shakings – KabbalahSecrets.com

Sukkot is Upon Us.

We’re going in a new direction soon and will begin explaining the meaning and significance of the dimensions of the Third Temple. All the proportions we’ve learned about through the Torah, the Names, and the universal constants will have new meaning as we explore the place where all the Shefa (life-force) flows through into our world. Before the Third Temple can be constructed we must understand it. It already exists spiritually, but just knowing the dimensions and erecting stone walls won’t do it. We have the knowledge and it’s coming time to apply it. When we take the process and the knowledge run it through our hearts we will connect to the Tree-of-Life, the greater universe, the Cosmos, and the Holy Third Temple. And then it will be time.

A long time ago, I promised to explain and expand on Abraham Avinu’s layout of the Cosmos first delineated in his Sefer Yetzirah, and now we will do so in the context of the Holy Temple’s design. G-d willing, we will all understand.

When Noach sent out the dove 3 times to find dry land it was an allusion to the 3 Holy Temples, and to the 3 times the numbers 5778 and 2019 appear in the first 1000 (Aleph) digits of Pi (See There’s Nothing Random About the Universe).

It’s almost time to let the dove loose again. There is a lot of work to be done this year and the holiday of Sukkot is almost upon us. They are calling for rain in New York and that’s not good. We’re going to need the power of the sukkah and of the unifications we can make in it in order to do our work properly so we’re going to need everyone’s consciousness in a place of unity, love, and sharing to stave off the rain this year. Let’s all spend the next few days thinking, speaking, and listening through our hearts and the blessings will come to all.

I’m repeating and updating below an article posted a year ago to explain many of the secrets and kavannot of the shakings of the lulov within the sukkah. This year, if we shake with our hearts we will shake the world awake. Let’s do it together.

The Shakings

Regarding the daily shakening of the four species, they would seem to correspond to (5 sets x 6 directions) the 30 blasts of the shofar, and the numerical gematria value (30) of the large Lamed (connected to Binah) in the Torah. Lamed has the numerical value of 74 or 70 +4, which as you’ll see later, representing the 70 Nations and 4 species.

That Lamed connects to the Lamed of Lulav. It’s also the Lamed that along with the letter Pe controls the month of Tishrei (Libra), according to Abraham Avinu, in which we do both the shofar blowings and the shakings. It’s also the lamed of the word aleph (ELP, the first), and when the controlling letters of Tishrei are completed with the letter Aleph (Aleph-Lamed-Pe), they connect to both keter and the beginning, as in Aleph B’Tishrei (permutated to spell Bereshit, the beginning).

With the 3 shakings per direction, corresponding to the 3 beats per type of blast of the shofar, there are 18 total shakings per set, and as Rav Abraham Brandwein points out, “The Lulav hints at the vertebral column that has 18 vertebrae and every movement indicates vitality. Thus all 4 species need to be damp and alive and not dry.” The 18 corresponds to the value of the word, chai, (life). And straightening this connection is that the word value of lulav is 68, as in chaim (life)

With 18 shaking per each of the 5 sets there are 91 total shakings per day, which corresponds to amen and teh all-important unification of G-d’s Names that it represents (YHVH-ADNY ) and to the value of the word Succah itself.

Moreover, at 30 daily shakenings x 7 days, there are 210 total shakings, as in the 210 years of Egyptian exile. And when the 3 shakings per direction are considered, there are 210 x 3 or 630 total shakings in the 7 days. 630 is 10 x 63, the value of the Tetragramamton in the aspect of Binah. The 10 always corresponds to the 10 sefirot (dimensions) and in this case to the 10 sub-dimensions (inner sefirot) within Binah. During the entire process of Sukkot, we’re drawing down the energy from Yesod of Ima (Binah) so the Binah connections are very fitting and part and parcel to the technology involved in the shakings.

Over the 7 days of Sukkot, we’re making 70 sacrifices to share the energy with the 70 nations of the world. Each of these sacrifices corresponds to a specific one of the sub-sefirot in order as we descend through them during the 7 day period.

Regarding the four species: As we know from the Arizal, the four species correspond to the Tetragrammaton (YHVH): Hadas (Yud), Aravah (Hei), lulav (vav) and Etrog (hei). So since the numerical values of Hadas and Aravah = 346 (Shmo), the two species above correspond to Y-H Shmo (the Name of YH), as in 5 of the 6 letters that occur at the top of the 248 columns of the Torah that are not vavs, excluding the initial Bet of bereshit. But the three sides of the sukkah itself forms the shape of the letter Bet, completing the B’Y-H ShMV sequence.

The missing Bet from the B’Y-H ShMV sequence would also appear to be the Bet in lulav (LVLB), since the word lulav represents teh whole Torah in two different ways in that it begins with (L) and ends in (B) and also ends in the letter combination Lamed-Bet (LB), as in the first (B) and last (L) letters of the Torah. This letter reversal is an allusion to the recycling of the Torah that occurs during this period when we read the last verse of the Torah and immediately twist it back to the beginning and read from Bereshit.

Moreover, the numerical value of Hadas and Aravah and lulov together = 414 (kaddish) or 2 x 207 (the numerical value of Or/light), and thus twice light, representing the running and returning light

And as in known from chazal, etrog has the value 610 as in parnesa (sustenance) and ma’aser (tithing) and their various meditations for drawing the Shefa into our lives. The Etrog corresponds to the malchut of yesod, the place where we earn our parnesa (sustenance).

But the total value of the 4 species = 1024, which is 256 x 4 with 256 being the value or the Ark of the Covenant (also Aaron) and 1024 being both 2¹⁰ as in the 210 years of exile yet again, and also 1024 represents the 1024 unique word values in the Torah, which is not coincidence and not coincidentally 32 x 32 which when we study the structure of the Third Temple, we’ll understand how they all relate and relate to the 32 paths of the Tree-of-Life.

Furthermore, as we meditate on ending the 4th exile by sharing light with the 70 nations through the 70 sacrifices, it’s appropriate that the sum of the 4 final letters (B,G,H,S) in the names of the 4 species add up to 70, while that of the Hadas and Arava alone add up to 65, the numerical value of Adonai.

And it’s almost needless to mention that the end of the 4th exile is supposed to happen 70 years after Israel became a nation in 1948 (5708)

Interestingly, and not coincidentally, the sum of the ordinal value of the 16 x 4) letters in the names of the 4 species is 151, as in the value of the Name, Ehyeh (EHYH) spelled out (milui) and also of the word, mikve.

Moreover, the sum of the ordinal value of the letters in lulav is 32, as in the numerical value of the letters Lamed and Bet (LB), which spells Lev, the Hebrew word for heart, and as previously mentioned the last and first letters in the Torah. Yet another connection to the 32 paths of Wisdom, which is in essence the Tree-of-life, represented by the lulav, whose standard gematria value is 68, that of chaim (life). And note that the Inner Courtyard of the Third Temple is 100 cubits by 100 cubits and the Alter in the center of it is 32 x 32 cubits, leaving space of 68 cubits all around.

Moreover, when we add Lulav’s standard value and its ordinal one, we get 68 + 32 = 100, the value of, sach (SCC), the very important roof (covering) of the Sukkah and the representation value of keter, the highest sefira.

So when we shake the Lulav we not only want to bring it back to our heart but we want to mediate the light and love channeling back and forth through it, as we stand both in our succahs and in the center of the Third Temple

Now, if we add all the elements of the holiday together, we get 100 (Sach) + 91 (sukkah) + 1024 (4 species) = 1215. There is a reason for 1215 but we wont go into it now, but when we take away 1 for the kolel, and get 1214, much of the technology gets revealed:

For example the 11 unique letters used in creation of the first verse of the Torah connect with the 11 dots above the letters that occur in the same parsha (portion) as the large letter lamed, and together they help us convert curses into blessings through the 11 incenses (etc). These 11 unique letters have a complete value (ordinal plus standard gematria) of 1214, and 1214 is the exact numerical value of “70 languages” (ShBAYM LShVNVT), corresponding to the 70 nations for whom we’re making the sacrifices. Also, 1214 is the exact value for the Hebrew phrase (ZYRVP HEVTYVT) meaning “permutation of the letters.”

Now, while the last of the 11 letters in the words under the 11 dots is the letter ayin, with a value of 70, the complete value (standard and ordinal) of all 11 letters under the dots is 422, which is the exact numerical value of the word “seventy (70)” (ShBAYM). These, of course, connect to the destruction of the first Two Holy Temples in –422 BCE and in 70 CE, respectively, as is detailed and chronicled in The Divine Calender.

It’s also not a coincidence that the letter ayin, with a numerical value of 70, has an ordinal value of 16, as in the 16 letters of the 4 species discussed above.

In case it’s not understood, it is our responsibility to mediate on sharing this light with the 70 Nations, and this is why we were blessed to be the channels and given these magnificent divine tools to use. As it says in Isaiah 56:7, ” I will bring them to My holy Mountain and make them rejoice in My House of Prayer…For My House will be called the House of Prayer for all the nations.”

Sukkot is the time of joy, when the energy of rejoicing is drawn down upon us by our actions within the succah for the whole year. Let’s do all we can to spread that rejoicing to the entire world.

Chag Sameach

With Love

Ezra

“The Song of the Sea” through which the Light Flows.

…continued from The Secret of 10 and the River of Light, where from the unique 10-letter word in the Torah we were discussing the flow of Light through the 10 sefirot and the word river found concealed with it.

As previously discussed the word “the river” is found 21 times in the Torah and it’s usually translated as the Nile, and also the word “river” is found 151 times throughout the entire Tanakh. So it’s interesting that the first of what the Midrash enumerates as the 10 preeminent songs in the history of Israel–the 10 songs of thanks and redemption–is the “Song at the Sea” found at Shmot 15:1-21, paragraph 42.

The number 151 to any kabbalist is synonymous with the name of G-d, Ehyeh spelled out with heys (ELP HH YVD HH) and also the word mikve, the ritual cleansing bath so important for removing negativity. Moreover, the 21 verses of the “Song of the Sea” also correspond to that same higher Name of G-d, the Name at the level of Binah, Ehyeh, whose numerical value is 21, just like the 21 times “the River” is mentioned in the Torah.

And because Miriam’s Song goes hand in hand with the “Song of the Sea” as an intercalated response on behalf of the women to the men’s verses, 1 for 1, we have 21 + 21 verses = 42.

River, Sea, Mikve, Ehyeh; 42-Letter Name; It all seems to be interconnected pretty tightly.

Arguably, the passing through the sea was akin to a huge Mikve and final cleansing of the Israelites on their way to receiving the Torah at Sinai and to complete their 42 journeys in order to reach the Promised Land. And while the first word of the liturgical poem (Ana B’koach) that accompanies the 42 letters is Ana (ENE) of small gematria value 151, the first letters of the first 3 lines of the 42 Letter (6 x 7) matrix are EKN of numerical value 151, so not only is this connection far from coincidental, but one of the purposes of the 42-letter name is to act as a mikve and cleansing away of the klippot (negative shells) and selfish desires for our prayers as they pass from malchut through Zeir Apin to Binah and the upper worlds.

The Ana B’koach (42-Letter Name) is a river, a river we can sail at any moment. (For sailing lessons see The Genesis Prayer)

This auto-cleansing mechanism is one reason why the 42-Letter Name cannot be used negatively, as opposed to many other Names whose usage can backfire, as advised by Rabbi Chaim Vittal of blessed memory, unless we’re in a highly pure and holy state. When the Ana B’Koach is recited, the dams are released from below and the waters rise up. With most other Names, we’re calling upon them above and thus must be in a much holier (more righteous) place.

And along with our prayers, it’s our actions below that cause the waters (ma’im nukva) to ascend and for Heaven to respond and the river of light to drench/quench us. According to chazal, the equation is two drops from below cause one from above, and it’s illustrated in the Name Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, whose two Ehyehs are 2 x 21 = 42 since both activated by the 42-letter Name (Shem Mem-Bet) recited below by us.

It takes two drops from below, and as illustrated by the Torah for us in its first song by the responsive singing of Miriam and Moses, the women and the men, the male and female attributes must be in harmony for heavenly light to flow freely.

It’s also an illustration that we need to show our appreciation and celebrate it with the community with enlivened joy, harmonizing our voices in one spirit and soul. When miracles are done for us, it may have been our personal actions that Heaven responded to, but they are for the benefit of everyone. Managing the waterworks is a community project if we want the waters to reach the trees and the fields and not just our own backyards.

Trees, Fields, Water and Moshiach

As Zion pointed out in the blog at www.RabbiShimon.com, the Tanakh has established the relationship between Man, trees, and the field with these two verses: (Jeremiah 17:8) וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל-מַיִם “For he (man) shall be as a tree planted by the waters” and from parsha Shoftim, paragraph 73, which relates to Chochma/Wisdom (of gematria 73): (Deuteronomy 20:19) כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה “For is the tree of the field a man…”

Not only do these verses relate to Man as Zeir Anpin and our need to connect to the flowing water of the tree-of-life, but the verse Devarim 20:19 is also alluding to Moshiach, a man who will be the tree-of-life, and thus we find the reason why this verse, ostensibly about not cutting down trees that bear fruit during a siege, is found at paragraph 73, the numerical value of the sefira of Chochma (Wisdom) and at 20:19, an allusion to the year 2019 that, as explained in The Divine Calender and Nothing is Random in the Universe, the tzaddikim have designated as the year the reign of Mashiach will begin, at the tail end of 5778.

The full 6-word 18 letter phrase begins with Lo Ticrot, (LE TCRT) so the final letters of the phrase (ETYMZH) add up to 546 the 10 initials of the 10 sefirot (the tree-of-life), while we can permute the letters to H’Etz Emet (HYZ EMT), the Tree-of-Truth, which may be why the word H’Adam (“the man”) has the gematria sofit value of 611, that of Torah, which is known as Truth.

Moreover, the sum of the last two words in the verse add up 49 + 314= 363, the gematria of H’Moshiach (the Messiah). There’s much more divinity in this phrase, including the sum of the 6 words, plus the kolel of 6 equaling 1610 or 10 x 161, the highest value of Ehyeh, spelled out with yuds (ELP HY YVD HY), but back to the songs.

One last note for now about the” Song of the Sea:” if we examine its unique 3-column structure that all kabbalists agree mimics the 3-column structure of the tree-of-life, we see that the first four letters vertically of the right column spell out ELUL, as in the month of Elul (Virgo), the month of tshuvah (repentance), when we prepare for meeting the King of Kings on Rosh Hashanna. If we consider the 5 Mem-Bet Names of the 72 Names, as discussed in recent blogs, that were used to help split the Red Sea, separately, there are 72-5, or 67 other Names, and the gematria value of Elul is 67, the same as that of Binah (understanding). Binah is the upper sefira (dimension) associated with the Name Ehyeh. And it’s to Binah that are voices rise when we sing out in songs of praise and appreciation to G-d.

This is what the angels do every day, and what we do far too infrequently. We do do it as part of our daily and Shabbat prayers, but we have to ask ourselves if we’re doing it with the consciousness of appreciation or with a more robotic spirit. The beauty of the angels is that they can only focus on one thing, and when we are truly singing from our hearts, it’s very difficult to focus on anything else, which is why if we can shift our consciousness to true appreciation of all that G-d does for us and sing out loud, we can become like the angels and our words and spirits will elevate to Binah automatically. Our voices will be heard in Heaven above.

This is why there are 10 songs of appreciation in the Tanakh; this is why they are so important to us. There is little else that we can so easily do that will connect us to Binah. And that is also why singing songs of joy from our hearts makes us feels so good, so ecstatic. The Light is so pure.

And to show us what the songs of appreciation can lead to, we have initiating the top of the Torah column that “Song of the Sea” appears in, the letter hey (H). Normally, the 248 columns of the Torah begin with a Vav (V) but there are 6 special columns that begin with a different letter and these 6 letters spell out BYHShMV (In YH His Name, a reference to Mashiach) and their numerical value is 363, the same as H’Moshiach, “The Messiah.”

And the word that the letter Hey (H) occurs in at the top of this column is H’baim (HBEYM), and while some might say it looks like a permutation of the name Obama (EVBMH), it does for sure indicate by the letters Hey and Mem-Bet the 5 MB’s discussed above. And we could even say that the sofit gematria value of the word being 618 is a reference to the 6 words and 18 letter phrase from Devarim 20:19 also discussed above and often connected with this Torah portion.

Nevertheless, water, like Light, like wisdom, like the music and notes of song, flows, and should never stop, not even when we’re signing the 10th song in praise and appreciation of H’Moshiach.

This Shabbat take the extra time to do the kavannot (Focusing your arrows) on appreciation of Hashem and all He’s done for us before the songs, especially the Az Ishir (“Song of the Sea”) and sing from your heart with joy love and awe, celebrating with the community. And together, let’s split the Endless Sea (Ym Sof) that separates us from Moshiach, Hashem, and the tree-of-life reality. And B”H let it become a joyous habit for us.

…to be continued with our discussion of the 2nd Song, the “Song of the Well,” which is closely related to the “Song of the Sea” through the metaphor of water….