Ki Tisa - Love your wife

To understand what it means, "You must observe my Shabbat day," we need to look at the first letters of the words. 

אַךְ אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתַי, תִּשְׁמֹרוּ כִּי אוֹת הִוא בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם

The first letters are

  אשתך אהוב

or 

"Love your wife."

That means that a man must love his wife and be with her. Therefore, the following words start with the letters

וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת

or

ביאה - intimacy.

What follows is

אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם

or 

אהל, tent, and that is always a hint to his wife.

Listen, Earth! (Haazinu)

What does Moses mean when he says, "Listen attentively, Heaven, and I will speak; give ear, Earth, to my words?"

The Torah has two levels: the secret and the simple one. First, there is the secret. It is for people who are like angels. Secrets are not for everybody, and they may be hard to understand. To them, Moses will "speak" - "medaber," which usually means harsh words.

The simple meaning is for the masses. To them, Moses addresses "words" - "amira", which usually denotes pleasant, endearing conversation.

But if, after all, the essential meaning is the secret one, why is the simple understanding needed at all? The answer is in the next phrase, "As the small rain upon the tender grass, as the showers upon the herb." When one is only beginning, they learn the simple meaning. They are like tender grass that cannot absorb and withstand heavy rain. After they have learned the basic facts, they become stronger and ready for the secret.

Art: L'Yerres, Pluie by Gustave Caillebotte

How to drink? (Ekev)

The word "drink" has a numerical value of 715. This is composed of four spellings of the name "everpresent," three spellings of the name "I will be," and the number of letters in these names. That is what one should have in mind anytime that he or she drinks anything. 

This is found in Ekev because of the phrase, "Man lives not only by bread but by all that comes from the mouth of God." The soul does not get sustenance from bread since bread is physical, but from the blessings that man pronounces.

Details are below.

יוד הי ויו הי=72

יוד הה ואו הה = 63

יוד הא ואו הא = 45

יוד הה ו'ו הה = 52

232

אלף הי יוד הי 

111+15+20+15=161

אלף הא יוד הא

111+6+20+6=143

אלף הה יוד הה  

111+10+20+10=151

455

28 letter

232+455+28=715

שתיה

ש=300

ת=400

י=10

ה=5

715

Art: Drinking Water by Jean Leon Gerome Arnaut

Tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Korach)

Dathan and Abiram were priests (Levy), but they wanted more. They argued that "all the Jewish people are holy," and everyone has the right to serve in the Temple. They tried to bring fragrant spices, usurping the privilege of a Kohen, and they were burnt by fire that came from Heaven.

Dathan and Abiram were reincarnated as two bulls, which Elijah used in his competition with 450 prophets of Baal. Dathan was a more elevated soul, and his lot was to be a sacrifice to God. But Abiram was not on such a level, and his lot was to be sacrificed to Baal. Abiram did not want that. Elijah had to whisper in his ear that he, too, would serve a good purpose - by not being accepted.

Now, compare the two incarnations. Dathan and Abiraam were burned by fire from Heaven for trying to advance their selfish goals. As two bulls, they did it right. They were also burnt by fire from Heaven, but this time, Elijah used them as a sacrifice to God.

Art: Cows Resting by Rosa Bonheur

Whose Bad, Moshe or All Else? (Behaalotcha)

When Jews wanted meat, God killed them. Moses said to God, "If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own bad.” 

It should say, "Your bad." Jews were bad, not Moses. But the story goes back to many reincarnations. Moses was a reincarnation of Abel. But so, too, was his enemy, Balaam. It is in their names. Moses' name hints that he was a reincarnation of Abel and Shet

משה, שת, הבל

But Balaam, too, was from Abel.

חבל בלעם

It all started with Eve. The Snake injected her with a bad smell. After that, all humanity had mixed good and bad. The leaders of "Erev Rav," a mixed multitude, were Yunus and Yumbrus, sons of Balaam, the enemy of the Jewish people. That is why Moses considered them "his own bad." He did not agree with them, but they were his people.

These fractions of the people will continue to fight. However, in the future, "death will be eradicated." This phrase also has the name of Abel.

בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח

So why does evil exist? Why did Balaam have to utter the greatest blessing ever for the Jewish people? Moses could say it! However, when Balaam said it, the bad angel was forced to confirm and say, "Amen." For the complete eradication of evil, the blessings to Jews must be pronounced by their worst enemies.

Art: The Butcher's Shop by Bartolomeo Passerotti

Like two lovers who make peace (Vayikra)

After Moses spoke to God, his face radiated light, which people could not look at directly. The power of this light was 1,000. How do we know that? In Hebrew, the word "thousand" is "elef." The word close to it is "alef," the first letter of the alphabet. The Hebrew spelling of "one" and "thousand" is the same: אלף.

The "falling out" of God and Moses was repaired through Moses' prayers and the building of the Temple. When the Temple was finished, God called Moses for a conversation.

In Hebrew, "he called" is Vayikra, וַיִּקְרָא.

The Alef, which used to signify 1,000 and measured the light of Moses' face, became small. It was reduced 1,000 times. That was the effect of the Golden Calf. The Torah, spelling the letter alef small, reminds of the previous problematic act.

Moses (Moshe) represents two spiritual entities who give birth to the souls of the righteous. The summary of the calculations shows that the name Moses is the sum of these two spiritual entities:

אחור יסוד אבא

פנים יסוד אמא

קפד = 184

קסא = 161

345 = םשה (Moshe)

Using these and other connections, Kabbalists give meaning to the words of their prayers and make them more powerful.

Art: Galatea of the Spheres by Dali

He will die two times (Mishpatim)

"One who hits a man so that he dies will be killed two times" is the death penalty in the Torah. Literally, it says, "he will be killed, killed," and that is usually translated as "he will surely be put to death." Why is it two times, and what more is the Torah conveying?

Moses was the reincarnation of Abel. In the Torah, Moses is called "man." The Jews called him that when they said, "This man Moses, we do not know what happened to him." So when the Torah says "one who hits a man," it means Abel and his reincarnation, Moses.

The first murder in the Torah is Cain killing Abel. Since Abel was later reincarnated as Moses, and Cain was reincarnated as that Egyptian whom Moses killed, then this was the first time. The second time happened when Cain was reincarnated as Korach. Moses killed him again by making the ground swallow him.

One can notice how precisely the judgment is meted out. Cain hid Abel in the ground. Corresponding to that. Moses covered the Egyptionan with sand. With Korach, Moses made the earth swallow him to make the message very clear.

Art: Cain and Abel by Titian

Take the Torah, Or Else... (Jethro)

Jews did not have much choice when offered the Torah. God told them that if they did not accept it, He would destroy the world and turn it back to void. 

To make the offer actionable, God formulated it as such: "And it was on the third day" (בהית הבקר ויהי). The first letters of these three words spell bohu (בהו) - which implies destruction.

(Incidentally, other nations were also offered the Torah but refused it as not fitting their nature.)

Art: Moses with the Tablets by Guido Reni

Travel to Israel for burial (Beshalach)

Moses took Joseph's remains with him from Egypt to Israel. That was not easy. Egyptians buried Joseph in a metal coffin in the river Nile. However, Moses came to this place and said, "Ox, come up!" And Joseph's coffin floated up. 

Earlier, when Joseph told Egyptians to get circumcised, he also converted them. Moses cared for them and took them out of Egypt. These were the "mixed multitude" who went together with the Jews out of Egypt. Since Joseph started their conversion process, he now merited to see the mitzvah to the end.

Even though the mixed multiple caused multiple troubles to the Jewish people, they nevertheless represent the purpose for which the Jews ended up in the dispersion - to collect these souls and bring them back.

Art: The Water of the Nile by Frederick Goodall

Moses was born circumcised (Shemot)

Moses was born already circumcised. Since he was Jewish already from birth, he refused the milk of Egyptian women. When the daughter of Pharaoh found him, she had to find a wet nurse for a three-month-old baby, and this is when she tried the Egyptian wet nurses without success.

Where is that in the Torah? The sister of Moses, Miriam, said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse him?" The first letters of her words spell "He is circumcised."

מִן הָעִבְרִיֹּת; וְתֵינִק לָךְ - "from the Hebrew women, to nurse him for you."

First letters:

מהול - circumcised

When Moses's mother first looked at him, "she saw that he was good." That is because the foreskin is called "bad," and Moses was "good," that is, circumcised. 

Art: Moses in the Bullrushes by Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau

The child of yibum with brother's widow is his reincarnation (Vayeshev)

Tamar succeeded in making Judah sleep with her. This way, Judah performed a "yibum," also known as "marrying brother's widow." Previously, Judah's son Onan did a "yibum" with Tamar, his brother's Er widow. Judah's act with Tamar could qualify, by stretch, as a "yibum."

The secret of yibum is that the child born of such a union is a reincarnation of the brother who passed away. This worked. Tamar had twins, and they were reincarnations of her two previous husbands. In their new lives, they corrected their previous mistakes.

The midwife marked the firstborn by tying a red thread on his hand - because their previous mistake involved hands. Zerah, who is the reincarnation of Onan, gave his hand first. He felt that he was not as bad as Er because he at least had a reason, not wanting to have a child in this brother's name. Still, he got a thread whose color was red - because he was not wholly blameless.

Art: Judah and Tamar by Arent de Gelder

Dinah Was a Boy at First (Vayishlach)

After six sons, Leah knew that she was pregnant with another boy. She would then have a disproportionate number of boys, seven out of twelve. So Leah judged that it would not be fair and prayed that the child's gender would be changed to a girl. That is why the baby's name was "Dinah" which means "Judgement." Dinah is called "naar," which means a boy, but when the Torah is read in the synagogue, this word is pronounced "naarah," which means a girl.

Since it was Leah who caused Dinah to be born a girl, Dinah is called Leah's daughter, "And Dinah, Leah's daughter, went out."

Dinah was the reincarnation of Eve. Dinah's abductor, Shechem ben Chamor the Hivite, was the reincarnation of the initial Snake. The word "Hivite" means a snake in Aramaic. Since he has injected poison into Eve, his only desire was to stay connected to her, this time as Dinah. After Shechem was circumcised, his correction in life was complete, and he was killed, having nothing left to do.

Art: Jacob persuades Leah and Rachel to flee by Pieter Potter

Daughter is a Blessing (Chayei Sarah)

When Abraham was old, God blessed him with everything. That was a daughter. In Hebrew, "with everything" is spelled "Bakol," and that was the name of the daughter, Bakol.

The gematria of Bakol is 52. 

בכל = 2 + 20 + 30 = 52

This represents the name of God spelled with Hey

יהוה

יוד הה וו הה = 52

Thus, in a mystical sense, this name of God is the daughter of Abraham.

Art: Portrait of Princess by Peter Paul Rubens

The Reasons of Job's Suffering (Lech-Lecha)

Abraham's father was called Terah. Terah reported his son Abraham to authorities for iconoclastic behavior and disrespecting the gods. The king Nimrod had a philosophical debate with Abraham, as a result of which Abraham was sentenced to be burned alive. Abraham was saved by a miracle, but his brother Haran was thrown into the same furnace, and he burned. That is why the Torah said that "Haran died in the presence of his father."

Terah had to be reincarnated to correct his and his father's mistakes. He came back as Job. The hint to this in the Torah is "God appeared to Abraham in the Valley," in Hebrew, "Vayera elav Adonai Be'elonei." The first letters form Job (Iyov.)

The last words of the book of Job, "Therefore, I renounce my words and relent, for I am but dust and ashes." He means, "I relent because of that one who called himself dust and ashes – Abraham."

Abraham was told that his father already started his reincarnation. "Abraham was told that Milcah has given birth to Uz," and Uz is another name for Job, who was from the land of Uz.

Art: Job by William Blake

Breshit - In the Beginning

The Torah starts with the letter bet, the second letter of the alphabet. Why not the first one, alef?

The Torah, as the area of knowledge, has two levels: secret and plain. The secret level speaks exclusively of theoretical and philosophical ideas. Our Torah, which starts with the letter bet, clothes the theory into practical notions concerning this world. 

The first Torah, which starts with the letter alef, is what the Righteous learn in Gan Eden, Paradise. 

Our "second" Torah, which starts with the letter bet, anticipates the last letter. The last word of the Torah is "Israel," and the last letter of the Torah is thus "L." Together with the first letter, it forms "LeV." Lev has the numerical value (Gematria) of 32, L being 30, and B being 2. These are the thirty-two paths of wisdom discussed in the mystical book of Sefer Yetzirah. 

Art: Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, by Mark Rothko

Exercises for Pekudei

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Chayei Sarah - Dew is 39

When the first man, Adam, made the mistake of eating a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, he caused there should be 39 curses. Ten were for himself, ten for Eve, ten for the snake, and nine for the earth.

The number 39 in Hebrew is represented by the word "Tal," which means dew. To correct the curses, light from the highest spiritual levels, called "Arich Anpin," which shines down like dew, is needed.

The forefathers tried to draw down this light. Abraham did not wholly succeed, as evidenced by his imperfect son, Ishmael. Isaac, too, had a son Esau. Jacob was the first pure one who could begin the rectification (Tikkun). The word "dew" is mentioned in Isaac's blessing, "God should give you from the dew of the heavens..." and that is why he needed this blessing so much.

However, even that blessing he got from Isaac through deception, by pretending to be Esau. Rebecca took the risk on herself by saying that if it is discovered, "the curses should be on me." Rebecca was the reincarnation of Eve. Her words can be understood as if Eve was talking: "It's because of me that there are curses. Now I am taking the risk and fixing what I did wrong." Previously, Adam was punished "because he listened to his wife's voice." Rebecca says, "Listen to my voice, but this time for good."

Also, note that the first time Adam's mistake came through food. Now Jacob, Adam's reincarnation, is fixing his mistake, again through food - by bringing Isaac a meal.

If one continues, one can find many more parallels between what Adam did then and what Jacob did this time.

With gratitude to Rabbi Menachem Sholom Krantz, who provided the initial content.

Art: Esau and Jacob by Michel I Corneille

Ki Tisa – the rich and the poor

"Everyone included in the census must give a half shekel. This shall be by the sanctuary standard, where a shekel is 20 gerahs. It is half of such a shekel that must be given as an offering to God."

A man's body is a hint to this shekel. The word “shekel” is closely related to “mishkal,” meaning “weight” and to the weighing scales. Man's two hands are the two cups of the scales, and his arms are the scales' beam. Since a hand has five fingers, it is represented by the letter hey (ה). We thus have two letters hey, the letter vav (ו) as the beam, and the letter yud(י) as the ideal holy shekel. All together they create the name of God yud-hei-vav-hei (יהוה).

The first hey in the name of God is the “rich hey”, and its numerical value is five, but each of these units is ten (since this is “Ima Ilaa,” or “Supernal Mother”, one of the highest spiritual entities in the four spiritual worlds), and thus the value of this first hey is 10 * 5 = 50. The second hey, the completion of God's name, is represented by the Jewish people. Since this physical world is spiritually impoverished in comparison to the the upper worlds and to its true potential, this letter hey is called the “poor hey.”

Therefore the “rich should not give more than half a shekel.” The rich is the righteous, his intention is to unify the name of God, and he wants to connect the lower and the upper hey. And yet, he cannot bring more than ten Sefirot, because (as Sefer Yetzirah points out), there are ten ways of God's interaction with the world, and not more. The poor (one who is poor in spiritual knowledge and who acts within the confines of the physical world), cannot bring less than half a shekel: his “ten” are for the poor, worldly hey, yet he brings them all.

That is why at the Passover Seder we talk about “This is the bread for the poor.” The poor usually asks at the door, and the letter hey has the shape of a door (ה). “All who need should come and eat” - because it is the spiritually poor who come to the “rich table” of the Seder.

Art: Balancing the scales (after) Gabriel Metsu

Vayetze - Growing up

"Jacob left Beer-sheba and headed toward Charan."

This Torah phrase is a code for many events in the spiritual world. Here is how Arizal explains the progression. God leads the world through ten Sefirot that combine and interact. The perfect world does not exist, and spirituality is not final and constant; instead, it grows. Zeir Anpin, the Cosmic Man, who represents this spiritual progress – achieved not by the whole of humanity but by a few select individuals – starts his life with immature consciousness. At this stage, his mind consists of the name of God, "Elohim," taken three times. This mind's gematria or numerical value is 86 * 3 = 258.

The next stage of Zeir Anpin's development is to grow. He must make space in his head for the higher levels of Names of God to enter - these names representing the adult consciousness. The three "Elohim" must descend through his throat and enter his body. The throat represents the narrow passage through which this development takes place. The gematria of the word throat ("Garon") is also 258 (with one added for the word itself).

How is this all hinted at by the above phrase of the Torah? - Jacob leaving Beer-sheba talks about the early conciseness of Zeir Anpin leaving his head and going into his body. Jacob is going to Charan - that is the hint since the gematria of Charan is 258.

Jacob, who could combine conflicting opinions and balance them, originates from Wisdom. He was also righteous, which is connected to the Sefirah of Foundation. The last letters of the words "Jacob left Beer" are aleph-beth-resh, representing "ever," or member, sexual organ. That is because controlling one's sexual urges is both a prerequisite and a means of obtaining righteousness.

Art: Landscape with Jacob, Rachel, and Leah by Nicolaes Berchem

After finishing one’s prayer

After one finishes his prayer with the goodwill from his Master (that is, after one says, “May it be Your goodwill to accept it”), one needs to imagine that he is giving up his life, with perfect love – and that is called “Tachanun”, or “Supplication.”

Once he does this, he is forgiven all the mistakes he had made, and if he did things that are not befitting a Jew, and did them in public – which amounts to the profanation of the Name of God – even that is forgiven. That is why initially it was called “Falling on one’s face on the ground” – because ground and land are connected to Rulership, the lowest spiritual level, from which there is no way but up.

He thus falls into the kingdom of Evil, with the goal of finding the small particles of goodness there, to bring them up when he straightens. He then goes together with them to the level of Rulership again, but this time in the highest world of Nearness.

The source for this is the Zohar at the top of

this post. But how exactly does one imagine it? By giving up his life in four different ways, corresponding to the four methods of capital punishment as they existed when there was such thing as Jewish capital punishment, with Sanhedrin. This is explained in the second picture in this post, from the Siddur HaRashash by Rabbi Asher Anshil Braun.