to technical reasons related to the timing of seeing the new moon, eventually became two days) corresponds to the Sephira Keter whose name is the Gematria of 620.  Moreover, as in this 45th year of mine, Matisyahu's Yahrzeit of 15 Cheshvan falls out on Shabbat on which Parshat Vayeira is read, the latter half of this Parsha is read during the two days of Rosh Hashana.


ABOUT THE NUMBER FIVE

Yesterday, on my birthdate beginning my 45th year, I learned Tikkun 45 of the Zohar.  This is the very place in the entire Tikkunei Zohar, going in order of explanation on Parshat Bereishit, that it writes about the FIFTH day of Creation.  Amazingly, my 45th year began on the FIFTH day of the week, just as I was born on the FIFTH day of the week (as well as the day that I turned Bar Mitzva and the day that I became a full legal man according to the Torah at the age of 20).

With this said, let us see how some of the greatest Tzadikim (righteous people) bearing my namesake Shimon are especially related to the number five.  First, there is Shimon HaTzadik, one of the few righteous Cohanim Gedolim (High Priests) of the second Temple, whose Yarhzeit is 29 Tishrei, which is the first day of the FIFTH week from Rosh Hashana.  And then, there is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), author of the teachings of the Zohar, whose Yahrzeit is observed on Lag Ba'Omer, which is the FIFTH day of the FIFTH week of Sephirat HaOmer, and whose Sephira combination is Hod She'B'Hod, noting that the word Hod is a multiple of FIVE (as the Gematria of 15 or 5*3).  And as related to Rashbi, there was a Rabbi Shimon Lavie who composed the most famous song pertaining to Rashbi who passed away on Day 15=Hod of the FIFTH month (this is a special date known as Tu B'Av), noting that the Tribe of Shimon is the corresponding Tribe of the month of Av.  And as pertaining especially to the number 45, the song that this Rabbi Shimon Lavie composed includes the repeat stanza - Bar Yochai Nimshachta Ashreicha Shemen Sasson MeiChaveirecha  "Son of Yochai, fortunate are you that you have been anointed with the oil of gladness from among your peers", these last three words Shemen Sasson MeiChaveirecha coming straight from Tehillim Chapter 45 (Psalms 45:8), noting that some have a custom to recite the Psalm Chapter daily corresponding to the present age year that they are in, which means that Psalm 45 is my corresponding psalm as I am presently in my 45th year.  With this said, in this same song, there is a stanza that states  Na'aseh Adam Ne'emar Ba'avurecha "Let us make mankind (Genesis 1:26)" was said for your sake", noting that the word Adam, which is the Gematria of 45, is used here, as this was the 10th and final Statement that Hashem made in creating the world, creating Adam (and Eve) as the last creation.

In fact, we see in the Torah that the leader of the Tribe of Shimon brought special offerings on behalf of his tribe, in the midst of the leaders of the other tribes doing so, on the FIFTH day, which actually has three meanings - the fifth day from the dedication of the Tabernacle, the fifth day of Nissan, and...the FIFTH DAY OF THE WEEK!  And of course, the name Shimon consists of FIVE letters.


ABOUT TODAY'S SEPHIRA

Today is the 17th day of the Omer, and the Sephira combination of this day is Tiferet She'B'Tiferet (Beauty with Beauty).  With this, I am reminded of the verse that I mentioned in the beginning of this post Mah Tovu Ohalecha Ya'akov "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob..."  This verse begins with the word Mah which is the Gematria of 45.  To note, this is one of six places in the Torah that the Sofer (Torah scribe) is supposed to write at the beginning of a column, the FIRST word of this column being the word Mah, which is the same Gematria as the name of the FIRST human being called Adam.  Now, the very next word is Tovu (good in plural) which is the Gematria of 17, just as the day of today's Sephira, falling out on the first Friday, or sixth day, of my 45th year, being the same day of the week as Adam was created.  And then we see that the name Jacob, the name of the third of the Patriarchs, is mentioned here (though in this context, it refers to the Jewish people).

I am reminded of what it states in the Talmud (Bava Batra 58a) "The BEAUTY of Jacob (the Patriarch) is a reflection of the BEAUTY of Adam".   Now, whether this is supposed to be referring to spiritual or physical beauty, it is obvious that the creation of Hashem has to be perfect in the way that He wanted it to be created, since after all, Adam was to be the ancestor of all mankind.  In any case, we do see a similarity between Adam and Jacob; Adam being the ancestor of all mankind, and Jacob being the ancestor, or father, of the 12 Tribes of Israel, showing that the Jewish people, despite differences are in essence one, having the potential to maintain unity among each other, which is in fact, an aspect of beauty, because it is precisely with an array of colors that are together that show how different colors are next to each other, side by side.  (Note: The word for beauty in this context of the Talmud is a different word being that it is Aramaic rather than Hebrew.)

To note, the Sephira of Tiferet, of the seven active Sephirot (beginning with Chesed), corresponds to Jacob of the Seven Shepherds.  And so, this day being the Sephira of Tiferet She'B'Tiferet (Beauty within Beauty) falling out this year on the sixth day of the week, the day of the week on which Adam was created, is an amazing connection between Adam and Jacob in itself.  But if this was not enough, this date falls out this year (unlike last year when it also fell out on the sixth day of the week, or in other leap years when we read the previous Parsha) as the sixth day of the week of Parshat Emor, and the sixth Aliyah of this Parsha is all about the Mitzvot of the holiday of Succot, the third of the Shalosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals) that corresponds to Jacob of the three Avot (Patriarchs).  This is highlighted by a verse that shows a special connection between Jacob and the concept of Succot  "Jacob travelled to Succot (name of a city) and while there, he built a home and he made Succot (booths) for his cattle; therefore, he named the place Succot" (Genesis 33:17).

And noting that the above verse is Verse 17 where the word Succot is mentioned THREE times, we see that this number 17 is unique to Jacob in quite a few ways:
1)The Sephira combination of Tiferet She'B'Tiferet, the THIRD Sephira within the THIRD Sephira, which falls out on the 17th day of the Omer, is most connected to Jacob.
2)As the seven days of Succot correspond to the Ushpizin or the Seven Shepherds (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, David), the third day of Succot, which is the 17th of Tishrei, the THIRD day of Succot, corresponds to Jacob.
3)As is mentioned at the very beginning of Parshat Vayechi, Jacob's last 17 years of his life were spent in Egypt, the beginning of the 210 years that the Jews were in Egypt "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years" (Genesis 47:28), noting that this Parsha is always read in the month of Tevet, and the name of the constellation for this month is Gedi, the Gematria of 17.
4)The Mitzva of Gid HaNashe, the prohibition of eating the sinew vein of the thigh, is the THIRD Mitzva of the Torah (and the very first of 365 prohibition Mitzvot), which is a result of Jacob being injured at his thigh as a result of having a fight with an angel who looked to wrestle with Jacob.  The first word of this phrase GID Hanashe is the Gematria of 17.
5)In the phrase Mah Tovu Ohalecha Ya'akov "How goodly are your tents O Jacob", which we recite at the very beginning of our morning prayers following putting on the Tallit (prayer shawl) and Tefillin (phylacteries), the word Tovu, in reference to the name Jacob, is the Gematria of 17.  In the original context of the Torah, this is the THIRD verse of a poetry of blessings for the Jewish people that the evil Bila'am stated that Hashem made him speak instead of his original intended curses in his THIRD attempt of doing so.

Exactly one year ago on this date of 2 Iyar, the 17th day of the Omer, which is Tiferet She'B'Tiferet, Rabbi Ya'akov Yoseph ZT'L, a Rosh Yeshiva in Jerusalem who gave numerous Torah lectures in various places each week, son of the famed Rabbi Ovadia Yosef who served as the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel and headed the Shas party of the Knesset, passed away.  I already wrote about him last year since his passing, especially as he was a champion to the rights of not giving any parts of Israel away despite being surrounded by others who weren't in agreement of his views, following in the ways of his namesake Ya'akov Avinu (Jacob our Forefather) who was especially attuned to the trait of Emet (truth) - Titein Emet L'Ya'akov "Give truth to Jacob", but one thing of significant interest, as it relates to Tiferet, as that on the day of his passing, unlike many others who are also very sick and aren't conscious in the last so many days of their lives, Rabbi Ya'akov Yosef was fully alert, having recited the morning prayers with his Tallit and Tefillin, noting that the Tefillin is especially related to the concept of Tiferet.  Of this rabbi, it can truly be said M'Ya'akov Ad Ya'akov Lo Kam K'Ya'akov "From Ya'akov (the Patriarch) until (Rabbi) Ya'akov (Yosef), there was none who rose like Ya'akov".

As per the above verse "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob", we see that right from the getgo that Jacob was the epitome of Torah learning, because of which is dubbed "The chosen of the Patriarchs", even more than his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham, as the verse writes of him in his youth V'Ya'akov Ish Tam Yoshev Ohalim "Jacob was a man of simplicity, a dweller of tents" (Genesis 25:27), referring to the tents of Torah learning, as in a Yeshiva setting, as this is referring to the tents of Shem and Ever, two of his ancestors who established the very first Yeshiva in the world.  And as Jacob is the THIRD of the Avot (Patriarchs), we see in the Talmudic tractate of Shabbat that the Torah is called the "THREEFOLD Torah" (which can be either Torah-Nevi'im-Ketuvim the Tanach or Tanach-Mishna-Gemara).

And noting that today is the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Ya'akov Yosef, which is the first Friday of my 45th year, the SIXTH day of the week on which Adam was created, and having mentioned above about the connection between Adam and Ya'akov Avinu in terms of Tiferet (beauty), there is one chapter in the entire Mishnayot that begins with the word Adam (referring to a human being), the SIXTH chapter of Tractate Ahalot (Tents), this tractate which discusses the spiritual impurity that one can attain as a result of being under the same roof as a corpse, which is originally mentioned in Numbers Chapter 19, in which Verse 14 states - Zot HaTorah Adam Ki Yamut B'Ohel...  "This is the law of a person who dies in a tent, whoever comes to the tent or whatever is in the tent will be impure for seven days".  Now, aside from the fact that both the Chumash (Penteteuch) and the Mishna chooses the word Adam, rather than one of the other three synonyms in Hebrew for a person, highlights the concept of death that began with Adam following his spiritual downfall. In a homiletic sense, our rabbis tell us  "From where do we see that Torah is attained by one who "kills" himself for it? As it says "This is the Torah (law) of a person who dies in a tent"" (Talmud Berachot 63b). Indeed, it takes much Mesirut Nefesh (giving up of oneself) to be a Torah scholar, as we know of numerous examples of rabbis of yesteryear who spent endless hours in their youth, with little sleep, and oftentimes with little food when there was hardly any, learning Torah, especially in the areas of the Talmud and Halacha (Jewish Law), as what Rabbi Ya'akov Yosef specialized in.

And to end off on a GOOD note - noting that the Hebrew word for good is Tov, the Gematria of 17, the number of today's Sephira - as is common in finishing off a piece of Torah, it states Ein Tov Elah Torah "There is no good but Torah" (Talmud Avoda Zara 19b)


2 Iyar, 5774 - 17th day of Sephirat HaOmer

#217 - End of the BLOOD Year

At this time, I am literally hours away from my Jewish birthday, ending my 44th year of life in this world.  It has been significant that I mentioned the number 44 in my previous two posts, as at this time, both the four red moons as related to the number 44, the Gematria of the word Dam (blood/bloodshed) are taking place, and this, within the middle of the second term of the 44th U.S. President Obama.  As for Obama's two presidental terms, multiplying the number 44 by two equals 88, the number that represents the symbol HH, as H is the eighth letter, that stands for Heil Hitler.  And there is another word related to this that also begins with the letter H, of course - Holocaust.  It was only in 1945 that the Holocaust ended with the ending of World War II, a great travesty that occured with the silence of the world, including and especially the United States, our so called ally of Israel, which then was under the leadership of the anti-Semitic U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, during which time a boatload of Jews came to the States escaping the Holocaust, only to be turned back and perish in the flames of Jew hatred.  It was only thanks to Mr. Roosevelt croaking in the midst of his FOURTH term that things changed, with Harry S. Truman taking over the reigns, who even acknowledged Israel as the State of Israel in 1948 shortly after this historical event took place.

In any event, having mentioned before that Obama is Gog (U'Magog), this phrase Gog U'Magog is the Gematria of 70, and next year, the predicted time that Obama will be pressing the red button on Israel, it will be just about 70 years since the end of the Holocaust.  Also, this will be happening around the end of 48 years since the liberation of Jerusalem which occurred in 5727 (1967).  You see, the number 48 is the sum of the numbers FOUR and FORTY-FOUR, and it is particularly on Jerusalem, as foretold in the Tanach, that Gog U'Magog and Co. will be fighting against, which is basically negating the belief of Jerusalem as our capitol as far as they are concerned, attempting to vindicate the claims of the Arabs that the Temple Mount area in their East Jerusalem is theirs, while fighting us in West Jerusalem where most of the Jews in Jerusalem reside, since after all, both the Arabs and the other nations not only don't want us in East Jerusalem, but neither in any part of Jerusalem - or anywhere else in Israel for that matter, but their fight against us will at least begin in Jerusalem, because after all, if we are not entitled to even live in Jerusalem the capitol, then what right do we have to live anywhere else in Israel.  This will especially be the case should Moshiach come soon enough, because then, the nations will make one last attempt to get rid of us, knowing that if indeed we have the true Moshiach that we have been waiting for, the more Jews dead, G-d forbid, the better for them from their perspective, as they will viciously attempt to prevent us from having the long awaited Redemption.

There is something that I had mentioned once before in connection with the number 44, aside from Torah study, that could very well help the Jewish people from this bloodshed predicament.  You see, in the 70 Tikunim of the Tikunei Zohar, the holiest part of the Zohar, Tikkun 44 focuses on the Mitzva of Tzedaka (charity).  Indeed, the final verse of the Haftara for Parshat Devarim, the 44th Parsha, that we read on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, reads "Zion will be redeemed with justice, and those who return to her with Tzedaka" (Isaiah 1:27).  And amazingly, as the Tikkunei Zohar at one point explains the verses in Parshat Bereishit in order of the verses, it is Tikkun 44 that explains particularly the section of the Torah of the FOURTH day of Creation.  By the way, this final day of my 44th year falls out on the FOURTH day of the week.  And not to forget, my son Shevach Tzion Yisrael was born on Wednesday, the FOURTH day of the week, of the last day of Week 16 (4*4!) of my 44th year (along with his circumcison one week later on the FOURTH day of the week), whose first two names were given based on my Pasuk (verse) that I recite corresponding to my name Shimon that begins with the letter Shin and ends with the letter Noon (Sophit), the verse beginning with the word Shabechi and ending with Tzion (Zion), noting that the names Shevach Tzion is the same Gematria as my name Shimon - 466!  Moreover, I was born on Day 16 (4*4) of the Sephirat HaOmer.

And moving along on the Sephira calendar in posting, we are currently up to Hod She'B'Netzach, the 26th Sephira combination.  As it turns out for today's very date - the 15th day of the Omer, which is actually the Sephira combination of Chesed She'B'Tiferet - the name of the Sephira of Hod is the Gematria of 15, and the corresponding Sephira for the FOURTH day of the week is Netzach.  And the Shir Shel Yom, the psalm for Wednesday, the FOURTH day of the week, is Psalm 94 along with the first three verses of Psalm 95, which is a total of 26 verses.  And speaking of 26, it is the Gematria of the main name of Hashem written in English as YKVK (where K substitutes H out of respect of Hashem's holy name), which is represented by the Sephira of Tiferet, the combination of Chesed (strict kindness) and Gevurah (strict justice), blending the perfect combination for Hashem to rule this world in order for it to continue existing without getting carried too far away with sins.  Moreover, this Psalm 94 begins with the word E-l, which is the name of Hashem that corresponds with the Sephira of Chesed, even as the opening verse speaks of vengence, except that this vengence against the nations who mistreated us with their anti-Semitism, thus showing Hashem's kindness towards us, just as a father would want to show his beloved son that injustice against him in not tolerable. Hence, today - this FOURTH day of the week of all weeks of the year, the Psalm of this day represents the very Sephira combination of today's Sephirat HaOmer.

The truth is, the Talmud near the end of Tractate Shabbat mentions, where there are a list of predictions for those born on any particular day of the week or under a particular hour that is under the influence of one of the planets, states "There is no Mazel (constellation signs) for the Jews".  For even if what there is supposed to be a bad sign for us, G-d forbid, it can be changed over for the good, if we just but repent, just as a true Ba'al Teshuva (repentant) can change his sins into merits.  The proof for this is what Pharaoh (and is strongly believed that President Obama is a reincarnate of the Pharaoh of the Exodus) told Moses, that he sees Ra'ah (literally means evil) coming to meet the Jews.  In this instance, Pharaoh was actually referring to a star named Ra'ah that indicated bloodshed, attempting to scare Moses from wanting to lead the Jews out of Egypt, so they could remain his slaves.  In any event, we see that this was an actual predicament; but however, it was changed for the good of the Jews in the merit of TWO BLOODS - the blood of Brit Mila (circumcision) and the blood of the Korban Pesach (Pascal lamb) that the Jews smeared on the doorposts which would prevent the Jewish firstborn from being struck when the Egyptian firstborn would be struck.  In retrospect, we see that in essence, the Jews were prevented from a Holocaust at that time, since we see that a DOUBLE BLOOD merit was needed to avert the predicament of this Ra'ah sign, as twice the number 44 is the same number representing Hitler.

As we are coming close to entering this 70th year, being mindful of the 70 Tikkunim of the Zohar, let us do what it takes to avert this coming evil decree, G-d forbid, which includes learning the Zohar - though it must be emphasized that it shouldn't be learned for the sake of learning "the secrets" in using Kabbala, for it is in fact forbidden to use Kabbala for our own means, but simply for the sake of Torah study, as the Vilna Gaon writes that it will be in the merit of the inner parts of the Torah (which includes the Zohar) that we will be redeemed.  And as related to the number of this post, the word HaZohar (the Zohar) is the Gematria of 217.

And in conclusion, we see that there 70 people of Jacob's family that are mentioned by name coming to Egypt.  Actually, the total amount of names are 69, but the 70th was Yocheved, the mother of Moses, who was born just as the Jewish family clan was entering the walls of Egypt.  It seems that her name isn't mentioned in this context, because...she hints to the future Redemption, and we sure hope that by the time that Passover of this coming Hebrew Year 5775, nearing the end of the 70th year, comes around, that we will be able to see good things happening to the Jewish people, despite the upcoming war of Gog U'Magog, leading to our long awaited Redemption.


30 Nissan, 5774

#216 - Going from STRENGTH 2 STRENGTH

A few days ago, something that went virtually unnoticed took place.  Shortly after Passover, on 23 Nissan, the 8th worldwide cycle of the Daf Yomi of the Jerusalem Talmud ended, and on the following day - 24 Nissan - the 9th worldwide cycle of the Daf Yomi of the Jerusalem Talmud began.  To be honest, I found absolutely nothing in the internet about this, as it far pales in stark comtrast to the Daf Yomi of the Babylonian Talmud.  The reason for this is quite simple - relatively few people study the Jerusalem Talmud, except for seasoned scholars and some Gerrer Chasidim, as the fifth Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter ZT'L is the one who proposed this idea of learning Daf Yomi of the Jerusalem Talmud, which began on Tu B'Shevat (15 Shevat) 5740 (1980).

In this instance, the significance of the timing of the conclusion of the 8th cycle of this Daf Yomi and the commencement of the 9th cycle of this Daf Yomi is strikingly amazing in terms of this Sephirat HaOmer (counting of the days from the day after the first day of Passover at which an Omer offering was brought in the Temple until the holiday of Shavuot), for the conclusion of the 8th cycle took place on the 8th day of the Sephira, and so the commencement of the 9th cycle took place on the 9th day of the Sephira.  And if this was not enough, the date of this commencement took place on 24 Nissan, the birthdate of the founder of the learning of this Daf Yomi of the Jerusalem Talmud - Grand Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter of the Gerrer Hasidic dynasty!

Now first, in terms of the conclusion of this EIGHTH cycle, it ended off with Tractate Nidah, which is about the woman who had a period who needs a period of non-physical contact with her husband which includes first a period of usually 5-6 days until no more blood appears, followed by seven "clean" days on which no blood has been seen, following which the woman goes to a Mikva (ritualarium), then rendering her pure to resume physical contact with her husband.  In any case, we see that it is only following these seven clean days that on the night of the EIGHTH that she becomes spiritually pure once again.

To note, in the Jerusalem Talmud, there are 13 Dafim on this tractate, which includes material only on the first four out of ten chapters of this tractate.   And as we see, there are approximately 13 days from the beginning of a woman's period until she is ready for the Mikva. (Technically, it could happen as early as 12 days, but oftentimes, since we count the period of time as to when day begins which is nighttime, rather than hours; and so, it often happens that at least six days, including the day that blood was first seen, are counted before no more blood is seen, and is only at that point that the seven clean days begin).  Corresponding, we see an amazing thing with the Shlosh Esrei Middot HaRachamim (the Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy), in which the final one of these 13 is V'Nakeh "and will be clean (from sin)", which in the context of when the woman goes to the Mikva, it could happen at times on the 13th day from when the period began, or this 13th day could be the conclusion of the seven clean days.

And now, in terms of the commencement of this NINTH cycle, it begins with Tractate Berachot, which consists of NINE chapters.  And as we know, various conduct in how we say the main Shemoneh Esrei prayer is based on the conduct of Chana, mother of Shmuel HaNavi (Samuel the Prophet) when she prayed, as we see in the beginning of Sefer Shmuel that we read on the first day of Rosh Hashana, following which, we pray the Mussaf Shemoneh Esrei which consists of NINE blessings, the ONLY day(s, being that we now observe two days of Rosh Hashana) of the year that the Shemoneh Esrei consists of particularly nine blessings.  And as related to a birthday, the birthday of a person is technically his Rosh Hashana, for indeed, it is the beginning, or as literally translated, the head of one's year, just as Adam and Eve, the ancestors of all mankind, were created on Rosh Hashana, which was also their personal Rosh Hashana.  And as we see pertaining to the Gematria of Adam's name - 45, the Mispar Katan (small Gematria) is NINE (4+5).

And as for the new cycle of the Daf Yomi of the Jerusalem Talmud beginning on the birthday of the one who proposed this idea, his birth took place 116 years ago in 5658 (1898).  And as we know, there were 116 years of slavery of the Jews in Egypt until their freedom with Yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus), and one's birth is in essence, leaving the Meitzarim (straights) of the womb, being freed from the womb and let out into the world at large.  And though ironically, we are speaking of 116 years since the birth of Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter, the ultimate freedom of a Jew is Torah, as we see in the sixth chapter of Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers). In any case, the first chapter of the Mishna/Talmud is very connected with the concept of the Exodus, for the subject matter of this chapter is about the Shema, which concludes with the verse that mentions the Exodus, and as the last Mishna of the chapter deals with as to how we know that the third paragraph of the Shema, which includes mention of the Exodus, is recited even at night (even though the first topic which is about the Mitzva of Tzitzit is technically a daytime Mitzva), which is quoted in the Haggada.

Now, for more emphasis on the concept of nine, as especially related to the concept of the Sephira of this date (24 Nissan) as Gevurah She'B'Gevurah (Strength within Strength), which has to do with strict justice, the number nine is especially related to the concept of darkness, such as darkness being the ninth plague that struck the Egyptians, and in terms of us - it is the ninth of Av, the month that is represented by the letter Teit, the ninth of the Aleph Beit with a numerical value of nine, which is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, commemorating the destruction of both Temples, along with other numerous unfortunate events for Jews that took place on this date.  In fact, the phrase of  "in darkness, you have placed me", which is mentioned in the Talmudic tractates of Sanhedrin and Avoda Zara as referring to the Babylonian Talmud, the product of the learning that took place in the exile of Babylonia, the country which destroyed our first Temple, comes from the book of Eicha (Lamentations) that is read specifically on Tisha B'Av.  And so, it is quite ironic that it is the NINTH cycle of the Daf Yomi of the corresponding Jerusalem Talmud that commenced on the NINTH day of the Sephira that represents the ultimate harshness and darkness.

On this note, it must be remembered that we just passed the first of four red moons, which I wrote about in my previous post.  Technically, the sign of a red moon is, G-d forbid, a bad sign for Jews.  True, we are soon going to usher into the Messianic era; however, this will not occur without a major challenge to the Jewish people.  However, one of the main ways, though not the only way, that will help us as a nation pass through these rough times, is the study of Torah, which has been recently challenged by the Knesset in which some viciously attempted to pass rules which will, G-d forbid, punish the very group of Jews who learn Torah the most.

This vicious effort was superheaded in part by the evil Naftali Bennett, whose last name in Hebrew, which is spelled as Beit-Noon-Teit, reads the word Satan (letters Sin-Teit-Noon) in the Gematria form of Atbash (the first Aleph being substituted with the last letter Tav, the second letter Beit being substituted with the next to the last letter Shin, and so on), using the pretext that this was part of a serious of bills being in benefit of the Hareidi (Ultra-Orthodox) to give work incentives for them, as though he couldn't pass this work incentive bill alone.  Indeed, this is the very way how Satan operates, for an observant Jew doesn't necessarily think of sinning by itself, but is sometimes fooled by the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination), which is Satan, to think that one could be doing a Mitzva, when in fact, it is an Aveira (sin), or leads to an Aveira, which in this case, is "defending" the State of Israel.  Moreover, this last name can be read as B'Noon-Teit (with Noon-Teit), for the letters Noon and Teit begin the names of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus, the respective heads of the Temple destruction operations of the Babylonian and Roman empires. And while in Bennett's video of him talking in English, he spoke about his ancestors in Europe not having had the chance to defend themselves; there would be NO NEED to defend ourselves in our country if we would only do what Hashem wants.  In fact, quite contrary, it is due in part, in fact, a large part, of Jews learning Torah especially in Israel, that helps so many miracles of Jews not being attacked, as especially evident with the amount of missiles that our Arab enemies throw at us these days.  And so, for an observant Jew who is devoted to learning Torah to be thrown in a non-friendly observant environment of the army is not going to help matters in the long run; aside from the fact that this is an army that is basically trained to be "moral" and not be so quick to attack our enemies, and unless openly attacked first, to at most shoot in the air, something that is not done in ANY other army in the world.

And as I am writing this post which is based on the study of the Daf Yomi of the Jerusalem Talmud, it was in Jerusalem that the gathering and protest of the Hereidi community took place a couple of months ago, in response to the Knesset attempt to get Jews learning Torah in Yeshivot to learn a little less by "defending" our country.  Perhaps for others, such as in the Zionist or Dati Leumi (National Religious) camp, and for anyone else who wants on his own to serve in the army, it is a Mitzva for them to be in the army, if their sole intent is truly to defend our country, rather than follow orders that could be detrimental to the safety of Israel. However, for those who are truly intent in learning Torah, so long as this army is dictated by the policies of an anti-Torah/religious government, there is NO Mitzva to serve in the army, since as it states in the Talmudic tractate of Megilla, learning Torah is GREATER than saving lives.  Yes, you read correctly, though of course, if G-d forbid, a situation occurs where there is no else or there is  insufficient manpower to save lives, then we need to stop our Torah learning to tend to the emergency situation, since after all, "learning Torah leads to action", and that is why we have Taryag Mitzvot (613 Commandments).

However, in our situation, since the Israeli army is an army that is based on mandatory recruitment of its citizens, rather than voluntary enrollment such as in the United States; numbers is not an issue.  And as seen in the history of Israel's wars in the last 65 some years, Hashem has done all kinds of miracles to save us from our Arab enemies.  However, it was particularly when Israel practiced restraint to fulfill the wishes of the United States not to attack the Arabs first, that caused THOUSANDS of Jews to be killed in war, which could and would have been avoided for the most part had Israel attacked first.  And so, before Jews who hate our Torah tell followers of the Torah what to do, let them at least first get their own act in order and show the type of true strength needed in fighting our enemies as every other sane country does in fighting its enemies, in lieu of releasing terrorists - who deserve execution - from prison; and then perhaps, the evil Bennett, whose beanie on his head is just a Jewish uniform in disguise, can start lecturing Torah Jews on the benefits of  "defending" our country.

And so indeed, even in Israel, we are living in a period of darkness, just as in the period of the Syrian Greeks who attempted to get the Jews to stop observing the Torah, which is hinted to by the Torah with the mention of the word Choshech (darkness), in which even some in the guise of observant Jews, including some Zionist rabbis, tell truly observant Jews who are devoted to the Torah, that they are sinners by not wishing to "fulfill" what the Torah says, to be part of army that "fights" our enemies, as we see in numerous stories in the Tanach (Jewish Bible).  However, the difference is that at least in those days, there was virtually no political interest controlling how we fought our enemies, and quite often, they had no choice but to fight to the bitter end, and were indeed in the midst of getting rid of our enemies, as the Torah mandates.  However, with all the talks and concessions happening from the Israeli government, not only is its interest is NOT in annihilating our enemies, but it even causes further attacks from our neighboring Arabs, proving statistically in an increase in terror when "peace" concessions are taking place, along with of course, releasing thousands of Arab terrorists from Israeli prisons.  And so, a larger army is definitely NOT the answer to the present crisis that is happening in Israel.  The ONLY answer to our present crisis is if anything, to beef up our Torah observance, and then, in the merit of these good Jews, Hashem will continue performing miracles on our behalf.

With this said, if the Israeli government is truly worried about upcoming wars, it should start worrying about the upcoming Gog U'Magog war, which will be headed by none other than its "ally" country, the good U.S. of A., which is still keeping Jewish and American hero Jonathan Pollard in prison to rot away, even as he is presently in poor health.  And with his recent refusal to attend the parole board in the midst of the United States to be pressured to release him with conditional further releases of terrorists in Israel, it just comes to show who is the hero and villians here.  Of course we didn't see any fuss in press releases in the States of how Jonathan Pollard could be such a fool to take a chance of not being released after being stuck in prison for nearly three decades, because this would make him look real good, the LAST thing that the United States as headed by the evil Obama wants; and so, life goes on as though it is Israel who didn't want the "peace" concessions to continue, still being blamed by the evil John Kerry when he knows damn well it is the Arabs who have been cry babies for the longest time, having the Chutzpa to do so when Israel, on his demands, already released scores of terrorists.  


MIDDLE SEPHIRA-MIDDLE DAY-MIDDLE TRACTATE

The truth is that the focus of this post is on Torah learning.  With this said, moving along the Sephira calendar as this year's posts is following, the 25th or the MIDDLE of the 49 Kabbalistic Sephirot is Netzach She'B'Netzach, and as related to our post, I will translate as Victory within Victory, for indeed, it is the learning of Torah that will be the ultimate cause of our victory over our enemies.

Lo and behold, the MIDDLE day of this Hebrew Year 5774, having the maximum of 385 days as allowed in our present Jewish calendar, is 14 Adar II, the date of Purim!  And as we see from the Vilna Gaon pertaining to the relationship of the various holidays with the Sephirot, it is the holiday of Purim that corresponds to the Sephira of Netzach!  For as clearly shown in the Megilla that we read on Purim, it was following our VICTORY over our enemies that we celebrated.

The truth is that it is a little funny here, because the number of this post - 216, is the Gematria of the Sephira that is called Gevurah (Strength), but in a way, there is a connection here, because it is with strength that an army has VICTORY in war.  Actually, the title of this post is actually based on a verse in Psalm 84, where it states "they will go from strength to strength", though the actual Hebrew word used for strength in this instance is not Gevurah but Chayil, which in at least modern Hebrew, is based on the wording that means soldier.  And in the Talmudic sense, the context refers to one who has completed a course of Torah study or has done a Mitzva, and is wished continued strength in learning more Torah or doing Mitzvot.

And amazingly, the Gematria of the name of the MIDDLE tractate of the Mishnayot - Bava Metzia - is 216, which in this year, in the NINTH cycle of the study of one chapter of Mishnayot a day, was learnt in the MIDDLE 10 days of the month of Nissan, the month of miracles, as it consists of 10 chapters.  And the MIDDLE two days of Nissan - the 15th and 16th - are both especially related to miracles, as the 15th is the miracle of the Exodus, and the 16th marks the date of hanging Haman, the villian in the Purim story who attempted to have all the Jews murdered on one day.  The miracle in this instance is that one day, Haman was second to King Achashveirosh, and then the next thing we know, King Achashveirosh orders his execution, leading to the war of the Jews fighting victoriously over our enemies.

Aside from this reason, noting that in this Hebrew leap year, there were two months of Adar, the Talmud in Tractate Megilla discusses as to which of these months is appropriate to have the holiday of Purim.  The conclusion is that Purim should be celebrated in the second month of Adar, as it is appropriate to have a holiday of miracles in the month closest to the month in which we have another holiday of Passover celebrating miracles.

With this said, the name of Sephira called Netzach, the FOURTH and MIDDLE of the seven Sephirot, is the Gematria of the name of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov - greatgrandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov, founder of the Hasidic movement - who was born on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, who was especially connected with the number FOUR.  And noting that both his name and the name of the month of Nissan both start and end with the letter NOON (as well as the name of Nachshon Ben-Aminadav, leader of the Tribe of Judah the FOURTH son of Jacob and Leah, who brought special offerings in the Tabernacle on behalf of his tribe on Rosh Chodesh Nissan), it is precisely in this year that the study of the first three tractates of the FOURTH of the six volumes of the Mishnayot, called Nezikin (Damages) was learnt in this program of one chapter of Mishna a day, noting that the name Nezikin also begins and ends with the letter NOON!  This is also to note that at one time, these three tractates - Bava Kama (First Gate), Bava Metzia (Middle Gate), and Bava Basra (Last Gate) - was at one time one large tractate also called Nezikin. but in time, was divided into three separate tractates.  To note, Bava Metzia is called the Middle Gate because it is the middle of these three tractates in Nezikin, but it is ALSO the MIDDLE of the 63 tractates of the Mishnayot.  In any case, the very first chapter of Nezikin, the first chapter of Bava Kama, which was learnt on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, starts off stating Arba'ah Avot Nezikin... "There are FOUR classifications of damages - the ox, the pit, the tooth, and the fire", noting the number FOUR beginning the FOURTH volume of the Mishnayot.

And having written in this post about Jewish armies and fighting, it was Yehoshua Bin-NOON (Joshua son of Noon) who led the Jews people to Israel and faught various nations for seven years before dividing the land for the various tribes.  And in this year, aside from the learning of the first chapter of Nezikin/Bava Kama that starts off with mentioning the word Avot, it is the very name of the tractate that we learn on Shabbat starting from the Shabbat after Passover (until Shavuot or Rosh Hashana depending on custom) which fell out this year on 26 Nissan, the Yahrzeit of Yehoshua, beginning with stating "Moses received the Torah from Mt. Sinai, and handed it over to Joshua, Joshua to the prophets...".  In fact, some of Joshua's main accomplishments took place in this very month of Nissan, including on the 10th of Nissan in which he led the Jews to Israel, and his first victory mission that took place in Jericho on the 28th of Nissan.  Indeed, it is hardly surprising that we mention Joshua on the first day of Passover, both in the Haggada and the Haftara, for it was Joshua, as Moses' successor, who followed in his footsteps in TRUE Jewish leadership and fighting our enemies, realizing that ultimately, if we do our part, then Hashem will do His part and help us with His miracles, a point that was made clear to Joshua when an angel appeared to him early on to reprimand him for not learning Torah one day in the midst of a fighting expidition, keeping him in track of what is the ultimate weapon in the midst of fighting our enemies, not using a lack of time as an excuse for not learning Torah, an event that is mentioned in the Haftara for the first day of Passover (Note: Though this is not clear from the text of the Tanach/Haftara, this is how our rabbis in the Talmud interpret this story).

And as our rabbis tell us "The face of Joshua resembles the moon" (Talmud Bava Batra 75a), and as per my previous post on the four red moons phenomenon, two of the four times occur in the middle of the month of Nissan at the full moon point.  And having mentioned the concept of damages here and that the red moon is, G-d forbid, a bad sign for Jews, it is the number four, that is most associated with the concept of damages, is also the number that is most associated to the concept of the moon, as I go into detail about in my previous post.

There is one more thing here that I want to mention pertaining to the concept of MIDDLE that relates especially to this Hebrew year.  As we know, there is what is called Shirat Ha'azinu, the Song that is mentioned in the first 43 verses of Parshat Ha'azinu, in which Moses exhorts us to follow in Hashem's ways, or G-d forbid, bad things will happen.  Now, while this was not the first time that he spoke on this issue, this was the very last time in his life that he did so.  But also significantly, this is marked in the Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) by how this is written - not as regular reading text, but written in poetry form, leaving more space between phrases, rather than just between verses, to make the design that it looks, just as it is written for Shirat HaYam (Song of the Sea) that is read on the seventh day of Passover.  Anyways, the 5774th verse of the Torah, corresponding to this Hebrew Year 5774, is the MIDDLE verse of Shirat Ha'azinu!

Now, let us take a look at this verse "For fire burned in My nostrils, and blazed until the lowest depths, it shall consume the land and its produce, and set aflame what is founded on mountains" (Deutronomy 32:22). Now, to quote Rashi, "the land" refers to Israel and "founded on mountains" refers to Jerusalem, quoting a verse from Tehilim (Psalms 125:2) where it states that Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains.

Technically, this verse was already fulfilled with not one, but two destructions of the Temple.  In today's terms, we know that it is just a matter of time until Gog U'Magog sets afoot in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem, which even the Israeli government which bows to our enemies, for the most, insists on being our eternal capitol of Israel, but soon, even this will not be agreeable to the United States government.  In fact, the United States never actually acknowledged that Jerusalem is the capitol of Jerusalem, maintaining its main embassy rather in Tel Aviv, and in natural citizenship documentation, a child of an American parent born in Jerusalem is listed as born in Jerusalem WITHOUT THE MENTION OF THE NAME ISRAEL.  As far as the government of the United States is concerned, Jerusalem - as long as East Jerusalem is inhabitated by the Arabs - is part of the "West Bank", regardless of what the Bible has to say on the subject.  In fact, as far as President Obama, who is Moslem, is concerned, he is more worried about what he calls the "holy Koran" has to say on the subject, since in fact, Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Koran, in stark contrast to the 669 times that the name Jerusalem is mentioned in the Bible.

In my previous post, I mentioned how the four red moons hints to Dam (bloodshed), this word being the Gematria of 44, all taking place literally within the MIDDLE part of the 44th U.S. President Obama's second term.  But one more thing that I want to add today is that being that the number 44 is a composite of 4*11, the number 11 also is related to the concept of damages.  For first, the name of the 11th of the 14 volumes of the main work of the Rambam (Maimondies) called Mishne Torah, which encompasses all the laws of the Torah, is called Nezikin.  Moreover, the 44th Parsha of the Torah is called Devarim, whose word begins with the letter Dalet, the FOURTH letter and is the numerical value of FOUR, and is the first Parsha of 11 Parshiyot in the fifth and final book of the Chumash (Penteteuch), and is always read on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, or in some years, on the date of the 9th of Av itself, except that we fast the day after since we don't fast on Shabbat (the only exception being Yom Kippur).  And as especially related to Tisha B'Av, he was politically born on Tisha B'Av in the year Two Thousand and FOUR, first becoming a public figure when he spoke endorsing then the anti-Semitic Democratic candidate John Kerry when he spoke on this very day (this fact coming from the ones who are behind the website www.redemption5768.com).

And just like Hashem showed His strength when it came to the Exodus, so may Hashem show His strength shortly in sanctification of His name, showing that it is only when we follow in Hashem's ways that we will achieve the ultimate victory, including in Jerusalem being ablaze with the Torah learning of the ones who put themselves on the line despite the threats of the Erev Rav, which includes most members of the Knesset, who will soon vanish into eternal damnation, as the verse promises, "Not with infantry, nor with power, but with My spirit, says the L-rd o Hosts".  May this be fulfilled speedily in our days.  Amen!


End of Nissan, 5774

#215 - Moon SHINING Red

Indeed, a sign of the times.

I was delayed for a while since Purim from writing new posts, especially as a father of two helping to prepare our place for Passover.  As it turns out, since I had a delay, I now have information to reveal about this four red moons phenomenon when it comes to Gematria.

This post will be short and sweet to the point.  As just about everyone knows by now, unless you have been living in a shell, there is supposed to be a total of four red moons in intervals of six months apart.  As it especially relates to Jews, these four have or will occur around the beginning of Passover and Succot when there is a full moon both in this secular year and the next secular year.

To those who have been following the news as of late as per the prophecies of the Messianic times, as well as what autistic children/adults from observant Jewish homes are telling us, and of course, the Hidden Codes of the Torah, regardless of when Moshiach will actually come, there is no doubt that a major war on Israel is on its way, and it's only a matter of time - perhaps no more than a year - but definitely before the end of the next Hebrew year 5775, with the major part of the war continuing into 5776.  One of the places where this is hinted is in a matrix that includes the verse that mentions the Shalosh Regalim (three Pilgrimage festivals) - Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot, which was part of the Torah reading for the last day of Passover yesterday outside of Israel (where eight days of Passover are observed, rather than the seven days from the Torah in Israel).  At the mention of Pesach, there is a code that states that "a Goy (non-Jewish nation in this context) will arise in 5775", and the name of Obama is spelled out by the mention of Sukkot.  In fact, it has been long since known as shown in a matrix in the Book of Ezekiel in the section of the war of Gog U'Magog (Chapters 38 and 39) which again shows Obama's name mentioned very clearly in reference to being Gog and Magog (which in this instance, is Obama and the United States, respectively).  In fact, this is the very Haftara for Shabbat Chol HaMoed of Succot, which we will be reading in both years (At times, there is no Shabbat Chol HaMoed on Pesach or Succot).

In the last 520 years, including this time, that there have been four consecutive new moons between Pesach and Succot.  The first was in 1493 and 1494 following the year 1492 (Hebrew Year 5252) when the Jews were expelled from Spain, as well as Christopher Columbus's discovery of the area in the world which led people to moving to America/United States.  Then, in rather recent times, this happened again in 1949 and 1950, following the year 1948 (Hebrew Year 5708) when massive amounts of Jews emigrated to Israel as well as the war in Israel in that year that prevented access to the holiest area in the world, which included the Western Wall.  And then, this happened in 1967 and 1968 when in 1967 (Hebrew Year 5727), we had the Six Day War which led to reconquering major areas in Israel, including the holiest area in the world (until the evil Moshe Dayan handed the keys of the Temple Mount to the Wakf).  And finally, this is happening in this year and the next year.

In case one is confused as to whether this moon sign is a good sign or a bad sign (G-d forbid) for Jews, as the moon represents the Jewish people, while the sun represents the nations, we do see that the color red is associated with war or bloodshed, and as mentioned in Joel 3:4, "The sun will turn to darkness, and the moon will turn to blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem" (this latter phrase being also mentioned at the end of Malachi in which Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet), who will herald the arrival of Moshiach, is mentioned.  As for the sun turning to darkness, which is a total solar eclipse, this is going to happen in the following year around Rosh Chodesh Nissan, two weeks before Passover, thus hinting as a good sign for the Jewish people, as it is the sun, representing the nations, will be striked or eclipsed   In any case, this red moon phenomenon will not happen again for the rest of the secular century. More details on this while subject can be found on the Hebrew site sod1820.co.il, or for  those who aren't familiar with Hebrew, can find this same basic information at other sites.

But one thing is for sure.  As in the previous three times, where Jews were faced with challenges between being tortured and kicked out of a country, or wars fighting the Arabs in which many Jews lost their lives, this occasion is more reason to be concerned than ever.  In fact, in this round of war, Hashem will pick out the Jews worthy of remaining alive, while unfortunately, there will be others who will not be spared and will be eternally damned.  Another key difference here is that while in past wars, a Jew who was murdered by a non-Jew (whether in war or other occasions), went straight to Heaven for being a martyr; on this occasion, it will instead be Hashem's filtering process of allowing only good Jews, including those who seriously repent, to survive the war of Gog U'Magog.

And while it will particularly be Israel that will be attacked, one should not think that automatically he will be safe in other countries, for as we see now already, there has been increased anti-Semitism, including in the United States, which is happening in due part  to the concesssions of the Israeli dictatorship government that is desperately attempting to bring to the table to give more land away.  And so, especially after seeing Obama's track record of pushing Israel to stop building of "settlements" and pressuring Israel with the peace talks when ironically, it is the Arabs who aren't happy with giving "peace" a chance.  as well as Obama's alliance with various Arab nations, it is just a matter of time before Obama is going to press the red button on Israel, whether or not he will physically travel overseas to fight us Jews in our Holy Land or just send American soldiers to fight us.  For ultimately, it is those who look to follow Hashem who will survive, which will include some Jews outside of Israel who have pressing circumstances of why they aren't living in Israel or are involved in Hashem's holy work of bringing Jews closer to Judaism, whose hearts are with Hashem; but in the long run, it will be a little easier in Israel, despite the location of this World War III that will involve numerious nations coming to fight us, as dictated by the United Nations, as mentioned by the autistics who have spoken as of late as to what will be happening in the very near future.

With the above said, we see a frequent occurance of the number four in relationship to the moon.  For these last FOUR periods of history, as especially hinting to the Jewish nation, each consists of FOUR red moons. This is hardly surprising of the connection of the moon to the number four, for we see that it was on the FOURTH day of Creation when Hashem set up the solar system, and the FOURTH Mitzva of the Torah is the sanctification of the New Moon, as was done for close to 2,000 years until Hillel II, leader of the Jewish people, propogated in Beit Din (Jewish court) for a fixed calendar, as Jews were being increasingly scattered and endured various troubles from the nations.  Moreover, we see that it is King David who is especially associated with the moon, and as mentioned in the Zohar, of the Seven Shepherds (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, David) corresponding to the various holidays,  it is King David who corresponds to Rosh Chodesh (New Moon).  And as we see in his name, it begins and ends with the letter Dalet, the FOURTH letter with the niumerical value of FOUR.  Also, as we see in Kabbala, in certain contexts, the man is the giver while the woman is the receiver, the latter being the concept of the moon receiving its light from the sun, and as we know, there are FOUR Imahot (Matriarchs) which are Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.  In fact, it is mentioned that it was Rachel who composed the Rosh Chodesh prayer that we recite in the weekday Rosh Chodesh prayer of Shemoneh Esrei, and as hinted as the beginning letters of the first three words, it spells her name Rachel in Hebrew as Roshei Chodoshim L'Amcha "The New Moons to Your people (that You gave)".  And if this was not enough, the first letters of the beginning FOUR words of Tractate Ketubot - Betula Niseit L'Yom Ha'Revi'i "A virgin is married on the FOURTH day" as was customary in ancient times - make up the word Levana (moon) - consisting of the letters Lamed, Beit/Veit, Noon, Hei!

And as mentioned, the red sign of the moon represents bloodshed, which in Hebrew is the word Dam, the Gematria of 44 - a double four number, in units of singles and units of tens; or in another way of looking at this, a multiple of FOUR, which is 4*11.  And as we already mentioned that Obama is Gog (U'Magog), it should be mentioned here that he is the 44th U.S. President, and that in fact, ALL FOUR RED MOONS ARE TAKING PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF OBAMA'S SECOND TERM AS THE 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT!  For as we know, he was resworn as president on Jan 20, '13, and his term will be over on Jan 20, '16; and as we see the timing of the four red moons on the calendar, from the first to the fourth, we can see that this time period is virtually parallel in terms of being THE MIDDLE part of Obama's second term!  More on the concept of the MIDDLE, especially as it relates to the end of our exile will be discussed in this coming post.

And now, more in terms of the number four in connection with the timing of the four red moon phenomenon, let us take a close look at the Hebrew years 5708 and 5727 of the second and third times, respectively.  For the year 5708, there are 292 years following this year until the end of the sixth millenium, marking the end of this world's existance, and the word Revi'i, this word which is first used in the Torah as Yom Revi'i "Day FOUR", is the Gematria of 292.  And for the year 5727, there are 273 years following this year until the end of the sixth millenium, and the word Arba - FOUR - is the Gematria of 273, and the highlight of the Six Day War in 5727 was the liberation of Jerusalem which included the holiest area in the world which was on 28 Iyar, on a Wednesday, the FOURTH day of the week.  Noting that these years 5708 and 5727 have special significance in terms of Israel, we say in our prayers "Bring us to peace from the FOUR corners of the earth...and walk us upright speedily to OUR LAND", "Gather us together from the FOUR corners of the earth to OUR LAND".  And let us not forget that we Jews had/have a total of FOUR exiles, culminating with eternal freedom in our land which will happen speedily in our days.

Now, in case one is wondering why the number FOUR should be especially significant in terms of Israel, we see that it is in Parshat Shelach, the FOURTH Parsha in the FOURTH book of the Torah called Sefer Bamidbar (Numbers), in which 12 spies were sent to check out Israel before the Jews would enter, but most unfortunately, ended with at least virtually all the male Jews between ages 20-60, except for the Tribe of Levi, who cried their faces off believing 10 of the 12 spies who gave an evil report about Israel, which was the night of the 9th of Av, thi date that eventually became the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, which included the destruction of both Temples followed with the murder and exile of most of the Jewish population in Israel, as well as the official date of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.  In short, the Jews were delayed in the desert from entering Israel for nearly 39 years.

And presently, we are in the midst of the 207th 28-year-cycle of the sun which began, being marked with the blessing for the sun, on the 14th of Nissan, 5769 ('09), which in this cycle (which presently occurs on April 8 of the secular calendar), it began on the day before Passover, and is in fact hinted to in the beginning of Tractate Pesachim in the Mishna where it states "On the "light" night of the 14th (of Nissan), we search for Chametz (leavened food or particles) by the light of the candle", as the very first word Ohr (light) is the Gematria of 207! And so, no doubt that we are in a most special time in history.  Also, this phrase which mentions the FOURTEENTH of the month begins the FOURTEENTH tractate, and the Gematria of King David's name, as related to the moon part of the solar system, is the Gematria of FOURTEEN.  And as seen in the verses of Creation, the first verse for the fourth day which mentions "lights" is the FOURTEENTH verse of the Torah which consists of 16 words, and the square root of 16 is FOUR.

And now, for the connection of Gematria to the number of this post - 215, which is the Gematria of the word Zarach, which means shines.  This word begins a verse in Tehillim. though in the English translation, it is translated a little differently, "A light shines in darkness for the upright; He is gracious, merciful and righteous" (Psalms 112:4).  This verse tells us that Hashem reveals His spiritual light to those who walk on the straight path to serve Hashem, and don't look for shortcuts or politics to do things differently.  For as we see, especially in these times most unfortunately, there are even many rabbis who clearly say things against the Torah, including some of the Zionist rabbis who were outright against the Ultra-Orthodox having a demonstration and prayer services nearly two months ago, protesting and praying for averting the evil decree of the Israeli government which plans down the road to punish the Ultra-Orthodox if they will not join the self defeating army that caters to its enemies that is not very religious friendly for the most part instead of them learning Torah without unnnecessary interruptions.  Imagine, all throughout Jewish history, when Jews are in trouble, they openly prayed to be spared.  Yet, in this instance, even though this gathering included praying for the right to be able to learn Torah, which is the greatest Mitzva of the Torah, there were some Zionist rabbis not part of their camp who criticized such a gathering, which is what true Torah Jews took part in. Indeed, one who truly wants to walk on the straight path in serving Hashem, will be helped from Above accordingly, and will not come to say or do things against the Torah.

The Zohar speaks of the Erev Rav, which is a term used originally to refer to people of other nations who joined the Jews in the Exodus, but were not sincere in keeping the Torah, and wound up creating the Golden Calf for the Jews to worship.  Anyways, the Erev Rav in the Zohar refers to those who go against the Torah.
This includes, yes my friends, even some rabbis who don't serve with their heart, but are persuaded with money, power, and politics, who will be destroyed around the time of the coming of Moshiach.  However, for those who keep the Torah on the straight path, they will live to the time of the prophecy as mentioned in Isaiah Chapter 60, which begins with a verse that ends with the word Zarach, which is also the beginning of the Haftara for Parshat Ki Tavo "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Hashem will shine on you" which we hope to see the fulfillment of this speedily in our days. Amen!


23 Nissan, 5774