Parshat Ki Teitzei

U'S'FUNEI T'MUNEI CHOL

Beachcombing the G'matriya Beach with the help of "Otzrot
Yisrael", one of the CDs of the "Responsa Project" of Bar Ilan University.

The opening pasuk in this week's sedra tells us that "when we go out to battle against our enemies, and G-d gives them into our hand..." G-d will make us victorious against our enemies. This, however, is not an unconditional situation.

We will defeat our enemies if we remain faithful to Him and do His mitzvot. If we love G-d, and if our enemies are wicked, then the formula will hold. D'varim 21:10 totals 2493, as does T'hilim 145:20, which is towards the end of ASHREI - "G-d protects all those who love Him, and all the wicked people He will destroy.

D'varim 24:6 forbids us to take a millstone (or any vessel used in the preparation of food) as a security for a loan to a poor person... Our adherence to this mitzva and to what it represents - a high concern for the well-being of our fellow  Jews - will merit us to the relationship with G-d as expressed in Yirmiyahu 31:10 - "For G-d has redeemed Yaakov and ransomed him from the hands of those
who are stronger than he." And even to the level that G-d does our bidding (so to speak), as expressed in D'varim 18:17 - And G-d said to me, what they have said is well-spoken." These three p'sukim all share 1079 as a G'matriya.

D'varim 25:3 tells us that a person who transgressed certain prohibitions is subject to MAKOT, specific ally to 40 (less one) lashes, it is forbidden to give him more... One who receives his "proper" makot and does T'shuva for his sin, is forgiven by G-d and the mark against him is erased. The computer found a supportive G'matriya-match in Sh'mot 32:14 - "And G-d repented for the evil that He had planned for His people."

D'varim 25:13-14 prohibit the mere possession of false measures. This mitzva is above and beyond the prohibition of cheating and stealing which would be violated if one were to use the false measures. If we take these p'sukim as an expression of the high degree of significance that the Torah places in Honest Weights and Measures (in letter and spirit of the mitzvot), then we can point to an interesting GM to summarize the goal of the Torah Jew in regard to his business affairs. The two p'sukim in question here total 1514, as does T'hilim 119:72 - TOV LI TORAT PICHA... Better for me is the Torah of Your mouth than thousands of gold and silver (pieces). When confronted with the choice of ill-gotten profits (from the use of dishonest weights) or following the dictates of the Torah, it shouldn't even be a choice.

There are many p'sukim (including "famous" ones that have been  borrowed by the siddur or have influenced parts of the davening) that speak of a time in the (hopefully near) future when G-d's great ness will be acknowledged by all the  nations of the world. "...on that day, G-d will be One and His name will be One." One such pasuk that speaks of the result of G-d's deliverance from its enemies, is Yechezkeil 38:23. V'HITGADILTI V'HITKADISHTI, "I will magnify Myself and
sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations, and they will know that I Am HaShem." (This pasuk gives us the opening words of KADDISH.)

Is Amalek included among the nations that will eventually recognize G-d's Name and Greatness? Apparently not. Rashi on the last pasuk in B'shalach states that G-d's battle and enmity with Amalek is forever, and that G-d swears that neither His Name nor His Throne will be whole until Amalek is completely destroyed.

The G'matriya of the pasuk cited above from Yechezkeil is 3323. So too for the partial pasuk that ends Parshat Ki Teitzei (D'varim 25:19) - ...you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven - DO NOT FORGET IT. Wiping out Amalek is a condition (of sorts) for the fulfillment of V'HITGADILTI V'HITKADASHTI.

A word of caution when it comes to G'matriya, specifically the homemade variety that appear in this Treasures in the Sand column. Don't read too much into them. They are not meant to say something new. They are meant to be a nice "numerical confirmation" of existing ideas. They point to ideas to be explored.

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