THE TORAH OF FIVE BOOKS AND THE TORAH OF SEVEN
Behaalosecha
Who knows seven? I know seven! Seven are the Books of the Torah - right? Whilst we commonly understand that there are 5 Books in the Torah, our Rabbis say that there are actually 7... depending how you count.
One of the strangest features of the Torah appears in Parshas Behaalosecha, in the Pesukim;
׆ וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה ה‘ וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃ וּבְנֻחֹ֖ה יֹאמַ֑ר שׁוּבָ֣ה ה‘ רִֽבְב֖וֹת אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל ׆
Chaza”l teach that Hashem made Simanios (signs) for this Parsha above (before) it and below (after it). There is a dispute amongst the sages as to why these verses are highlighted with these Simanim.
According to one view, these Pesukim are marked with Simanios, because they constitute an entire Sefer of the Torah in their own right.
Based on this, there are 7 books of the Torah; Breishis, Shemos, Vayikra, Bamidbar part 1, Vayehi Binsoa, Bamidbar part 2 and Devarim.
The Gemara finds allusion to this in the Posuk in Mishlei חָצְבָ֖ה עַמּוּדֶ֣יהָ שִׁבְעָֽה - She has hewn her 7 pillars. Rashi explains that this refers to the 7 books of the Torah.
So how does this fit with our normal understanding that there are 5 books of the Torah? It is for this reason we call a written text of the Torah a Chumash.
At the beginning of the Parsha we find another connection to the number 7. The Parsha opens with a description of the Menorah and its 7 branches.
The Menorah represents the collective of the Jewish people. Each Neshama is likened to a flame. Like the Menorah which was made of one solid block of gold, we are all one people with one source. But like the 7 branches of the Menorah, there are different ways in which we serve Hashem.
In Pirkei Avos for this week, we learn of the 5 students of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. The commentaries question that surely the great sage and leader of the Jewish people, who saved the city of Yavneh and its Yeshivos, had more than 5 students!
One answer is that these 5 students represent 5 general categories into which Rabbi Yochanan’s students could be categorised.
Accordingly, just like the Torah can be divided into 5 or 7 books, the Jewish people can be grouped in 5 or 7 categories.
So what is the difference between the 2? Chassidus discusses the concept of the 7 Sefiros. These exists above as the G-dly vessels through which Hashem manifests His light and interacts with the world. They also exist within each soul as the emotive drives. These 7 Seifros can be separated into 2 groups.
The first 5 Sefiros are for the person themselves. They represent our own emotional experience and service. Above, they are the primary Divine energies the way they are within the G-dly world of Atzilus.
The final two Sefiros, Yesod (6) and Malchus (7), are about channeling the energies outside of ourselves to communicate and interact with others. Yesod is about connecting or boding with others and Malchus, represented by the mouth, is communication. Above, the Seifros of Yesod and Malchus are about channeling G-dliness down to the lower worlds.
The way Torah is beyond the world, is represented by the its division into 5 books. Likewise, the way we isolate and immerse ourselves in our personal spiritual Avodah or Torah and Tefillah, disconnecting ourselves from the worldly reality to soar upwards, is how we are connected to the number 5 - as students of Rabbi Yochanan, in the Beis Midrash.
But the Torah and the Jewish people have a mission, not to remain disconnected and disengaged from the world, but to impact and transform it. We have to radiate and communicate the light of Torah and G-dliness to the world itself, including its darkest places.
This is how we are as the 7 branches of the Menorah, which shone its luminescence from the Beis Hamikdash to the entire world. And this is how the Torah is counted as 7 books.
This is the metaphor of the 7 pillars. A pillar connects the roof to the floor. This is our mission, to connect the loftiest spiritual heights and bring them down to inspire, impact and ultimately transform the lowest parts of our world.
One of the strangest features of the Torah appears in Parshas Behaalosecha, in the Pesukim;
׆ וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה ה‘ וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃ וּבְנֻחֹ֖ה יֹאמַ֑ר שׁוּבָ֣ה ה‘ רִֽבְב֖וֹת אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל ׆
Chaza”l teach that Hashem made Simanios (signs) for this Parsha above (before) it and below (after it). There is a dispute amongst the sages as to why these verses are highlighted with these Simanim.
According to one view, these Pesukim are marked with Simanios, because they constitute an entire Sefer of the Torah in their own right.
Based on this, there are 7 books of the Torah; Breishis, Shemos, Vayikra, Bamidbar part 1, Vayehi Binsoa, Bamidbar part 2 and Devarim.
The Gemara finds allusion to this in the Posuk in Mishlei חָצְבָ֖ה עַמּוּדֶ֣יהָ שִׁבְעָֽה - She has hewn her 7 pillars. Rashi explains that this refers to the 7 books of the Torah.
So how does this fit with our normal understanding that there are 5 books of the Torah? It is for this reason we call a written text of the Torah a Chumash.
At the beginning of the Parsha we find another connection to the number 7. The Parsha opens with a description of the Menorah and its 7 branches.
The Menorah represents the collective of the Jewish people. Each Neshama is likened to a flame. Like the Menorah which was made of one solid block of gold, we are all one people with one source. But like the 7 branches of the Menorah, there are different ways in which we serve Hashem.
In Pirkei Avos for this week, we learn of the 5 students of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. The commentaries question that surely the great sage and leader of the Jewish people, who saved the city of Yavneh and its Yeshivos, had more than 5 students!
One answer is that these 5 students represent 5 general categories into which Rabbi Yochanan’s students could be categorised.
Accordingly, just like the Torah can be divided into 5 or 7 books, the Jewish people can be grouped in 5 or 7 categories.
So what is the difference between the 2? Chassidus discusses the concept of the 7 Sefiros. These exists above as the G-dly vessels through which Hashem manifests His light and interacts with the world. They also exist within each soul as the emotive drives. These 7 Seifros can be separated into 2 groups.
The first 5 Sefiros are for the person themselves. They represent our own emotional experience and service. Above, they are the primary Divine energies the way they are within the G-dly world of Atzilus.
The final two Sefiros, Yesod (6) and Malchus (7), are about channeling the energies outside of ourselves to communicate and interact with others. Yesod is about connecting or boding with others and Malchus, represented by the mouth, is communication. Above, the Seifros of Yesod and Malchus are about channeling G-dliness down to the lower worlds.
The way Torah is beyond the world, is represented by the its division into 5 books. Likewise, the way we isolate and immerse ourselves in our personal spiritual Avodah or Torah and Tefillah, disconnecting ourselves from the worldly reality to soar upwards, is how we are connected to the number 5 - as students of Rabbi Yochanan, in the Beis Midrash.
But the Torah and the Jewish people have a mission, not to remain disconnected and disengaged from the world, but to impact and transform it. We have to radiate and communicate the light of Torah and G-dliness to the world itself, including its darkest places.
This is how we are as the 7 branches of the Menorah, which shone its luminescence from the Beis Hamikdash to the entire world. And this is how the Torah is counted as 7 books.
This is the metaphor of the 7 pillars. A pillar connects the roof to the floor. This is our mission, to connect the loftiest spiritual heights and bring them down to inspire, impact and ultimately transform the lowest parts of our world.