Tehillim 9 – Rabbi Akiva’s Secret Before His Death, Revealed by Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli
Tehillim 9 – Rabbi Akiva’s Secret Before His Death, Revealed by Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli
Tehillim 9:11– “Ve-yivtechu vecha yodei shemecha, ki lo-azavta dorshecha Ad-nai” – (those who know Your Name will trust in You, for You do not forsake those who seek You, O L-rd).David HaMelech encoded in this psalm the eighth of the 72 Names of HaShem, concealed in the three pesukim of the Torah describing the Jews’ crossing of "Yam Suf."In the sofey tevot (final letters) of the eleventh pasuk of this psalm, we find the Name כהת:וְיִבְטְחוּ בְךָ, יוֹדְעֵי שְׁמֶךָ: כִּי לֹא-עָזַבתָּ דֹרְשֶׁךָ יְהוָה– “Azavta dorshecha Ad-nai.”This Name possesses the power to save one from enemies—both physical and spiritual—who seek to cause harm.Reciting this psalm with kavanah for the Name כהת is a segula for protection from enemies and the yetzer hara. This is a saving Name whose power helps a person break free from their oppression.The Sages call this Name “Takeh”—from the Hebrew word meaning “to strike.”Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli teaches that this Name is also encoded in Tehillim 150—in the roshei tevot, the initial letters of the first three words:כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה, תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ: הַלְלוּ-יָהּ - כהת“Kol haneshama tehalel Yah, hallelu-Yah” – (let every soul praise the L-rd, Hallelujah).Rabbi Shimshon teaches that this Name follows the Name שדי, which is written in our mezuzot. On the reverse side of the mezuzah parchment, only one word is written—the Name שדי—which protects the home. It is an acronym for the phrase “Shomer Daltot Yisrael” (Guardian of the Doors of Israel). With the help of the letter י, it removes שד—a “shed” (an impure force)—from the home, for the letter י symbolizes the revelation of the Divine Presence.He further explains that if we take the letters שדי and look at the letters that follow them in the alphabet (after ש - ת, after ד – ה, and after י – כ), we find the Name תכה.Therefore, teaches Rabbi Shimshon, “ve-aryeh Shaddai betzarecha”—when a person is in danger, protective forces stand against it: the Name itself, שדי, and the letters that follow it, forming the Name תכה.Moshe RabbeinuIn addition, Rabbi Shimshon reminds us that it was with this very Name that Moshe Rabbeinu killed the Egyptian. When he saw two Jews fighting, he said to one of them: “Rasha, lama takeh reecha?”—“Wicked one, why are you striking your fellow?” In other words: Stop—what are you doing, striking a fellow Jew? I already killed the Egyptian with this Name, “Takeh.”Rabbi AkivaThrough this Name, one of the secrets of the Talmudic tractate Berachot, folio 66, is revealed.It describes the final hours of Rabbi Akiva’s life and how, during his torture, he recited “Shema.” His students witnessed this terrible scene and asked their teacher: “Rabbeinu, ad kan?”Rabbi Akiva replied that throughout his life, whenever he recited these words, he longed to fulfill them: “to love G-d with all one’s heart.”Why did the students ask Rabbi Akiva: “ad kan”—“until now”?Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli revealed that in fact Rabbi Akiva had recited only the first part of the “Shema,” concluding with the words “Baruch Shem Kevod...”Rabbi Akiva—the teacher of the great Rashbi, who revealed the entire hidden Torah—knew the secret meaning of the Shema. He knew that in the next line of the Shema, “Ve-ahavta et Ad-nai Elohecha” – את יהוה אלהיך—the sofey tevot of the three words encode the Name of the Almighty: כהת.With this Name, Rabbi Akiva could have freed himself and killed his executioners, but he knew that the sentence had to be carried out, because he knew that he was the gilgul of one of Yosef’s ten brothers—according to the Midrash, Yissachar.(Based on a lesson by Rabbi Yisrael Yakobov, “The Secret Meaning of Tehillim 8 and 9,” for “Sila Tehilim”)
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