Tehilim Perek 119

Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s NachDaily is Tehilim Chapter 119.

This is the longest chapter in Tehilim, containing 176 pessukim, 8 for each letter of the Aleph-Beis. This teaches that a person who learns Torah can be taken beyond the natural order of this world, which is represented by the number 7.

We will use the next bunch of shiurim to delve into the letters of the Aleph-Beis. I wanted to take this opportunity to teach about the “secrets of the letters”. For the next bunch of classes, I’m going to give a short class on each one of the letters in Aleph-Beis. Then we’ll be moving forward in the Tehilim.

I just felt this is such a good chance to teach about the letters to the world! And I didn’t want it to go to waste. I hope you all enjoy these classes.

Before we begin, it’s important to mention that the holy letters contain the secrets of the Torah. The letters, gematrias, shapes, pronunciation and placement of the letters within the Aleph-Beis all have deep significant meaning.

The passuk says, “B’dvar Hashem hashemayim nassu, the world was created by the word of God.” The letters of the Hebrew alphabet were used in the creating of the world. Although the word d’var- daled, vav, reish – means word, it also denotes davar, object. Because all things in this world are created with the word of God, we see that the letters of the Aleph-Beis contain the secrets of this world.

We also know that Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world, another indication that the letters of the Torah were used for its formation.

This is precisely why the Hebrew language is called Lashon Hakodesh, the Holy Language or the Holy Tongue. Speaking Hebrew illuminates our mouths with the Divine light contained in the letters.

The Zohar in Achrei mos 73:2 says: Come and see that the first thing we teach a child before learning Torah is the Aleph-Beis. The sod ha’osiyos, secrets of the letters, is beyond human comprehension. Even melachim elyonim, heavenly angels, don’t understand how the letters contain the secrets of God’s Names.

There are hundreds of thousands of worlds that are solely dependent on the kotso shel yud, the apex of the letter yud which is contained in the letter aleph. The Zohar explains that these letters sustain the heavens and earth. The Torah is written in Hebrew because it also sustains the heavens and earth. Through learning Torah, therefore, one is actually giving life to the heavens and earth which were created with the 22 letters of the Aleph-Beis.

As much of the Kabbalah, including Sefer Yetzirah, is written about the letters, it goes without saying that these classes won’t even scratch the surface.

Im yirtza Hashem, we will begin with the letter aleph in the next shiur.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.