Ki Sisa - Receiving the 7th in the 6th

Why is the concept of Shabbos the introduction to the story of the Golden Calf? Why does Moshe study the Torah for forty days diligently, only to forget it and then receive it as a gift in the end? Why do the Jewish people use the Manna in their idolatrous worship of the Golden Calf? Why do they create the calf at the very moment Hashem is preparing the tablets of the law? What is the concept of extending the Sabbath - the 7th day - into Friday - the 6th? What is the concept of the number forty as it relates to six and seven weeks?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running time: 28:15

Vaeschanan - Expanding and Defining Borders

Why is Moshe not allowed to enter into Eretz Yisrael despite his 515 entreaties? What is the concept of him looking into the land? Why do we switch out of mourning on the 9th of Av and straight into joy and relationship? What is the parallel between the month of Tammuz that seems to extend until the 9th and 10th of Av, and Elul, which extends until the 10th of Tishrei - Yom Kippur? What are the concepts of four, five and six?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running Time: 15:01

Behar - losing oneself in unity

What is the concept of the Shemitah year where one gives up ownership on one's own land? How does this relate to what happens on Shabbos? What is the significance of the sixth and seventh aspects in this context? When is it appropriate to 'lose oneself' in the greater Unity of God and spirituality? What is the aspect of servitude as opposed to the aspect of being a child?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Running Time: 20:27

Dovid, Yosef, the sixth hour and the seventh hour

I thought that title would get your attention. And, to boot, this is post number 607. Cool. Someone recently left a comment on the blog that they miss my moshiach messages. I wrote back that the messages are still there, you just have to know how to hear them.

I don't need to say too much, but I will say that if you listen carefully to this parsha podcast, you will get a good idea of where we are holding and we are headed. It also has the potential to explain a lot of what is going on now. But you will have to put all the old pieces together to get it. If you listen carefully, you will understand why I don't blog or speak too much about Moshiach anymore. But I explained that before. Review is good.

In any event, here's how the podcast appears everywhere else I've put it up:

Vayakhel - Moshiach, Mishkan and Shabbos (21:42)
What is the significance of the fact that all that was done in constructing the Mishkan (tabernacle) is the foundation of the prohibitions on Shabbos? What is the difference between the service of Hashem through the Mishkan as opposed to Shabbos? How is Shabbos connected to Dovid and Moshiach ben Dovid, as opposed to the Mishkan, which is connected to Yosef and Moshiach ben Yosef? Why is the Mishkan the atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf? What is the depth of the fact that the sin occurred at the end of the sixth hour, when Moshe was late in returning? What was at the root of the sin of the Golden Calf?

Find out in this week's parsha podcast.

Shmini - Six, Seven, and Eight

Why is the mishkan completed on the same day as the creation of Man? What is the significance of the fact that it is both the sixth day of creation and the eighth day of the mishkan? What is the deeper concept of the numbers six, seven, and eight? How is the sadness of this day rectified? Where do we see these three numbers in the last day of Pesach? What is the significance of the silence of the Jewish people in the face of their Egyptian pursuers? How does the first day of Nissan connect to the 21st day of Nissan?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 22:20

Two articles on Kislev

I again wrote two different articles with the same theme that appeared in two different places, be'H. The first appeared on Aish.com, and the second will be appearing in the Beltway Buzz magazine of DC.
You will notice that they both start and end the same (basically).

Here is the Aish.com version:

The Autumn Triad
How the High Holiday season actually culminates with Chanukah.

When we think of the month of Kislev, we naturally think of the holiday of Chanukah that begins on the 25th day of the month. Looking on a deeper level, we can discern a thread that ties together the three-month period that consists of the months of Tishrei, Cheshvan and Kislev. We will also uncover a hidden connection between Sukkot and Chanukah.

If we carefully examine the structure of the year, we discern that the year consists of two sets of six months. One set begins with Tishrei, the month when we celebrate Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, and continues until the sixth month of the set, which is Adar and the holiday of Purim. The other set of six months begins with the month of Nissan, when we celebrate Passover, and continues through the summer, culminating with Elul, the preparatory month for the High Holidays.

All the structures of time are multiples of six.

It is significant to note that all the structures of time are multiples of six. The day consists of 24 hours, which is four sets of six hours. Each hour consists of 60 minutes, and each minute consists of 60 seconds, both 10 sets of six. Likewise, the year itself is two sets of six months.

These sets of six can be broken down further into two groups of three. Generally, sets of three can be described as being a manifestation of the concepts of thesis, antithesis and synthesis (See Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's expansion of this concept in Sefer Yetzirah, p. 82). This means that the first aspect of a set of three is the initial concept. The second aspect is its polar opposite. The third aspect is the perfect synthesis, or balance, between the first two.

To understand this better, we can observe this pattern in many different contexts – for example, a debate between two individuals who maintain opposite opinions about a subject. The first person presents his opinion, and the second presents his opposing opinion. Generally, there is a certain truth that each side can agree to. While a kernel of truth is found in each of the respective views, one can find a higher truth which is a synthesis of the two opposing opinions.

Spiritual Synthesis

We can likewise discern this pattern in the months of the year. The months we have just passed through – Tishrei and Cheshvan, as well as the current month of Kislev – constitute a triad that functions in precisely the way we have been discussing. In Tishrei, we experience an intense opportunity for connection to God, as we ride the successive waves of the holidays of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. As Tishrei draws to a close, the inspiration of those festive days becomes a memory as we enter into the month of Cheshvan, which is the polar opposite of Tishrei.

As discussed previously, Cheshvan is a month which is devoid of holidays, and is described as “the bitter month.” It is a time when the natural state of the world is one of distance from spiritual light. It is a time when we are to search within the darkness for the light of spirituality that seems to have been extinguished.

With the advent of Kislev, we begin to see the synthesis between the polar opposites of Tishrei and Cheshvan. The spiritual light for which we have been searching is now discernible, shining deep within the darkness. There is a balance between the inspiration of Tishrei, and the deeper personal work that is necessary in Cheshvan when there is no outside inspiration.

By contrast, the Second Temple was devoid of open miracles and prophecy.

This synthesis is aptly expressed in the holiday of Chanukah which begins on the 25th of Kislev. It is then that we celebrate and relive the experience of the Jewish people during the time of the Second Temple. That period was characterized by a lower level of spiritual light. Whereas the First Temple period was characterized by daily open miracles, as well as direct communication from God through the prophets, the Second Temple period was devoid of miracles and clear spiritual messages. The Hellenistic way of life disdained the spiritual and glorified the physical, and many Jews fell prey at that time to a hedonistic view of life. It was at that very moment of spiritual darkness that a small group of Jews were able to see past the darkness and find a spiritual light that shone deep within, to be expressed in the miracles of Chanukah.

Here we see two extremes: the open miracles of the First Temple, and the apparent spiritual darkness of the Second Temple. They are brought into synthesis with the subtle miracles of Chanukah – the many who fell in the hand of the few; a miraculous light that would shine for eight days instead of only one. These accomplishments paled in comparison to the miracles of the First Temple, but they represented the synthesis between human efforts and the aid God would provide to animate those efforts. Within the darkness, there was a vehicle we as humans could create for God to reveal Himself subtly in the world.

Clouds of Glory

With this idea we can understand a deeper connection between the holidays of Sukkot and Chanukah. Sukkot occurs in the month of Tishrei, the month of inspiration in this three-month set. It is the holiday when we sit in the sukkah, which helps us relive the experience of the Jewish people as they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years, completely surrounded by the spiritual clouds of God's glory. This revelatory experience was one that we could compare to a gift that the Jewish people received at that time.

We experience the polar opposite in the month of Cheshvan that follows, when our connection to spirituality is hidden. This darkness, however, creates the opportunity for us to create that vehicle for God's transcendent light to appear through our own efforts. The light of spirituality which was originally given as a gift, after the Exodus from Egypt, is finally revealed through human efforts with the advent of the story of Chanukah. Although the revelation is more subtle, it is one that represents the synthesis between God's spiritual gifts and our efforts in being able to reveal and receive those gifts.

We can now see that the three months of Tishrei, Cheshvan and Kislev is a period of time which is about developing our relationship with God, starting with the moment of inspiration, continuing through a more difficult period which depends on our investment, then culminating with the fruits of that determination being revealed as the eight nights of Chanukah light that shine forth through the darkness of winter.


The Beltway Buzz version:

When we think of the month of Kislev, we naturally think of the holiday of Chanukah that begins on the twenty fifth day of the month. If we turn back to our discussion from last month's column, we will note that there is another aspect that is intrinsic to Kislev. Looking at it on a deeper level, we will also be able to discern a thread that ties together the three month period that consists of the months of Tishrei, Chesvan and Kislev. We will also uncover a hidden connection between Succos and Chanukah.

We previously saw that just as there is a fifty day period connecting the holiday of Pesach and Shavuos, so too there was to have been a fifty day period connecting Succos to Shmini Atzeres. Hashem decided, however, to place the holiday of Shmini Atzeres in closer proximity to Succos because of the difficulty it would entail for the Jewish people to return fifty days later, as the winter season would already be upon them. Thus we see that Shmini Atzeres should have been on the sixth day of Kislev, just as Shavuos is on the sixth day of Sivan.

Once we have established the parallel between these two periods of time, we can draw a conclusion as to the similarity between them. Just as there is a buildup from Pesach, when the Jewish people experienced the Exodus, until Shavuos when the Jewish people received the Torah, there is a similar buildup from Succos until Kislev. On the surface, there does not seem to be a significant event that occurs during this time. However, if we follow the chronology of the Torah, an interesting picture starts to emerge, that is clearly and intimately connected to the Exodus and the receiving of the Torah.

The Jewish people experienced the revelation at Sinai on the sixth of Sivan of the year 2448 from creation. Forty days later, on the 17th of Tammuz, Moshe was to come down with the luchos, however, the sin of the Golden Calf occurred on that day, destroying their chances of receiving that which represented their covenant with Hashem. A few days later, Moshe returned to Sinai for another forty days, pleading for the Jewish people's forgiveness, until the first of Elul. He again went up for a third set of forty days until Yom Kippur, the tenth of Tishrei, when he came down with the second set of luchos, and complete forgiveness for the Jewish people's grievous sin.

At that point, Moshe gave the Jewish people the command to bring their donations for the Mishkan, the place that would become a central location for their service of Hashem. The Divine Presence could reside, once again, on the Jewish people, because of Hashem's forgiveness for their sin, and their efforts to create a sanctuary for their relationship. The raw materials were gathered by the fifteenth of Tishrei, the first day of Succos, and all the work to create the parts of the mishkan was started on that day and was completed almost two months later, on the twenty fifth of Kislev. Although all was ready, the actual dedication of the Mishkan was delayed until three months later, the end of Adar and the beginning of Nissan. The twenty fifth day of Kislev would have to wait for its moment in the sun until many centuries later with the miracle of Chanukah.

With this chronology in mind, we see that just as there was a time of development for the Jewish people from Nissan to Sivan, as they left Egypt and prepared to receive the Torah, there was a corresponding buildup that occurred from Tishrei to Kislev, as they invested their time in preparing the materials for the physical structure of the Mishkan. If we compare the two time periods, however, we can note that there is a very stark contrast between them. Whereas the springtime period which characterized the time of the Exodus was one of spectacular miracles, the wintertime period was one of strong involvement and concerted effort on the part of the Jewish people. Both time periods witnessed Hashem's Divine Presence resting upon His beloved people, which symbolized His relationship with them. At first, however, the relationship was given as a miraculous gift. After their fall from the relationship, it was necessary for that very connection to be earned through their own efforts.

If we take a deeper look at the holiday of Chanukah, we can now see how it corresponds to this idea and fits beautifully into the period on the calendar we are discussing. The story of Chanukah took place during the time of the second Beis Hamikdash. Whereas the time period of the first Beis Hamikdash was characterized by daily open miracles and Hashem's Presence clearly seen, the second Beis Hamikdash lacked any open miracles, and even the Aron Habris was absent from the Kodesh Hakadashim. During the first temple, the relationship between Am Yisrael and Hashem was clear and apparent. During the second, it was difficult to discern. The first temple period clearly parallels the time immediately after the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt, when miracles were the norm. The second temple period clearly parallels the time when they fell from grace and lost their relationship, and had to earn that relationship again, through their concerted efforts.

If we focus on the three months of Tishrei, Cheshvan, and Kislev, we can see that this very pattern exists here as well. Tishrei is the month that we celebrate Hashem's Divine presence returning to the Jewish people, as the Succos remind us of the Clouds of Glory that protected us and returned to us as Hashem forgave us at this time. Cheshvan arrives, and we experience a type of estrangement in the relationship, as there is a certain distance, as represented by the lack of holidays and occasions to develop our relationship with Hashem. This is the period when it is up to us to spend our time building a place for Hashem to reside, as it were, the time when we are constructing the components of His dwelling here on Earth. Thus we have the first inspirational period of Tishrei, followed by dark period, Cheshvan, which is the time of our work and effort. Finally, Kislev is the month where we find the balance between these two extremes, where the work is completed, and ultimately, the miracle of Chanukah takes place, which represents the balanced relationship between our efforts and Hashem's involvement.

We thus see that Succos represents the inspiration for Hashem's Presence to dwell upon His people, and the months that follow represent our work to create a place for His presence, culminating in Chanukah when the work is complete, and the relationship has been formed as an interdependent reality. It is remarkable that each of the days of Chanukah is exactly seventy days after each of the days of Succos. The Maharsha in Moed Katan (28) points out that the 25th day of Adar, the day the world was created, is exactly seventy days before the sixth of Sivan, when the Torah was given. This teaches us that there is an intimate connection between two points on the calendar that are exactly ten weeks (seventy days) apart.

In light of our discussion, we can now see that this seventy day period which spans the three months of Tishrei, Cheshvan and Kislev, is a period of time which is about developing our relationship with Hashem, starting with the moment of inspiration, continuing through a more difficult period where there is a need for our investment into the relationship. This finally culminates with the fruits of that determination being revealed as the relationship begins to subtly shine forth with the eight nights of Chanukah light that shine through the darkness of the winter.

The missing malchus (female aspect)

I wanted to share a deep thought that struck me early today. When one has a good grasp of the core concepts underlying Hashem's world, the ideas laid down in the deeper sources, one can see applications of those ideas in a very broad range of places. Perhaps the most essential concept is the balance between the male and female aspects of creation. These two aspects are in a constant state of disrepair, needing our actions to create the proper balance between them. The actions that do this are the mitzvos we do. This is indicated in the kabbalistic prayer many say before the performance of a mitzvah, "l'shem yichud kudsha brich hu u'sh'chintei" - "For the sake of the unity of the Male aspect of divinity and its female." This is a necessity as a result of the imbalance created through the sin of Adam and Chava, where the male and female aspects lost their perfect state of balance.

Generally, the male aspect is represented by the number six, and the female aspect is represented by the number seven. We see this in the six days of creation, which are the days of 'work' - the male aspect, and Shabbos, which is the seventh, the female dimension, of reflection, of malchus. Malchus means kingship, and it corresponds to the moon, which reflects the light of the sun. The sun is the male aspect, it is the keser, the crown, which the kingship of malchus reflects.

There is something that has long puzzled me, that I was thinking about this morning, and Hashem lit up my eyes with a deep insight I would like to share. We find that there are certain places where we only seem to have the six, without the seventh aspect. For instance, we find that there were twelve tribes of the Jewish people. This twelve corresponds to the twelve months of the year. The twelve months can be broken down into two parallel sets of six - from Nissan to Elul and from Tishrei to Adar. The day is split into twenty four hours - twelve hours for the day and twelve for the night. This can further be split into four sets of six hours. We seem to see that in the dimension of time there is a very strong male aspect, as indicated by the multiples of six. Where is the female aspect? And even if one would answer that Shabbos is the female aspect in time, where is the female aspect in each day?

In discussing a different topic with my chevrusa this morning, we spoke about the idea that the sefiros are what make up all of reality. Our physical bodies are made of the sefiros. The entire world is made of sefiros. Our souls are made of the sefiros. Even the dimension of time is made of sefiros. We see this indicated, for example, in the fact that we count through seven sets of sefiros from Pesach to Shavuos. We see this, also, in that which we mentioned that the week is made of seven days.

One of the places where this is brought to the fore, both in the temporal dimension, as well as the spatial dimension, is in the holiday of Succos. The first seven days of Succos correspond to the seven. (As an aside, the eighth day corresponds to the transcendant aspect of Binah, one of the first three sefiros. We are here discussing the lower seven.) This is the dimension of time. We find that the Succah, as well as the movements of the lulav, represent the aspect of space. The Succah surrounds us in all six directions - East, West, North and South, as well as above and below. The lulav is waved in six directions, as well. Where is the missing seventh aspect - the female dimension of malchus here?

The answer is, as R' Aryeh Kaplan Z'l explains, that the center is the female aspect. The idea of the lulav is that there is a back and forth between the male and female aspects. Each time we wave the lulav, we bring together the six components of the lulav (1 lulav, 3 hadasim, 2 aravos) with the seventh component, the esrog (which represents malchus, the female). We wave this bundle in each of the six directions, each time bringing the bundle back to the center, which is the seventh - the point in the center. In the succah, we are surrounded on all six sides, and we are in the center, the seventh point.

If we extend this idea from the spatial dimension into the temporal dimension, we see something remarkable. In the aspect of time, we seem to only see the male aspect of sixes, as they keep recurring, with no evidence of the seventh aspect. The secret is that just like in space the seventh dimension is the center - where the person stands; so too in the dimension of time, the present moment is the female dimension. The fact that the female dimension is represented by the present moment is evidenced in the exemption that women have from positive commandments that are time bound. Women are not affected by the movement of time - their strength is in living in the present. They are, however, commanded in the time bound mitzvos of Shabbos, because Shabbos is the seventh aspect itself, that time of no movement, where everything is previously prepared - there is only to live in the present.

When Adam and Chava sinned, it created a powerful imbalance in the fabric of the spiritual realms, as well as the physical realms of space and time. This imbalance is reflected in every aspect of reality as a discord between the male and female aspects. The way it manifests is expressed by Hashem in His statement to Chava, "והוא ימשול בך" - "And he shall rule over you." As long as the world is in disrepair, the male aspect forcibly rules over the female aspect. Through the proper fulfillment of the Torah and its commandments, we bring the male and female aspects into their proper balance, where man and his wife are equal partners in reality. This is clearly expressed in the mitzvah of lulav, where we have the joining of the male and female aspects, which are waved back and forth between the male spatial dimension, and the female spatial dimension. This corresponds to the joining power of da'as. Da'as ('knowledge') is the glue that binds together the male and female dimensions, and it works through the back and forth between these opposite polarities of reality. This consistent back and forth motion yields a state akin to the androgynous dimension which Adam and Chava inhabited before they were separated from each other through the Nesirah process. This perfect balance was their state prior to their eating of the forbidden fruit, and will be our state when Moshiach comes and we return to that absolute balance.

In the meantime, we live in a state of disrepair, where the male dimension 'rules over' the female dimension at every level of reality. Our job in this world is to return these dimensions to their proper state of balance through the correct use of da'as - giving significance to each of the opposing aspects, bringing the seemingly paradoxical elements of male and female into a state of harmony. This is the back and forth motion of the lulav.

If we take this idea and apply it to the temporal dimension, we discover something remarkable. As we saw, the present moment is the female aspect of time, while the past and future can be said to be the male aspects of time. The current state of reality is that the male aspect 'rules over' the female. Thus, it is our natural state to be overwhelmingly aware of the events of our past and our projected future. This has the effect of robbing us of our present moment, of completely subduing the female aspect of time. The Torah, however, wants us to achieve the proper balance between the past and future (the male aspect) and the present (the female aspect). This means that we need to have a true and proper perspective on the value of each of these dimensions of time. When the past and the future are so powerful in our minds that we can not live in the present, we are living in a state that is the result of Adam and Chava's sin. When we give proper focus to the present, without allowing the past and (projected!) future to overly affect our present, then we are living in the desired state, which is akin to the state we will be in with the advent of Moshiach. This does not mean we should disregard our past or that we should not plan for the future. It means that we must have the right balance such that none of the aspects of time overtake the other.

When we develop this state of harmony between the male and female aspects of our lives, it brings more elements of the world into resonance with that future time, actively bringing us closer to the time period of Moshiach, when all of reality will be in a state of perfect harmony between its male and female aspects.

Mishpatim - Seeing and hearing

Why is the first of the Mishpatim specifically the law of the Jewish slave? What is the significance of the fact that his ear is pierced at the doorpost? Why is he reminded of what he 'heard' at Sinai, as opposed to what he 'saw?' How is he remember what he 'heard' if he wasn't there? What is the significance of his 'six' years of work? Why do the Jewish people accept the word of Hashem multiple times? Why does the first time only involve a statement of 'we will do,' as opposed to the second time where they also said, 'we will listen?' What is the significance of the twelve monuments? Why does Moshe go to sleep in the middle? What is the parallel to Yakov and his twelve sons?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Some more thoughts

Over Shabbos, and continuing until today, I have had a few thoughts that I found inspiring and wanted to share with you. On Friday night, when I came home from davening, I opened up the Mishpacha magazine, and I read something that was so exciting, it literally made me sing with joy. It was an article about the PA's bid for international recognition, which is slowly but surely gaining momentum. The article said that Netanyahu was presented with the scenario of the 'Palestinians' (who henceforth will be appropriately called 'Arabs') unilaterally declaring statehood. Norway has already called for an Arab state in Judaea and Samaria (commonly called the 'West Bank') in 2011, and similar types of recognition are coming out of the EU, as well as others. The article stressed that the Obama administration would likely take the side of the Arabs on border issues, and considers such places as Beitar, Ramat Eshkol (my sister lives there), Neveh Yakov (my brother-in-law lives there), and the Har Habayis (our hearts live there) to be 'settlements' that should ultimately end up in the hands of the Arabs. The Arab prime-minister, stated the article, is respected in the world at large for his expertise in finance, and thus, when the Arabs have a government that seems to be functioning, the time would be ripe for them to declare a state. The ramifications of this type of declaration on the half a million Jews living within the Judaea and Samaria areas would be tumultous, and certainly so for those who are more in the heart of that area, as opposed to the 'green line' itself. To me, this was extremely exciting, as it seems Hashem is forcing the Moshiach process forward with ever-increasing speed. It does not take a lot of imagination to picture what will happen when Yishmael stakes its claim to the heart of our Holy Eretz Yisrael. This clearly is a definitive representation of Yishmael's claim that they are the true heirs of Avraham, which will be met with a cosmic response from the people of Yisrael, whose claim is the true claim. And, of course, the scene will center around Jerusalem.

Now, I have spoken of Jerusalem on a few different occasions, but a deep thought came to me that has to do with some information I have shared more recently. We mentioned the concept that the Ramchal teaches, which is that Binyamin is the one who serves to unite Moshiach ben Yosef (represented by Yosef) and Moshiach ben Dovid (represented by Yehuda). Yehuda had guaranteed to return Binyamin safely to his father Yakov, and that guarantee was challenged when Yosef threatened to take Binyamin as his slave. Yosef had orchestrated this scenario in order to create a full tikkun for Yehuda's role in selling him years before. By standing up for Binyamin, as Yosef knew he would have to, Yehuda rectified the sin of selling Yosef and creating a tear in the fabric of the Jewish people. That seam was sewn together through his defiance of Yosef, his protection of Binyamin, and allowed Yosef to reveal himself and complete the reunification with his brothers. This unification of the Jewish people was what allowed the Divine Presence to return to them, as occurred when Yakov learned that Yosef was still alive. The unity of the Jewish people is a prerequisite for the Shechina to dwell upon them, and in turn, upon the world. The physical location of this revelation in the world is Jerusalem, and more specifically, the Temple mount. It is not a coincidence that this very location is situated on the border between the portions of Yehuda and Binyamin. The guarantee of Yehuda to protect Binyamin was what created the reunification of the Jewish people in the past, and that bond would always represent their unity, and the resulting Presence of Hashem that would be placed upon us.

With this understanding, we start to see how important Jerusalem is in the Moshiach ben Yosef process. Just as Yosef could not reveal himself until Yehuda stood up for Binyamin and created that bond, Moshiach ben Yosef will not reveal himself until their is an opportunity for the Jewish people to acknowledge their bond with Jerusalem, the place that represents Jewish unity and the Divine Presence. As I mentioned in a previous post, it would seem that Hashem is orchestrating events in such a way that Jerusalem's rightful Jewish ownership will be challenged. This itself will serve to cause the Jewish people - everywhere - of all stripes and types - to stand up for her, to acknowledge her and to stand by her side, as Yehuda did with Binyamin. This, itself, will be the tikkun for the sin that caused the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, which was Sinas Chinam - baseless hatred - a lack of unity. Hashem needs us to identify with the Jewish people, to identify with Jerusalem, to identify with the pain of the Shechina.

I mentioned my excitement about the Mishpacha article to a neighbor, and I was handed a book called "Fascinating Torah Prophecies" by Rabbi Nisan Aryeh Novick, which was published in 1997. I was intrigued by this little book that did not mention Moshiach ben Yosef and had no reference to Kol Hator, but still made all of the same observations that we have been making. The most remarkable thing was a midrash he quoted at the very beginning of his book, which was basically a conversation between Yakov and his sons after they had decimated the people of the city of Shechem. He berated them for having done this deed, as it could potentially arouse the surrounding people of Canaan to battle with the children of Israel. Yakov stressed that it was not the right time to have such a battle, as the Jewish people had not yet reached the number of 600,000 which is essential for them to be unbeatable. R' Novick marveled at the fact that the Jewish population of Israel in 1948, just prior to the war of independence was just above 600,000. He also remarked how the national census in Israel just prior to the 1967 war placed the number of males over the age 20 (of army age) at just a bit more than 600,000.

The greater significance of this to me was that I had recently mentioned to my wife that the Jewish population in Israel is nearing the six million mark. As the Ramchal mentions (I believe it in his sefer Kinas Hashem Tzeva'kos), the number 600,000 is significant because it is really the number six (divided or multiplied by 10x10x10x10x10, because the sefiros are each made of up ten sefiros, which are in turn made up of 10, ad infinitum), which corresponds to the male concept, which in turn corresponds to Yosef. 600,000 thus represents the power of Moshiach ben Yosef, which came into force in 1948, and again in 1967. This power is about to be ready to be unleashed once more in the near future, as we hit 6,000,0000, which is ten times the 600,000 of 1948. It is remarkable that at each moment where a significant 600,000 was reached, within a short time there was some necessity to use that power in the Moshiach ben Yosef process. This observation, combined with the PA's movement toward recognition, is hard to ignore.

I would like to share one last thought on Moshiach ben Yosef which occurred to me this morning, with Hashem's help. I was learning the sefer "Inner Space" by R' Aryeh Kaplan. On pages 90-91, he mentions the fact that after Kayin killed Hevel, he repented from his sin, and received a lighter sentence than had originally been handed down by Hashem. When Adam saw this, he inquired as to why he had not received the full brunt of his punishment. Hashem explained that Kayin had done Teshuva. At that point, it was 130 years after the sin of Adam, and he realized that he could do Teshuva, and both he and Chava did so. They had been apart for those 130 years, and they came back together and conceived Shes (Seth). They accomplished a tikkun for the sin of the eitz HaDa'as - the tree of knowledge. This brought them back into a state of Da'as with each other - the Da'as union of their marriage that would create Shes.

It was remarkable to me that this tikkun for the sin of Adam, which corresponds to the job of Moshiach ben Yosef, and the events that we are currently witnessing, was prompted by the death of Hevel and the subsequent teshuva of Kayin. As mentioned in a previous post, Hevel was an aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef, and thus, it would seem to parallel the death of Moshiach ben Yosef himself in the future, which the Gemara says will serve to cause the Jewish people to repent completely, bringing about the era of Moshiach. Although the Gra's understanding is that "Od Yosef Chai" - Moshiach ben Yosef will not die - we still have an aspect of Moshiach ben Yosef's death that is seen throughout the reality of the Jewish people today. The very fact that the Jewish people does not recognize the importance of living in Israel is itself a certain type of death of Moshiach ben Yosef. The fact that the deeper wisdom of the Torah is, in a certain sense, rejected by the Orthodox world, is also a certain aspect of death of Moshiach ben Yosef. The sorry state of the relationships of the Jewish people, whether it is the shidduch crisis, the at-risk youth issues, or the internet difficulties that so many face - all of these are aspects of the fallen state of Da'as, the death of Moshiach ben Yosef. Somehow, in Hashem's greater plan, all of these aspects of the death of Moshiach ben Yosef will serve to awaken the Jewish people to repent and complete a full Teshuva - to act as the Yehuda standing up for Binyamin, to finally bring back our relationships from their state of destruction back into a state of perfection. Then we will finally see the Divine Presence dwelling in our lives and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash on the Har Habayis, where It will be apparent for all to see.

P.S. Just thought it important to remark that the day in Tammuz that corresponds to Rosh Chodesh Av of last year is 22/23 Tammuz, which is July 24/25. It is toward the end of the month, because the way you get to that date is by calculating two thirds of the year. Since this year consists of 13 months, the moment of 12:30 is a week or so before Rosh Chodesh Av.

Emor - Conduit of Blessings

What is the concept of the Lechem Hapanim? Why are there specifically two rows of six loaves of bread? What is the function of the frankincense that is part of the offering? Why was it saved from week to week, only eaten a week after the Shabbos it had originally been placed there? What is the connection between the lechem hapanim and the story of the mekalel? What is the connection between his claim to live with the tribe of Dan and his attack on the concept of the lechem hapanim? What is the significance of the fact that his father was the Egyptian taskmaster that Moshe had killed many years before? What is the significance of the fact that we base a person's tribe on the father's side, and a person's Judaism on the mother's side? How are we to understand the concept of someone who curses Hashem's name, heaven forbid?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Noach - The tzadik's role

Why do the numbers six and seven seem to occur many times in the story of Noach? What is the dual nature of the tzadik's role in the world? What is the connection between Noach and Yosef?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

This week's parsha podcast is also available in text form (for a limited time) on my website on the Parsha page.