5 Fingers of Hashem and the 5 Letters of Menatzepach

5 Fingers of Hashem and the 5 Letters of Menatzepach

Rabbi Ishmael said: “The five fingers of G-d’s right hand are associated with the redemptions. With the little finger, He showed Noah how to build the Ark, as it is written: “And this is how you shall make it.” (Bereishit 6:15) With the ring finger, He struck Egypt, as it is written: “This is the finger of G-d.” (Shemot 8:15) With the middle finger, He wrote the commandments on the Tablets, as it is written: “Stone Tablets inscribed with the finger of G-d.” (Shemot 31:18) With the index finger, G-d showed Moses what the Jews were to give for redemption—the half-shekel—as it is written: “This they shall give.” (Shemot 30:13) With the thumb and His entire hand, G-d will ultimately destroy all the enemies, as it is written: “Your hand shall be raised against Your adversaries, and all Your enemies shall be destroyed.” (Micah 5:8)   Rabbi Elazar said: There are five Hebrew letters that appear in the Hebrew alphabet in two forms: kaf, mem, nun, peh and tzadi. They are written differently at the end of a word and are called final letters, sofit. They are all associated with redemption. Kaf (כ) and final kaf (ך) are associated with Abraham’s rescue from Ur Kasdim, as it is written: לך לך – “Lech Lecha”—“Go forth for yourself.” (Bereishit 12:1) Mem (מ) and final mem (ם) are associated with Isaac’s rescue from the Philistines, as it is written: לך מעמנו כי עצמת ממנו — “Lech me’imanu ki atzamta mimenu me’od”—“Leave us, for you have become more powerful than we are.” (Bereishit 26:16) Nun (נ) and final nun (ן) are associated with Jacob’s redemption from Esau, as it is written: הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד — “Hatzileini na miyad achi miyad Esav”—“Please save me from my brother, from Esau.” (Bereishit 32:11) Peh (פ) and final peh (ף) are associated with the redemption from Egypt, as it is written: פקד פקדת אתכם “Pakod pakadti etchem”—“I have remembered you.” (Shemot 3:16) Tzadi (צ) and final tzadi (ץ) are associated with the future redemption, which will come when the reign of the fourth kingdom ends, as it is written: צמח שמו יצמח — “Tzemach shemo… yitzmach”—“Tzemach is his name, and he shall grow forth from his place.” (Zechariah 6:12) The secret of redemption contained in these letters was transmitted to Abraham; Abraham transmitted it to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, Jacob to Joseph, and Joseph to his brothers. Asher, Jacob’s son, transmitted this secret to his daughter Serach. When Moses and Aaron came to the elders of the people of Israel and showed them the signs, the elders went to Serach, daughter of Asher, and said to her: “A certain man has come and performed such-and-such signs for us.” She replied: “There is nothing significant in these signs.” The elders said to her: “But he also told us these words: “Pakod pakadti”—“I have remembered you.” (Shemot 3:16). She then replied: “This man will redeem the Jewish people from Egypt, for this is what I heard from my father.” Immediately, the Jews believed in G-d and in His messenger Moses, as it is written: “And the people believed when they heard that G-d had remembered (pakad) the Children of Israel.” (from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 47)