Every year, HaRav Ginsburgh reviews some of the most important numerical and linguistic allusions related to the ordinal number of the year. This year is 5787 years since the creation of Adam and Eve. In Hebrew, it is referred to as תשפ"ז, or 787, which is the hundreds-tens-units part of 5787. These following allusions are all related to this form.
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A Golden Opportunity
The first two letters of תשפ"ז, stand for “may it be a year of” (תְּהֵא שְׁנַת), as does every year in this century. The final two letters are then understood as initials of some phrase, or as a whole word. Our year can then be understood as alluding to the phrase, “May it be a year of gold” (תְּהֵא שְׁנַת פָּז). The significance of this phrase is found in a statement made by the Lubavitcher Rebbe following the spiritual awakening brought about by the miracles of the Six-Day War. He made repeated use of the well-known phrase “a golden opportunity” (הִזְדַּמְּנוּת פָּז; in Yiddish, a goldene gelegenhayt) to draw the hearts of Israel closer to our Father in Heaven.
The entire upcoming year—may it come upon us for the good—will be a “golden” (פָּז) opportunity to bring the Jewish people closer to God and to the Torah, thereby fulfilling the prospect of three dimensions of reality that must be complete and perfect: the People of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel. It is also a golden opportunity to draw the nations of the world closer to faith in the God of Israel.
The Breastplate of Judgment
One of the most important holy articles in the Tabernacle was the High Priest’s breastplate. Without the definitive article, its name has become synonymous with Torah jurisprudence (חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט), whose value is 787. Thus, this year should be dedicated to the rectification of justice and law, inspired by the Urim ve-Tumim within the breastplate. During this year, one should deeply delve into the principles of Jewish law through the Choshen Mishpat section of the Shulchan Aruch.
Choshen Mishpat also parallels the two words “resilience and salvations” (חֹסֶן יְשׁוּעוֹת), which the Sages state correspond to the two orders of Mishnah known as Nashim and Nezikin, respectively. In the Shulchan Aruch these are the two parts of Even HaEzer (laws regarding matrimony) and Choshen Mishpat. The juxtaposition of the two hints at the legal claim made by the daughters of Zelophehad—“The daughters of Zelophehad speak right”[1]—pointing to special consideration for women’s voices and perspectives (who innovate wondrous insights in our holy Torah, as explained in Hayom Yom).
And You Shall Rejoice in Your Festival
The value of “And you shall rejoice in your festival”[2] (וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְּחַגֶּךָ) is 787, which is then followed by another commandment of joy, “and you shall be only joyful”[3] (וְהָיִיתָ אַךְ שָׂמֵחַ). Particularly relevant to 5787 is another mention of joy in the Torah’s teaching on the special days of the year—“on the day of your joy”[4] (וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַתְכֶם), which refers to Shabbatot—because Rosh Hashanah of 5787 falls on Shabbat. Thus, we are entering a year that is characterized by rest, pleasure, and joy.
“Your festival” (בְּחַגֶּךָ) is itself an acronym for the four sefirot of understanding—the source of joy in all the festivals—loving-kindness, might, and crown. Their combined value (בִּינָה חֶסֶד גְּבוּרָה כֶּתֶר) is 975, which is the product of 13 and 75, the values of “love” (אַהֲבָה) and “confidence” (בִּטָּחוֹן), respectively. Thus, repentance out of love is multiplied many times over yielding repentance born of great love (תְּשׁוּבָה מֵאַהֲבָה רַבָּה), which is termed “supernal repentance” (תְּשׁוּבָה עִלָּאָה), referring to repentance that comes through the joy of confidence in God, as in the verse, “For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have placed our confidence in His holy Name.”[5] Thus, 5787 is a year of joy, love, and confidence. It is simultaneously both a Shabbat-like and festival-like year, where Shabbat and festivals correspond to wisdom and understanding, “two companions that never part.”
A Fresh Olive Tree
787 is also the value of a well-known and beautiful idiom, “a fresh [green] olive tree” (זית רענן). This agricultural idiom describes the Congregation of Israel as a verdant and lively olive tree, “A fresh olive tree, fair with goodly fruit, has Havayah called your name.”[6] An olive tree remains fresh and green throughout all seasons—so may this year be.
The olive tree embodies the secret of the foundation of the Father principle (yesod Abba), the mature form of the sefirah of wisdom, which extends and concludes in the foundation of Ze’er Anpin (the small countenance and the mature form of the emotive sefirot), thus making it the source of pure oil (yitzhar, in Hebrew). The sum of “a fresh olive tree” (זַיִת רַעֲנָן) and “pure oil” (יִצְהָר) is 1092, the product of 42 and 26, where 26 is the value of God’s essential Name, Havayah (י-הוה). 1092 is also the value of the phrase, “And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation on earth”[7] (וּמִי כְעַמְּךָ כְּיִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ). The Sages reveal that just as in our tefillin, we have the verse that declares God’s oneness, “Hear O’ Israel, Havayah is our God, Havayah is one,” so in His tefillin, the Almighty has inscribed this verse, “And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation on earth,” declaring the oneness of the Jewish people.
Pure olive oil is symbolic of the secrets of the secrets of the Torah to the Congregation of Israel. Indeed, the initial of “a fresh olive tree” (זַיִת רַעֲנָן) spell “secret” (רָז). The rest of the letters total to 580, or 10 times “grace” (חֵן), alluding to the Torah’s secrets, its inner dimension, which is known as by its acronym, which spells “grace” (חן), but stands for “the secret wisdom” (חָכְמַת נִסְתָּר).
Since the complete verse we began with contains the words, “goodly fruit” (פרי תאר) and this is the title of the holy Or HaChaim’s book on the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah, 5787 is a good year to study this work.
He Who Makes a Path Through the Sea
Isaiah says, “Thus says Havayah, who makes a path through the sea and a path in mighty waters.”[8] The phrase, “who makes a path through the sea” (הַנּוֹתֵן בַּיָּם דָּרֶךְ) equals 787. This phrase is a pronounced Kabbalistic intention for the repentance we do during the month of Elul in preparation for the new year, specifically the rectification of the procreative faculties and the rectification of the covenant (Tikkun HaBrit), which will then continue for the entire year of 5787.
According to the Arizal “in the sea” (בַּיָּם), whose value is 52, refers to the Name Ban (the filling of God’s essential Name, Havayah: יוד הה וו הה), which corresponds to the World of Action. Specifically, the depths of the sea are where symbolically transgressions and covenant blemishes are cast, as we say in the 13 Attributes of Divine Mercy in Micah: “And You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” The word “way” (דָּרֶךְ) equals 224 is the secret of the Divine Names Sag (63) and Kesa (161) of Binah (Teshuvah Ila'ah), elevating the holy sparks fallen into the depths back to their source in Supernal Understanding; the value of both understanding (בִּינָה) and Elul (אֱלוּל) is 67.
The word “who makes” (הַנּוֹתֵן) is equal to 511, which is 7 times wisdom (חָכְמָה), 73, the union of the Supernal Father and Mother (Abba ve-Imma Ila'in). Rebbe Nachman adds that 224, the value of “way” (דָּרֶךְ) is equal to 2 times Yabok (יַבֹּק), or “fluent” (בָּקִי), representing his appeal that every person be fluent in the dynamic of run and return. Now 511, the value of the first word, is a multiple of 7, the second word, is a multiple of 13, and the third word again a multiple of 7. This is the secret of “a female [13] shall encompass a man [7]” since as we have explored in past issues of Wonders, the pair of numbers 7 and 13 are considered masculine and feminine, respectively and these two numbers tend to appear together in the Torah.
The value of the first part of the verse and its second half, minus the preamble, “who makes a path through the sea and a path in mighty waters” (הַנּוֹתֵן בַּיָּם דָּרֶךְ וּבְמַיִם עַזִּים נְתִיבָה) is 1479, or the product of 17, the value of “good” (טוֹב) and “golden” (פָּז), as above. The value of the full verse is 1771, which is the 23rd tetrahedral number, or the product of “bold” (עֹז) and “joy” (חֶדְוָה), the mystery of “Strength and joy are in His place”[9] (עֹז וְחֶדְוָה בִּמְקֹמוֹ).
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[1]. Numbers 27:7.
[2]. Deuteronomy 16:14.
[3]. Ibid. v. 15.
[4]. Numbers 10:10.
[5]. Psalms 33:21.
[6]. Jeremiah 11:16. See also Psalms 52:10, “I am like a fresh olive tree in the house of God, I trust in the love of God eternally.”
[7]. 2 Samuel 7:23.
[8]. Isaiah 43:16.
[9]. 1 Chronicles 16:27.
