וישליכם אל ארץ אחרת (דברים כט, כז)
“And He cast them to another land”
The word "Va'yash*L*i'cheim" contains an oversized letter Lamed.
The name of this letter “Lamed” can be translated as "teach” (limud). The Gemara (Pesachim 87b) says that HaShem sent Bnei Yisrael into exile among the heathen nations of the world to expose them to the "people of the Book" and this would increase the number of converts to Judaism. Thus, when the Bnei Yisroel are thrown into another land there is a "great teaching," a "Lamed (limud) rabosai," which reaches even the nations of the world. Our presence and behavior in Galus is supposed to be a lesson to our hosts, in honesty, ethics, and morals. We are supposed to inspire them and not vice versa. This is a really big lesson and therefore requires a really big Lamed. (Rabbi Shimshon Hirsch)
Koheles (3,1-8) Everything has its season and there is a time for everything under the sun. The following verses list 26 “times”. All use the formula "עת ל"except for two “a time of wail; a time of dance”. The Lamed represents learning Torah. Learning Torah is interrupted for accompanying a dead person and for a wedding. The allusion is that learning Torah is always appropriate for all other times. This verse tells us that even in times of pain (Galus) we are promised that we would not be forgotten due to our learning Torah. (Take away the letter Lamed and the remaining letters וישיכם have the same Gematria as עשיו. When one takes away learning (the voice of Yaacov) one is left with Eisav (the hands of Galus).
The Lamed can also refer to glory and exalted, as alluded in the verse in Eichah (2,1) “He threw (השליך) the glory of the Jews from the Heavens to the Earth”. The source of human glory is from the Heavens and is thrown down to earth (from the heights to a low pit). The large Lamed refers to the high source. But as the following verses relate, our mission is to refine the lower worlds, doing Teshuvah to eventually go to a place higher that the original source. (Sefer Bechaiyah)
The Paa’neiach Raza points out that “Vayash L’chem” is spelled deficiently, without the letter Yud which should appear between the letters Lamed and Chof. The letter Yud has a numeric value of 10. Thus, he points out that this alludes to the 10 Tribes who will be “thrown away” far away, beyond the dark mountains to the other side of the Sambatyon River. He adds that there is also a message of consolation in this word. Since the Lamed is so large and elongated, with a majority of its length above and beyond the height of the rest of the Letters in this word, we can consider it as if the Lamed is removed from the word, leaving us with “V’yeschem” (and you are still existent). This further alludes to the 310 worlds set aside for each righteous person (see the last Mishneh in Okotzin). The word “v’yeshchem” also can mean that there is “Yesh” (Yud and Shin equals 310) “chem.”, “for you” (“chem.” is a possessive suffix meaning “yours” plural).
Yud = 10; Shin = 300
There is Yesh 310 worlds
Other important Hebrew words containing a Lamed
- קל וחמור
- לוי
- רחל
- לבנה
- אילן
- לולב
- לוד
- אלול
