 Parashat Devarim TREASURES IN THE SAND - 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. In D'varim 1:11, Moshe Rabeinu calls upon G-d to bless the people: "May HaShem, G-d of your ancestors, multiply you a thousandfold and bless you as He has spoken to you." An interesting G'matriya- match (GM) came up for this pasuk. Sh'mot 1:12 describes the unusual population growth of Bnei Yisrael in Egypt: "And the morethey were oppressed, the more they multi plied..." Both p'sukim have a numeric value of 2808. The earlier pasuk can be seen as a retroactive fulfillment of Moshe's bracha. This population explosion was necessary at this moment in the early history of the family-nation in order to guarantee its survival. Moshe laments that he was not able to bear the burden of the people alone: EICHA ESA L'VADI... (D'varim 1:12). This pasuk has the same G'matriya (1346) as B'reishit 45:14, which suggests the same idea in an opposite manner: "And he (Yosef) fell on his brother Binyamin's neck and he cried, and Binyamin cried on his (Yosef's)neck." One gets the impression of the easing of a burden because the brothers finally had each other. CHAZON... "The vision of Yishayahu b. Amotz about Yehuda and Yeru shalayim in the days of Uziyahu, Yotam, Achaz, (and) Yechezkiyahu, kings of Judah." This opening pasuk of the book of Yeshayahu gives its first word to name the Shabbat before Tish'a b'Av. This prophecy of destruction echoes the dreaded prophecies of theTochacha. Vayikra 26:37 has the same G'matriya (2512) as this first pasuk of Chazon — "You will fall over one another as if chased by the sword even when no one is pursuing you, and you won't be able to stand up to your enemies." The previous UTC (U's'funei T'munei Chol) is of a type where two p'sukim with the same G'matriya are also thematically related. Here are five examples of GMs with opposite themes. They too make a point. The second pasuk of the Haftara (Yeshayahu 1:2) calls the Heavens and the Earth as witnesses to G-d's words - I have raised children and have exalted them and they have betrayed me. Contrast this with Sh'mot 12:14 (same G'matriya, 3218) which speaks of what was from the beginning, and what should have always been - "Andthis day shall be as a remembrance and you shall celebrate it as a Festival to G-d throughout the generations..." Parshat D'varim has its pasuk of EICHA; so does the Haftara - "How has the faithful city become like a harlot? I (says G-d) filled it with justice and righteousness, and now it has murderers." (Yeshayahu 1:21] The pasuk laments to direction taken by Jerusalem and its inhabitants. Contrast this with the idea expressed in B'reishit 12:1 (a GM for the EICHA pasuk) - "And G-d said to Avra(ha)m, LECH L'CHA... Again we see the plan expressed in one pasuk and the lament of our failure in the other pasuk. Similarly, the opening pasuk of EICHA - "How is it that the City with a multitude of people now sits lonely, like a widow..." In Nechemia (8:12) we see a glimpse of what it should be like in Jerusalem - And the whole nation went to eat and drink and send gifts (to one another) and to make a great celebration because theyunder stood the words (of the Torah) that were being taught to them. Jerusalem should be the sight of Jews rejoicing in the Torah, not an abandoned ruin. Editorial comment: Sadly, the event recorded in Nechemia involved a relatively small minority of the people; the majority remained in Bavel and did not return to Eretz Yisrael with Ezra and Nechemia. Perhaps if more and more Jews would return to the Land and to the Torah, we would not be sitting on the ground this coming Wednesday evening saying EICHA. In the same form of contrasting p'sukim with the same G'matriya, we find Eicha 2:1 - EICHA YA'IV B'APO... in contrast with Vayikra 1:5 which describes the offering of the Korban Olah to HaShem by the kohanim on the Mizbei'ach of the Mikdash. And one more: Eicha 5:17-18 - "For this our heart is faint; for these our eyes are dim - upon the Mountain of Zion which is desolate with foxes running about." Contrast this with the exalted, joyful song of Devorah (Shoftim 5:3], "Here ye kings and princes, I am for HaShem, I will sing to HaShem the G-d of Israel. In each of these cases, there is a pair of p'sukim that match numer ically. Each pasuk stands opposite its "partner" and they say "read each of us carefully. Which do you want to be actualized in your life, the one or the other?" 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. [The Devarim Homepage]
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