The Urgency of  the Matter

 This past week (3/24-25/05) we just celebrated the holiday of Purim, when the Jewish people celebrated their rescue from destruction from the evil Haman the Amalekite over 2500 years ago in the land of Persia. The key players were מרדכי, Mordechai and אסתר, Esther, whose Gematria are 274 and 661 respectively. In the rules of Mispar Kattan code, if you add 2+7+4 + 6+6+1= 26. The number 26 is the name of the Tetragrammatron and it represents the attribute of G-d in his infinite mercy. This teaches us that although G-d's name was not mentioned in the story , the behind scenes was really dictated by G-d. The same is in our lives, although  we may not see G-d, it is  G-d that really runs the show.  Unfortunately, we do not have the privilege of a Holy Temple where G-d’s Divine Presence can be manifest. It is interesting to note that we can find some connections between the Parsha of the week, Tsav, and the story of Purim. In this Parsha, G-d commands Aharon and his sons regarding the laws of sacrifices. Some Rabbis have commented that they see an urgency to this matter. Likewise, in the story of Purim, Mordechai urges Esther to act on behalf of her people before the wicked plot of Haman would materialize. Moreover, we read how the High Priest is clothed in his special garments including the Tunic, the Sash, the Robe, the Ephod, the belt of the Ephod, the Breastplate, and the Golden Headplate. Likewise, we learn that Mordechai is clothed in royal attire and a royal crown upon his head. In this week’s Parsha, we learn that the High Priest, was anointed with the anointing oil.  We learn some insights from the Hebrew text. The Torah says,  ויצק משמן המשחה על ראש אהרן, “He poured from the oil of anointment upon the head of Aharon”(Leviticus 8:12). If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term , נקה , nakeh, meaning to cleanse. This is one of the 13 attributes of  G-d as noted in Parshas Ki Sisah. Hence, we see that one who is anointed is cleansed and purified in the eyes of G-d. With aid of another code, we see another function of the anointed one which also ties into the holiday of Purim. If we take the hidden letters of the term , משיח, we have the following, מ(מ) ש(ן) י(וד) ח(ת)  . If we take the acronym of the encircled letters (rearrange) it spells מנות ד , manos daled, or  delicacies to the poor. In fact , the commandments of Purim includeשלח מנות & מתנות לאביונים  sending delicacies and gifts to the poor (Esther 9:22). Hence we see that one of the Purposes of the Messiah is to give delicacies to the poor. He must take care of his fellow man. This teaches us universal love. Indeed , in the holiday of Purim we see a hint to the love of G-d to his people right from the start of the reading of the Megillah. It says the following,ויהי בימי אחשורוש הוא אחשורוש   , “And it came to pass in the days Ahasuerus, he is Ahasuerus” (Esther 1:1)  If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term, אוהב, ohev, meaning love. We say this word in our prayers when we say אוהב עמו ישראל , …blessed be G-d who loves his nation Israel. With aid of Gematria, we see the nature of  King Ahasuerus. His Gematria is 821. Another term with the same Gematria can be found in Genesis where it says, ודבק באשתו , “he will become attached to his wife” (Genesis 2:24). Hence we see that the King’s love of his wife was greater than the money that Haman offered him in his sinister plot. Hence, we see that Haman did not study Gematria. May G-d always confound our enemies and block their evil plots. It is not only the battle against evil people, the struggle is against the evil forces as well. The battle is not an easy one as the letter makeup of  Satan, equals the same Gematria as דם dam , blood. In Hebrew the שטן Satan (I Kings 5:18) is comprised of  the ש, which is the 21s letter of the Hebrew Alphabet , the ט, the 9^th letter and the נ, which is the 14^th letter. If we add it up, it equals 44, which also equals Blood. What is more important, if we analyze the letter makeup of the Tetragrammatron it also equals 44. G-d’s Holy name is comprised of the  י Yod, ה , Hey, ו,Vov, ה Hey. The standard Gematria or Mispar Hachrechi is 26. If we break it down further, the Hey is comprised of the   י, yod and the ד, daled. If we add up the letters it equals 44. Hence we see that the Divine spirit flows in our blood as well. The key player in the battle is the לב, lev, heart. It is not enough to simply talk about G-d . You have to let G-d in.  As it says in the Torah, “G-d will circumcise your heart… so that you will love G-d, so that you shall live”(Deuteronomy 30:6). If we write out the hidden and revealed letters of the ל, lamed ,ב, beis of the heart, we have למד בית, meaning a house of study. By studying the Torah we will come to love G-d with all of our hearts. As stated previously , the Parsha of the week controls and influences current events. The top story of the week was the sad situation of Terry Schiavo, the hospice patient whose feeding tube was removed based on the wishes of her husband. According to my cousin Josh, this is simply the result of the “system.” From a moral standpoint, the lady is being tortured. Indeed, her name seals her fate. The Gematria ofתרי סביאבו  , Terry Schiavo is 709. There  is only one phrase in Tanach with the same Gematria and it can be found in Job, where it says the following, A trap will seize  him by the heel, bloodthirsty men will overpower him… His offspring will go hungry.” (Job 18:9,12). The only ones suffering are her parents and brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, the way the system is set up, they do not have any rights over her fate. It is her husband who controls her fate. As noted in the beginning of the Parsha, we talked about the urgency of the matter. Likewise, we see how the Schiavo family is urgently filing motions with the different courthouses, so that an injunction would be issued to reinstate the feeding tube. The Schiavo family is also appealing to the General Public but there is really nothing that the GP can do. It is a strange thought but although the President of the United States can declare war, he still  cannot order the feeding tube reinserted. Perhaps in a kingdom it would be different as the king has the ultimate authority. Such is the system. I can very well relate to this story as my father is on a feeding tube and respirator for past 3 years. After my father had the stroke , the doctors asked me if I would want a DNR order (do not resuscitate) and I said no. I told them to keep my father alive at all costs. Today it is almost four years since that time and I can say with the bottom of my heart that I made the right decision.   In my opinion, as long as there is life, there is hope. Every minute, every hour, every day, there are medical advances being made at breath taking speed across the world. Unfortunately, there is no clear consensus from the medical community as per the exact state of mind of Ms. Schiavo. In my opinion, I will follow the Torah, that says chose life. May G-d give everyone the strength to carry on with this difficult situation.

A refuah shlaima to my father who is recovering from stroke at Vanderbilt Nursing Home,.SI, NY