Tag Archives: Ba’al HaTurim

Secrets of the Priestly Blessing

This week’s parasha (in the diaspora) is Nasso, the longest in the Torah. In it, we read how God commanded Moses to instruct Aaron and his priestly descendants to bless the people with the following formula:

יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ. יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ. יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם

Loosely translated: “God bless you and protect you; God shine His Face upon you, and be gracious to you; God lift His Face upon you, and place peace upon you.” (Numbers 6:25-27) This unique, enigmatic phrase carries tremendous meaning, and an interesting history, too. In fact, the oldest Hebrew inscription of a Torah verse ever found is this blessing!

In 1979, archaeologists in Ketef Hinnom near the Old City of Jerusalem discovered two small silver scrolls. After painstakingly unravelling the fragile scrolls (a feat that took three years), they discovered that they were inscribed with Birkat Kohanim, the priestly blessing, along with a few introductory lines. The scrolls have been dated back to the 7th century BCE, and are considered among the greatest finds in the history of Biblical archaeology.

What secrets are buried within the words of Birkat Kohanim?

Silver scroll with priestly blessing, discovered near Jerusalem in 1979

Restoring Divine Light

In introducing the Priestly Blessing, the Torah commands koh tevarkhu, (כֹּ֥ה תְבָרְכ֖וּ), “thus shall you bless…” The Zohar (III, 146a) reminds us that koh is an allusion to the divine light of Creation. The value of koh (כה) is 25, hinting to the 25th word of the Torah, “light”. When Adam and Eve consumed the Fruit, that original divine light of Creation was concealed. This is the secret behind God calling to Adam: ayekah (איכה), usually translated simply as “where are you?” but really meaning ayeh koh, “where is the divine light?” Indeed, the very purpose of the kohen is to help restore some of that hidden divine light. This is why he is called a kohen!

It is also why it is customary not to look directly at the kohanim when they relay the blessing. The hidden light may be far too intense, and might cause the observer’s eyes to dim (Chagigah 16a). The ancient mystical text Sefer haBahir (#124) adds that the kohanim put together their ten fingers in that unique arrangement in order to channel the energy of all Ten Sefirot. Elsewhere, we learn that the hands of the kohanim come together to roughly form an inner samekh, the only circular letter in the Hebrew alphabet, representing infinite cycles and endless blessings. Sefer haTemunah teaches that the proper shape of a samekh is a combination of a kaf and a vav. (The sum of the values of kaf and vav is 26, equal to the Tetragrammaton, God’s Ineffable Name.) Kaf literally means the “palm” of the hand, and the linear vav represents a shining ray of light.  These are the hidden rays of light, the light of koh, emerging through the hands of the kohanim as they bless.

In his commentary on the Torah, the Ba’al haTurim (Rabbi Yakov ben Asher, 1269-1340) states that koh reminds us also of the Akedah, when Abraham told his attendants that he and Isaac would go ‘ad koh, “until there”. The deeper meaning is that Abraham saw the divine light emanating from the top of Mt. Moriah, the future site of the Holy of Holies. This is how he knew exactly where to bind Isaac. Previously, God had already blessed Abraham with the words כה יהיה זרעך, that his offspring would be luminous (and numerous) like the stars (Genesis 15:5). The Ba’al haTurim adds that the Shema has 25 letters for the same reasons and, amazingly, the term “blessing” is mentioned 25 times in the Torah, as is the word “peace”!

The first line of Birkat Kohanim has three words and fifteen letters, the Ba’al haTurim points out, alluding to the three Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—whose lives overlapped for 15 years. Recall that Abraham had Isaac when he was 100 years old, and Isaac had Jacob at 60 years old, ie. when Abraham was 160. Since we know Abraham passed away at the age of 175, there were 15 years when all three Avot lived together.

More specifically, the first line of the blessing is for Abraham, the second is for Isaac, and the third is for Jacob. This is why the second line speaks of illumination since, as is well-known, Isaac saw the intensely bright divine light unfiltered at the Akedah, and this is the reason he later became (physically) blind. The Sforno (Rabbi Ovadia ben Yakov Sforno, 1475-1550) adds that within the second line of the blessing is a request for God to give light to our eyes so that we could see God within all things, in all the wonders of the world, and in all the wealth (material and otherwise) that God has blessed us with.

The Ba’al haTurim continues that the third line of Birkat Kohanim is for Jacob, which is why it begins with the word yisa (יִשָּׂ֨א), reminding us of Genesis 29:1 when Jacob fled (וישא יעקב רגליו). It has seven words to indicate the subsequent births of the Twelve Tribes, who were (except for Benjamin) born to Jacob over a span of 7 years. The last line again has 25 letters to remind us of koh, and further alludes to the Sinai Revelation—another burst of divine light—when God said (Exodus 19:3) “thus [koh] you shall speak to the House of Jacob” (כה תאמר לבית יעקב). The Ba’al haTurim concludes that the final word of the blessing, shalom, has the same numerical value as Esau (376) to teach us that one should spread peace among all people, gentiles included, and even Esau!

Ibn Ezra (Rabbi Abraham ben Meir ibn Ezra, 1089-1167) says that “peace” means complete peace, with not even a little stone or a wild animal to bother a person. Meanwhile, the Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270) says that “peace” here refers to shalom malkhut beit David, peace upon the kingdom of David and his dynasty. We may infer from this that it refers as well to geopolitical peace in Israel, and a request to hasten the coming of Mashiach. This is related to the Sforno’s interpretation, as he says the verse refers specifically to the World to Come in which, as described in the Talmud (Berakhot 17a), the righteous will bask peacefully in God’s glory.

May we merit to see it soon!

Spiritual Tools for Israel’s Military Might

Today we celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut, the modern State of Israel’s Independence Day, which immediately follows Yom HaZikaron, when we commemorate those who have given their lives for Israel. Each one of those lost is an indescribable tragedy. Though Israel has won the majority of its wars, the price has been devastatingly high. We know that what happens in this material world is often just a reflection of higher realities occurring in the spiritual worlds. With that in mind, what can we all do spiritually to affect the worlds above, in order to strengthen Israel militarily here below? The Torah gives us four major tools that a Jew can do that will go a long way in boosting Israel’s might and, God willing, reducing casualties in war.

The first of these tools comes from this week’s parasha, Acharei Mot, which spends many lines describing the Yom Kippur service. Commenting on one of the verses here (Leviticus 16:12), the Ba’al HaTurim (Rabbi Yakov ben Asher, 1269-1340) points out that “in the merit of the Yom Kippur service, [the Israelites] would win wars.” Although we do not have a Temple today to fulfill all of the services, nonetheless our heartfelt prayers and repentance on Yom Kippur affect a change in the Heavens that result in Israel becoming militarily stronger and victorious in war.

We see a perfect demonstration of this in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel was surprise-attacked by its Arab neighbours, totally unprepared and with most of its soldiers in the synagogues. The war initially went very badly, and military analysts even predicted the impending demise of Israel. Yet, things turned around quickly, and just two weeks later the war ended with a resounding victory for Israel. Henceforth, the Arabs never tried another invasion, and Egypt—the leading power in the Arab world—gave up any goals of destroying Israel, instead pursuing peace. The Arab armies thought that by attacking Israel on Yom Kippur they had a big advantage. The reality was the exact opposite! In the merit of Yom Kippur, Israel won the war and permanently altered the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East.

Six years earlier, before the similarly miraculous Six-Day War, the Lubavitcher Rebbe instituted another campaign to strengthen Israel militarily: encouraging the donning of tefillin. Ever since, Chabadnikim around the world go to street corners, supermarkets, bus stops and other public places to encourage Jewish men to wrap. Various reasons have been given for why the Rebbe chose tefillin specifically as a way to strengthen Israel. The main one is based on a passage in the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 17a). Here, the Sages discuss an End of Days prophecy in Zechariah which states a third of the population will be purified “by fire”. The Sages say these are the rebellious people who sinned with their bodies. The Talmud further defines that when it comes to the gentiles, the ones who sinned with their bodies are those who engaged in sexual sins. When it comes to Jews, however, it refers to those who never put tefillin on their bodies!

Based on this, the Rebbe saw that there is tremendous merit in donning tefillin, and puts a Jew into a wholly different spiritual category once he has done so, even just once. Moreover, since the verse in Zechariah is talking about an End of Days prophecy about the final apocalyptic war before Mashiach’s arrival, the Rebbe saw further significance to our day and age, hence the message that we should increase the observance of tefillin. Indeed, the tefillin campaign was a huge success, as was Israel’s subsequent Six-Day War, with huge implications for the coming of Mashiach, since this is when Jerusalem and the Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria were reclaimed and liberated.

I believe there is another proof for the tefillin-military might connection: In Berakhot 57a, we read that a person who dreams of himself in tefillin should expect greatness. This is based on Deuteronomy 28:10 which reads: “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of God is called upon you; and they shall be afraid of you.” The Sages ask: what does it mean to have the “name of God” upon you? It means putting on tefillin, since this is when God’s Name is literally wrapped upon a person’s body! And, when the gentiles see a Jew in tefillin, it inspires a sense of awe and fear among them. So, just as Deuteronomy promises, when the Jewish nation carefully and diligently dons tefillin, it will inspire fear in our enemies.

Another segulah for reducing Israel’s casualties on the frontlines and beyond is the mitzvah of charity. This one is well-known and needs little elaboration, since the Tanakh emphatically states that tzedakah tatzil mimavet, “charity saves from death” (Proverbs 10:2). As explained in detail elsewhere (see ‘How Charity Can Save Your Life’ in Garments of Light, Volume One), providing a financial contribution to a worthy cause affects a change in the Heavens that can tear up a decree hanging over a person’s soul. This is because the money one earns is tied directly to the exertion they put in to earn that money, since a person invests their time, energy, and soul into their work. The Torah tells us that giving even a half-shekel serves as kofer nefesh, an atonement for the soul (Exodus 30:12). There is a beautiful mathematical proof to this in that the words shekel (שקל) and nefesh (נפש) have the same numerical value (430)!

Finally, the Torah states that if we are worthy, “Five of you shall chase away a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase away ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.” (Leviticus 26:8) A classic question here is regarding the ratios: five chasing away a hundred is a ratio of 1 to 20, but a hundred chasing away ten thousand is a ratio of 1 to 100! What we can learn from this is that the more Jews are united and fighting together, the stronger we become. That strength does not just grow linearly, but exponentially! The message is that we must all be united. Instead of sinat hinam, baseless hatred and enmity, we must have ahavat hinam, baseless love and unity. This is our greatest source of strength.

Putting it all together, we have four key tools to increase Israel’s military and physical might: Yom Kippur, tefillin, tzedakah, and ahava. Amazingly, if we take the initials* of these terms (י כ ת צ א), they spell out כי תצא, as in כִּֽי־תֵצֵ֥א לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ וּנְתָנ֞וֹ יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ בְּיָדֶ֖ךָ, “When you go out to war against your enemies and God will deliver them into your hand…” (Deuteronomy 21:10) There is no better proof than this that if we increase our observance of these crucial mitzvot as a nation, we will undoubtedly be invincible, and God will deliver all of our enemies into our hands.

Yom Ha’Atzmaut Sameach!

*If we take only the first initials of the four mitzvot above (without the kaf of kippur), we have יתצ״א, which carries a value of 501. This is a very significant number, too. At the Pesach seder, we group the Ten Plagues by their initials and recite דצ״ך עד״ש באח״ב. The great kabbalist Rav Shimshon of Ostropoli (d. 1648) taught that the value of this phrase is 501, equivalent to an angel named תק״א that facilitated the plagues and punished the enemies of Israel. Additionally, this is reminiscent of the “Angel of God” that struck down the Assyrian camp of 185,000 soldiers to protect Jerusalem in the time of King Hezekiah (II Kings 19:35).

From the Archives: The Kabbalah of Yom Ha’Atzmaut

The Caesar Who Saved Judaism

“Isaac Blessing Jacob”, by Gustav Doré

This week’s parasha, Toldot, begins with the births of the twins Jacob and Esau. Their mother, Rebecca, felt trouble brewing in her womb, and received prophecy that “two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will emerge from your innards” (Genesis 25:23). Jacob, of course, is the forefather of the Jewish people, while Esau would become the spiritual progenitor of the Roman Empire, and then the entire Christian world as a whole (see ‘How Esau Became Rome’).

The Ba’al haTurim (Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, c. 1269-1343) comments on the above verse that the words shnei goyim b’vitnekh (שני גוים בבטנך), “two nations are in your womb”, has the same gematria as “this is Rabbi Yehuda and Antoninus” (זה רבי יהודה ואנטונינוס). Recall that Rabbi Yehuda haNasi was the president of Israel in the 2nd century CE, and is credited with composing the Mishnah, the first complete corpus of Jewish law, while Antoninus was a Roman official who was his close friend. The Ba’al haTurim is telling us that there is a profound connection between these two sets of people that are separated by nearly two millennia. What is the connection between the pair of Jacob and Esau, and the pair of Rabbi Yehuda haNasi and Antoninus? Continue reading →