Four fifths

I was thinking about the plague of darkness, where we find that our sages tell us that four-fifths, or 49/50 or 499/500 died amongst the Jewish people. To understand this on the surface level would have us calculate the Jewish people to be five, fifty or five hundred times 600,000 before the plague of darkness. The very fact that this number is so fantastic hints that chazal here are not teaching us something literal, but instead, this statement is included in the concept that they would hide deeper concepts in fantastic statements, in order to repel the uninitiated, and teach a deep lesson to those who have the key.

To understand what could perhaps be the true depth of chazal in this instance, we need to look at the numbers chazal use, as the numbers are generally the key to unlocking what chazal were actually referring to.

It is remarkable that at the point of the plague of darkness, we have passed the four fifths point of the ten plagues. Being that the plagues correspond to the ten sefiros (as do all groups of ten), we can see that the concept of four fifths means that we have passed Binah and are now in Chochmah, the ninth of the sefiros when we count from the bottom up.

If we look at the numbers 49 vs. 50, we see the concept of the seven times seven lower sefiros (as we count from Pesach to Shavuos), and the fiftieth level, which is Binah.

If we look at the number 499 vs. 500, we have the concept of צבאות, whose gematriah is 499. This concept always refers to the two legs of Netsach and Hod, which are the third and fourth from the bottom of the עץ החיים.

Thus, while we would initially perceive an ascension in the numbers 4/5, 49/50, 499/500, we are actually looking at a descending point in the sefiros.

I believe that chazal are hinting to a very deep concept here, which is spoken about by the Izhbitzer. There is a process of birur, purification, through which the Jewish people as a whole, as well as every individual, comes to the realization that Hashem is all there is, that everything is truly Him. During this process, the dross of physicality is slowly burned away, and the individual or nation recognizes that all the externals are nothing more than illusion.

During the process of the plagues, the Jewish people were being purified through this process so they could merit to leave Egypt. Each מכה had the effect of burning away another layer of externality, until the core was revealed.

As one rises through the sefiros, one finds the more rarefied essence which is at their core. In the levels of Soul, the aspect of Nefesh corresponds to Malchus, the lowest of the sefiros. Ruach corresponds to the next six; Neshama corresponds to Binah, the eighth. The makifin levels of Chaya and Yechida correspond to the last two sefiros, Chochmah and Keser, which are levels of transcendent unity.

It could be said that chazal are hinting to this idea when they say that 'four-fifths of klal yisrael died during the plague of darkness.' This could mean that the lower aspects of reality were removed, and the Jewish people had access to their higher selves, the unifying aspects of their chayah and yechida.

On another level (because everything is relative), the forty nine levels represent malchus and the next six, the seven lower sefiros (multiplied by seven). The fiftieth represents the level of Binah, which corresponds to Neshama. Here, too, we can say that there was a removal of the lower, outer aspects of the Jewish people, such that the Neshama was revealed.

On still another level, the 499 represents the aspect of צבאות, which corresponds to the concept that the Jewish people (or Nevi'im, who access prophecy through netsach and hod) are but 'hosts' for the Divine that 'rides' upon them. When the outer aspect of the 'host' is stripped away, the Divine within is revealed, which is the 500th aspect (or תתקצ"ט).

The point is that chazal are showing us that the purpose of the plagues in general, and the plague of darkness, in particular, was to strip away the layers of darkness surrounding the soul-essence of the Jewish people. The four-fifths, or 49/50, or 499/500 of the Jewish people that died here could very well not have been a percentage of the Jewish people as a whole, but rather, a percentage of each individual as their outer 'garment' of physicality was removed, and their soul essence was revealed.

This is what is to happen for each one of us as Moshiach arrives and we have the corresponding experiences to the sefiros. We will iy'H soon see Hashem revealed in each and every human being until the moment when we will realize that there really is no other besides for Him. ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד. May it be soon. Amen.

Bo - Spiritual depth perception

What is special about the plauge of the firstborn? Why must the Jews remain inside for this plague? Why is the mitzvah of Tefillin given at this point? How does the Tefillin remind us of the exodus? Why is the Tefillin not referred to by name? Why does the Torah refer to the placement of the Tefillin as 'between the eyes,' if it really means on the head?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 23:24

22 Elul

The world was created on the 25th of Elul, and Rosh Hashana was Friday, the sixth day of creation, when Man was created. The second day of Rosh Hashana corresponds to the seventh day of Creation, Shabbos. It is interesting to note that these seven days of creation correspond to the lower seven sefiros. It would seem logical that the three days prior correspond to the three upper sefiros. Thus, the 22nd of Elul (today) would correspond to Keser, which is the hidden root of all of the sefiros, the 23rd would correspond to Chochmah, and the 24th would correspond to Binah.

The Torah begins with the word "Beraishis," which starts with the letter 'Beis.' The letter Beis corresponds to the concept of Chochmah, and thus it could be said that it refers to the 23rd of Elul. The Torah does not begin with Alef, to denote the fact that the aspect of Keser, which is the Alef, (אלף = פלא) is beyond our understanding, nothing that we can relate to. Thus, today, the 22nd of Elul, is the day of Keser, beyond understanding. This corresponds to the idea that the initial statement of Beraishis, which is a non-statement, is the concept of Keser. Whereas each of the following acts of creation are prefaced with the words, "And Hashem said..." the initial act of creation was not prefaced by a statement. "In the beginning Hashem created..." implies a statement, albeit a hidden one. Thus, implied in the concept of Beraishis contained in the first word of the Torah is the hidden statement of Keser, which corresponds to today, the 22nd of Elul. Interestingly, the concept of 'Briah' - creation, and the name 'Elokim' both correspond to the sefirah of Binah, which we said parallels the 24th of Elul. Thus, in the words בראשית ברא אלקים (In the beginning, Elokim created), we have a reference to the three days preceding creation on the 25th of Elul.

Ki Savo - Blessings from Alef to Tav

Why are blessings only found when the item to be blessed is hidden from the eye? Why are the ways we are to emulate Hashem all involving patience with the wicked? What is it that the nations truly fear about the Jewish people? Why are there seemingly more curses than blessings?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 24:54

Shavuos, MBY and MBD

What is the connection between Genesis and Shavuos? Why is Shavuos called the festival of the 'giving' of the Torah, and not the receiving? What is the secret of the twenty days that are not included in the sefirah count? What is the connection between King David and Shavuos? What is the connection to Yosef?

Find out in this special edition of the Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 22:29

There is important information in this podcast that is connected to MBY and MBD and the Moshiach podcast number 7. I was not as explicit as I could have been. Perhaps I will do another Moshiach podcast to fill in more information if there is interest.

Maharsha Moed Katan 28

Hashem dropped another Maharsha onto me which I believe is extremely significant. It is worth seeing inside, and can be found in Moed Katan on page 28. I heard it said over at a Shalom Zachar this past Friday night, and yesterday in the morning, it hit me as to why I needed to hear it.

The Maharsha talks about the day of Lag B'omer and says that although it is the thirty third day of the sefirah, it is actually the fifty third day of a different count that started twenty days earlier. He brings down the opinion that the world was created in Nissan. This would mean that Adam Harishon was created on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, and the first day of creation occurred on the twenty fifth of Adar. If we count twenty days from then, it brings us to the first day of Pesach, the fifteenth of Adar. Add the next fifty days until Shavuos, and you end up with a count of seventy. The number seventy represents the days of a person's life (ימי שנותינו בהם שבעים שנה). The first twenty days correspond to the first twenty years of a person's life, when he does not bear the responsibility of the death penalty. After twenty, one is mature and enters the prime of his life. Two thirds of the way into the second period of life (the fifty) represent 'most of the years' of one's life. This brings you to Lag b'omer. (Anybody got that?) Shavuos, says the Maharsha, represents the ultimate purpose of the person's life, where he reaches his completion.

What hit me was that we have ten sets of seven days (or years). For our purposes, there are ten weeks. In the explanation of the Maharsha in Sanhedrin, we spoke about the nine/ten months of the process of the leap year which begins - in a hidden way - in Av/Elul/Tishrei, the first three months. It continues to be revealed through the following six until you reach yesod, which corresponds to Yosef - which is the second Adar. It comes into full bloom in Nissan, which is Malchus. In that post, we spoke about how the last week of Adar is the climax of the birth of the transformation of פשע - sin - into שפע - influx.

Incredibly, what we see here is that the last week of Adar is the beginning of another series of ten, but this time, it is ten weeks. The first week is Keser - the inspiration, the transcendental realm. The weeks that follow, which are the first two weeks of Nissan, are Chochma and Bina. All three of these are in the head - they are hidden, and are not part of the sefirah count. But at the same time, of course, they are! Whatever happened in the last week of Adar is being brought down into the world, being revealed - culminating in Shavuos. The final week of the count, which we now find ourselves in, represents a full reflection (malchus) of the first week. It is a full development of what happened in the last week of Adar. The 'baby' that was conceived starting from Rosh Chodesh Av of last year, and was labored with and born in the last week of Adar - it now develops through another process into something greater which is revealed on Shavuos in its completion.

Of course, this is not the end, but again the beginning of another great spiral upwards for the Jewish people. The aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef continues to make its way higher and higher as we get closer and closer to the time we are all waiting for, בב"א.

Bo - Keser and Malchus

Why were the first nine plagues performed by Moshe or Ahron, but the plague of the firstborn was done by Hashem Himself? Why did the Jews have to do something active to be excluded from the plague, as opposed to the previous plagues where this was not necessary? What is the significance of the blood being placed on the doorpost? Why did this plague occur precisely at midnight? What is deeper significance of the parallel of the midrash between the Pesach offering and the binding of Yitzchak?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 20:05