Tehilim Perek 119: Letter AYIN

Hello everybody, in today’s Nach Daily we’ll be discussing the letter AYIN. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time.

Let’s jump rite in;

The letter Ayin represents Amok depth, vision, sensing, and deeply thinking.

The Ayin eye, encompasses both physically seeing something and spiritually seeing something in your mind’s eye. Its also the ability to think intuitively, more deeply and penetrating a subject matter. Like when a person like when a person learns gemarah in depth its called b’iyun from the world Ayin to look into something.

After Adom and Chava sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge the passuk says “v’tipakachna Aney shneihem v’yado ki arumim hem – they opened up their eyes and saw they were naked.” Rashi explains Adom and Chava’s perspective had changed they were able to see things from a new angle.

In English we have the same expression. When you understand something you say “I see.” Or if someone wants to know if your understanding something they will say “do you see what im talking about?” It obviously doesn’t mean physical seeing. It means seeing in your minds eye. This type of seeing is represented by the Ayin.

A subtle but major point here is one’s eye is called Ayin. The organ is named after the letter not the other way around. The letters not named after the organ. This represents something more fundamental. If the world was created with only 21 letters and the Ayin was left out. No one would be able to see the world. The world would be completely lacking. The main faculty of experience would be gone. Therefore, in this context it can be said the Ayin is among the most fundamental of letters.

The Radvaz is his sefer on the letters called Magen Dovid explains the Ayin represents the Ayin Elyona, Hashems hashkacha exact Divine providence in this world. As the passuk says in refrence to Eretz Yisrael “tamid Aynei Hashem Elokecha ba, m’reshis hashanah v’ad achris hashanah – Hashem’s eyes are constantly watching and guarding it from the beginning until the end of the year.” It goes without saying, Hashem doesn’t have eyes. Once again, we see how the Ayin points towards God’s amazing care and protection over our nation. Hashem is constantly watching over us.

Parenthetically, the passuk we just quoted is about Eretz Yisrael. Because Eretz Yisrael is the place where a person can see God more clearly.

The letter Ayin is actually shaped like two eyes attached to a face. Non of the letters look like the organ it corresponds to. Once again, this points to the vital nature of the eyes.

Nurmically the Ayin is 70. Seventy is a number of inclusion and perfection. Examples of this are; there’s 70 nations, 70 languages,. At the beginning of the formation of Am Yisrael, Yaakov had 70 children that went down to Mitzraim. And there’s 70 punim letorah 70 ways to understand Torah. This all points towards perfection and inclusion.

Last but not least in the contemporary sefer Hatzaphon written by Rav Zamir Cohn. Explains the by Tefilin it shuold be placed “bein Aynecha” between your eyes. Why does it say between your eyes and not al aynecha on your eyes or next to your eyes?

Rav Zamit Cohn explains. The Tefilin rest on the part of your brain called the Lateral Geniculate Necleus (LGN). This part of your brain is responsible for vision. It’s the part of your brain that process and allows your eyes to see. Therefore, the Torah commanded us to place our Tefilin bein aynecha between our eyes exactly in the location where our brain see’s from.

Even further, in healing, the spot where we place or Tefilin in known as the Pineal gland. Which is known as the location for our minds eyes and ability to see spiritually.