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:

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.


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Based on article originally published May 2005 at Netivat Sofrut: Diary of a Soferet
Subsequently published on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay

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.


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Based on original posting of February 2005 at Netivat Sofrut
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay, all rights reserved.

Enlarged and Diminished Letters in Torah: Series Introduction

BS"D

Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi, z"l (1924/5-1998), the former Chief Sefardi Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, was a Kabbalist who wrote many volumes of wise commentary, including "Mekor Hayim HaShalem" (The Complete Source of Life), a comprehensive code of Jewish Law. He was born in Jerusalem and studied under Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel at Porat Yosef Yeshivah.

In R’ HaLevi’s 9-Volume series of She’elot and Teshuvot (Jewish legal responsa) entitled "Aseh L’khah Rav" (In the Manner of the Rav), in Vol. 5 he begins the book with a section entitled “Quntres Torah Min Hashamaim" (Booklet of Heavenly Torah). In that section beginning on page 58 you will find the piece on the big and small letters.

R’ HaLevi tells us that whenever we encounter a small letter in our writings, that this indicates a person in the narrative has missed the mark. That s/he made a less than ideal choice. Had the right intention, but sinned, perhaps. The diminutive letter is there to draw our attention to it and to ask questions. Ultimately, to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors.

And where a letter appears enlarged in our Holy texts, R' HaLevi teaches us that this is where G@d has gifted us with a deed of extra loving kindness. This is to teach us gratitude, awe, and knowledge of our dependence on the One G@d from Whom everything comes.

Ameyn selah.


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Originally begun 2006, from Netivat Sofrut
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay, all rights reserved.