Dear Friends,
This week, we read the Torah portion of Eikev, which includes some of the most beautiful descriptions and praises for the holy Land of Israel. These specifically appear in a string of four verses (Deuteronomy 8:7-10). These four verses contain 203 letters. There are many phenomena in these four verses that link them with the Torah's account of the first day of Creation (Genesis 1:1-5), which contain 197 letters. When two Torah paragraphs are connected, we oftentimes see it numerically: the number of their letters (or words) sum to a square number. In this case, 203 and 197 together equal 400, or 20 squared.
The dimensions of the Land of Israel are described as being 400 square parsa (an ancient measure of distance equivalent to about 4.5 kilometers). The root, 20, represents the superconscious crown, the manifestation in our world of God’s infinite light above and beyond creation. The gematria of the term “light of the crown” (אור הכתר) is 832, exactly the value of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel). The union of the first day of creation with the Land of Israel is the consummate union of the infinite light of the supernal crown as it manifests in creation, in the Holy Land of Israel.
To read more, click here.
Enjoy this week’s articles and videos and be sure to listen to Rabbi Ginsburgh’s beautiful melody set to the words of the praises of the Land of Israel in the video below.
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We’ve started sharing English translations of HaRav Ginsburgh’s classes from our Hebrew sister publication, Niflaot. You can access the translations from
this week's Niflaot here.Note that translations from this week's issue will be added over the next few days (perhaps even before Shabbat starts, with God's help).
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Moshe Genuth and the Gal Einai Team
