Secrets of the Jewish Year
Holiday Messages and Meditations on the Jewish Year
The Jewish Month of Tishrei
| Tishrei According to Sefer Yetzirah The Jewish New Year  The Year of "zeh zeh" — Rosh HaShanah 5757The Year of "Noach" — Rosh HaShanah 5758 Happy are the People that Know the Te'ruah — Rosh HaShanah 5759 The Voice of the Shofar — Rosh HaShanah The Four Species — The Holiday of Sukkot A Joyous Heart — The Holiday of Sukkot I am to My Beloved and My Beloved is to Me: Returning to God With Love |
When the four numerals which constitute the number of this year (5757) are "translated" into Hebrew letters, two identical words appear–"zeh zeh", "this this."
The word "zeh" designates the unique level of prophecy possessed by Moshe Rabbeinu — "all the prophets prophesied with koh['so,' 'like'], but in addition, Moses prophesied with zeh. Zeh infers direct vision and communion with the word of G-d ("the transparent pane," in contrast to "the translucent pane" of all other prophets), as one "who points with his finger and says 'This!'"
In the "Song of the Sea," each and every Jew "pointed with his finger" and pronounced (inspired by Moshe Rabbeinu), "This is my G-d, and I shall beautify Him!" The epitome of Divine revelation in this world is expressed by the soul's saying zeh once.
But in the future, with the coming of Moshiach, we are taught that zeh is repeated twice. This is the secret of the verse (which we recite on Simchat Torah): "And he will say on that day: Behold, this [zeh] is our G-d for Whom we have hoped, and He will save us; this [zeh] is G-d for Whom we have hoped, let us rejoice and be happy in His salvation."
Thus, this year alludes to the ultimate Divine revelation of the Redemption!
In the Song of Songs we find (with reference to the Redemption): "The voice of my Beloved, behold, it [zeh] comes."
The three words "behold it ['this'] comes" (hinei zeh ba) equal (respectively) 60, 12, and 3. There is here encoded an important mathematical sequence: 60 = 5 times 12; 12 = 4 times 3. What number follows in this sequence? — 1! (for 3 = 3 times 1). Who is "it" who comes? One ("Hear, O Israel, G-d is our G-d, G-d is One.").
Following 1 comes ? (1 = 2 ? ?); following ? comes a second ? (? = 1 ? ?). Clearly, there are no more terms in this sequence. (This sequence is in fact n!/2.)
The significance of the two ?s which themselves constitute 1 is the secret of the teaching in Chassidut that the Divine Oneness becomes manifest (in accordance with His Will to "dwell below") only when the two "halves" of G-d and the soul of Israel ("an actual part of G-d"; "When one grasps a 'part' of essential being, one grasps the 'whole'"; "Anything [part, no matter how small] which is 'fixed' is considered as the 'half' of the 'whole.'") unite. (The apparent "splitting" of the 'halves' in order to unite in absolute Oneness is the secret of the nesirah ['sawing off'] process, which takes place, during the Ten Days of Repentance).
