Kabbalah and Mathematics

Love and Fear

"I am G-d, your G-d...." and "you shall not recognize the gods of others in My presence" (the first two of the Ten Commandments) were heard directly from the Mighty One (G-d; Talmud Bavli, Makot 24a).

The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Torah: the first time in the portion of Yitro (Exodus 20:2-14) and then again in the portion of Va-Etchanon (Deuteronomy 5:6-18). The first two verses in each of the Ten Commandment versions are exactly the same, letter by letter. (The first difference in the two renditions appears only in the third verse.) In these first two verses: "I am G-d...." and "you shall not recognize..." there are exactly 64 or 8² letters.

Interestingly, the same phenomenon can be found in the portion of the Shema (which appears in the Torah in the continuation of Va-Etchanon, (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)--as related by Moses--with the "Shechinah [the ?Divine Presence'] speaking through Moses' mouth" [Zohar III,232]). In the first two verses: "Hear O Israel... And you shall love G-d, your G-d..." there are also 64 or 8² letters.

When we graphically depict these two 8 ? 8 square matrices (noting that in each square, the first line contains the 8 letters of the first two words of the portion--the average numerical value [gematria] of each line is 529 or 23²) we find that the letters in the four outer corners of the first square, of "I am G-d" and "You shall not recognize..." (those given by the , the "Mighty One" which is numerically equivalent to "fear" [216]; with relation to the giving of the Torah it is written: "Just as there [when Torah was given on Sinai] it was given with terror, fear, trembling and quaking, similarly here [in accepting the Torah anew every day] with terror, fear, trembling and quaking" [Talmud Bavli, Brachot 22a]) spell out the word , the "Mighty One" which is numerically equivalent to (fear). In contrast, in the innermost square of the second matrix: "Hear O Israel... And you shall love..." (from the mouth of Moses--"Moses was a lover of Israel" [Talmud Bavli, Menachot 65a]; in addition, the sublime spiritual site for the rending of Shema is in the supernal "Chamber of Love" as discussed in Kabbalah).. is recorded the word
(love).

Concerning the revelation of the Torah on Mt. Sinai it is written: "so that fear of Him shall be upon your faces" (Exodus 20:17). The Sages comment: "which fear can be found on the face, that is to say: the feeling of shame" (Talmud Bavli, Nedarim 20a). In Kabbalah and Chassidut it is explained that this fear, the fear of shame
( a permutation of the word , "In the beginning"; the beginning of all wisdom is the fear of G-d)--is the superior fear, the self-nullification of one's existence, that flows from wisdom (of Torah--"the Torah comes out of wisdom") and this illuminates the face of a person (the place that reveals the inner nature of the person) as it states, "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1). The word "face" is related to the word "corner" . (It is explained in Chassidut that every "turn" from one direction to another--"He [the Kohen] ascended the [Altar] ramp, and turned to the surrounding ledge" [Mishna Zerachim 5:3]--is achieved through the power of the "corner," the sense of nothingness, of self-nullification in the soul, whose source is in wisdom, as stated above.) Therefore, in the verses "I am G-d" and "You shall not recognize...," the word
(fear) is recorded specifically in the outermost corners (on the "face") of the square.

The earliest revelation of love occurs in the heart. Thus it states, "And you shall love...with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources" (Deuteronomy 6:5). The love in one's heart ("with all your heart") then spreads through all the inner limbs and powers of the person's soul ("with all your soul") and subsequently, even to the powers surrounding the person from without ("with all your resources"). The "heart" is indeed the innermost point and therefore we note that in the verses "Hear O Israel... And you shall love...," the word
(love) is recorded in the "heart" of the drawn square.

One notes that the 8 letters in the "heart" of the two squares: ("the power of love") is numerically equivalent to 613, the total sum of the commandments in the Torah. These commandments are sub-divided
into 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments. In addition, "(the feeling of) love of G-d is the source of all the 248 positive commandments, and the fear of G-d is the source of the 365 negative commandments" (Tanya, Chapter 4). And since the commandment to fear G-d--"G-d, your G-d, you should fear" (Deuteronomy 6:13)--is in itself a positive commandment, we must conclude that "love" is ultimately the source of all the commandments (as elucidated in Chassidut). This ("the power of love") = 613. (Similarly the 16 letters in the last line of each of the two matrices:       
also equal exactly 613.)

Furthermore, we see that the 8 outer, corner letters (the "face") of the two squares:        = 572 = 13 ? 44
( or multiplied by , one of the alternative miluim, "fillings," of G-d's four-letter name). This teaches us once again that all is included in "love."

The numerical midpoint of the entire two squares (which total 5953) is 2977, which is also 229 ? 13 or multiplied by !

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