בס''ד
That would be Yiddish for "Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam..."
Thanks to Marie Jaffee for her translation and hat-tip to Rebecca Boggs for her transliteration.
I'd like to talk about home in this post in relation to this week's Parsha, Be-reyshit! Yes, this Shabbat we being the cycle of reading the Torah all over again. We got a preview on Simchat Torah, which was yesterday, Sunday, when we read the very end of the scroll and then rolled it back to the beginning again to read some more! This week we're getting back to The Garden.
Sefer Be-reyshit parashat Be-reyshit/the Book of Genesis 1:1 begins thus:
בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ.
Be-reyshit bara Eloqim et ha-shamayim ve-et ha-aretz:
"At the beginning of G@D's creating of the heavens and the earth:"
The first letter, Bet (ב) should sport 4 crowns, called taggin or ketarim (unless you are Yemenite). These represent the Four Winds, the holy breath of G@d with which the entirety of Time and Space were brought into being.
As with many, but not all, sefarim/holy books, the first letter is often enlarged. However, here also is an example of an action taken from the next world, by G@D. The act of creation warrants a large Bet. According to Rabbi Chayim Dovid Halevy, z"l, a great Kabbalist and the former Chief Sefardi Rabbi of Tel Aviv, any time we see an enlarged letter anywhere in our canon (TaNa"KH), we are to understand that G@d has disturbed the staus quo with great חסד chesed, kindness, and אהבה ahavah, love.
Because the letter Bet carries the gematrial value of 2, it reveals to us the Divine creative mother-father energy within it, beginning the whole universe.
So, why was the world created with the letter Bet?
Just as Bet is closed on three sides and open only in front, so you are not permitted to investigate what is above (the Heavens) and what is below (the deep), what is before (the six days of creation) and what is (to happen) after (the world’s existence) - you are permitted only from the time the world was created and thereafter (the world we live in) [Genesis Rabbah 1:10. This may refer either to space or to time, or to both space and time. See Tosafot on Talmud Bavli Hag 11b, s.v. yakhol].
Some say that the Torah begins with the letter Bet to make the statement that the force that G@d used to initiate Creation was בינה Binah - with feminine understanding the world was created. . “For you shall call Understanding a Mother.” so says The Bahir. Binah means processed wisdom or deductive reasoning
Binah is in the world of יצירה Yetzirah, the formative dimension of "just Being". IS-ness. The letter Bet also begins בריאה B'riyah, the world of knowledge whose world is creative. Note that בריאה B'riyah and בְּרֵאשִׁית Be-reyshit have the same shoresh, root. For more on this, see http://inner.org/sefirot/sefbinah.htm
Reish Lakish taught that The Holy One made a deal with the rest of Creation, that if Israel accepts the Torah, you will continue to exist; if not, I will return you to nothingness (Shabbat 88a). How do we know this? Because the first word in the Torah, בְּרֵאשִׁית Be-reyshit, is an acronym: "Ba-rishonah Ra'ah Eloqim Shey'qab'lu Yisra'el Torah" - "From the start, G@D saw that Israel would accept the Torah" (Ba'al Ha-Turim).
In Judaism, G@d has many names, allowing us to attempt to express all the holy qualities of the Creator. One of those names begins with a letter Bet. בת קול Bat Qol, which literally means "Daughter of a Voice", but can also mean "Voice from Heaven", "echo", "Divine inspiration" or even "prophesy".
Just as with a ketubah, the traditional Jewish wedding contract, we begin this with a letter Bet which is often enlarged (but not always - that depends on the calligrapher). But we may have a similar situation here that requires a large Bet in a ketubah for the same reasons as in a Torah.
Many Jewish couples today enter their first marriage without their virginity (both literal and symbolic). There have been intimate relationships and home-building exercises, most often with people who now dwell in the past. Assuming these experiences have been dealt with, grown from and their lessons integrated into wisdom, there is no need to revisit them after the marriage begins.
All that came before, like lovers, homes, experiences, relationships...were only to bring each member of the wedding couple to this point and need only be included in the wedded relationship in their appropriate place. It's not that they get wiped away, or made to magically disappear. But from that large Bet which begins the building of this new, committed home, like the large Bet, the Bayit or "home" for all of Creation, we walk forward together and leave the rest behind.
...where seldom is heard a discouraging word...
Showing posts with label gematria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gematria. Show all posts
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Parashat Ha'azinu #1 - Enlarged Letter Tzadi (צ)
בס''ד
This week's Torah portion (read at Minchah prayers Shabbat Rosh Ha-Shanah) may or may not have an enlarged letter Tzadi (צ) which can be found in Devarim/Deuteronomy 32:4. The word הַצּוּר Ha-tzur, The rock, which may contain this enlarged letter, is referring to G@d.
I say a Torah may have this letter enlarged because those scribes who practice Kabbalah in particular areas of the world write this way. If the scribe is not a mystic, then he doesn't enlarge this letter.
This feature helps identify a scroll's origins. For example, a Torah written in Germany would never boast this enlarged Tzadi, but one from Poland or Russia could very well have it.
Why is this letter Tzadi, in צּוּר tzur, sometimes enlarged?
What does the letter Tzadi (צ) look like? It's a pictogram! Tzadi comes to us in the shape of a Mystic bent in humble prayer, arms extended and hands raised. According to our tradition, the only time of the year we take this position is during the Aleynu prayer in the musaf, early afternoon service, on Yom Kipur.
The name צַדִּי Tzadi grows from the same root in Hebrew as צְדָקָה tzedaqah, which is often referred to as "charity". To give tzedaqah (or tsedakah) is to donate money, in the mundane sense of the expression, or to give of your time, resources, etc in the general sense. But the root of the word, Tzadi-Dalet-Quf, has a broader attitude.
The consonants צ–ד–ק, Tz-D-Q, mean the following:
To be right, just, or correct; fairness; to have integrity. So from this we learn that to perform an act of charity is to do an act of justice. To make something right. To be kind. Balance.
Look at the verse: at the end it says tzadiq ve-yashar hu, just and right is He. G@d is a Tzadiq. The Tzadiq. The Source of upright, perfect, righteousness. Fully present in every moment, whose consciousness includes the totality of All. Everything G@d does is appropriate, correct, and for the best.
Midrash on this holy symbol tell us that Tzadi was the first letter formed by The Holy One, for "Deeds of giving are the foundation of the world." Tzedeq, "justice".
Tzadi is here enlarged to remind us that G@d our Rock, tzur, is a tzadiq we can rely on always. With His total Divine consciousness of all souls, containing the Universe in which we live, we know we can entrust Him with anything, that our faith invested only in the One G@d is safe. The gematria of tzadiq is 204, which is double the gematria of the word emunah, faith - 102.
The form of the letter Tzadi is made up of a letter Yud (י) activating a letter Nun (נ). The Nun symbolizes Am Yisra'el, the Nation of Israel, where the Yud represents this tzadiq, G@d, our leader and guide.
The letter Tzadi also begins the word צלם, tzelem, which means image or shadow. This is the Divine, transcendent "image" in which G@d created humankind. This shows us that we can emulate and thereby draw closer to G@d, aiming to be that tzur of a tzadiq.
The letter Tzadi also has a gematria of 90, which teaches us that if we lead such high, holy lives as to take the opportunity to say "ameyn" ninety times per day, it can provide that structure on which we can build our own integral lives, supported by Ha-Shem.
Copyright © A.Barclay
This week's Torah portion (read at Minchah prayers Shabbat Rosh Ha-Shanah) may or may not have an enlarged letter Tzadi (צ) which can be found in Devarim/Deuteronomy 32:4. The word הַצּוּר Ha-tzur, The rock, which may contain this enlarged letter, is referring to G@d.
I say a Torah may have this letter enlarged because those scribes who practice Kabbalah in particular areas of the world write this way. If the scribe is not a mystic, then he doesn't enlarge this letter.
This feature helps identify a scroll's origins. For example, a Torah written in Germany would never boast this enlarged Tzadi, but one from Poland or Russia could very well have it.
הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ, כִּי כָל-דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט: אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל, צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא.
The Rock, His work is perfect, because all His ways are justice; a G@d of confident faith and without iniquity, just and right is He.
Why is this letter Tzadi, in צּוּר tzur, sometimes enlarged?
What does the letter Tzadi (צ) look like? It's a pictogram! Tzadi comes to us in the shape of a Mystic bent in humble prayer, arms extended and hands raised. According to our tradition, the only time of the year we take this position is during the Aleynu prayer in the musaf, early afternoon service, on Yom Kipur.
The name צַדִּי Tzadi grows from the same root in Hebrew as צְדָקָה tzedaqah, which is often referred to as "charity". To give tzedaqah (or tsedakah) is to donate money, in the mundane sense of the expression, or to give of your time, resources, etc in the general sense. But the root of the word, Tzadi-Dalet-Quf, has a broader attitude.
The consonants צ–ד–ק, Tz-D-Q, mean the following:
To be right, just, or correct; fairness; to have integrity. So from this we learn that to perform an act of charity is to do an act of justice. To make something right. To be kind. Balance.
Look at the verse: at the end it says tzadiq ve-yashar hu, just and right is He. G@d is a Tzadiq. The Tzadiq. The Source of upright, perfect, righteousness. Fully present in every moment, whose consciousness includes the totality of All. Everything G@d does is appropriate, correct, and for the best.
Midrash on this holy symbol tell us that Tzadi was the first letter formed by The Holy One, for "Deeds of giving are the foundation of the world." Tzedeq, "justice".
Tzadi is here enlarged to remind us that G@d our Rock, tzur, is a tzadiq we can rely on always. With His total Divine consciousness of all souls, containing the Universe in which we live, we know we can entrust Him with anything, that our faith invested only in the One G@d is safe. The gematria of tzadiq is 204, which is double the gematria of the word emunah, faith - 102.
The form of the letter Tzadi is made up of a letter Yud (י) activating a letter Nun (נ). The Nun symbolizes Am Yisra'el, the Nation of Israel, where the Yud represents this tzadiq, G@d, our leader and guide.
The letter Tzadi also begins the word צלם, tzelem, which means image or shadow. This is the Divine, transcendent "image" in which G@d created humankind. This shows us that we can emulate and thereby draw closer to G@d, aiming to be that tzur of a tzadiq.
The letter Tzadi also has a gematria of 90, which teaches us that if we lead such high, holy lives as to take the opportunity to say "ameyn" ninety times per day, it can provide that structure on which we can build our own integral lives, supported by Ha-Shem.
Copyright © A.Barclay
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Megillat Ruth: Enlarged Letter Nun - מגילת רות: נ' רבתי
BS"D
Some time back my good friend Simon Montagu wrote to me about the connection between the enlarged letter Nun in Parshat Ki Tisa (Sh'mot/Exodus 34:7) נצר and the enlarged Nun in Ruth 3:13 לִינִי הַלַּיְלָה:
"Hhesed is of course one of the main themes of Ruth," he commented, "and so is the origins of the Mashiahh, so I'm sure the connection is there."
I answered that, among many other things, the letter Nun symbolizes downfall with simultaneous salvation, fruitfulness, and faithfulness leading to Moshiach, all of which apply to Ruth.
This voort, this d'var Torah, is inspired by and dedicated to Simon, with much gratitude.
So here goes:
In the Book of/Megilat Ruth chapter three we find an intimate scenario between our protagonist/heroine Ruth, the Moabite convert to Judaism widowed by her Israelite husband, and the only man who can provide her with a secure future, her dead husband's relative, Bo'az.
According to Jastrow, her Moabite name was Ruth (רות), because "she looked at (approved of) the words of her mother-in-law" (Naomi). This name has the same root letters - Reysh-Tav - as a Talmudic word for "pity, relief, mercy, to treat favourably", ratui (רתוי).
Bo'az's root name (בֹּעַז), on the other hand, can mean עַז ('az): strong, mighty or intense; or עֹז ('oz): courage, daring, might or strength. When we think of people's names in TaNaKh as their roles, their purpose for living, then we clearly see here that Ruth needs help from a reliable source to lift her out of her quandry. Both she and Bo'az understand this. They complete each other by giving the opportunity to fulfil their life's purpose through the other.
As we read chapter three and see Ruth's dead husband's mother advising her to enhance her physical charms, then secretly join Bo'az alone, we prepare for a seduction. It's not clear whether this indeed happened at this point - opinions disagree as to whether their physical relationship was consummated now or after their wedding - but Ruth did leave quite an impression on Bo'az, as we read in verse thirteen:
Notice the enlarged letter Nun in the word "linger", ליני, lini. I ask myself three questons: Why an enlarged letter, why the letter Nun in particular, and why in the word "linger"?
Why an Enlarged Letter?
Rabbi Chaim David Halevy (1924/5-1998), Kabbalist and former Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, writes in his Quntres Torah Min Hashamayim (Booklet of Heavenly Torah) that each time a letter is written enlarged in TaNaKh, this shows us G@d extending Divine benevolence, doing an extra deed of loving-kindness, of chesed (חסד) for us.
Why the letter Nun?
The gematria/numerological value of the letter Nun is fifty. According to Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh, the number 50 and the letter Nun represent the Shekhinah (G@d's Divine Feminine Presence), who is the originatrix of each soul of Israel.
We count fifty days of the Omer between Pesach and Shavu'ot, which is when we read Megilat Ruth. We read it on this day because it documents the יִחוּס yichus, pedigree, of David Ha-melekh, who was born and niftar on Shavu'ot (Shulchan Arukh with Mishnah Berurah 490:9; Shaarei Teshuvah 494:3). The souls of Israel are kings and the children of kings. The heir to this throne is Moshiach, beginning with King David (a Moshiach, just not the Moshiach), the great-grandchild of Ruth and Bo'az, and ending with our final redemption still to come, she-yibane Beit Ha-Miqdash bimheyra be-yameynu.
Nun also symbolizes the receiving vessel of this soul of Moshiach, and the ne'eman נאמן or Faithful One. Nun is the fourteenth letter of the Alefbet, which equals "David" - דוד – as the letter Dalet (ד) is worth four and Vav (ו) worth six, so 8+6=14.
Nun, last but not least, stands for neshamah נשמה, the third of five levels to the soul. This level of soul directly perceives the Shekhinah.
Why the word "Linger"?
The final clue hides, rather obviously, in what Bo'az says:
"Linger tonight", or "Linger this night", as הלילה ha-lailah means. Bo'az may have been inviting Ruth to remain close to him that night, but he was also inviting another force to linger with them. Rabbi Chaninah writes in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Niddah 16b that “The name of the angel in charge of conception is Lailah”.
The story of Lailah can be found in Midrash Tanhuma-Yelamedeynu, Pekudei 3, first published in (Istanbul, not) Constantinople in 1522.
Lailah, one of the only female angels, serves the sacred task of bringing the seeds and the soul together and then plants it in the womb. She is the souls' midwife. It is she who illuminates the womb so that the infant can see from one end of time/space/Creation to the other, and it is she who teaches unborn Jewish children the entire Torah, and the history of our souls.
When it's our time to be born, Lailah cuts the illumination and brings us forth into the world. The instant we emerge, she lightly presses her index finger to our upper lips, saying “Shhh,” and this makes us forget everything we learned in utero, so we make our first cry. Notice that the knowledge is still present, just forgotten, like the Jungian idea of Collective Unconscious. This is our explanation also for our philtrum, the vertical indentation between our nose and lips.
סִיּוּם
This enlarged Nun is the neshamah, the soul, of Moshiach patiently waiting to be conceived by the couple destined to bring it into the world. The soul of Adam Qadmon, which will animate Ruth and Bo'az's great-grandson David, and will transmigrate to our future Messiah.
Bo'az and Ruth have opened their hearts to each other through the chesed חסד, loving-kindness they've paid one another throught to narrative, and as they turn their destinies to enter the Divine Flow which is the will of G@d, they are inviting the angel Lailah to guide the soul of Moshiach present with them on that threshing-floor down through their union.
לילאה טוב
Lailah tov
Sources:
Jastrow's Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature
Talmud Bavli Masekhet Niddah 16b and 30b
Midrash Tanhuma-Yelamedeynu Pequdey 3
Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg
Zohar
Anaf Yosef on Talmud Bavli Masekhet Niddah 30b
---
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay
Some time back my good friend Simon Montagu wrote to me about the connection between the enlarged letter Nun in Parshat Ki Tisa (Sh'mot/Exodus 34:7) נצר and the enlarged Nun in Ruth 3:13 לִינִי הַלַּיְלָה:
"Hhesed is of course one of the main themes of Ruth," he commented, "and so is the origins of the Mashiahh, so I'm sure the connection is there."
I answered that, among many other things, the letter Nun symbolizes downfall with simultaneous salvation, fruitfulness, and faithfulness leading to Moshiach, all of which apply to Ruth.
This voort, this d'var Torah, is inspired by and dedicated to Simon, with much gratitude.
So here goes:
In the Book of/Megilat Ruth chapter three we find an intimate scenario between our protagonist/heroine Ruth, the Moabite convert to Judaism widowed by her Israelite husband, and the only man who can provide her with a secure future, her dead husband's relative, Bo'az.
According to Jastrow, her Moabite name was Ruth (רות), because "she looked at (approved of) the words of her mother-in-law" (Naomi). This name has the same root letters - Reysh-Tav - as a Talmudic word for "pity, relief, mercy, to treat favourably", ratui (רתוי).
Bo'az's root name (בֹּעַז), on the other hand, can mean עַז ('az): strong, mighty or intense; or עֹז ('oz): courage, daring, might or strength. When we think of people's names in TaNaKh as their roles, their purpose for living, then we clearly see here that Ruth needs help from a reliable source to lift her out of her quandry. Both she and Bo'az understand this. They complete each other by giving the opportunity to fulfil their life's purpose through the other.
As we read chapter three and see Ruth's dead husband's mother advising her to enhance her physical charms, then secretly join Bo'az alone, we prepare for a seduction. It's not clear whether this indeed happened at this point - opinions disagree as to whether their physical relationship was consummated now or after their wedding - but Ruth did leave quite an impression on Bo'az, as we read in verse thirteen:
לִינִי הַלַּיְלָה, וְהָיָה בַבֹּקֶר אִם-יִגְאָלֵךְ טוֹב יִגְאָל, וְאִם-לֹא יַחְפֹּץ לְגָאֳלֵךְ וּגְאַלְתִּיךְ אָנֹכִי, חַי-יְהוָה; שִׁכְבִי, עַד-הַבֹּקֶר.
Linger tonight, and tomorrow morning if he will redeem you, good. Let him redeem you; but if he's unwilling to redeem you, then I will, as the L@RD lives. Lie down until the morning.'
Notice the enlarged letter Nun in the word "linger", ליני, lini. I ask myself three questons: Why an enlarged letter, why the letter Nun in particular, and why in the word "linger"?
Why an Enlarged Letter?
Rabbi Chaim David Halevy (1924/5-1998), Kabbalist and former Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, writes in his Quntres Torah Min Hashamayim (Booklet of Heavenly Torah) that each time a letter is written enlarged in TaNaKh, this shows us G@d extending Divine benevolence, doing an extra deed of loving-kindness, of chesed (חסד) for us.
Why the letter Nun?
The gematria/numerological value of the letter Nun is fifty. According to Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh, the number 50 and the letter Nun represent the Shekhinah (G@d's Divine Feminine Presence), who is the originatrix of each soul of Israel.
We count fifty days of the Omer between Pesach and Shavu'ot, which is when we read Megilat Ruth. We read it on this day because it documents the יִחוּס yichus, pedigree, of David Ha-melekh, who was born and niftar on Shavu'ot (Shulchan Arukh with Mishnah Berurah 490:9; Shaarei Teshuvah 494:3). The souls of Israel are kings and the children of kings. The heir to this throne is Moshiach, beginning with King David (a Moshiach, just not the Moshiach), the great-grandchild of Ruth and Bo'az, and ending with our final redemption still to come, she-yibane Beit Ha-Miqdash bimheyra be-yameynu.
Nun also symbolizes the receiving vessel of this soul of Moshiach, and the ne'eman נאמן or Faithful One. Nun is the fourteenth letter of the Alefbet, which equals "David" - דוד – as the letter Dalet (ד) is worth four and Vav (ו) worth six, so 8+6=14.
Nun, last but not least, stands for neshamah נשמה, the third of five levels to the soul. This level of soul directly perceives the Shekhinah.
Why the word "Linger"?
The final clue hides, rather obviously, in what Bo'az says:
"Linger tonight", or "Linger this night", as הלילה ha-lailah means. Bo'az may have been inviting Ruth to remain close to him that night, but he was also inviting another force to linger with them. Rabbi Chaninah writes in the Babylonian Talmud tractate Niddah 16b that “The name of the angel in charge of conception is Lailah”.
The story of Lailah can be found in Midrash Tanhuma-Yelamedeynu, Pekudei 3, first published in (Istanbul, not) Constantinople in 1522.
Lailah, one of the only female angels, serves the sacred task of bringing the seeds and the soul together and then plants it in the womb. She is the souls' midwife. It is she who illuminates the womb so that the infant can see from one end of time/space/Creation to the other, and it is she who teaches unborn Jewish children the entire Torah, and the history of our souls.
When it's our time to be born, Lailah cuts the illumination and brings us forth into the world. The instant we emerge, she lightly presses her index finger to our upper lips, saying “Shhh,” and this makes us forget everything we learned in utero, so we make our first cry. Notice that the knowledge is still present, just forgotten, like the Jungian idea of Collective Unconscious. This is our explanation also for our philtrum, the vertical indentation between our nose and lips.
סִיּוּם
This enlarged Nun is the neshamah, the soul, of Moshiach patiently waiting to be conceived by the couple destined to bring it into the world. The soul of Adam Qadmon, which will animate Ruth and Bo'az's great-grandson David, and will transmigrate to our future Messiah.
Bo'az and Ruth have opened their hearts to each other through the chesed חסד, loving-kindness they've paid one another throught to narrative, and as they turn their destinies to enter the Divine Flow which is the will of G@d, they are inviting the angel Lailah to guide the soul of Moshiach present with them on that threshing-floor down through their union.
לילאה טוב
Lailah tov
Sources:
Jastrow's Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature
Talmud Bavli Masekhet Niddah 16b and 30b
Midrash Tanhuma-Yelamedeynu Pequdey 3
Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg
Zohar
Anaf Yosef on Talmud Bavli Masekhet Niddah 30b
---
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Parshat Qedoshim: Intimate Love
BS"D
This week's Parsha begins with G@d urging us to be holy in Sefer Va-yiqra/Leviticus 19:1-2:
You'll notice it's in the imperative...
Do you know the gematria of the word Qedoshim?
(ק) Quf = 100
(ד) Dalet = 4
(ש) Shin = 300
(י) Yud = 10
(מ) Mem = 40
equals a total of 454*
454 is the same gematria as “chotam” (feminine is Chotemet - חוֹתָם, חוֹתֶמֶת), meaning seal, signet, stamp, mark, imprint.
In Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs 8:6, where the voice of the woman insists to her lover:
(siman = sign, mark, indication, also: to take shape, to be denoted, to stand out = סִימָן)
What do we call the wedding ceremony in Hebrew?
Qidushin.
What does the Chatan, the groom, say to his Kallah, his bride, under the chupah, to make them married?
Harey et mequdeshet li, b’taba’at zo…
He says with this ring, you are consecrated to me – you are imprinted on me – you are holy to me!
The ring is the siman, the sign of the marriage and you know what? The word “siman” begins with the letter Samekh (ס)…which is shaped like a ring!
And the word “to me/mine”, li, is so powerful! In Sefer Sh'mot parshat Yitro/Exodus 19:5 it says -
The place in the Torah where G@D says to us, "...vih'yitem li segulah..." - "...you shall be to Me a special-treasure..." - the Lamed and the Yud of "li" - "to Me", "for Me", "Mine" are occasionally written joined. This is extremely rare, as the scribes disagree on this practice.
Our tradition tells us that these two letters in this word are joined at this point in the Torah to show the closeness and intimacy that G@D wishes to share with us. Because if ANY other letters have negiyah (are touching) in a Sefer Torah, that entire Torah is pasul - unfit for use. But here?
You know what else the shoresh/root of Ch-T-M, chotam, means? To COMPLETE! This is the definition of holiness.
How close, intimate and exclusive these lovers must be to truly become one, to authentically experience marriage on every possible level. Just as the lover in the Shir passionately invites, “dedicate your Self to me”, so does G@d passionately invite us, “Dedicate your SELF to me.”
Same as the closeness we can achieve with G@d, only through love, and surrender of the ego. This is the only way to fully cleave our souls into one. Uniting with G@d through uniting with your spouse.
Becoming One with The ONE.
Just as spouses have a unique opportunity to unify with each other, so do we have the unique opportunity to unify with G@d.
Shabbat Shalom.
* Of the several methods traditionally used to calculate gematria, I chose Mispar Hechrachi, the normative or absolute numerical value of the twenty-two Sacred letters for the purposes of this article.
---
Based on article originally published May 2005 at Netivat Sofrut: Diary of a Soferet
Subsequently published on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay
This week's Parsha begins with G@d urging us to be holy in Sefer Va-yiqra/Leviticus 19:1-2:
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. דַּבֵּר אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם--קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ: כִּי קָדוֹשׁ, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
Va-y’dabeyr Y_H_V_H el-Moshe Leymor: Dabeyr el-kol-adat b’nai-Yisra’el v’amarta aleyhem qedoshim tih’yu ki qadosh ani Ad@nai Eloqeykhem.
Which roughly translates (in my world) as: "And Y_H_V_H spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the entire community of the Children of Israel, & say to them: “Holy are you to be, for holy am I, Y_H_V_H, your G@d!”
You'll notice it's in the imperative...
Do you know the gematria of the word Qedoshim?
(ק) Quf = 100
(ד) Dalet = 4
(ש) Shin = 300
(י) Yud = 10
(מ) Mem = 40
equals a total of 454*
454 is the same gematria as “chotam” (feminine is Chotemet - חוֹתָם, חוֹתֶמֶת), meaning seal, signet, stamp, mark, imprint.
In Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs 8:6, where the voice of the woman insists to her lover:
...שִׂימֵנִי כַחוֹתָם עַל-לִבֶּךָ
Simeni kachotam al libekha…
"Stamp me like a seal in your heart …”
(siman = sign, mark, indication, also: to take shape, to be denoted, to stand out = סִימָן)
What do we call the wedding ceremony in Hebrew?
Qidushin.
What does the Chatan, the groom, say to his Kallah, his bride, under the chupah, to make them married?
Harey et mequdeshet li, b’taba’at zo…
He says with this ring, you are consecrated to me – you are imprinted on me – you are holy to me!
The ring is the siman, the sign of the marriage and you know what? The word “siman” begins with the letter Samekh (ס)…which is shaped like a ring!
And the word “to me/mine”, li, is so powerful! In Sefer Sh'mot parshat Yitro/Exodus 19:5 it says -
וְעַתָּה, אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ בְּקֹלִי, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-בְּרִיתִי--וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים, כִּי-לִי כָּל-הָאָרֶץ.
Ve-atah im-shamo'a tish'mu b'qoli ush'martem et-b'riti vih'yitem li segulah mikal-ha'amim ki-li kal-ha'aretz.
"So now, if you will hearken, yes, hearken to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a special-treasure from among all peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine:"
The place in the Torah where G@D says to us, "...vih'yitem li segulah..." - "...you shall be to Me a special-treasure..." - the Lamed and the Yud of "li" - "to Me", "for Me", "Mine" are occasionally written joined. This is extremely rare, as the scribes disagree on this practice.
Our tradition tells us that these two letters in this word are joined at this point in the Torah to show the closeness and intimacy that G@D wishes to share with us. Because if ANY other letters have negiyah (are touching) in a Sefer Torah, that entire Torah is pasul - unfit for use. But here?
You know what else the shoresh/root of Ch-T-M, chotam, means? To COMPLETE! This is the definition of holiness.
How close, intimate and exclusive these lovers must be to truly become one, to authentically experience marriage on every possible level. Just as the lover in the Shir passionately invites, “dedicate your Self to me”, so does G@d passionately invite us, “Dedicate your SELF to me.”
Same as the closeness we can achieve with G@d, only through love, and surrender of the ego. This is the only way to fully cleave our souls into one. Uniting with G@d through uniting with your spouse.
Becoming One with The ONE.
Just as spouses have a unique opportunity to unify with each other, so do we have the unique opportunity to unify with G@d.
Shabbat Shalom.
* Of the several methods traditionally used to calculate gematria, I chose Mispar Hechrachi, the normative or absolute numerical value of the twenty-two Sacred letters for the purposes of this article.
---
Based on article originally published May 2005 at Netivat Sofrut: Diary of a Soferet
Subsequently published on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Parshat Yitro/Jethro - יתרו
בס"ד
So here's my chidush, new idea, for you...
In Sefer Sh'mot parshat Yitro/Exodus 19:5 the Torah tells us:
In some Sifrei Torah, but not all, the letters Lamed and Yud in the word לִי - "li", to me, my or mine - are written in such a way so as to appear joined. This is an extremely controversial practice, which most sofrim and rabbis disagree with, as one of the approximately 4,000 rules in sofrut dictates that there be no negi'ah (touching) between any of the letters. So why here? What message calling to us from out of the text here is so crucial that an exception is made only once in our entire tradition?
The Letter Lamed (ל) has a gematrial value of 30, while Yud (י) is worth 10. That makes 40. Forty also means גואל "go'El" - Liberator - and יד י-ה-ו-ה "yad Y-H-V-H" - Hand of the Eternal.
Yud is the yad, hand, holding the Lamed, the goad, directing us in Sacred Intimacy.
The place in the Torah where we read G@D saying to us, "...vi-heyiytem li segulah..." - "...you shall be to Me a special-treasure...", we learn that these two letters of the word "li", "to Me" or "for Me" are joined at this point in the Torah to show the closeness and intimacy that The Holy One wishes to share with each of us. G@d has consciously joined the individual energies of these two letters together to demonstrate how deeply connective a bond we can achieve through the pursuit of Yechidut, Unity, by performing mitzvot. It is then that we will experience true liberation, at the hand of The One.
---
Based on my original article published February 2006 at Netivat Sofrut:
http://soferet.blogspot.com/2006/02/last-weeks-torah-portion.html
Subsequently published February 2009 on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=45123438204
Copyright A. Barclay
So here's my chidush, new idea, for you...
In Sefer Sh'mot parshat Yitro/Exodus 19:5 the Torah tells us:
וְעַתָּה, אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ בְּקֹלִי, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-בְּרִיתִי--וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל-הָעַמִּים, כִּי-לִי כָּל-הָאָרֶץ.
"Ve-atah im-shamo'a tish'mu be-qoli ush'martem et-b'riti vi-heyiytem li segulah mikol ha-amim ki li kol ha-aretz"
"So now, if you will hearken, yes, hearken to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a special-treasure from among all peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine:" (Everett Fox translation)
In some Sifrei Torah, but not all, the letters Lamed and Yud in the word לִי - "li", to me, my or mine - are written in such a way so as to appear joined. This is an extremely controversial practice, which most sofrim and rabbis disagree with, as one of the approximately 4,000 rules in sofrut dictates that there be no negi'ah (touching) between any of the letters. So why here? What message calling to us from out of the text here is so crucial that an exception is made only once in our entire tradition?
The Letter Lamed (ל) has a gematrial value of 30, while Yud (י) is worth 10. That makes 40. Forty also means גואל "go'El" - Liberator - and יד י-ה-ו-ה "yad Y-H-V-H" - Hand of the Eternal.
Yud is the yad, hand, holding the Lamed, the goad, directing us in Sacred Intimacy.
The place in the Torah where we read G@D saying to us, "...vi-heyiytem li segulah..." - "...you shall be to Me a special-treasure...", we learn that these two letters of the word "li", "to Me" or "for Me" are joined at this point in the Torah to show the closeness and intimacy that The Holy One wishes to share with each of us. G@d has consciously joined the individual energies of these two letters together to demonstrate how deeply connective a bond we can achieve through the pursuit of Yechidut, Unity, by performing mitzvot. It is then that we will experience true liberation, at the hand of The One.
---
Based on my original article published February 2006 at Netivat Sofrut:
http://soferet.blogspot.com/2006/02/last-weeks-torah-portion.html
Subsequently published February 2009 on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=45123438204
Copyright A. Barclay
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
ECHAD - אחד
BS"D
January 2005: I write the word meaning "one" in Hebrew. The number of G@d. One, United, Singular, Unique, Joint existence and reality for all. There is no other but G@d and there is no-thing else but G@d. Like the line in "Ana Be-Ko'ach" referring to The Holy One as YACHID, no translation can capture the true essence of The Source.
אֶחָד - one; single; unique; first, former; someone, somebody; only
כאחד - simultaneously, at the same time, at one and the same time
אִחֵד - to join, to unite; to combine, to merge; to unify, to consolidate
אֻחַד - to be united
Alef (א)
Value: 1
Alef is the first letter. It has no sound of its own. Only the sound made when you begin to make every sound. Open your mouth and begin to make a sound. STOP! That is Alef. (courtesy R' Lawrence Kushner from his "Book of Letters")
Drash (homiletic exegesis):
The mystery of G@D's unified multiplicity is alluded to in the word "alef" ("one"), which spelled backwards is "pele" ("mystery" or "wonder").
There is a tiny Alef written at the end of the first word in Leviticus. "Vayiqra El Moshe..." - "And G@D called to Moshe..." Why?
The Midrash tells us that when G@D was dictating the Torah to Moshe on Mount Sinai, He chose the word "vayiqra" to show what an intimate relationship they possessed. Moshe, being so modest, was reluctant, wishing to write instead "vayiqar" - "He happened by" - to indicate coincidence in his relationship to G@D rather than chosen-ness. They came to a compromise, thus the small Alef.
Each Holy Letter of the Alef-Bet serves as a channel, connecting heaven and earth. Alef is a ladder. The upper Yud denotes the celestial while the lower Yud represents the mundane. Linking the two Yuds is a Vav, who connects our physical and spiritual inclinations. Alef teaches us that by infusing our everyday lives with holiness, we may ascend to the Divine.
Kavanah (intention):
Alef is most easily recognizable by its diagonal stroke. The spot where the left leg meets this diagonal must be above where the right arm intersects it.
The next letter - Chet (ח):
Value: 8
The number eight has great significance in Judaism: boys are circumcised on their eighth day of life; Shemini Atzeret, the Eighth Day of Assembly, ends the holiday of Sukot; there are eight days of Chanukah; tzitzits are made up of eight threads...
Drash:
Going beyond seven, the number eight represents our ability to transcend our physical limitations. Eight symbolizes the metaphysical, the Divine.
When Chet is written in a standard Ashkenazi (European) Sefer Torah, it consists of two Zayins joined by a peaked roof. This is where Chet gets its name, from "chat" - "distorted". Our Sages draw a lesson from this construction; when one observes two people fighting, whether using verbal or actual weapons (zayins) against each other, spare no effort to built a bridge and bring them together so they may join once again in friendship (Krias HaTorah).
Kavanah:
Make sure the left leg of your Chet stretches from the baseline all the way to the roof, otherwise he could resemble a Hey. Also be careful to not make that leg too long so he isn't mistaken for a Tav.
Final letter - Dalet (ד):
Value: 4
Drash: Dalet is a door (delet). An open door. A door through which we can experience G@D. Why? Because The Holy One took the Four-Letter-Name, Y-H-V-H, and added a metaphysical open delet to give us a name: Yehudah. Jew.
Dalet is used as an abbreviation of Y-H-V-H, indicating the Four-Letter-Name. The same way Alef stands for El@him and Hey for Ha-Shem.
Dalet also represents the poor among us, the dal. The dal is anyone in a state of lack, deprived not necessarily of money, but perhaps of health, strength or knowledge. When any of us are in need, we are the dal.
The top right hand corner of Dalet has a backwards-pointing protuberance like an ear, showing us that the dal pays close attention to the one following him, secretly hoping that help will be offered. Sometimes we are ashamed to ask for help, but would willingly accept it if it were given (Otiyot R' Akiva). In Torah script, Dalet's leg slants backwards toward Gimel's foot in the Alefbet, as though to teach us that the poor (dal) must make themselves available to the rich (gamol), as they can help each other (Shabbos 104a).
Kavanah:
The Dalet has a long roof and a short foot, so it won't be confused with the Khaf Sofit (Final Khaf), whose foot drops below the line. It is also important that the back of the Dalet's head - the upper right hand corner - be clearly squared off so it doesn't resemble a Reysh.
"Echad" has the numerical value of 13, which is also the number of "ahavah", love. Thus we are shown that G@d's love is assured through the universal unity with which Creation was birthed. If we add "echad" to "ahavah", we get the number 26, which is the number of G@d's supreme, 4-letter name, Y-H-V-H.
---
Based on original posting of February 2005 at Netivat Sofrut
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay, all rights reserved.
January 2005: I write the word meaning "one" in Hebrew. The number of G@d. One, United, Singular, Unique, Joint existence and reality for all. There is no other but G@d and there is no-thing else but G@d. Like the line in "Ana Be-Ko'ach" referring to The Holy One as YACHID, no translation can capture the true essence of The Source.
אֶחָד - one; single; unique; first, former; someone, somebody; only
כאחד - simultaneously, at the same time, at one and the same time
אִחֵד - to join, to unite; to combine, to merge; to unify, to consolidate
אֻחַד - to be united
Alef (א)
Value: 1
Alef is the first letter. It has no sound of its own. Only the sound made when you begin to make every sound. Open your mouth and begin to make a sound. STOP! That is Alef. (courtesy R' Lawrence Kushner from his "Book of Letters")
Drash (homiletic exegesis):
The mystery of G@D's unified multiplicity is alluded to in the word "alef" ("one"), which spelled backwards is "pele" ("mystery" or "wonder").
There is a tiny Alef written at the end of the first word in Leviticus. "Vayiqra El Moshe..." - "And G@D called to Moshe..." Why?
The Midrash tells us that when G@D was dictating the Torah to Moshe on Mount Sinai, He chose the word "vayiqra" to show what an intimate relationship they possessed. Moshe, being so modest, was reluctant, wishing to write instead "vayiqar" - "He happened by" - to indicate coincidence in his relationship to G@D rather than chosen-ness. They came to a compromise, thus the small Alef.
Each Holy Letter of the Alef-Bet serves as a channel, connecting heaven and earth. Alef is a ladder. The upper Yud denotes the celestial while the lower Yud represents the mundane. Linking the two Yuds is a Vav, who connects our physical and spiritual inclinations. Alef teaches us that by infusing our everyday lives with holiness, we may ascend to the Divine.
Kavanah (intention):
Alef is most easily recognizable by its diagonal stroke. The spot where the left leg meets this diagonal must be above where the right arm intersects it.
The next letter - Chet (ח):
Value: 8
The number eight has great significance in Judaism: boys are circumcised on their eighth day of life; Shemini Atzeret, the Eighth Day of Assembly, ends the holiday of Sukot; there are eight days of Chanukah; tzitzits are made up of eight threads...
Drash:
Going beyond seven, the number eight represents our ability to transcend our physical limitations. Eight symbolizes the metaphysical, the Divine.
When Chet is written in a standard Ashkenazi (European) Sefer Torah, it consists of two Zayins joined by a peaked roof. This is where Chet gets its name, from "chat" - "distorted". Our Sages draw a lesson from this construction; when one observes two people fighting, whether using verbal or actual weapons (zayins) against each other, spare no effort to built a bridge and bring them together so they may join once again in friendship (Krias HaTorah).
Kavanah:
Make sure the left leg of your Chet stretches from the baseline all the way to the roof, otherwise he could resemble a Hey. Also be careful to not make that leg too long so he isn't mistaken for a Tav.
Final letter - Dalet (ד):
Value: 4
Drash: Dalet is a door (delet). An open door. A door through which we can experience G@D. Why? Because The Holy One took the Four-Letter-Name, Y-H-V-H, and added a metaphysical open delet to give us a name: Yehudah. Jew.
Dalet is used as an abbreviation of Y-H-V-H, indicating the Four-Letter-Name. The same way Alef stands for El@him and Hey for Ha-Shem.
Dalet also represents the poor among us, the dal. The dal is anyone in a state of lack, deprived not necessarily of money, but perhaps of health, strength or knowledge. When any of us are in need, we are the dal.
The top right hand corner of Dalet has a backwards-pointing protuberance like an ear, showing us that the dal pays close attention to the one following him, secretly hoping that help will be offered. Sometimes we are ashamed to ask for help, but would willingly accept it if it were given (Otiyot R' Akiva). In Torah script, Dalet's leg slants backwards toward Gimel's foot in the Alefbet, as though to teach us that the poor (dal) must make themselves available to the rich (gamol), as they can help each other (Shabbos 104a).
Kavanah:
The Dalet has a long roof and a short foot, so it won't be confused with the Khaf Sofit (Final Khaf), whose foot drops below the line. It is also important that the back of the Dalet's head - the upper right hand corner - be clearly squared off so it doesn't resemble a Reysh.
"Echad" has the numerical value of 13, which is also the number of "ahavah", love. Thus we are shown that G@d's love is assured through the universal unity with which Creation was birthed. If we add "echad" to "ahavah", we get the number 26, which is the number of G@d's supreme, 4-letter name, Y-H-V-H.
---
Based on original posting of February 2005 at Netivat Sofrut
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay, all rights reserved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)