<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.7600.16700"></HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>I (CM) wrote in my last post:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>If not, where do you draw the line between Torah ideas
and non-Torah ideas?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>I speculated on this topic after I sent the
post:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>I shifted my thought to the methods we use for
Torah analysis to delve into Torah. The obvious such methods are the Midos
SheHaTorah Nidreshes Bohen. I had always taken it for granted that these
are the only means of delving into the depths of Torah. It ocurred to me that
perhaps there are other means of logical Torah analysis that may also have a
valid basis (that result in truth) but perhaps do not have the designation of
being "Torah" by vitrue of the fact that they involve "unsanctioned" means of
Torah analysis. since there are several Tanaitic opinions on how many (and
which) midos there are, then those left off the list of one Tana, but on
another's might be a first shot for some such methods of analysis (that lead to
truth but do not have the force of Torah) - at least according to those
Tanaim, and there may well be others.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>A quick search online turned up the
below</FONT><FONT face=Calibri>:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>Kol Tuv</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>Chaim Manaster</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
title="http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/kornfeld/archives/simchat1.htm
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/kornfeld/archives/simchat1.htm">http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/kornfeld/archives/simchat1.htm</A><FONT
face=Calibri> from R. Mordechai Kornfeld.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>....</FONT></DIV><SPAN
style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"
class=Apple-style-span><SPAN
style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px"
class=Apple-style-span>
<P>But the 13 Midos are not the end. In a Tanaitic text, Rebbi Eliezer, son of
Rebbi Yosi Haglili, lists *32* Midos through which the Torah may be elucidated!
The commentaries (Sefer Kerisus; Rav Yakov of Emden) explain the difference
between the two lists of Midos. The 13 Midos are to be used to deduce Halachic
rulings from the Written Law (or, "Drash"), while the 32 are used to explain the
simple, non-Halachic, meanings of verses (or, "P'shat"), as is clear from Rebbi
Eliezer's own application of his rules. Perhaps for this reason, although
applications of the 32 Midos are relatively rare in the Talmud, they are found
quite often in Midrashic literature, which concentrates more on the meanings of
verses than on the Halachot that are to be learned from them.</P>
<P>Rebbi Eliezer's list of 32 includes some, but not all, of the previously
mentioned 13 plus an entirely new batch of methodologies, such as the familiar
Gematria and Notarikon (Midot #29,30). In Gematria, each of the Hebrew letters
of a word are assigned a numerical (or sometimes alphabetical) value, based on
certain rules. When the letters are then added up (or reread), they are shown to
yield a value (which may be the value of another Hebrew word) which sheds
insight into the meaning of the verse. Notarikon includes both acronyms, in
which each letter of a word represents an entirely new word, and breaking down a
long word into two smaller words which have meanings of their own.</P>
<P></P>
<CENTER><STRONG>III</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>When we extend our search for non-explicit teachings of the Torah to
Kabbalistic Midrashim (such as Zohar and Tikunei Zohar) and other Kabbalistic
works (such as those written by the Rishonim and the school of the Arizal), we
find an entirely new set of methodologies. For example, one popular method to
derive hidden meaning from the verse is by demonstrating that the
beginning-letters or end-letters of a group of consecutive words spell an
entirely new word, shedding light either on the verse in question or on the new
word through the context of the verse. The reverse of an acronym, this method
produces one word from many instead of many words from one.</P>
<P>Although the classical Midrashim do not make explicit reference to such
methodologies, it seems clear that the Midrashim did indeed employ them to
understand the deeper meaning of a verse. To take an example from the beginning
of the Torah, the Midrash (Bereishit Raba 1:7) explains that the Torah begins
with a reference to "Emet" (truth). It infers this from the fact that Hashem is
referred to as "Elokim" in the first verse of the Torah, a designation which is
associated with Emet other verses (such as Yirmeyahu 10:10). Although the
Midrash does not mention that the end-letters of the three words which
immediately follow the word "Bereishit" spell out "Emet" (as Matnot Kehunah
ibid. points out), it is obvious that the Midrash had this in mind as well.</P>
<P>"Nifla'ot Mitoratecha," a wonderful book recently printed by Rav Mordechai
Aran (a neighbor of mine) in memory of his late father, makes use of the power
of computers to seek out words that are represented in the Torah, Nevi'im and
Kesuvim through strings of consecutive beginning-letters or end-letters. His
well-documented and well-researched findings provide a striking list of some 250
words that fit amazingly well into the verses in which they are found. (The book
can be ordered from the author directly at 17 Mishkelov St., Har Nof, Jerusalem,
tel. 02-6518088, for $10+shipping.).</P>
<P>To offer just a few examples of some season-appropriate
findings:<BR>1)SHOFAR: The word Shofar appears only once as a string of
beginning-letters (and not even once as end-letters) in Melachim I:5:18, "There
is no Satan, nor any harmful occurrence." As the Talmud tells us (Rosh Hashanah
16b, and Tosfos), blowing the Shofar thwarts the Satan and prevents mishaps from
affecting the Jewish People.<BR>2)TESHUVAH: The same applies to Teshuvah, whose
sole appearance is among the words (Yirmeyahu 6:1), "Blow the Shofar...." The
Rambam (Hil. Teshuvah 3:4) tells us, "The blowing of the Shofar hints to us that
we must awaken ourselves from our slumber, investigate our deeds, and return to
Hashem through *Teshuvah*."<BR>3)LULAV: The word Lulav appears 4 times in
beginning-letters, in verses in the Pentateuch. (It can be found once more as
beginning-letters and once as end letters, but only by combining words from
separate verses.) All four of the appearances are in words dealing with the
Jews' freedom from, and even dominion over, the other nations. (Bereishit 27:29;
45:8; Vayikra 26:5 are obvious. In Bereishit 40:9, "Lulav" appears as the butler
begins to relate his dream to Yosef, an event which spurred Yosef's freedom from
the Egyptian prison and his meteoric rise to power.) Such appearances provide
sensational support for the Midrash which attributes this exact significance to
the Four Species:<BR>The Jewish People and the other nations both come to lobby
before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah. It is not clear who the winner is. But when the
Jews leave the presence of Hashem with their Lulavim and Esrogim in their hands,
we know that the Jewish People have won. (Vayikra Raba 30:3)</P>
<P>(The word Lulav, it should be noted, may refer specifically to the palm
branch or, in a general sense, to the entire set of Four Species. An example of
the latter is the blessing that is recited before taking the Species in
hand.)</P>
<P></P>
<CENTER><STRONG>IV</STRONG></CENTER>
<P>Recently, much turmoil has been caused by the discovery that Equidistant
Number Sequences (ELS) -- known to most people by their popular name, the Bible
Codes -- seem to produce meaningful patterns in the Pentateuch in a
statistically significant manner. For all the novelty of the approach, it
actually has its roots in ancient works. Although there does not seem to be any
mention of ELS in Midrashic literature, Kabbalistic or otherwise, nevertheless
it is mentioned in the works of the early commentators. The first recorded
mention is in Rabbeinu Bachye, Bereishit end of 1:2. The Roke'ach (Rav Elazar of
Mainz, c. 1210) includes ELS (or "Dilugin") in a list of the *73* methods of
elucidating the Torah (in "Sefer Hachochmah," his introduction to Bereishit).
How do these 73 methods fit in with the 13 and 32 methods mentioned above
(section II)? And why are some of them not mentioned anywhere in Midrashic
literature?</P>
<P>We are taught that there are four distinct approaches to the Torah: P'shat
(simple meaning of the verses), Drush (Halachic derivations), Remez (veiled
hints, which serve as the jumping point for Kabbalah) and Sod (which includes
the body of Kabbalistic teachings) -- see Maharsha to Eruvin 21a. Just as the 13
methods are exclusive to Drush and the 32 to P'shat, so too are the 73 exclusive
to Remez, and another group exclusive to Kabbalah. This, it appears, is why the
Midreshei Kabbalah only use the Kabbalah methodologies, while the Roke'ach, who
specialized in Torat Haremez, used the 73 methodologies of Remez.</P>
<P>The recent revival of ELS findings was launched by the ingenious discoveries
of Rav Michoel Ber Weismandel (d. 1958). With his brilliant mind and flawless
memory, he managed to find ELS patterns in the Torah that nobody could possibly
have dreamed of before him. For example, Megilat Ester (one of the Ketuvim)
contains 12,110 letters, asserts Rav Weismandel. If you were to count exactly
that number of letters from the first Aleph of the Torah (Ber*ei*shit), you will
find a Samech, another 12,110 letters and you find a Tav, then a Reish.
Altogether, that spells "Ester!" (This and numerous other ELS's that Rav
Weismandel discovered, such as the famous "Menorah," are recorded in Torat
Chemed, written by a student of his.)</P>
<P>The champions of the modern version of ELS are Doron Witzum (the discoverer)
and Pfr. Eliyahu Rips of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (the leading
mathemetician). Their model attempts to show that ELS's of words that belong in
the same group are indeed grouped together in the Torah in a statistically
significant manner. The key words here are "statistically significant" - a
typical word four letters in length can appear as an ELS some 300,000 times in
the Torah. In order to show that his method produces statistically significant
ELS's, Dr. Witzum *first* chooses pairs of words that seem to be thematically
related (such as "hammer" and "anvil," or the name of a Torah authority and the
date on which he passed away, or the name of the death-camp "Auschwitz" and the
names of its daughter camps). Then, he looks for the following factors: (1) Does
their ELS occur in relatively *close proximity* with each other? (2) Is he using
relatively *short ELS's* (that is, one of the lowest ELS's in the Torah for any
particular word), (3) Dr. Witzum takes into consideration the *infrequency* of
the words with which he is dealing in order to produce a formula for what length
ELS and what proximity is considered significant.</P>
<P>Although the mathematics gets complicated, the positive side is that the
results can be presented in clear and impressive graphic format. (The
mathematical equations themselves were presented for peer review and printed in
a recent issue of Science.)</P>
<P>Certainly, we still haven't discovered, and we probably will never discover,
all of the methods for revealing the hidden teachings of the Torah. But at least
we can get a taste from all of this of the full depth and breadth of the
Torah.</P>
<P></P>
<DIV></SPAN></SPAN><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"
class=Apple-style-span><SPAN
style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class=Apple-style-span>
<H2
style="MARGIN: 30px 0px 0px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-SIZE: 1.6em; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><A
title="http://hashkafacircle.com/shiurim/thirteen-midos/thirteen-midos-01-intro/
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="http://hashkafacircle.com/shiurim/thirteen-midos/thirteen-midos-01-intro/">http://hashkafacircle.com/shiurim/thirteen-midos/thirteen-midos-01-intro/</A> </H2>
<H2
style="MARGIN: 30px 0px 0px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); FONT-SIZE: 1.6em; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Thirteen
Midos 01 intro <SPAN
style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium 'Times New Roman'; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"
class=Apple-style-span><SPAN
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(51,0,102); FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class=Apple-style-span><SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>from Rabbi
Triebitz</SPAN></SPAN></H2>
<DIV style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.4em" class=entry>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 1.05em">....</P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 1.05em">In this shiur he gives an introduction to why it is
important to learn about the midos, and discusses where the midos are found. He
then shows the contradictions between Hillel’s 7 midos and Rabbi Yishmael’s 13
midos (and Rabbi Yossi Ha-Gelili’s 32 midos), and explains how they developed
and for what purpose.</P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 1.05em">It is worth learning through Pesachim 66a which is
the story of Hillel and Bnei Beseira, which a lot of the shiur is based
upon.</P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 1.05em">You can also have the Toras Cohanim with the
commentary of Raavad in front of you if you click on this link:<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><A
style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,204); TEXT-DECORATION: none" title="Toras Cohanim"
href="http://hebrewbooks.org/14026" target=_blank>Toras
Cohanim</A></P></DIV></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline></DIV></BODY></HTML>