The Lamed Vav Tzadikim:

Now the interesting thing at the previously quoted Pasuk is that the word Vayihi is the only word in the Torah (26th word) which is surrounded by light on both sides. The connection which was taught to me, was made by this Rabbi Shmuel Kessin, at a shiur he gave in Manhattan in preparation for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kipppor.

Author’s Note: When I first wrote this piece on the date inidcated which was the erev Shabbos (Rosh Chodesh) which included the last night and then day of Chanukah, I did not know the name of the person who had given this shiur. Well, they say they are no coincidences, and here is something for the textbooks: I rushed to complete this prior to Shabbos, and there were various errors including spelling and typos. However I did have an unattributed tidbit of Torah, a tidbit which I thoroughly enjoyed and embraced when I had first heard it. Well, guess what the Sheva Bracha which I attended this Shabbos at the lunch meal was for none other than the author of this Torah gem, Rabbi Shmuel Kessin. and he had gotten married to the woman who had invited me to the shiur, Chaya Sara Kreimerman. (This could be another entire post, so I will just leave it that, for now.)

The Vayihi connects with the the four letter name of Hashem which we call the Yud kay Vav kay (because its positon as the 26th word) is the same gematria (numerical value) of the 4 letter combination of the name of Hashem connoting mercy, which we invoke during the Yom Kippor service. During the Yom Kippor service the Kohen Gadol steps into the holly of hollies, where he is surrounded by the light of the Sechinah, and then may utter sacred names of Hashem that may not even be pronounced at other times of the year.

Now we also learn according to various sources, that even though the window of opportunity to do Teshuvah is ideally completed within the 10 days between Yom Kippor and Rosh HaShanah, that somehow this time period gets extended throughout the holiday of Sukkot. If somehow you miss this deadline, the final extension which is available gets extend throughout the final days of Chanukah, which is now! If you miss the deadline, I do not know what happens.

The last piece of the puzzle which helps me get a clue to the meaning of all this is that the letters that come in front of the the Hey Yud in Vayihi (the only word totally surrounded by the light) are the letters Vav followed by the Yud. Now the Vav, I learned today is called the reversing Vav because it changes the tense of the upcoming word. The Yud on the other hand is the future tense. Therefore the shoresh or root of the word Vayihi comes down to the Yud followed by the Hey, followed by the dropped Yud. The concept being that this light whch we get back on Chanukah is qualitively the same light that was, and is and always be, the endless light.

Author’s Post Chanukah additions:

Typically in most of my posts to this url, you will find what i have come to call meta comments. If we were involved in a theater arts, or drama class I would most simply say that meta is the subtext. In other words if you were the actor delivering the lines from a script, what would you really be saying with your words. When I post I often need to check my spelling or various references. The problem with always checking these things is that it slows me down. In other instances it potentially adds more material to any already cluttered agenda. To keep this part short let me simply say that when I checked the spelling for Shmuel Kessin (using a Google search engine) I found there were nearly a dozen different references to him and his shirum.

So, whats the big deal, I can imagine my readers may be thinking. Well here it is. There are some esoteric things, ideas, which are part of Torah, that relatively few people actually talk about, learn or study. These things just happen to be some of the areas which I am personally most strongly interested in understanding.

The shape of the Hebrew letters has meaning:

The letter Kuf is the only letter that actually goes below the line, while the Lamed is the only letter that goes above the line. The Yud is a tiny letter that floats on top (like an apostrophe) but is not anchored at all anywhere on the lower line.  (There are no actual lines in the Torah scroll however the letters do generally touch lower line, which is where they  sit). I have learned from at least one shiur (yes it was on Kabbalah) and also I believe from Tanya, that world was created with the letter Hey. Other than the significance gleaned from the introduction of the Hey, when it was given to Avraham by Hashem, and to Sarah, as well. The Kabbalistic sources along with Tanya explain how when this letter is pronounced it is the closest thing to breathing. While other letters involve different positions of the lips, mouth or tongue, the sound produced by the Hey (H) is the closest aleph-beis sound to pure breath. Indeed in the sentence in the Torah where man is created we read that Hashem breathed the soul of Adam into him through his nostrils.

A central element to chasidus is that it is the job of the Jew to elevate the original divine sparks of Kedusha (or holiness) back to their original source in Shemayim (heaven). Naturally this sounds kind of complex and might seemingly require special equipment. Here is one way it can be done that we learned about at a Carlebach of Passaic sponsored T’Bshvat dinner. We used the special spiritual   equipment- a nut cracker, to break open the Klippot (shell) of an almond. We said the proper bracha (blessing) borei pri Ha’etz, (Blessed are You Hashem Our G-d, Ruler of the universe. Who creates the fruit of the tree) and then we eat it. This way when we eat something which often will become part of our body, or we will absorb the energy of the food, then we elevate that simple act simply by recognizing that our food and nourishment comes from G-d. Therefore we restore the spiritual spark back to its source in Shemayim.

We do not connect to the Light of G-d directly with its source, however we do connect with the light of Hashem through a series of step down transformers collectively known as the sefirot.

Aleph to Tav to the Hey of malchut. There was an orthodox shul that I attended fairly regularly in the 90′s where every time the bracha “boruch ata” was said right before the name 4 letter name of G-d was said, someone would yell out “Aleph to Tav to the Hey of Malchut”. Although I know I must have asked the reason for this, the answer I understand today must have been that we are about to say the holiest name of G-d, so we are now stating that when we say this name it is like saying everything. Additionally, that by saying this name, we are encompassing every aspect; known or unknown, of everything that ever existed, will exist, or has existed and seemingly has ceased to exist. Malchut is the final sfierot, the final resting place of the light which has traveled from the infinite and spiritual world of G-d, to our finite, limited world of material things, and actions.

Just as a seed has no use or value until it is planted in the earth, so to the light of the infinite must reach our finite world (Malchut) so that it can be manifest and have some effect or action. We as G-d fearing Jews do not even say. or write the 4 letter name of Hashem which has the gematria (numeric value) of 26. Even when we spell out this name we use Kay to represent Hey. Therefore, the letters we are looking at are the Yud (K)ay Vav (K)ay. I have learned in Tanya that the two Hey’s in the Holy name (Hashem) correspond to the upper Hey (of Shemayim) and the lower Hey of Malchut. In context with what I learned just this last Friday, it seems clear that the only other letters (other than Hey) in the Holy 4-letter name with a gematria of 26, or the reversing Vav, and the Yud, of the future tense.

So what does all this mean?

We can try to sum up most of these ideas as follows:

The hidden light of creation, can be symbolically expressed with the 36 candles which are lit during Chanukah. The upper light from the spiritual word which comes from G-d as its original source, is more both qualitatively and physically than the light that we use to read a book, or that a plant uses to make food. The concept of light as explained by Kabbalistic sources, is more concretely about the revelation of G-d, as understood by the extreme and in depth interpretation of the written Torah. The concept of Torah She B’al Peh as understood by Kabbalists is far different than the Torah She B’al Peh, as understood by the Litvish or misnaged. According to the Kabbalistic point of view there are such deep and esoteric understanding of Torah that it is has been prohibited to be written down or in some cases even discussed even in a group as small as two people.  A Litvish understanding of Torah She B’al Peh is gemara and the way it is studied between pairs of students so that its deepest meaning could be understood.

The pages of Gemata that relevant to my understanding of the prohibitions regarding the teaching or learning of the sod (or secrets) of Torah are:

Page 11 pf the gemara Chagigah which touches on Tohu and Bohu and how things which were created before man may not be discussed other than by mentioning the chapter heading (or main idea) in any group of two or more people. Also there is another page of gemara which is an explanation of Ezikiel, which is ot even translated in the ArtScroll gemara.

The 26th word of Torah and the previously quoted words which precede it contain clues and hints as to the meaning of the light that was hidden away for the Tzadikim.

Aharon Moshe (Stephen)  Sanders

December 18, 2009 (5770)