21 Oct HIDDEN MESSAGES

Back to Bereishis. Last Shabbos, we rolled
the Sefer Torah to the very beginning. We
began a new cycle of weekly Torah readings.
The Midrash teaches, Shivim panim laTorah,
there are seventy faces to the Torah. Our
Torah is multi-faceted. Each time we open
the holy books, we gain new insights and
understandings.
The literal meaning of Torah is teachings.
The mitzvos in the Torah are our moral and
ethical compass. They elevate our very being,
and draw us closer to HaShem. They give us
direction in life. The Torah also teaches us
about our ancestors, the story of our people.
We learn life lessons and gain guidance from
them. It is the book of our heritage, telling us
where we came from, and helps us recognize
a proper path in life.
The first word in the Torah is bereishis,
meaning in the beginning. Within the word
bereishis is rosh, meaning head. Bereishis,
the head – the start – of the Chumash. But
there is yet another message, bereishis – rosh

– head – our mindset.
The Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of
Vilna (1720-1797), whose yahrtzeit was
commemorated during Succos, teaches that
within each pasuk, each word, and even every
letter in the Torah, there is a deep meaningful
message. This is especially so the first time a
word appears in the Torah.
The Vilna Gaon explains that the word
bereishis is comprised of six Hebrew letters
– beis, reish, aleph, shin, yud, tuf. Six letters
that correspond to six vital attributes that are
essential a meaningful fulfillment of our time
on this earth.
Let’s delve into some practical lessons that
we can glean from each of these six letters.
Beis – Bitachon, faith. Where would we be
without bitachon, faith in HaShem? How
would our nation have survived the ages?
The pain, turmoil and difficult exiles that we
endured – and continue to endure. Faith is
our life-line, our key to survival. Just think
of the recent tragic suffering of our people
in Eretz Yisroel. Days became weeks, weeks
became months, and months became two
long, hard years. But our people persevered.
We davened every day for acheinu kol Bais

Yisroel, our brothers, the entire House of
Israel. We don’t give up. And we are still
davening. Davening for the return of every
last one of the hostages who didn’t physically
survive, but who remain spiritually alive in
our prayers.
What could be more inspiring than hearing
directly from some of the recently released
hostages, who emotionally recounted that
it was only due to their bitachon, their faith
in HaShem that kept them alive during their
torturous ordeal in the dungeons of Gaza.
How they tried as best they could to keep
mitzvos, and observe Shabbos.
Each of us also has our own needs to daven
for. We daven for good health, nachas, and
sustenance. And we have emuna that HaShem
is listening to us.
Reish – Ratzon, desire. To really yearn to live
a Torah life.
Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld, (1925-1990) wrote
that in order to make a life change, one
should follow the “4-D” formula: Desire,
Determination, Dedication, Devotion.
Desire – To really want to make change.
Determination – To put the desire into action.
Dedication – To stick to it.
Devotion – To see it through to the end.
Four traits, all necessary for meaningful
change to happen. But it all starts with
ratzon, desire.
Ratzon means a desire make HaShem’s
ways our ways. As the Talmud teaches,
“Just as He is compassionate and merciful,
so shall you be compassionate and merciful.
Aleph – Ahava, Love. The root of ahava is
hav, to give.
So many couples would come to my mother
for counseling. A common issue was “We
fell out of love”. My mother would say,
“You didn’t fall out of love, you fell out
of ‘giving’ to each other”. A big pitfall is
when couples, or friends, keep scorecards
as to what one does for the other. When life
becomes “I will only do for you, if you do
for me”, the love dries up.
Torah teaches us the importance of ahava.
“V’ahavta le’rei’acha kamocha, You shall
love your fellow as yourself” (Vayikra
19:18). To live this way, one must first
value himself, kamocha, and only then can
he truly value and appreciate others.
Ahava, love, should also be directed
towards HaShem. As we recite daily in the
Shema, “V’ahavta es HaShem Elokecha,
And you shall love HaShem, your G-d.”
Shin – Shtika, silence. In Pirkei Avos,
Rabbi Akiva teaches, “A fence for wisdom
is shtika, silence.”

Silence is our guardrail, protecting us from
saying words we may regret. Take a minute
to reflect upon your words before speaking.
Podcaster Brad Kearns has an acronym
for the word WAIT – Why Am I Talking.
Something to think about.
Additionally, shtika, silence allows us to
be good listeners, thereby strengthening
relationships.
Yud – Yirah, fear and respect for HaShem.
While ahava includes a love of G-d, yirah,
a deep respect for and fear of G-d is equally
important. To live one’s life knowing that there
is an all-seeing G-d above. To live with yiras
shomayim, a fear of Heaven. We are reminded
of the importance of yirah when reciting
Birchas HaChodesh, the blessing for the new
month. We ask HaShem to “Give us a life
infused with fear of heaven and fear of sin”.
For a moral society to exist, there must be
that fear. When there is no fear of G-d, the
very fabric of morality disintegrates. When
the respect for authority is lacking, society
runs amok, chaos prevails.
Tuf – Torah. As it is written, “Toras HaShem
temima, The Torah of HaShem in perfect,
meshivas nofesh, it restores the soul”
(Tehillim 19:8). Rabbi Samson Raphael
Hirsch (1808-1888) teaches, the Torah is
our life guidebook. Its mitzvos cover every
aspect of man’s existence, thereby restoring
our souls. It is the perfect breath of fresh air
for our neshama.
Beyond the Vilna Gaon’s acronym, the word
bereishis can also be reimagined to reveal
another layer of meaning. If we rearrange
the letters of the word bereishis, we have the
phrase basa shir, comes with a shir, a song.
As a nation, we joined together in joy and
relief knowing that our remaining hostages
are finally home. It is no coincidence that the
hostages returned home on Hoshana Rabba,
when we sing the songs of Hallel, praises to
HaShem.
The songs of our people define who and what
we are. We sing Ani Ma’amin, I believe;
Anachnu ma’aminim bnei ma’aminim,
we are believers the sons of believers; and
V’shavu bonim ligvulam, And your children
shall return to their borders.
Let’s continue singing… songs of thanks,
songs of praise, and songs of yearning for the
ultimate geulah.