Let’s now proceed further. In this week’s Parsha, we’ll read the following Pasuk, which we also recite daily in our Shema:
לְמַעַן יִרְ בּוּ יְמֵיכֶם וִימֵי בְנֵיכֶם עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשׁ ֶר נִשְׁבַּע ה' לַאֲ בֹתֵ יכֶ ם לָתֵת לָהֶם כִּימֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם עַל־הָאָרֶ ץ׃
That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Hashem swore to your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
What is the distance between שׁ ּ ָ מ ַ י ִ ם and אָ רֶ ץ? We spoke about this in the past – the distance is 500 years. Additionally, each rakia (of which שׁ ּ ָ מ ַ י ִ ם is one of seven) has a depth of 500 years. Based on seven reki’im, and eight spaces before and between each one, the result is a depth of 15 X 500, or 7,500 years. Tosfot says this is alluded to in the Pasuk: וְ רַ גְ לֵ י הֶ ם רֶ גֶ ל יְ שׁ ָ רָ ה (Chagigah 13b). If we take the word י ְ שׁ ָ רָ ה, we find the first and last letters (ה-י) total 15 and the middle letters (ר-ש) total 500.
Bringing that back to our Pasuk from the Parsha and Shema, in which Hakadosh Baruch Hu promised the Avot years like the distance between heaven and earth, how many years did the Avot live? The answer is 502 total years, but given that Avraham Avinu discovered Hakadosh Baruch Hu only at the age of three, the total number of years as believers is 500 (Yalkut Shimoni). That, or like the Matnot Kehunah suggests, the number 502 can be rounded down ever so slightly. It can be treated like the amount you might owe after a large shopping spree at the local makolet. Not the big supermarket with its fancy registers and scanners, where every last shekel and agorah are tracked and accounted for, but the friendly family-owned makolet, where your giant purchase rings up a 502-shekel total but your crisp 500-shekel bill persuades the owner to forego the extra two shekel.
When Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world, according to Rabbeinu Bachya, it was done in such a way where the world kept evolving. It evolved until Hakadosh Baruch Hu declared, “דַּ י – Enough!” This is origin of the name י--ד-ש. It comes from the phrase שׁ ֶ א ָ מ ַ ר דַּ י – He who said to the Universe, “Enough!” As we say about our troubles: יֹאמַ ר דַּ י לְצָרוֹתַ ימִי שׁ ֶאָמַר לָעוֹלָם דַּי.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu said דַּ י to both the שׁ ּ ָ מ ַ י ִ ם and אָ רֶ ץ and did so with the name י--ד-ש. If we take the Milui value of that name (the value of the letters that spell out the letter itself, such as Alef = א,ל,פ = 111) but drop the first letter of each set, the result is 60 (ין) + 430 (לת) + 10 (וד) = 500. The Milui of the name י--ד-ש is 500, and this number represents the distance between שׁ ּ ָ מ ַ י ִ ם and אָ רֶ ץ, Hakadosh Baruch Hu saying דַּ י, and the lifespan of the Avot.
Rabbeinu Bachya adds one more nice idea related to the Pasuk of כִּ ימֵ י הַ שׁ ּ ָ מַ יִם עַ ל־הָ אָ רֶ ץ. The Pasuk teaches us that Eretz Yisrael was given to Am Yisrael forever, like the heaven is over the earth forever. If we are exiled from the land, we will return to the land. No other nation will possess it or settle it except for Am Yisrael. Additionally, in the merit of the Torah, people will live long, up to 400 or 500 years. This is what is meant by כִּ ימֵ י הַ שׁ ּ ָ מַ יִם עַ ל־הָ אָ רֶ ץ, as it is 500 years from the heavens to the earth. This will occur when the Shechinah returns, and which is the when final ה of the Divine Name is back in place. The Heavenly Court does not punish until one is twenty years old, but in the future, when the final ה (5) is in place, they will not be punished until the age of one hundred. Since the wicked will live longer and will not be punished until they reach one hundred years, it is certain that the righteous, who are blessed and deserving, will live at least five times one hundred, which is 500 years.
We’ll now add one more link to the chain, and then put all our ideas together to establish a beautiful picture. The Dzhikover Rebbe, in Imrei Noam...
