176 Pesukim in Parshas Nasso, 176 Pesukim in Tehillim 119, 176 Dafs in Maseches Bava Batra Negate the Klipah of Aluf צפו
Rabbi Pinches Friedman
Parshas Nasso 5785
Translation by Dr. Baruch Fox
Parshas Nasso is always read in proximity to Chag HaShavuos. This year, as in most years, it is read on the Shabbas immediately following Chag HaShavuos. Thus, it is fitting that we explore the fascinating connection between parshas Nasso and the festival referred to as “zman matan toraseinu.”
Our sacred sefarim point out an intriguing phenomenon. Parshas Nasso is the longest of all the parshiyos in the Torah; it contains 176 pesukim. Similarly, Mizmor 119 in Sefer Tehillim also contains 176 pesukim and is the longest chapter in Sefer Tehillim. Lastly, the longest Maseches in the Talmud, Maseches Bava Batra, contains precisely 176 dafs.
The Maharal: The Number Eight Alludes to the Supernatural
We will begin to shed some light on the subject by identifying the common denominator connecting these three sacred places where the number 176 is emblematic. In his sefer Ner Chanukah, the Maharal of Prague explains the rationale for this phenomenon marvelously. He notes the formula employed by David HaMelech, Yisrael’s sweet psalmist, in Tehillim 119. It is called "תמניא אפי" (“eight faces”), because this mizmor is arranged according to the 22 letters of the aleph-Beis, and there are eight pesukim beginning with each letter. As a result, there are 176 pesukim (8x22=176).
Throughout his sacred sefarim, the Maharal repeats this fundamental principle. The number seven is related to the organization and divine supervision of nature; this reflects the operating mechanism HKB”H ingrained in the world that He created in seven days. The number eight, on the other hand, which is one more than seven, represents divine supervision that is supernatural. This is why Yisrael were commanded to perform the mitzvah of “milah” on the eighth day. For, in the merit of removing the foreskin which a male is born with naturally, he is capable of transcending the world of nature.
Based on this concept, the Maharal explains why the Menorah in the Heichal of the Beis HaMikdash consisted of seven lamps, whereas the Aron in the Kodesh HaKodashim housed the two luchos encompassing the entire Torah. The seven lamps in the Heichal illustrated that HKB”H manages the world based on the laws of nature. The Torah concealed inside the Aron in the Kodesh HaKodashim, however, reflected the fact that with the power of the Torah, a Jew possesses the capacity to transcend and defy the laws of nature.
To substantiate the fact that the Torah relates to a supernatural existence, the Maharal points out that HKB”H gave us the Torah after the seven weeks of Sefiras HaOmer. After departing from Mitzrayim, HKB”H did not give Yisrael the Torah immediately. Instead, He commanded them to first count seven weeks (Devarim 16, 9): "שבעה שבועות תספור לך". Those seven weeks represent the world of nature that was created during the seven days of creation. Then, after seven weeks, on the fiftieth day—the beginning of the eighth week—they were given the Torah, which is supernatural.
In this vein, the Maharal explains the entrance of Aharon to the Kodesh HaKodashim on Yom HaKippurim (Vayikra 16, 3): "בזאת יבוא אהרן אל הקודש"—with this shall Aharon come into the Sanctuary. They expounded in the Midrash (V.R. 21, 5): “With this” (“b’zot”)—in the merit of the “milah,” of which it says (Bereishis 17, 10): “This (‘zot’) is My covenant which you shall keep.” Here is his explanation: It is not appropriate for a corporeal human being to enter a place that is the holiest of the holy—distinct from the physical and the material—unless he has undergone the “milah,” which is also above the realm of nature. In this merit, he was permitted to enter the Kodesh HaKodashim, which is characterized by a degree of holiness distinct from the realm of nature.
Although, it is obvious that the Torah is supernatural, nevertheless we can bring further corroboration from the Midrash (B.R. 1, 1) related to the first passuk in the Torah (ibid. 1, 1): "בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ": HKB”H would peer in the Torah and create the world. Therefore, the Torah said, “Bereishis (with ‘Reishis’) G-d created”—and “Reishis” refers to nothing other than the Torah. Based on this, the passuk states that with the Torah, which is called “Reishis,” G-d created the heavens and the earth.
A similar teaching appears in the Zohar hakadosh (Terumah 161b): "קודשא בריך הוא אסתכל באורייתא וברא עלמא". Now, since the entire natural world was created with the Torah, clearly the Torah itself is above the realm of nature. This explains very nicely the claim of Onkelos the Proselyte to the Caesar Hadrian that only someone who has performed the mitzvah of “milah”—enabling him to transcend the realm of nature—is capable of attaining the chochmah of the Torah—which transcends nature.
Mizmor 119 Highlights the Fact that the Torah Transcends Nature
The Maharal explains the insightful, meaningful structure employed by David HaMelech, a”h, to compose Mizmor 119. The fact that every letter of the aleph-Beis begins eight distinct pesukim teaches us that the holy Torah is above the realm of nature. As pointed out, this is why the Torah was given to Yisrael after the seven weeks of the Sefirah—alluding to the natural order of the universe based on the number severn—at the beginning of the eighth week, on Chag HaShavuos, which transcends nature. Thus, there ae precisely 176 pesukim in the mizmor called Eight Faces, because it is based on a formula of twenty-two and eight—the 22 letters of the Torah, and the number 8 symbolizing the supernatural. David HaMelech composed and arranged this mizmor to highlight the fact that the Torah transcends nature.
This goes hand-in-hand marvelously with HKB”H’s pronouncement to Yisrael (Kiddushin 30b): "בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין, ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה אין אתם נמסרים בידו"—My son, I have created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its antidote. If you engage in Torah-study, you will not be delivered into its hand. Now, the Gemara teaches us that that the yetzer hara has seven appellations (Succah 52a): "שבעה שמות יש לו ליצר הרע". The Maharsha and the Rama (Toras HaOlah, part 2, chapter 9) explain that these appellations represent the seven forces of the yetzer hara corresponding to the seven days of creation.
This explains beautifully the statement in the Gemara (Kiddushin 30b): "יצרו של אדם מתחדש עליו בכל יום, שנאמר רק רע כל היום"—a man’s yetzer revitalizes itself against him every day, as it is stated (Bereishis 6, 5): “Only evil the entire day.” The words "בכל יום" emphasize that the yetzer hara renews its battle against a Jew 24/7. On each of the seven days of the week, the yetzer hara empowers one of its seven forces of tumah, associated with one of its seven names, related to that specific day. Man’s only recourse is to study Torah, which transcends the qualities implanted in nature during the seven days of creation.
Let us now interpret HKB”H’s pronouncement: “My son, I have created the yetzer hara” with seven distinct names corresponding to the seven days of creation; as such, its power is limited to the realm of nature. However, “I have created Torah as its antidote.” This is evident from the fact that the Torah was given to Yisrael after the seven weeks of Sefiras HaOmer. Thus, it reflects the qualities of the number eight, indicating that it transcends the world of nature associated with the number seven. Therefore, the kedushah of the Torah possesses the power to overcome and eliminate the yetzer hara, whose power and seven names are limited to the realm of nature created during the seven days of creation.
This reinforces magnificently the rationale for reading parshas Nasso with precisely 176 pesukim in conjunction with “zman matan toraseinu.” This highlights the fact that HKB”H gave us the Torah after the seven weeks of the Sefirah have been completed, because it possesses the qualities of the number eight—it is not limited to the realm of nature. Thus, these 176 (22x8) pesukim represent the 22 letters of the Torah, which each encompass the qualities of the number eight. Clearly, this ties in fantastically with the 176 pesukim composed by David HaMelech in Mizmor 119—"תמניא אפי"—which is also based on 22 letters with each one comprised of eight. Thus, parshas Nasso is testimony to the fact that in the merit of the holy Torah, which we just received on Chag HaShavuos, which transcends nature, we possess the ability to overcome the yetzer hara with its seven forces, which can only operate within the confines of nature. They cannot operate in the world of Torah, which is above the realm of nature.
