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The
Mystical Mountains The
Weekly Torah Portion of: Re'eh The
image of the mountain is the image of our Patriarchs. From this starting
point of faith in God, the Jewish People received their Divine mission to
bring the knowledge of God to the entire world. In this audio meditation,
Rabbi Ginsburgh expounds upon the image of the two mountains in this week's
Torah portion, and their intrinsic connection to the Torah, the Temple, the
Mashiach and the mission of the Jewish People to spread the knowledge of the
Divine Nothingness throughout the world. The Visual Torah Portion The
name of our Torah portion is Re'eh, which means, "See."
After the Jewish People entered the Land of Israel, the first place that
they were commanded to stop was at the City of Shechem, where the Priests
and Levites would express God's blessing to them if they would fulfill
the Torah, and God's curse if they sin. Six tribes were commanded to
ascend Mount Grizim, to the south of Shechem to receive the blessing, and
the remaining six tribes were commanded to ascend Mount Eval, to the north
of Shechem to receive the curse. The blessing and curse are visually apparent on the mountains themselves. Mount Grizim, the mountain of blessing, is green and verdant.
Mount Eval, the mountain
of curse, is gray and barren. In Kabbalah, we learn that these two mountains represent two eyes. Mount Grizim represents the right eye of wisdom, from which emanates pure blessing. Mount Eval represents the left eye of understanding, from which judgments -- even severe judgments -- manifest.
The Source of Curse The
fact that six tribes stood on Mount Eval means that there was a positive
element to the curse. In Hebrew, the word for "curse" is klalah;
kuf, lamed,
lamed, hei. The root of klalah
is kalal; kuf, lamed, lamed, which means "brilliant, shining
light," as in the expression nechoshet kalal, "brilliant
copper." At its source, a curse is a brilliant, shining light. This
brilliance can be blinding, making it impossible for us to understand and
incorporate it into our consciousness. Even though a curse is the result of
transgression, it is not a punishment or an expression of Divine revenge,
God forbid. Rather, the curse that comes from the Torah is from a very high
source, whose purpose is to rectify the souls of those who have
transgressed. Because
of the lofty nature of the curse, the holy altar built after the ceremony on
the two mountains was erected specifically on Mount Eval, the site most
befitting the blinding brilliance of the curse. Obviously,
God wants us to enjoy only manifest good. To this end, He gave us Torah and
the commandments to guide us. On a deeper level, however, the interplay
between the blessing and the curse create a state of equilibrium and
stability in the consciousness and soul of the Jewish People, and are both
necessary. The Crown Above the
Eyes The
Torah portion of Devarim discusses Mount Hermon, at the north of
Israel. This is the first mountain that will be seen by the Jewish People
returning to Israel in Messianic times. The Hermon is a tall mountain, whose
peak is covered by snow in the winter. It represents the peak of faith in
the superconscious level of the crown of the Jewish soul. Together
with Mount Grizim and Mount Eval, the Hermon forms a triplet in the form of
a triangle, called a segolta. Mount Hermon represents the crown in
the Jewish soul, and is at the summit of the triangle. It can be perceived
as the third eye in the middle of the forehead, which can envision the
crown. Mount Grizim, representing wisdom and the right eye, is at the right
corner, while Mount Eval, representing understanding and the left eye, is at
the left corner of the triangle. The
image of the three mountains can also be pictured by color. At the top is
the snow white Mount Hermon. To the right is the green, flourishing Mount
Grizim and to the left the gray, barren Mount Eval. Gray is closer to white
than green, implying that there is a cycle here beginning with Mount Hermon,
to Mount Grizim, to Mount Eval and then returning to Mount Hermon. Mountainous Mathematics The
numerical values of the names of the three mountains are as follows:
As
we saw above, Mt. Eval links to Mt. Hermon. Their combined value is 416,
which equals 16 times 26, God's essential Name, Havayah.
The value of Mt. Grizim, 260, is 10 times 26. The
four Hebrew letters of the Name Havayah are: The
10 times 26 of Mt. Grizim correspond to the yud of Havayah, which
represents wisdom, while the 16 times Havayah of Hermon and
Eval correspond to the other three letters of Havayah. All together,
the numerical value of the triplet of mountains is 676 = 26 times 26, Havayah
squared, a most consummate number. The Quadratic Series As
the numerical values of the mountains descend in order, they create a simple
quadratic series. A quadratic series is created by calculating the
differences between a given series of numbers. Our
quadratic series is as follows: (The differences between the numbers are in
red. The differences between the second stage of numbers -- the driving
force -- are in blue.)
There
are 5 positive numbers in this series; the three numbers of the mountains,
676,which equals 26 squared, and the two added numbers, 244 and 80. 244 plus
80 = 324, which is 18 squared. 26 squared plus 18 squared = 1000, 10 cubed. This
quadratic series can be drawn as a parabola, with the summit, 304, on top.
Perfect One and Amiable
Pair The
numerical values of this series provide us with another amazing phenomenon.
The sum of the first, third and fifth numbers, (112, 304, 80--Hermon, Eival,
and its hidden reflection) equals 496,
the numerical value of malchut,
kingdom. The second and fourth numbers (260 and 244, Grizim and its
hidden reflection) equal 504. The
number 496 is a perfect number. A perfect number is a number whose divisors
beside itself add up to that number. The first perfect number is 1, and the
following perfect number is 6, whose divisors are 1, 2 and 3. The sum of 1,
2 and 3 is 6. The next perfect number is 28, and the following perfect
number is 496. (The next perfect number is 8128, followed by 2096128....) Another
concept in mathematics is the concept of amiable numbers. This is a pair of
numbers such that all the divisors of one number
of the pair will equal the other number, and vice versa. Until approximately
100 years ago, the only known pair of amiable numbers was 220 and 284, which
add to equal 504. 496 is the
numerical value of livyatan ("Leviathan," alone--perfect in
itself--for its male was killed at the outset of creation). If we add a chet
to livyatan, we receive the words livyat chen, "a
graceful pair of mates." Amazingly, livyat chen equals 504. 496
and 504 are the numerical values of the mountains, as above which together
equal 1000. Thus we see that the origin of curse (Eival and its reflection
together with its super-conscious source--Hermon) is in the singularity of
the Leviathan, while the source of blessing (Grizim and its reflection) is
the secret of "a graceful pair of mates." "I Lift My Eyes to
the Mountains" In Psalms ( 121:1) it is written: Esah
Einai el heharim, mayayin yavo ezri This verse
alludes to the two mountains Grizim and Eival. The
Priests and Levites stood in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Eval,
lifting their eyes first to the right and then to the left to express
blessing and curse. In
Hebrew, the word for "from where" in the above verse is mayayin.
This word can also be understood to mean "from ayin," from
the Divine Nothingness, the inner essence of the eye (also pronounced ayin). W hen we lift our
physical eyes to Heaven, we reach the vision of Divine nothingness, which is
the source of all aid and salvation. In Job ( 28:12) it is written: Vehachochmah
mayayin timatze Chassidut
illuminates this verse in a deeper light: Chochmah
comes from ayin,
from Divine nothingness. Kabbalah and Chassidut explain that chochmah, represented
here by Mount Grizim, comes into existence only when it unites with
understanding, represented here by Mount Eival. Even though Mount Grizim
represents apparent blessing, it has a hidden unity with the curse of Mount
Eival, which balances the secret of the blessing. Mount Moriah In
the above verse in Psalms 121, the word for "the mountains" is heharim.
When the letters of heharim are rearranged, they spell hamoriah,
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The word moriah means "insence"
or "teaching," alluding to God's word to the Jewish People and all
humanity that emanates from the holy temple on Mount Moriah
("teaching"), and to the ultimate service and union with God in
the Holy Temple ("incense"). Clearly,
Hamoriah
equals 260, the same numerical value as Gerizim. According to the principle
that the left is included within the right, Mount Eval is included within
Mount Gerizim. These two mountains unite at Mount Moriah. In
Kabbalah, Mount Moriah corresponds to yet another point in the geometrical
configuration of the mountains. The Hermon is the crown at the top, Mount
Gerizim and Mount Eval are the two eyes of chochmah
(" wisdom") and binah
(" understanding") to the right and left, and Mount Moriah
corresponds to da'at,
("knowledge"). Kabbalah teaches that da'at is the point
between the shoulders. The Holy Temple in Jerusalem was situated in the
basin between the shoulders of the mountains surrounding it. This image is
called da'at, the power that connects the mind (wisdom) to the
emotions of the heart (understanding). When something connects two seemingly
opposite faculties, its source is higher than the faculties that it
connects. Thus, the source of da'at is higher than both wisdom and
understanding. It derives from the crown of Mount Hermon. The point of Mount
Moriah reflects the crown, and is situated between and below Mount Gerizim
and Mount Eval, directly opposite Mount Hermon. Mount Moriah is the
culmination of the three preceding mountains. Mount Sinai The
four mountains mentioned above correspond to the sefirot of keter,
chochmah,
binah
and da'at.
These mountains are all in the Land of Israel. Yet another mountain with
deep significance for the Jewish People is Mount Sinai, where God gave us
the Torah. Mount Moriah, which represents the Torah manifesting in the
world, must relate to Mount Sinai, where the Torah was given. The numerical
value of Sinai is 130. This is the same value as ayin, and is half of
260, Moriah. The relation of Sinai and Moriah is the deep Kabbalistic secret
of half to whole. We
have meditated on five mountains, whose progression is from the Torah, to
the Temple, the Mashiach
and the mission of the Jewish People to spread the knowledge of the Divine
Nothingness throughout the world.
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