The Alter Rebbe and the Maggid of Mezritch write that when we say the Shema, when saying the first word, we should have in mind certain phrases whose initials spell the six possible different permutations of “Shema” (שמע). These six permutations are: שמע, עשמ, עמש, שעמ, משע, and מעש.
The first and simplest of these phrases is, “Lift your eyes to heaven and see [Who created these?]”[1] (שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם), whose initials are שמע. This phrase is suggesting an interesting connection between “hearing” (Shema) and “sight” (“Lift up your eyes”), the type of unification we experienced during the Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, as the Torah says, “And all the people saw the sounds.”[2] Indeed, it says that Moses originally wanted the Shema to read, “See O’ Israel, Havayah is our God, Havayah is One.” In any case, by having this phrase in mind, we can unite also our sight and our hearing.
Another phrase whose initials spell the עמש permutation of “Shema” is “You have placed Your haven on high”[3] (עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ).
When we reverse the order of the letters of Shema, עמש, they form the initials of the well-known phrase, “the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven”[4] (עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם).
Interestingly, the next phrase comes from our parashah, Beha’alotcha. When Rashi explains what it means to “raise the flames” on the Menorah, he writes, “[until] the flame rises on its own”[5] (שַׁלְהֶבֶת עוֹלָה מֵאֵלֶיהָ). This phrase’s initials are the שעמ permutation of Shema. This is particularly interesting because the verse after Shema is “You shall love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might” (וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת י־הוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכׇל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכׇל מְאֹדֶךָ) and the gematria of the words, “with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might” (בְּכׇל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכׇל מְאֹדֶךָ) is exactly the same as “flame” (שַׁלְהֶבֶת).
The next phrase is “the Space of Reality”[6] (מְקוֹמוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם), and its initials form the מעש permutation. This phrase is used as a connotation for the Almighty Himself and means to say that God Himself is the space in which all of reality exists, but He Himself is not contained within that same space.
The final phrase whose initials spell the מעש permutation is taken from the Book of Proverbs, “Who has ascended to heaven“[7] (מִי עָלָה שָׁמַיִם).
Since we have six permutations and six phrases it is quite straightforward to order them into a partzuf. To do so, we need to identify, which of the three letters of these permutations, the shin (ש), the mem (מ), and the ayin (ע) corresponds to each of the three intellectual faculties: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Once we have done so, we can use the model that maps the permutations of wisdom-understanding-knowledge to the six emotive sefirot from loving-kindness to foundation.
| wisdom-chochmah חָכְמָה
י
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understanding-binah בִּינָה
ה |
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knowledge-da’at דָּעַת ו
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loving–kindness–chessed חֶסֶד יהו
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might–gevurah גְּבוּרָה הוי |
|
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beauty–tiferet תִּפְאֶרֶת ויה
|
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victory–netzach נֶצַח יוה
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splendor–hod הוֹד היו |
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foundation–yesod יְסוֹד והי
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kingdom-malchut מַלְכוּת ה
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In our case, the letter mem is associated with water and therefore with wisdom. Shin normally represents the source of fire, and thus the sefirah of understanding. Finally, the ayin is the ayin of the sefirah of knowledge (דעת).
Following this identification, we can place the permutations in place, as follows:
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wisdom-chochmah חָכְמָה מ
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understanding-binah בִּינָה
ש |
|
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knowledge-da’at דָּעַת ע
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loving–kindness–chessed חֶסֶד משע
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might–gevurah גְּבוּרָה שעמ |
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beauty–tiferet תִּפְאֶרֶת עמש
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victory–netzach נֶצַח מעש
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splendor–hod הוֹד שמע |
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foundation–yesod יְסוֹד עשמ
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kingdom-malchut מַלְכוּת ש
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The first permutation, שמע, follows the order of understanding-wisdom-knowledge, and thus corresponds to acknowledgment. Adding the phrases we have found to this model, we get the final version:
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wisdom-chochmah חָכְמָה מ
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understanding-binah בִּינָה ש |
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knowledge-da’at דָּעַת ע
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loving–kindness–chessed חֶסֶד משע מְקוֹמוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם
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might–gevurah גְּבוּרָה שעמ שַׁלְהֶבֶת עוֹלָה מֵאֵלֶיהָ |
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beauty–tiferet תִּפְאֶרֶת עמש עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם
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victory–netzach נֶצַח מעש מִי עָלָה שָׁמַיִם
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splendor–hod הוֹד שמע שְׂאוּ מָרוֹם עֵינֵיכֶם |
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foundation–yesod יְסוֹד עשמ עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ
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kingdom-malchut מַלְכוּת ש
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One of the first things we notice in our completed partzuf or model is that the phrase “[until] the flame rises on its own” (שַׁלְהֶבֶת עוֹלָה מֵאֵלֶיהָ) from our parashah corresponds to the sefirah of might, the most natural place to place the description of a flame.
[1]. Isaiah 40:26.
[2]. Exodus 20:15.
[3]. Psalms 91:9.
[4]. Berachot 61b.
[5]. Rashi on Numbers 8:2.
[6]. Bereishit Rabbah 68:9.
[7]. Proverbs 30:4.
