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600,000 Souls, 600,000 Letters
Translated by M. Steinberger and E. Linas
The word "Israel" can be read as an acronym for "Yesh
Shishim Ribo Otiot LaTorah", meaning: "There are
six hundred thousand letters in the Torah". Therefore, Israel did not leave
Egypt until there were six hundred thousand of them, in order for each soul to
be "supported" by one letter in the Torah, as we have written in a number of
places.  | | " When the voice is the voice of Jacob...then the hands are not the those of Esau..." | | |
We see that G-d overlooks many serious sins but He
does not overlook negligence in Torah study, as is written, "Why was the land
lost? G-d has said, 'Because of their forsaking My Torah.'" (Jeremiah 9:11-12).
Even though they transgressed all of the sins, G-d only accused them of
negligence in Torah study. As our Sages have said regarding the verse "the voice
is the voice of Jacob" (Gen. 27:22): when the voice is the voice of Jacob, that
is, of Torah study, then the hands are not the those of Esau, that is, the
forces of evil are powerless. But when the voice is not that of Jacob, then the
hands are that of Esau and the forces of impurity dominate. Our Sages likewise
explained that the reason that " Amalek came and fought with Israel at Refidim"
(Ex. 17:18) was that their hands had slackened from the Torah. [This is derived
from the word "Refidim" which has as its root the Hebrew word "rafa",
meaning "slackening".]
Since the name "Israel" alludes to the fact that the
number of letters in the Torah corresponds to the number of souls, it follows
that when the Jewish People come to count their souls [take a census], the
accuser comes and accuses them saying, "Master of the universe, didn't Israel
only reach this size population in order to match the number of letters in the
Torah which are hinted at in their name? And now they are negligent in [the
Torah]!" This becomes the substance of the accusation. | | " Israel...should awaken their fear of Heaven in order to repair their souls and spirits..." | | |
Furthermore, the word "negef", meaning "a
scourge", has the same numerological value as "Samael", the Angel of
Destruction, short two. ["Negef" equals 133, while "Samael"
equals 131.] The missing two allude to the two Torahs (Oral and Written). When
Israel are lax in the two Torahs, two powers are added to those of the forces of
evil, and it becomes "negef", a scourge, and afflicts them, G-d forbid.
In fact, though, through the redemption money that
Israel gives, the forces of evil have no power to rule over them, for charity is
a protection against them, as is written, "Charity saves from death" (Proverbs
10:2).
All of G-d's commandments are hints and allusions, to
cause people to study G-d's ways. As for why Israel was commanded to give a
half-shekel, the word "shekel" has the same numerological value as " Nefesh",
with half of it having the same value as the Hebrew word "yira", meaning
"fear of Heaven" [including the word as a whole]. The other half has the same
value as " Ruach". This comes to warn and inform Israel that they should
awaken their fear of Heaven in order to repair their souls and spirits, for
heavenly prosecution comes as a result of negligence in Torah study and the
remedy is for them to accept upon themselves to study Torah with no
interruptions. This follows from the principle that the form of repentance must
match the sin, which means that besides for the redemption money that Israel
gives, they must take upon themselves to study Torah, for the redemption money
only atones for what is past, but from now on nothing can help them but actual
Torah study. [Petuchei Chotem,
parashat Ki Tisa, as anthologized in Peninei Avir Ya'akov, p. 213]
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