A Thought on Parshas Devarim

"...eleh ha'devarim..." "...these are the pronouncements..." (1:1) This week, the Panae'ach Raza offers some remazim, some insights derived from the linguistic subtleties of various words, which open up some deeper dimensions of understanding as we go through the verses. We know that Sefer Devarim, the fifth book of the Chumash, is known as the Mishnah Torah which means the review of the Torah. It comprises the lessons and teachings which Moshe gave over to the nation during the final days of his life. Our mystical tradition relates that the term "Mishna Torah" also alludes to the Torah sh'ba'al Peh - the Oral Torah, which are the further elucidations and developments of the Written Word. The Panae'ach Raza addresses some of these matters through the medium of remez. He begins by observing that this parsha is one of six which begin with the letter "alef." Eleh ha'devarim begins with an alef. So do "Eleh toldos Noach", "Eleh haPekudim", "Im bechukosai", "Eleh Maasei" and "Atem Nitzavim." The letter "alef" stems from the word "aluf" which means "teaching." Thus, the six "aluf"s hint at the six orders of the Mishnah, which is the corpus of the Oral Torah itself. By the way, the word Mishnah also means "teaching", so the remez is not spurious but is actually a powerful reference to "the six orders of Teaching" which both comprise the Oral Torah and which open up the breadth of the Written Torah. Furthermore, he notes that of the six alef-verses, four of them begin with the word "eleh." This translates as "these are." This corresponds, he suggests, to the four Orders upon which there is gemara expounding on the Mishnaic text. Of the six Orders, there is virtually no gemara associated with Seder Zeraim and Seder Taharos. However, there is a great deal of Talmud or gemara elaborating on Moed, Nashim, Nezikin and Kodashim. The four "elehs" hint at these four Orders. Now, going deeper, the word "eleh" is spelled with an alef, a lamed, and a heh. Those letters correspond in gematria equivalency to the number 36. If you count the tractates which comprise the gemara or Talmud, you will find 36 individual volumes. Another remez! Many of us recite the passages which follow the Musaf service which include an excerpt from the gemara Megilla 28b which looks at a verse in Chabakuk 3:6 which says "halichos olam lo" - the ways of the world are His. The Talmud prompts us to consider the word "halichos" as cognate to "halachos" which means "the Talmudic laws." The Panae'ach Raza suggests that this word "lo" which also equals 36 is a remez to the word "eleh" which our parsha begins with. This means that the Torah is hinting to us that when Moshe reviewed the Torah with us a second time, he was also presenting us with the Talmudic laws, which are the Oral Torah, as alluded to in the 36. He goes further still. If we look at the Talmud, we discover that there are five tractates which begin with the letter alef. They are Peah, Pesachim Rosh HaShanna, Bava Kamma, and Keilim. He sees this as a remez to how the Five Books of the Chumash are paralleled by an auspicious 5 which occurs in the Oral Torah. This is to remind us that the Torah is unified. It is one Torah, given by One G-d through one leader (Moshe). He adds that eleh equaling 36 hints not only to 36 tractates but to 36 instances where the Torah regards specific prohibitions as having the gravity of "kares" severity, 36 cubits of the Two Tablets of Sinai, 36 blessings which are said during the obligatory prayers of Morning and Afternoon amida, and 36 hidden pious persons living in every generation who promote spirituality in the world. Finally, the Panae'ach Raza looks at verses 1, 3 and 5 which tell us that Moshe spoke these words, then that Moshe spoke the words to the Jewish people, then that Moshe explained the words of the Torah. In the name of Rabbi Yehuda the Pious (haChasid) he says that this is one more allusion, this time to the Talmudic law of studying the Torah each week "Shnayim Mikra v'Echad Targum" - twice with the Written Word and once with the Targum or explanation. By wording Moshe's instructions as "saying", "saying" and "explaining", the Torah is alluding to this important halacha, which is actually codified in Shulchan Aruch. Wishing you a Shabbos abundant with deep mysteries and profound discoveries. D Fox