The Secrets of Pesach—Gematria and Acronyms

The Secrets of Pesach—Gematria and Acronyms

Kimcha de-Pischa One of the main mitzvot before Pesach is to make a donation—“Kimcha de-Pischa” (flour for Pesach)—קמחא דפסחא. This expression consists of two words—“kemach” (flour) and “Pesach.” Remarkably, the gematria of both words is 148, which is also the gematria of the word “Netzach” (eternity).   Chametz Chametz—the words “chametz” and “metzach” (forehead)—consist of the same letters, alluding to “azut metzach”—stubbornness, insolence, and brazenness, traits incompatible with Judaism. Round Matzah When the angels came to Abraham on the third day, he asked Sarah to knead dough and make “ugot.” Chazal explain that in this context, the word “ugot” derives from the word “agulot” (round). In Abraham’s generation, idolaters made bread in polygonal shapes so that each idol would receive a separate portion of the bread. Abraham, however, broke with this tradition, associating the circle with the infinite Light of the Almighty that comes from above and has neither beginning nor end. Charoset The Mekubalim teach that the word charoset consists of two words—חס “chas” (takes pity, shows compassion) and רות—Rut. Interestingly, among Mountain Jews, the word “charoset” is pronounced “chaserut,” making the division into these two words clear: חס “chas” and רות—Rut. On the Seder plate, “charoset” corresponds to “Netzach” (eternity), while Ruth, in the merit of her modesty and righteousness, symbolizes the eternity of the House of David until the coming of Mashiach—her descendant. Maror The gematria of the word “maror” (bitter herb) equals the gematria of the word “mavet” (death)—446. If a person pushes away the bitterness of his trials, new troubles will come upon him, because their purpose is to test how much he trusts in G-d. The secret of “maror” lies in chewing it—when we feel the bitterness and continue chewing, we overcome obstacles. We were given 32 teeth for chewing food, corresponding to the 32 paths of the Torah, “Netivot Chochmah.” Korech Korech represents what happens after a person has overcome all his trials: he is helped to become completely purified, and the treasury of spiritual knowledge is opened to him. The word “korech” consists of “ko” and “rach” (soft). The gematria of “ko” = 26, while the gematria of “rach” = 220, which equals the gematria of the word “tahor”—ritually pure. Urchatz In Kabbalah, Urchatz—the expression “wash your hands”—is connected with the expression “ba ana rachitz,” which in Aramaic means: “In Him I place my trust.” The Bread of Poverty The Torah calls matzah the bread of poverty. Before eating bread, we recite the blessing: “Hamotzi lechem min haaretz.” If we subtract the gematria of “aretz” (earth)—291—from “lechem” (bread)—78—we obtain 213. We arrive at the same number by adding “lechem” (78) and “matzah” (135), yielding 213. In Egypt, Yosef sealed the letter “ה”, causing “lachma” (bread), associated with the symbol of the birth of sons to our Matriarchs, to become “anya” (poor) in exile. But Hashem redeemed His people through His mercy, with the help of the Name consisting of 72 words (216 letters), whose gematria equals “lachma anya.” Egg “The egg” and “double dipping”—we eat an egg as a sign of mourning. The Rama taught that the hidden meaning of this custom is that the night of Tisha B’Av is determined on Pesach night: the day of the week on which the first day of Pesach falls always coincides with the day of the week on which Tisha B’Av falls. At the beginning of the Pesach Seder, we dip karpas into salt water—measure for measure, we are still bearing punishment for “and they dipped his tunic in blood” (the brothers of Yosef); then we dip “maror” into “charoset”—to sweeten the bitterness and emerge from exile. “Having reclined, they sat in Bnei Brak…” How could Rabbi Akiva, being a student of Rabbi Eliezer, sit in his teacher’s presence while reclining? The Holy Zohar teaches that Rabbi Akiva’s soul was in Egypt during the Exodus; moreover, it was part of Pharaoh’s soul. Pharaoh ruled over Egypt precisely because of Rabbi Akiva’s great soul. This power manifested itself even after Rabbi Akiva did teshuvah. Therefore, Rabbi Eliezer permitted him to sit while reclining. “Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: ‘Although I appear to be seventy years old…’” At that time, Rabbi Elazar was only 18 years old. How, then, could he say this about himself? Rabbi Elazar was a gilgul of the soul of Shmuel HaNavi, who lived for 52 years. Adding his 18 years to 52 gives us 70 years. Afikoman Afikoman is a pledge of healing for the soul. Its gematria is 287, equal to the gematria of the word “rofe” (physician). Tzafun—the Torah states that G-d created taninim gedolim. There has been much discussion about these enigmatic creatures. The Sages say that they actually refer to two great monsters or dragons (Rashi on Bereishit 1:21). G-d created a male and female pair, but they were so terrifying that He immediately killed one of them so that they would not reproduce. The surviving Leviathan is hidden and perhaps roams the depths of the seas. The taninim correspond to Tzafun, the eating of the afikoman. The hidden half of the matzah is finally revealed and eaten to conclude the meal. This hints at the meal at the end of days, known as the “Leviathan feast,” at which the righteous will join Mashiach to taste the meat of the Leviathan. Ke’arah Ke’arah (the Pesach Seder plate)—the annulment of judgments. The letters of the word “ke’arah” precede the letters of the word “shofar.” According to Kabbalah, this means that the Pesach plate with matzah annuls the need for the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. (Ben Ish Chai)   Hachnasat Orchim Hachnasat orchim—welcoming guests during Pesach—is very important; this mitzvah helps bring healing from poverty. The letters “mem tzadi” in the word “matzah,” whose gematria is 130, correspond to the gematria of the word “ani” (poor)—131 with the kolel. (Rabbeinu Chida)   “Kos Yayin” “Kos yayin”—a cup of wine—has the gematria 156. The name “Yosef” also equals 156. Since Yosef rectifies the four levels of Adam’s soul, four cups of wine are required. The gematria of “kos” = 86, which is the gematria of the word “Elokim” and of the word “teva”—nature.   Hallel The gematria of the word “Hallel” = 65, corresponding to the gematria of the Name “Ado-nai” (the L-rd). “Nirtzah” “Nirtzah” has the gematria 345, corresponding to the Name “El Sha-dai”—a Name indicating strength and power, as well as the Creator’s special care—“shad.” Haggadah The Sages calculated that the entire Pesach Haggadah contains exactly 1,820 words, corresponding to the number of times the four-letter Holy Name of Hashem is repeated in the Torah.   “Every male child that is born you shall cast into the Nile”… Before Adam’s son Shet was born (he rectified the soul of Hevel), Adam separated from Chavah for 130 years and sinned by emitting seed in vain, resulting in the emergence of many impure forces. Their sparks fell into Egypt, forming the “erev rav,” the Egyptians who joined the Jewish people during the Exodus. These offspring of corrupted seed became rooted in and joined the people of Israel in Egypt. Thus, during the Egyptian exile, which lasted 210 years, the first 130 years were devoted to separating the good from the evil. But the rectification of the defect caused by the sin of “emitting seed in vain” could be completed only during those 130 years, measure for measure. Therefore, the 130 years during which Adam separated from his wife caused the first 130 years of the Egyptian exile; during that time, the souls that were born carried out their mission, and only afterward was Moshe Rabbeinu born. Therefore, Pharaoh’s terrible decree applied only to boys—for only men can commit the sin of “emitting seed in vain.” It is known that Moshe was 80 years old at the beginning of the Exodus. Adding the first 130 years to the 80 years Moshe had lived gives exactly 210 years of Egyptian exile. The reason Moshe was born only after 130 years of exile is that the sparks created by Adam’s sin had not yet been selected and rectified. Moshe could not come before these sparks had been purified and rectified. This is the meaning of what our Sages, may their memory be a blessing, said: when Moshe was cast into the Nile, the cruel decree to cast all male infants into the Nile was annulled, because the good had already been separated from the evil and the rectification of the souls over the preceding 130 years had been completed. This also explains why Amram, Moshe’s father, separated from his wife Yocheved for the same 130 years that Adam separated from Chavah; when they reunited, Moshe was born to them (that is, Yocheved’s pregnancy was connected with Chavah’s pregnancy and constituted its final rectification).   Shir HaShirim “Shir HaShirim” is read on all eight days of Pesach. The enslavement of the Jews began after Levi’s death; 117 years passed from Levi’s death until the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. “Shir HaShirim” contains exactly 117 verses and foretells the future redemption of our people. (Rabbeinu Chida) (With gratitude to the head of Vienna’s Bukharian community, Rabbi Yitzchak Niyazov, for the gift of the book “The Secret of the Pesach Haggadah”—all the commentaries are taken from it.)