 Parashat Eikev TREASURES IN THE SAND (last year's) Beachcombing the G'matriya Beach with the help of "Otzrot Yisrael", one of the CDs of the "Responsa Project" of Bar Ilan University. The Torah tells us that when Avra(ha)m Avinu joined the Battle of the Four Kings and the Five Kings, he armed his servant(s) 318... (B'reishit 14:14). The plain understanding is that he took 318 men with him. Rashi says in the name of "the Sages" that he took only Eliezer, the value of whose name is 318. There might be different ways of looking at this G'matriya, but (I would say that) it is most likely that there was anOral Tradition that Avraham took Eliezer with him, and that the G'matriya is a "nice" highlighter of the other interpretation of the pasuk. I don't think that the G'matriya was used to revise the meaning of the pasuk from 318 men to just Eliezer. Whether this is so or not with Rashi's G'matriya, it is certainly the case of the G'matriya-matches presented in the UTC column. I take p'sukim and some partial p'sukim and calculate their G'matriya. Then I search the Tanach for GMs. Then I say something about the matched p'sukim or phrases - something that can be saidwithout a GM, but something that becomes "nice" or "cute" because of the GM. I hope it is clear what G'matriyas are and what they are not. D'varim 8:5 is part of Moshe's words about the period of wandering in the Midbar. He tells us "to know in your heart that just as a father disciplines his child, so too does G-d chasten you (us)." This pasuk drew an interesting G'matriya-Match (GM) to a pasuk in the following chapter (9:20): And HaShem was so angry withAharon that He was ready to destroy him, and I (Moshe) also prayed on his behalf... Both p'sukim equal 2677 - the first a general statement; the second, a specific example. The mitzva of Birkat HaMazon is presented in the pasuk we actually quote in Birkat HaMazon, second bracha: "When you will eat and be satisfied, then you shall bless HaShem, your G-d for the good land which He has given you" (D'varim 8:10). The first three brachot of Birkat HaMazon are considered the fulfillment of the Torah's obligation to "bench". The first bracha is HAZAN ET HAKOL, it is attributed to Moshe Rabeinu, and can be seen in the mitzva-pasuk in the words V'ACHALTA V'SAVATA UVEIRACHTA. The second bracha is AL HA'ARETZ V'AL HAMAZON, it is attributed to Yehoshua, and can be seen in the words of the pasuk ...ALHA'ARETZ HATOVA ASHER NATAN LACH. The third bracha is BONEI (b'rachamav) YERUSHALAYIM, it is attributed to David HaMelech (for the Jerusalem part) and Shlomo HaMelech (for the Beit HaMikdash part), and does not have specific words in the pasuk indicating it. However, there is a nice GM with a pasuk in T'hilim (137:6) - both p'sukim having the G'matriya of 3824- that can make a Yerushalayim connection very nicely: "May my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not remember, if I do not raise Jerusalem above my greatest joy." Please remember that this is not the reason there is a bracha for Yerushalayim as part of Birkat HaMazon. It is nothing more than an interesting G'matriya-Match find. Many p'sukim are fed into the computer, and relatively few interesting GMs come out. These "Treasures in the Sand" are only meant to bring a smile to your lips and give you something light to share at your Seudat Shlishit table. Here's an example of a GM that allows you to make an obvious statement which would be so even if the G'matriyas didn't match. Parshat Eikev contains an important guideline for T'shuva. "And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your hearts, and you shall no longer be stiff-necked." (D'varim 10:16) Don't be coldhearted or stubborn. In the process of our turning back to HaShem, we can draw inspiration and incentive from others who hearken to G-d's Words, even among the nations of the world. This pasuk matches in G'matriya (3044) Sh'mot 9:20, which refers to those among the servants of Par'o who feared G-d's word brought their servants and animals indoors (during the plague of Barad, hail. Amidst the whole description ofthe Plagues and other aspects of the Exodus, the Torah tells us that among the Egyptians there were G-d-fearing people. 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 First Third The beginning of the Book of D'varim tells us that we arrived at the door step of Eretz Yisrael (a.k.a. the Plains of Moav) on Rosh Chodesh Shvat in the 40th year of the Wandering. Tradition tells us that on the 7th of Adar, Moshe Rabeinu left this world. The Book of D'varim is the account of those 37 days of the farewellof Israel's greatest leader. The opening verses of the Book indicate that the 37 day period was divided into three parts (the actual durations of the three parts is unknown... and probably irrelevant). We can see the rough breakdown by putting D'varim, Va'etchanan, and Eikev in the first third, R'ei, Sho'ftim, and Ki Teitzei in the middle portion, and the rest of the book in the final phase. Although this is but a rough sketch, what characterizes the first third is Jewish History 101 - the first 40 years and Judaism 101 - Fundamental Principles of the Faith and Religion. The course work for the second trimester focuses almost exclusively on Mitzvot 613 - an extensive survey and review of the mitzvot. The end of the term is taken up by various subjects that the People needed for graduation. We'll get there, IY"H, in due time. As to the first three sedras, they contained exciting and frightening reviews of the events of the previous generation, as well as the review of the Decalogue and the Shma, parts I and II, and a presentation of a special group of mitzvot which form the foundation of Judaism. These include basic elements of belief, as well as fundamental concepts of Prayer and Blessings, prohibition of Idolatry, and the basics of the Judicialsystem. The 170 mitzvot and more presented in the "middle" three sedras construct the building of Judaism upon its solid foundation. One theme keeps emerging in these early sedras of D'varim - the centrality of Eretz Yisrael in G-d's plan for the People of Israel. As often as Torah Tidbits repeats this idea - that G-d took us out of Egypt in order to give us the Torah and to take us into Eretz Yisrael - two facts remain, that require attention: The Torahwas given at Sinai, outside the Land of Israel, and the Jewish People have survived - and even thrived - outside of Israel. They have built great Torah communities, self-sufficient Jewish communities, in many places around the globe. The Torah was given outside of Israel to make sure that we all understand that the Torahmust be kept wherever we live. Had we entered the Land first, and then received the Torah, Jews might make the terrible mistake of thinking that the Torah way of life does not apply in Chutz LaAretz. Torah is the basis of our lives. It is our spiritual oxygen, water, and nourishment. It is our shelter, our occupation, our lives. Okay, so is the specific venue of Eretz Yisrael so important to a Jewish way of life? The answer is a definite YES. The Torah in Chutz LaAretz is like a spiritual oxygen tank strapped to our backs. The Torah in Israel allows us to breathe the air around us. It's the difference between packaged TV dinners and delicious, whole some home-cooked meals. Eretz Yisrael always was the intended place forthe Jewish People to live and thrive. We haven't always deserved to be here, and when we were exiled, we took the Torah with us, so that our lives would continue. But even during the long exile, when Jews did not physically live in E. Yisrael, they always lived here in spirit. The longing to return has sustained us for centuries. We have never been without Torah, nor without Eretz Yisrael, even when we weren't here. THE DEAL G-d took us out of Egypt in order to give us the Torah and bring us to Eretz Yisrael. That's the deal. Here is a beautiful numeric demonstration of it, courtesy of R. Yaakov Auerbach z"l. In the third passage of the Sh'ma, G-d says: I AM HASHEM, YOUR G-D WHO TOOK YOU OUT OF EGYPT TO BE YOUR G-D = 1+50+10 + 26 + 1+30+5+10+20+40 + 1+300+200 + 5+6+90+1+400+10 + 1+400+20+40 + 40+1+200+90 + 40+90+200+10+40 + 30+5+10+6+400 + 30+20+40+ 30+1+30+5+10+40 = 3035. In the book of Yehoshua it says: U'SH'MARTEM ET MISHMERET MITZVAT HASHEM LOKEICHEM (and you shall keep the faith with G- d's mitzva) = 6+300+40+200+400+40 + 1+400 + 40+300+40+200+400 + 40+90+6+400 + 26 + 1+30+5+10+20+40 = 3035. And we have G-d's promise LATEIT LANU ET HAARETZ ASHER NISHBA LAAVOTEINU (and He took us out of there in order) to give us the Land that He promised to our forefathers - D'varim 6:23 = 30+400+400 + 30+50+6 + 1+400 + 5+1+200+90 + 1+300+200 + 50+300+2+70 + 30+1+2+400+10+50+6 = 3035. ET HASHEM ELOKECHA TIRA - The word ET comes to include Torah scholars, that we must revere G-d AND Torah scholars. Adds a Chassidic Rebbe, ET comes to include Torah Scholars, that THEY too must revere G-d. [The Eikev Homepage]
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