Angels of the Exodus

The following letter is taken from a pamphlet written by the saintly Rebbe Shimshon from Ostropoli. He writes at the end of the pamphlet that anyone who studies the wondrous and awesome secrets written here, even one time in a year - and especially Pesach Eve - is guaranteed that he will be saved from any kind of accident or disaster or strange death for the whole of that year, and that everything that he turns his hand to will be successful!

Shalom Rabbi…as briefly as possible I will answer Your Honor's question regarding that which I wrote about the symbols "DaTzaCH ADaSH BeaChaB"  [dalet, tzadi, chaf - ayin, dalet, shin- beit, alef, chet, beit] etc. and how the Redemption is hinted at by these symbols.

The holy Arizal wrote in his pamphlet "Many Wonders", Part 15 entitled "The Departure from Egypt", Chapter 3, Page 42, as follows:

I have already made known to you that Pharoah was afflicted by these ten plagues at the hands of 3,280 [spelled in gematria "gimel,alef-lamed-pei-yud-mem, vav, reish, pei"] Angels of Punishment that are appointed to and dwell in the three Heavens of Impurity. The first [Heaven] is named "ShaRA" [shin, reish, ayin], the second "TaMOCh" [tav, mem, vav, chaf], and the third "BISheHA" [beit, yud, shin, hei, alef]. The Minister appointed over them is named "DaLPaKT" [dalet, lamed, pei, kuf, tet]

- or an alternative version: "DaLPaKTA" [dalet, lamed, pei, kuf, tet, alef]. And over [spelled in Hebrew, "vav, ayin, lamed"]

- or an alternative version: and over them [spelled "vav, ayin, lamed, yud, hei, mem"] all, the Minister known as "TaKA BeRAiShIT" [tav, kuf, alef - beit, reish, alef, shin, yud, tav].

And behold, the third is lacking ten, the fourth is lacking six, and the ninth is lacking six, as they are written in the Torah. And furthermore, that which we find, that the Egyptians were afflicted by ten plagues in Egypt and fifty at the Sea, is all according to the name "SHaPO" [shin, pei, vav], which is the aspect of David ben Yishai ['the son of Jesse'], "And G‑d said 'Strike,' and they struck them," [an alternative version: "And G‑d spoke and they struck"]. According to the name "TaKaL" [tav, kuf, lamed], the Egyptians were afflicted by forty plagues in Egypt and two hundred at the Sea, "And G‑d said 'Strike,' and they struck them," [an alternative version: "And G‑d spoke and they struck"]. According to the name "ShaTzaH" [shin, tzadi, hei] [an alternative version: "AShaTzaH" - alef, shin, tzadi, hei], the Egyptians were afflicted by fifty plagues in Egypt and two hundred and fifty at the Sea, "And G‑d spoke and they struck."

And G‑d rectified the Exile in exactly the same way that He had afflicted [the Egyptians]. And what was their transgression and their sin, what trespass did our forefathers commit [against G‑d], that made it necessary for them to suffer in the Iron Furnace of Exile [i.e. Egypt], until they were finally redeemed [an alternative version: until He redeemed them], using the following names, "DeAV" [dalet, ayin, beit], "TzeDAh" [tzadi, dalet, alef], "KaShChaV" [chaf, shin, chet, beit]? This is all as written by the Arizal.

And Your Honor wrote to me that all these words of the Arizal are obviously the most wondrous and awesome secrets, sealed, closed and locked away from the slightest understanding, for who is there that could explain them? And, in fact, I have been asked many times by some of the greatest rabbis to explain these words to them, and I refused. However, because of my great love for Your Honor, I will explain them to you as they were revealed and explained to me in a dream. And He who is merciful, forgiving of sin, [should forgive me if I reveal that which is not appropriate].

That which the Arial started off by writing : I have already made known to you that Pharoah was afflicted by the ten plagues at the hands of 3,280 [spelled in gematria, "gimel, alef-lamed-pei-yud-mem, vav, reish, pei"] Angels of Punishment etc. he was saying, as the Kabbalistic Masters teach, that there are 3,280 Angels of Punishment appointed to punish the wicked in Gehinom, and to purify them from their sins. The proof for this coming from the quote "to smite with the fist [in Hebrew ,"b'agrof", spelled beit, alef, gimel, reish, pei] of wickedness" (Isaiah 58:4), the word "fist" being the initial letters of the number 3,280 written out, thus alef, gimel, reish, pei [meaning "fist"] = "gimel ['three'] alef-lamed-pei-yud-mem ['thousands'], vav, reish, pei ['and 280']" Angels of Punishment who punish the wicked, and it is them who also punished the wicked Pharoah and the Egyptians.

And this is a wondrous secret, for if you work out the numerical value of the Ten Plagues exactly according to the way they are written, as follows: dalet, mem [which spells "blood"], tzadi, pei, reish, dalet, ayin [which spells "frogs"], chaf, nun, mem ["lice"], ayin, reish, beit ["wild animals"], dalet, beit, reish ["disease"], shin, chet, yud, nun ["boils"], beit, reish, dalet ["hail"], alef, reish, beit, hei ["locusts"], chet, shin, chaf ["darkness"], mem, chaf, tav, beit, chaf, vav, reish, tav, ["striking of the first-born"], they add up to exactly the same amount as 3280, hinting at the 3280 camps of Angels of Punishment mentioned previously, appointed to punish and purify the sinners.

This is an incredible explanation, according to the simple meaning of the words, which has never before been revealed!

The Hebrew words for…

"Blood" is spelled: dalet, mem = 44
"Frogs" is spelled: tzadi, pei, reish,dalet, ayin = 444
"Lice" is spelled: chaf, nun, mem = 110
"Wild beasts" is spelled: ayin, reish, beit = 272
"Disease" is spelled: dalet, beit, reish = 206
"Boils" is spelled: shin, chet, yud, nun =368
"Hail" is spelled: beit, reish, dalet = 206
"Locusts" is spelled: alef, reish, beit, hei = 208
"Darkness" is spelled: chet, shin, chaf = 328
"Striking of the first-born" is spelled: mem, chaf, tav, beit, chaf, vav, reish, vav, tav = 1094

Total      =      3280                    

And that which he [the Arizal] wrote: the third is lacking ten, this is referring to the third plague, [lice, spelled] "chaf, nun,yud, mem", which is written without the letter yud [whose numerical value is 10]. "The fourth is lacking six," i.e. the fourth plague, [wild beasts, spelled] "ayin, reish, vav, beit", is missing the letter vav [whose numerical value is 6]. 

"The ninth is lacking six," refers to the ninth plague, [darkness, spelled] "chet, vav, shin, chaf", also lacking a vav. [An alternative version: A yud is missing from the third plague, [lice, spelled] "chaf, nun, mem", which needs to have the yud missing. The fourth plague, [wild beasts, spelled] "ayin, reish, beit", is missing six, because it needs to have the vav missing. The ninth plague, [darkness, spelled] "chet, shin, chaf", is lacking six, because it also needs to be written without the vav.]

And that which he wrote: "…as they are written in the Torah", his intention was to say that this is actually how they are written in the Torah, with these missing letters. For they are written in parashat Vayera, "chaf, nun, mem" ["lice"] without the yud, "ayin, reish, beit" ["wild animals"] without the vav, and "chet, shin, chaf" ["darkness"] without the vav, and not as they are written in the Haggadah, all written out in full. He is referring to the way they are written in the Torah, which adds up exactly to the 3280 Angels of Punishment that punish the wicked, which punished the Egyptians and afflicted Pharoah and the Egyptians in Egypt, from the three Heavens of Impurity.

And that which he wrote: that these 3280 Angels of Punishment dwell in the three Heavens of Impurity. The first [Heaven] is named "ShaRA" [spelled shin, reish, ayin], the second "TaMOCh" [spelled tav, mem, vav, chaf], and the third "BISheHA" [spelled beit, yud, shin, hei, alef], there is in this also a wondrous and awesome secret in what he wrote [an alternative version: hinted at in what he said], "these ten plagues that (G‑d) brought" [in Hebrew, "aylu eser makot sh'heviya", spelled alef, lamed, vav, ayin, shin, reish ,mem, chaf, vav, tav, shin, hei, beit, yud, alef], "ten" [in Hebrew, spelled ayin, shin, reish] is the same letters as "ShaRA" [shin, reish, ayin],  "plagues" [spelled mem, chaf, vav, tav] is the same letters as "TaMOCh" [tav, mem, vav, chaf ], and "that brought" [spelled shin, hei, beit, yud, alef] is the same letters as "BISheHA" [beit, yud, shin, hei, alef], these words are hinting at the three Heavens of Impurity containing the 3280 Angels of Punishment which inflicted the ten plagues upon Pharoah and Egypt, and this is truly a great wonder.

And that which he wrote: the Minister appointed over them is named "DaLPaKT" [dalet, lamed, pei, kuf, tet] he is revealing that this name comes from the word "the Egyptians" [in Hebrew, "hamitzrim", spelled hei, mem, tzadi, reish, yud, mem], where each letter of the angel's name is the one previous to it's equivalent letter in the word "the Egyptians" in the alef-beit, thus, the dalet precedes the hei, the lamed the mem, the pei the tzadi, the kuf the reish, the tet the yud, and the final mem of the word "hamitzrim" is just the plural and not part of the root of the word. This is what he was hinting at when he said: ten plagues did G‑d bring upon the Egyptians (i.e. the letters that preceded the letters of the word Egyptians, "hamitzrim", try to understand all this, and the good G‑d will atone etc.

And that which he wrote: and over [in Hebrew "v'al", spelled vav, ayin, lamed] [an alternative version: and over them, "v'aleyhem", spelled vav, ayin, lamed, yud, hei, mem] all, the angelic Minister known as "TaKA BeRAiShIT" [tav, kuf, alef - beit, reish, alef, shin, yud, tav], he was referring to the initial letters of each of the ten plagues "DaTzaCH ADaSH BeaChaB"  [dalet, tzadi, chaf - ayin, dalet, shin- beit, alef, chet, beit], which add up to the same number as the name of the Angel, "TaKA " [tav, kuf, alef, whose numerical value is 501], (and the reason that he added the word BeRAiShIT [which means "first"], was to point out that he was referring to "the first", i.e. the initial, letters of each of the plagues).

tzadi, chaf, dalet = 114
ayin, dalet, shin = 374
beit, alef, chet, beit = 13

This is also the numerical value of the word "alef, shin, reish" [the word "asher" - "which", whose numerical value is 501], which is the secret hidden in the verse "these things which I have wrought in Egypt," (Ex. 9:2) [in Hebrew, "et asher hitalalti b'mitzrayim", spelled alef, tav, alef, shin, reish, hei, tav, ayin, lamed, lamed, tav, yud, beit, mem, tzadi, reish, yud, mem] where in fact there are many many verses that hint to this secret of "alef, shin, reish" [the word "asher" - "which"] being the numerical value of the initial letters of the ten plagues, and concerning this matter there are wondrous secrets and many hints, and the greater glory of G‑d is in what is hidden…

And that which he wrote: "…and furthermore, that which we find, and G‑d spoke and afflicted the Egyptians with ten plagues in Egypt and fifty at the Sea, is all according to the name "SHaPO" [shin, pei, vav], he is referring to the wondrous and awesome secret which is the source of the argument between Rabbi Yosi HaGalili, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva, as brought in the Haggadah, "Rabbi Yosi HaGalili said: from where do we know…etc Rabbi Eliezer said: from where do we know…etc. Rabbi Akiva said: from where do we know…etc, this is the secret of the name "Rabbi Yosi HaGalili" [spelled reish, beit, yud yud, vav, samech, yud hei, gimel, lamed, yud, lamed, yud] which has the same numerical value as the word "SHaPO" [= 386], which is that which is written: "Rabbi Yosi HaGalili said…", i.e. that the name "SHaPO" spoke and afflicted them etc.

"Rabbi" is spelled: reish, beit, yud = 212
"Yosi" is spelled: yud, vav, samech, yud = 86
"HaGalili" is spelled: hei, gimel, lamed, yud, lamed, yud = 88

And that which he wrote: "…which is the aspect of David ben Yishai ['the son of Jesse'], the explanation is that David ben Yishai [spelled dalet, vav, dalet beit, nun, yud, shin, yud] is also the numerical value of "SHaPO" [386], and it was, in particular, with this name that He afflicted them, but said it in a very hidden way. For Rabbi Yosi HaGalili was a reincarnation of David ben Yishai, and "ben Yishai" [the Mashiach] will use precisely this name when he comes. There are also many other hidden secrets in this matter, but the main intention is as recorded above.

"David" is spelled: dalet, vav, dalet = 14
"the son of", in Hebrew "ben", is spelled: beit, nun = 52:
"Jesse", in Hebrew "Yishai", is spelled: yud, shin, yud = 320

And that which he wrote: "…according to the name "TaKaL" [tav, kuf, lamed] the Egyptians were afflicted by forty plagues in Egypt and two hundred at the Sea", this is a clue that "Rabbi Eliezer" is the numerical value of "TaKaL" [= 530]. That is to say, Rabbi Eliezer in particular, who is the numerical value of the name "TaKaL", spoke and afflicted them etc. [An alternative version: "Rabbi Eliezer said - meaning that he holds the opinion that it was the name "TaKaL" that afflicted the Egyptians].

"Rabbi" is spelled: reish, beit, yud =         212
"Eliezer" is spelled: alef, lamed, yud, ayin, zayin, reish =   318

And that which he wrote: "…according to the name "ShaTzaH" [shin, tzadi, hei] [an alternative version: "AShaTzaH" - alef, shin, tzadi, hei], the Egyptians were afflicted by fifty plagues in Egypt and two hundred and fifty at the Sea", "Rabbi Akiva" is the numerical value of the word "ShaTzaH" [=395], [an alternative version: "AShaTzaH", including the kollel]. That is to say, that Rabbi Akiva, who is the numerical value of the word "ShaTzaH" [or "AShaTzaH"], was the one who said that it was the name "ShaTzaH" [or "AShaTzaH"] that spoke and afflicted etc.

"Rabbi" is spelled: reish, beit, yud = 212
"Akiva" is spelled: ayin, kuf, yud, beit, alef = 183 

And each of the three Rabbis explained it according to his understanding, which is why the three names "SHaPO", "TaKaL" and "AShaTzaH" equal the numerical values of the three sages, Rabbi Yosi HaGalili (ShaPO), Rabbi Eliezer (TaKaL) and Rabbi Akiva (AShaTzaH). And this is all an awesome and wondrous secret, as I said previously. And may the Merciful One atone [for our sins] etc.

And that which he wrote: "…and G‑d rectified the Exile in exactly the same way that He had afflicted [the Egyptians]", this is as I explained above, that the initial letters of the plagues hint to the original cause of the descent to Egypt, and in exactly the same way as G‑d struck the Egyptians, that in itself was the method by which He redeemed Israel, that the actual letters of the plagues are a hint to our redemption.

[An alternative version: and that which he wrote: and how many sins etc. he intended to teach that our forefathers' sins, which were the cause of them having to go down to Egypt, are hinted at in the actual letters of the plagues. And similarly, the letters of the plagues are also a hint to our redemption by G‑d.]

And that which he wrote: "…until they were finally redeemed [an alternative version: until He redeemed them], using the following names, "DeAV" [dalet, ayin, beit], "TzeDAh" [tzadi, dalet, alef], "KaShChaV" [chaf, shin, chet, beit], he was hinting that the letters of the word "DeAV" [dalet, ayin, beit] are the initial letters of each of the three symbols "DaTzaCH ADaSH BeaChaB" [dalet, tzadi, chaf - ayin, dalet, shin- beit, alef, chet, beit]. The second name, "TzeDAh" [tzadi, dalet, alef], is the second letter in each group, and the third name "KaShChaV" [chaf, shin, chet, beit], is the third letter, through which G‑d redeemed us. The actual plagues that G‑d inflicted on Egypt hint to Israel's redemption. [An alternative version: the actual letters of "DaTzaCH ADaSH BeaChaB" are a hint to the angelic Minister appointed over all the Angels of Punishment which afflicted the plagues upon the Egyptians, and those same letters hint to the reason for the exile to Egypt, and also to Israel's redemption from there. The selfsame letters are both the secret of the affliction and of the redemption.]

And may we be found worthy in G‑d's eyes to quickly see the coming of the Mashiach, with all the angels appointed to accompany the Final Redemption, may it come speedily and in our time. And may we be worthy of seeing the fulfillment of the verse, "As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt I will show him marvelous things (Micah 7:15), for ever and ever. Amen.

And finally, I hereby declare that anyone who studies these wondrous and awesome secrets, even one time in a year, and especially on Erev Pesach Eve, I promise him that he will be saved from any kind of accident or strange death for that whole year. His enemies will have no power over him and will fall before him, and that he will be successful in everything that he turns his hand to. Amen.  

[Translated and published by www.shuvubonim.org;
Copyright 2003 Breslov Institutions, Yeshivat "Shuvu Bonim"]