7 Days of Pesach and the Atbash Code

7 Days of Pesach and the Atbash Code

The Kabbalists discovered a connection between the 7 days of Pesach and the other holidays and commemorative dates of the Jewish calendar. Beginning on the second day of Pesach, we count 49 days and thus arrive at Shavuot. Here are the numbers of the days of Pesach which, when “translated” using the Atbash code, reveal the following connections: 1. The day of the week on which the 1st day of Pesach (א) falls coincides with the day of the week on which Tisha B’Av (תשעה) will fall that year; 2. The day of the week on which the 2nd day of Pesach (ב) falls coincides with the day of the week on which Shavuot (שבועות) will fall that year; 3. The day of the week on which the 3rd day of Pesach (ג) falls coincides with the day of the week on which Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה) will fall the following year, as well as the first day of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret; 4. The day of the week on which the 4th day of Pesach (ד) falls coincides with the day of the week on which Simchat Torah will fall the following year outside the Land of Israel—the day marking the beginning of the Torah reading cycle (קריאת התורה); 5. The day of the week on which the 5th day of Pesach (ה) falls coincides with the day of the week on which the Fast of Gedaliah (צום) and Yom Kippur will fall the following year; 6. The day of the week on which the 6th day of Pesach (ו) falls coincides with the day of the week on which Purim (פורים) and Lag BaOmer will fall the following year; 7. The day of the week on which the 7th day of Pesach (ז) falls coincides with the day of the week on which Hoshana Rabbah will fall six months later; a distinctive element of this day is the willow branch (ערבה). In other words, we see that the mnemonic for the first seven letters is the Atbash code: א ת ב ש ג ר ד ק ה צ ו פ ז ע The first day of Pesach, represented by the letter Alef in the Atbash cipher, gives us Tav—the letter with which Tisha B’Av begins; Bet gives us Shin—the letter with which Shavuot begins, and so on. Thus, on each day of Pesach, we should feel a connection with the other holidays of the year.       Even the fasts in our calendar, which bear the mark of mourning, will in the future become holidays, as our Sages say. Therefore, during Pesach we can sense the hidden festive dimension present within the fasts, and each day of Pesach becomes for us a double holiday, bringing double joy and blessing. Chag Pesach Sameach!   (Shulchan Aruch and Be’er Heitev, Orach Chaim, siman 428, based on a lesson by Rabbi Alexander Tzvi Sypkov)