515 Prayers of Moses Rabbeinu and “Nishmat Kol Chai”

515 Prayers of Moses Rabbeinu and “Nishmat Kol Chai”

The Midrash, commenting on parashah “Va'etchanan”, teaches that Moses offered 515 prayers and explains that the word “va'etchanan” (I entreated) alludes to 515 types of prayer, as its gematria is 515. According to Kabbalah, the angels offer this number of prayers every day—exactly 515. “Esh Dat”, based on this number, suggests that Moses' prayers were intended for the benefit of humanity until the era of the Final Redemption.

The Number 515

According to “Otiyot De-Rabbi Akiva”, this world will come to an end 6,093 years after Creation (other sources say 6,000). Moses died in the year 2488. He prayed for the remaining 3,605 years, which, when divided into shemitah cycles, yield 515 seven-year cycles, beginning with Moses' death and continuing until the end of the present era. (Chassidus.ru) The Matzishov Admor (may his merit shield us), commenting on parashah Va'etchanan, said that between the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and the end of Hoshanah Rabbah there are 516 hours, which constitute the final opportunity to change the decree issued on Yom Kippur. Moses offered 515 prayers before Ha-Shem stopped him—if Moses had recited the 516th prayer, Ha-Shem would have forgiven him and would have been compelled to bring him into the Land of Israel. It is remarkable that the word “prayer” (תפלה) itself also has the value of 515. The Torah (Genesis 25:21) says: “And Isaac entreated the L-rd on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the L-rd accepted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” The word לְנֹכַח – “lenokhach”—(opposite; in the presence of); In this sentence, the word לְ-נֹכַח – לְנֹכַח – “lenokhach” is an acronym consisting of the initial letters of the name of the prayer—נִשְׁמַת כָּל  חַי – “Nishmat Kol Chai”. In the prayer itself, in the passage “The mouths of the upright,” the secret of the presence of the names of the patriarch Yitzchak and the matriarch Rivkah is concealed: the first letters of the second word of each line form the Hebrew name Yitzchak, while the third letters of the third word of each line form the name Rivkah: befi         Yesharim  titRomem uvsiftei Tzadikim   titBarekh uvilshon  Chassidim   titKadesh uvkerev    Kedoshim   titAhallel Thus, the prayer “Nishmat Kol Chai” encodes the names of Yitzchak and Rivkah, whose combined gematria is 515. Yitzchak and Rivkah were the first to fully fulfill G-d's commandment to become one. The Torah says that a husband and wife must “cleave to one another and become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) This is alluded to by the fact that the gematria of “Yitzchak” and “Rivkah” is 515. “Yitzchak” (יצחק) “Rivkah” (רבקה) —which equals “basar echad,” one flesh—(בשר אחד)—whose gematria is also 515.       (Compiled by the site from authentic Jewish sources)