A Thought on Parshas Va'eschanan

"...Va'eschanan..." "...and I prayed..." (3:23) Moshe Rabbeinu shares with us how he prayed to HaShem, longing to be given a reprieve and to be granted entry into the Promised Land. This word "eschanan" is an atypical term for referring to prayer. It has as its root the word "chen" which means grace or favor. It is as if Moshe said "I sought favor from G-d." Our sages have offered some homiletic interpretations of the word. So does the Panae'ach Raza. He notes that the word equals, in gematria value, 515. This is, he says, the identical value of the word "tefila" itself, which is the generic term for "prayer." Thus, while the word used is an a typical synonym for praying, the hidden meaning via gematria reminds us that it is still intended as a type of praying. Moreover, writes the Panae'ach Raza, the word "shira" (song) also adds up to 515. This means that there is an aspect of praying which can be captured through song as well as through uttering words alone. The Panae'ach Raza reminds us that when Shlomo HaMelech instructs us in Mishlei 3:9 to "show honor to HaShem through hon'echa" (which means "through your wealth"), our Talmudic sages want us to understand that this word "hon" can be understood as "chen", which then means "honor HaShem through what He has favored you with." So, this means that if a person can employ his voice in singing praise to HaShem (which is something that he has been favored with, in that not everyone has the gift of a melodic and a sweet singing voice), then the person must employ his song in showing honor i.e. praying, to HaShem. So, va'eschanan equals the word prayer, prayer equals song, song is an example of hon/chen, and the root of our word eschanan is in fact chen. Thus, Moshe Rabbeinu tells us that he was given the gift of song, which is what he offered to HaShem in his unsolicited prayer to Him. The Panae'ach Raza then notes that the word yeshara - straight and unwavering - is also in the gematria of 515, which then becomes a remez for how Moshe, and all of us, are supposed to posture ourselves when we stand and pray. We pray with our legs and feet together, which is the posture of the angels themselves. Moshe was standing in that posture as he sung his prayer to HaShem, much as we stand in the Shmoneh Esrae Amida. Now, his final observation is that our word "va'eschanan" is made up of "sixes". It begins with the letter vav which equals 6. It has six letters in it, which is another 6. The verse itself contains six words, which is a third 6. The total of three sixes is 18. This is the number of blessings in our Shmoneh Esrae (which means "18") which signifies that the prayer of Moshe comprised the form of prayer which we are bidden to offer daily. We offer it with our feet in angelic poise, our words directed above, and our intonation cloaked in whatever gifts and uniqueness that HaShem has granted us. May the rest of Chodesh Menachem Av and the months ahead be filled with chen and may all that we do find favor Above. Good Shabbos. D Fox