The gemara says that fifty gates of understanding were created in the world, and 49 were given to Moshe Rabbeinu (which made him Moshe otherworldly). Obviously, receiving 49 of the 50 gates is beyond our current level of comprehension.
Before his death, Moshe merited the 50th gate of understanding. This is hinted in the name of the location where Moshe was buried — הר נבו, Har Nevo. The word נבו is a contraction of נ' בו, meaning that he was imbued (בו, in him) with the 50th level (The letter נ has a gematria of 50). On Har Nevo, Moshe received the 50th gate of understanding.
The Zohar teaches that in the future, Moshiach will reveal the שער חמישים, 50th gate of understanding. This is alluded to in the name משיח as it is an acronym for משיח יגלה שער חמישים, Moshiach will reveal the 50th gate of understanding.
Rabbi Alt merited to learn under the tutelage of R’ Mordechai Friedlander ztz”l for close to five years. He received semicha from R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg ztz”l. Rabbi Alt has written on numerous topics for various websites and publications and is the author of six books including the recently released Dazzling Money Insights. His writings, some of which have been translated into Yiddish, Hebrew, German and French, inspire people across the spectrum of Jewish observance to live with the vibrancy and beauty of Torah. He lives with his wife and family in Kiryat Yearim (where the Aron was for 20 years [Shmuel 1, 7:1,2]) where he studies, writes and teaches. The author is passionate about teaching Jews of all levels of observance.
Someone once said, “Be happy with what you have while working for what you want.”
Neighbors of R' Ovadia Yosef often saw him, in his younger years, rocking a stroller outside on the porch, with a sefer propped above the stroller. Sometimes though, his intense concentration got the better of him. As he drifted deeper into the words of Torah before him, he was liable to lose awareness of his little child, and his wife had to come to the aid of a crying baby who R' Ovadia was rocking but had not heard.
The Yaavetz writes in a letter (Printed in Kerem Shlomo of Chasidei Bobov, Choveres 110): It is not a wonder that a garment can last for over 40 years because it is not uncommon (referring to the Jews who were in the desert for 40 years about whom it says שמלתך לא בלתה מעליך, your garment did not wear out upon you [Devarim 8:4]). I had a garment from wool that I inherited from my father, the Chochom Tzvi, and we wore it for over 50 years. I went many years every day even to distant places where I wore this and still it didn’t wither or deteriorate, if not for the fact that I would have guarded it more from dust. If not for that, it would still be in use. A while after I got a new garment, I put the old one on a hook and only wore that old one on Tisha B’av — for mourning. The wonder with the Jews in the desert was that it didn’t wear out and also it grew with them! (Otzar Plaos Hatorah, Devarim, pp. 340-1)
In the year 1837 the sultan of Kosta (Constantinople) issued a decree that the Arabs may no longer harass the Jews concerning their claims over the Churvah (ruined shul) of R' Yehuda Hachasid, and the Jews received a permit to rebuild the ruins of the old Beis Midrash in the courtyard of the Churvah, called Menachem Tzion. At that time all the great and important people of Yerushalayim rushed to personally engage in the rebuilding of the destroyed Beis Midrash. Some mixed cement or chiseled stones; some lifted the stones onto the rows, and they kissed each stone before placing it in the structure. With the sounds of song and the chanting of Hallel, they rebuilt the ruins (Sefer Eretz Yisrael, 27:7).
See Ma’adenei Hamelech, volume 1, p. 22 and p. 25.
R' Yitzchak Zilberstein once helped a beleaguered man to reframe his troubles by telling him the following story. Napolean (1769–1821) was with one of his aides when in a clandestine operation snuck into a city the French emperor was besieging. After they obtained the crucial information they sought, the two disguised spies attempted to leave the city when Napolean was recognized. Their lives were in danger and so Napolean’s attendant slapped him in the face knocking him to the ground. He beat him relentlessly until everyone said “That can’t be Napolean. His aide wouldn't treat him with such disdain.” In the confusion, the two just managed to escape. Although Napolean was wounded, he thanked his attendant for saving his life, as indeed only the blows saved him. R' Zilberstein turned to his visitor and said, “I feel your pain but you too have probably been saved from much worse or even death itself by your suffering. Don’t despair. Have emunah that Hashem will deliver you from all harm.”
Rosh Hashana 21b.
Devarim 34:1.
The word נבו can also be understood as an amalgam of נ' בו, meaning the letter נ entered his name משה. When the two combine, we get the word נשמה, the third highest level of soul that we can access at this time (See the Shela in Vaeschanan, 12). That is to say, when he was infused with the 50th gate, he was able to access this level of soul at the optimum.
