Within his elaborate and interwoven commentary on the hundreds of explanations regarding Moshe’s Tefillah, the Megaleh Amukot (Va’etchanan) lands on an incredible idea. We mentioned last week that Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 Tefillot, and in one of his 252 peirushim (Explanation 35) on the words אֶ עְ בְּ רָ ה נָּא, the Megaleh Amukot says Moshe wanted to annul the curses of Bilaam and asked to enter Eretz Yisrael in order to do so. He then points out that 515 is the sod of Yitzchak (208) and Rivka (307) who davened together to reverse Rivka’s fortune and to have a child. The Dzhikover points to explanation 172 (קעב or עקב) of the Megaleh Amukot, which says that Moshe Rabbeinu davened in order to learn the secret of the Tefillin Shel Rosh.
Why? In Sefer Shemot we read how Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed Moshe Rabbeinu His קֶשֶׁר תְּפִלִּין – the knot of His Tefillin. Moshe saw Hakadosh Baruch Hu from behind but did not see His face: וְרָאִיתָ אֶת־אֲחֹרָי וּפָנַי לֹא יֵרָאוּ. What exactly did he see? He saw the Tefillin Shel Rosh, from behind, where there is a knot tied to look like the letter ד' which corresponds to: כָּאַרְגָּמָן רֹאשֵׁךְ וְדַלַּת כַּכַּרְמֶל עָלַיִךְ רֹאשֵׁךְ (Shir Hashirim 7:6). Some, including Yemenites and some Chasidim, have the custom of tying the knot as a double-Daled, which forms a square shape, symbolizing the Pasuk לְםַרְבֵּה הַמִּשְׂרָה וּלְשָׁלוֹם אֵין־קֵץ, which has a closed-Mem (Mem Sofit) in the middle of the word. However, this is a discussion for another time. Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to know not just the sod of the back of the Tefillin but also what Rabbi Akiva saw in Pardes – the sod of the front. What was he shown? He was essentially shown the קָדְקֹד but wanted to see the rest.
The Imrei Noam says, Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to enter into Eretz Yisrael in order to learn all the sodot of Tefillin. We have three general types of Tefillin – those of Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam, and Shimusha Rabba.A They differ in terms of the order used when placing the Parshiot into the Tefillin. It is important to note that it was not Rashi or Rabbeinu Tam who came up with the specifications of those Tefillin, but they simply provided their ruling as to which minhag we follow, a debate that traces its way back all the way to the Tana’im and Amora’im, with many offering their opinions and rulings along the way. Rashi simply said we hold by this opinion, while Rabbeinu Tam said we hold by the other opinion.
The sefer Teshuvot Min HaShamayim records that he asked the question about which custom is correct, and he received the following remarkable answer from the heavens: The debate here on earth is the same debate taking place between the Tana’im in the heavens! Hakadosh Baruch Hu rules like Rabbeinu Tam whereas the Pamalya Shel Malah (Heavenly Court) hold like Rashi. Both customs here on earth are correct and there is a machloket in heaven as to which is to be followed.
Returning to the Megaleh Amukot and explanation 172, he says Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to know which of the three types of Tefillin were the correct ones – i.e., he wished to know the correct order for the Parshiot inside the Tefillin. David HaMelech hinted to this issue – as he too wore Tefillin - when he wrote: שְׁמׇר־תָּם וּרְאֵה יָשָׁר כִּי־אַחֲרִית לְאִישׁ שָׁלוֹם – Mark the perfect man and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace (Tehillim 37:37). שְׁמׇר־תָּם is Rabbeinu Tam (תָּם); וּרְאֵה יָשָׁר is Rashi (ישר = רשי); and כִּי־אַחֲרִית לְאִישׁ שָׁלוֹם is Shimusha Rabba, attributed to Sar Shalom Gaon (שַׂר שָׁלוֹם גָּאוֹן). The Imrei Noam presents his own thoughts on this explanation, based on the numerical value of 'וָאֶתְחַנַּן אֶל־ה – the sum of these three words is 515 + 31 + 26 = 572, which is the exact same value as זְרוֹעַ אַף קָדְקֹד (283 + 81 + 208 = 572). Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to enter Eretz Yisrael to learn the sod of Tefillin, which is the sod of וְטָרַף זְרוֹעַ אַף קָדְקֹד.
The Imrei Noam then takes one more amazing spin in his commentary. Based on וְטָרַף זְרוֹעַ אַף קָדְקֹד also being Yitzchak Avinu, we can now understand why Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 times. Why? Because 515 is also the sum of יד (14) and ראש (501) – the Tefillin Shel Yad plus the Tefillin Shel Rosh. Moshe davened 515 times because he wished to see both the Tefillin Shel Yad and the Tefillin Shel Rosh! And who are יד and ראש? They are יצחק (208) and רבקה (307) who also total 515! Connecting the two ends of this chain together, Yitzchak and Rivka are the sod of Tefillin Shel Yad and Tefillin Shel Rosh.
Up until now has been the introduction, and we've now reached the punchline that will tie everything together and enable us to move forward even further! Pay attention to this beautiful ne’ilah.
The Avot and the Amidah
In the Amidah, the first three brachot represent the three Avot. מָגֵן אַבְרָהָם naturally represents Avraham Avinu. The next bracha, beginning with אַתָּה גִבּוֹר and ending with מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים – who does that correspond to? The answer is: Yitzchak Avinu, and his middah of Gevurah. אַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ וְשִׁמְךָ then corresponds to Yaacov Avinu who is called קָדוֹשׁ. What is the link between Yitzchak Avinu and the bracha of מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים?
Without going too deep into the topic, let’s refer back to the story of Akeidat Yitzchak, where Yitzchak Avinu lay atop the altar. At that point, there are two opinions as to what happened next. One opinion is that he saw the knife in his father’s hand and his Neshama left him on the spot. The other opinion, that of the Zohar, is that Avraham Avinu indeed carried out the Akeida and slaughtered Yitzchak with the knife in his hand, leading to a third of his blood pouring out. Yitzchak ascended to the heavens, where from the age of 37 to 40, he underwent a healing process. (Rav Shimshon Pincus speaks of this with regards to Purim and וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא, namely, that Yitzchak returned down upside down, headfirst, and upon seeing him drop down like this, Rivka fell off her camel.) Chazal say, when Yitzchak stood back up on his feet, the angels recited the bracha of בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' מְחַיֵּה הַמֵּתִים. Setting aside the depth and esoteric meaning of this story for now, we find that Yitzchak Avinu is the root of the bracha for Techiyat HaMetim – revival of the dead! Rabbotai, do the dead really die? We say וּמְקַיֵּם אֱמוּנָתוֹ לִישֵׁנֵי עָפָר – He Who fulfills His faithfulness to those who sleep in the dust. Are they only asleep? Can we go to the grave and wake them up? We obviously cannot, so why do we refer to the dead as sleeping?
The Maharsha asks this question in connection to the Midrash which says Eliyahu HaNavi goes to the kever of the Avot every Rosh Chodesh and wakes them up. He says we should not be surprised, because they are indeed only asleep, although it takes one like Eliyahu to awake them from that sleep. Not everyone can do it. Looking at this idea closer, what exactly is woken up? In short, it is the tiny bone behind the head, at the base of the skull, which is awoken. This is called the Luz (לוז) bone, and it never dies. [For more on the Luz, see Rav Rosenblum’s shiur on the topic (Rav Rosenblum English Shiurim – Vayishlach 5783)]. It is the only part of one’s body that does not die upon death, and it is from that bone that Techiyat HaMetim will take place. The Luz is an example of hafuch al hafuch – something wildly opposite. It is dead while one is alive, and alive while one is dead. During one’s life it needs no other food than a small morsel of bread and cup of tea during the Melaveh Malka following Shabbat; while all the delicacies eaten over the course of Shabbat mean nothing to it and give it no sustenance. The Luz bone is also indestructible. The Midrash cites a dispute regarding the Luz bone between the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah. Hadrian askes how man would be resurrected at the end times, and R’ Yehoshua replied, it would be “from the Luz of the spine.” When asked to prove his claims, R’ Yehoshua demonstrated the bone's apparent indestructibility: it could not be softened by water, cremated by fire, crushed by a mill, and when placed on an anvil and struck with a hammer, both the hammer and anvil were broken, but the bone remained undamaged.
If we look at the location of the Luz, on the back of the head, who rests there? The קָדְקֹד – Yitzchak Avinu, the first to arise from dead. לֹהֵיכֶם-נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי יֹאמַר אֱ – who can console us? Yitzchak Avinu can not only console every type of person in Am Yisrael, but he can also console the dead. Why do the dead need consolation? Are they not dead? Not at all, we learn here. They may appear to be dead, but they are not! There is a small bone of theirs still alive and well – the Luz! The Luz is וְטָרַף זְרוֹעַ אַף קָדְקֹד. From the wrapping of Yitzchak at the Akeida, life is derived and the consolation of נַחֲמוּ is delivered. Yitzchak Avinu, who established מנחה and נחמה. Yitzchak Avinu is the only one who can console us now, and in the future, because he is the only one to have come back to life. He will be the one to show us how every large struggle and challenge turns into a large redemption and salvation.
With this, we can now understand the mysterious last line in the Bnei Yissaschar’s commentary, and the tremendous sod revealed to us in the words of וְטָרַף זְרוֹעַ אַף קָדְקֹד. B’ezrat Hashem, next week, we’ll uncover the next part of this tremendous sod!
A: Worn by some Kabbalists, possibly only in the afternoon, Shimusha Rabba Tefillin are thought by many to be the same as Rashi Tefillin, albeit made to size and with the Parshiot positioned in reverse order.
