A Torah Mystery
Friday, June 14, 2013
There are many wonderful mysteries in the Torah which contributes to its uniqueness amongst other pieces of literature.
In the Hebrew of Genesis (Bereshit), if you take the first Tav "T", which is the 49th letter then count to the 50th letter you come to a vav pronounced as an "O"; the next 50th is resh "R"; and then the next 50th is hey "H". In other words, after the first tav "T", in 50 letter increments, we find the letters spelling Torah (TORaH).
In the Book of Exodus (Shemot), we also encounter the same results!
In the fourth book of the Torah, the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar), we discover this 49-letter interval works with HROT," that is, TORaH backwards.
A similar 49-letter interval also appears in the fifth book of the Torah, the Book of Deuteronomy (Devarim).
However, in the middle book, the Book of Leviticus (Vayikra), it doesn't seem to work either way. But it does work for YHVH, the sacred name of God (Shem HaMeforash), if you count in seven letter increments.
Here is the overview:
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy
TORH TORH YHVH HROT HROT
---> ---> <--- <---
It appears that the Torah (TORaH) always points toward the Name of God.
What is the significance of these numbered intervals? Some may assert that random numbers are meaningless however number patterns are not random whenever they are repetetive- they are truly a pattern. The particular number sequence of 49 and 50 are also very meaningful. 49 get us to the first letter of "T"ORaH... Leviticus 23:15 instructs us to count 49 days after Passover (Pesach) and then on the 50th day to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, which is the day that the Torah was received on Mt. Sinai! It is after the 49th letter tav "T" that every 50th letter then spells out Torah.
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