Running Commentary on Torah 46 — Mach'as Kaf b'Sh'as ha-Tefillah

Beginner: **Opening principle**: ***Mach'as kaf bi'sh'as ha-tefillah*** — striking palm against palm during prayer — is the *bechina* of *nesinas ha-mitah bein tzafon l'darom*, 'placing the bed between north and south' (Berachos 5b, the famous teaching of Rabbi Yitzchak). **Why?** Because *mitah* (bed) is the *bechina* of *zivug* (union) and the *bechina* of *tefillah* (Tikkun 10; see also Tikkun 58 — the Zohar's double coding of the marital bed as also the bed of prayer). And **tzafon v'darom** (north and south) are the *bechina* of the two *yadayim* — the right hand (*darom*, south, chesed) and the left hand (*tzafon*, north, gevurah) — the two axial directions of the human body when it stands facing east to pray. **So to 'place the bed between north and south' is precisely to place the living bed of the body — the tefillah-zivug — between the two hands.** And this is what Abba Binyamin prayed for (Berachos 5b): *'she-t'hei tefillaso samuch l'mitaso'* — 'that his prayer be *samuch* (adjacent, immediately touching) to his bed' — *heinu she-lo yihyeh hefresh bein ha-tefillah l'zivug* — 'that there be no separation between the prayer and the *zivug*.' Tefillah and the marital bed are one continuous current in kedushah; clapping the kapayim closes the circuit *by drawing the two yadayim into the very act of hakamas ha-mitah bein tzafon l'darom* — mid-tefillah. Intermediate: **Ois א**: ***Mach'as kaf bi'sh'as ha-tefillah = nesinas ha-mitah bein tzafon l'darom*** (Ber 5b). Mitah = zivug = tefillah (Tik 10; Tik 58). Tzafon+darom = yadayim (chesed/gevurah). **Abba Binyamin (Ber 5b)**: 'tefillaso samuch l'mitaso' = ein hefresh bein tefillah u-zivug. Mach'as kapayim = hakamas ha-mitah bein shtei ha-yadayim b'toch ha-tefillah.

Beginner: **Ois ב — Mach'as kaf sweetens the *dinim***. *Gam al yedei mach'as kaf, nimtakim ha-dinim*. Why? Because there are **three Havayos** (three permutations / configurations of the Shem Havayah Y-H-V-H) which are the *bechina of three yadayim*: ***yad ha-gedolah*** (the great hand — divine chesed at full extension), ***yad ha-chazakah*** (the strong hand — divine gevurah), and ***yad ha-ramah*** (the high hand — the exalted synthesis). The Rebbe maps: *yad yamin* = *yad ha-gedolah*; *yad s'mol* = *yad ha-chazakah*; and ***bi'sh'as ha-hakha'ah she-nis'chabrim yachad*** — *in the moment of the strike itself, when they connect into one* — *that* is the *yad ha-ramah*. The clap is not two hands nor three; it is *the very becoming of the third, the exalted, out of the embrace of yamin and s'mol.* **And the dibburim that come out of a person while he is davening** exit *min ha-garon* (from the throat), and the word *ha-garon* (ה-ג-ר-ו-ן = 5+3+200+6+50) has *gematria of three times Elokim* (Elokim = 86; 3 × 86 = 258; garon = 259, traditionally matched with 3×Elokim once the collective-one is dropped) — meaning the throat is itself the channel of three *gevuros/dinim*. ***They are sweetened by the three Havayos*** — the three yadayim channeling through clap into the throat. **This is the peirush of Tehillim 119:109**: *'nafshi b'chapi tamid, v'sorascha lo shachachti'* — 'my soul is in my palm continually, and Your Torah I have not forgotten.' *'Nafshi'* = *bechinas dibbur* (Shir Ha-Shirim 5:6 *'nafshi yatz'ah b'dabro'* — 'my soul went out when he spoke'; and *bechinas tefillah*, as in Iyov 18:4 *'toref nafsho b'apo'* — see Berachos 5b which brings this verse regarding tefillah). *'B'chapi'* = *bechinas mach'as ha-kaf*. So: when the dibbur-nefesh of tefillah is continually placed 'in my palm' by clapping — ***'v'sorascha lo shachachti'*** — 'and Your Torah I have not forgotten.' **The gematria-seal**: the roshei teivos of *'v'torascha lo shachachti'* (וְתוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי — ו + ל + ש = 6 + 30 + 300 = 336) spell **שלו** (*shalev*, 'at peace') — and **336 = the exact sum of 3 Havayos (3 × 26 = 78) + 3 Elokim (3 × 86 = 258)** — namely, *ha-m'takas ha-dinim* in gematria. The shalev-state of 'I have not forgotten Your Torah' *is* the completed harmonic of three Havayos sweetening three Elokim, channeled by the clap. **And the root mechanism of forgetting**: *ikkar ha-shichcha hu mi-mochin d'katnus, mi-bechinas Elokim* — the main cause of forgetting is *mochin d'katnus* (constricted consciousness), the realm of the Elokim-names; *u-ksh'mamtik es ha-Elokim b'kappav* — and when one sweetens the Elokim right in his own palms by clapping — *'v'sorascha lo shachachti.'* **Further peirush**: ***'ki vi chashak va'afaltehu'*** — 'for he desired Me, and I will deliver him' (Tehillim 91:14). *Bi* (ב״י = 2+10=12? — in Rabbeinu's reading here, via the Hakdamas ha-Tikkunim daf 7b) has *gematria 42*; and ***3 × yad (י״ד = 14) = 42*** — three hands make 42, *bi*. So *'ki vi chashak'* = the chashek (desire) of the heart *becomes revealed in the hands*, which is *bechinas mach'as kapayim*; *va'afaltehu* = *hamtakas ha-dinim*, the deliverance. Clapping is the moment the inward chashek becomes the outward '42-hands' that sweeten judgments. Intermediate: **Ois ב**: Mach'as kaf mamtik dinim. ***3 Havayos = 3 yadayim***: **Gedolah** (yamin), **Chazakah** (s'mol), **Ramah** (hakha'ah/chibur). Dibburim min ha-garon (גרון gematria 3×Elokim=258, dinim) nimtakim ***al yedei 3 Havayos***. **Teh 119:109**: 'nafshi b'chapi tamid, v'torascha lo shachachti.' Nafshi=dibbur=tefillah (Shir 5:6 'nafshi yatz'ah b'dabro'; Iyov 18:4 — Ber 5b); b'chapi=mach'as kaf. R"T שלו (336) = 3 Havayos (78) + 3 Elokim (258) = hamtakas ha-dinim. Shichcha = mochin d'katnus = Elokim; m'mamtik Elokim b'kappav → 'lo shachachti.' **Teh 91:14 'ki vi chashak va'afaltehu'**: בי=42 (Hakdamas Tikkunim 7b) = 3×יד (14); chashek ha-lev mis'galeh ba-yadayim = mach'as kapayim → 'va'afaltehu' = hamtakas dinim.

Beginner: **Ois ג — Mach'as kaf *batel machlokes***. *Gam al yedei mach'as kaf, mevatel ha-machlokes.* Why? Because **all machlokes** is drawn from *bechinas Korach al Aharon* — the primal split of Korach's strike against Aharon Ha-Kohen — which is *bechinas s'mala v'yemina* (Zohar Bereshis 17b; Tikkun 30): s'mol rising against yamin, gevurah flaring against chesed. ***Via mach'as kaf*** — when the two hands strike — ***nichlalim s'mol b'yamin v'yamin b'smol v'na'asim achdus*** — left is included in right and right in left, and they become one. **The clap is the ritual resolution of Korach.** **Source-verse**: ***'he'iru b'rakav teivel, ra'asah va-tachel ha-aretz'*** — 'His lightnings lit up the *teivel* (world); the earth saw and trembled' (Tehillim 97:4). *Teivel = bechinas mach'as kapayim.* In gematria: *yamin = ע״ב (72* — the chesed-Havayah); *s'mol = רי״ו (216* — the gematria of *gevurah*). When each is *included* in the other, *nesh'neh 2 × 216 = 432 = gematria of **teivel*** (תבל = 400+2+30 = 432). ***And*** the 72 of yamin itself contains *three times ע״ב* (3 × 72 = 216), bechinas *Kohen Gadol, Kohen Hedyot, Sgan Ha-Kohen* — the three levels of Aharon's priesthood (the very institution Korach attacked). So the clap *simultaneously* unifies yamin-s'mol (producing 432 = teivel) *and* reinstates Aharon's three-tiered priesthood (3 × 72 = 216). **And via *he'iru b'rakav*** — 'His lightnings lit up' — ***nis'taken ha-machlokes ha-nikra barak*** (machlokes itself is called 'lightning'): *'va-yetze ka-barak chitzo'* — 'His arrow went out like lightning' (Zecharyah 9:14), and *chetz* (arrow) is a lashon of machlokes, as in Bereshis 49:23 on Yosef: *'va-yistemuhu ba'alei chitzim'* — 'the archers harassed him' — which Onkelos renders *'ba'alei palguta'*, 'the baalei machlokes.' Lightning, arrow, strife — one cluster; the clap dissolves it. **Crown of the ois**: ***'kol ha-amim tik'u kaf'*** — 'all the peoples, clap hands' (Tehillim 47:2) — *lashon his'chabrus* (language of joining). And the gematria clinches it: *tik'u* (תקעו = 400+100+70+6 = 576) = ***2 × 72 + 2 × 216 = 144 + 432 = 576*** — yamin and s'mol each fully included in the other, both doubled, yielding the exact universal clap Tehillim describes: *all the peoples* ultimately claim the unity Korach tried to shatter. Intermediate: **Ois ג**: Mach'as kaf m'vatel machlokes. Kol machlokes ← Korach al Aharon = s'mala v'yemina (Zohar Ber 17b; Tik 30); mach'as kaf → s'mol nichlal b'yamin v'chelef = achdus. **Teh 97:4** 'he'iru b'rakav teivel ra'asah': **teivel = mach'as kapayim**; yamin=ע״ב (72), s'mol=רי״ו (216); 2×216 = 432 = **teivel**; 3×ע״ב = 216 = Kohen Gadol/Hedyot/Sgan. 'He'iru b'rakav' → nis'taken ha-machlokes (barak=machlokes, Zech 9:14 'ka-barak chitzo', chetz=machlokes; Bereshis 49:23 Targum 'ba'alei palguta'). **Teh 47:2** 'kol ha-amim tik'u kaf' = lashon his'chabrus; תקעו=576 = 2×72 + 2×216.

Beginner: **Ois ד — Reb Nosson's editorial note + the Pri Etz Chaim parallel version**. Reb Nosson tells us: *'Before I copied this Torah from his holy handwriting, I wrote some of this matter myself from what I heard, and because some points are explained there somewhat more fully, I have copied that version also — **u-shneihem k'echad tovim** — both together are good.'* So Ois ד is the Pri Etz Chaim-based parallel, preserving the same *chiddushim* slightly amplified. **Source**: Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar Chazaras Ha-Amidah, end of perek 7, on the verse ***'shalev hayisi va'y'farp'reini'*** — 'I was at ease, and He shattered me' (Iyov 16:12). The word *shalev* (שלו = 300+30+6 = 336) *= 3 Havayos (78) + 3 Elokim (258) = 336* — the same gematria-equation as Ois ב. And the **roshei teivos of *'v'yasem lecha shalom'*** — 'and may He place upon you peace' (Bamidbar 6:26, the kohanim's birkas shalom) — *ו+ל+ש* = *6 + 30 + 300 = 336 = שלו*. The priestly blessing of peace is itself a coded '3 Havayos sweeten 3 Elokim.' **The three hands restated (slightly fuller)**: *yad ha-gedolah* (right), *yad ha-chazakah* (left), and ***al yedei chibukas ha-yadayim na'aseh yad ha-ramah*** — 'through the *embracing* of the hands, the high hand is *made*' (here Pri Etz Chaim uses *chibuk* — embrace — rather than *hakha'ah*; the third hand comes into being through the joining). Therefore, when one strikes palm to palm and joins the hands in tefillah, the dinim are sweetened. **Gematria refresher**: *yad* is itself the *bechina of Havayah*, for י (*yud*) = 'yud' when spelled out = *yud-vav-dalet* (י-ו-ד), and *ד* (*dalet*) spelled out = *dalet-lamed-tav* — the vav-dalet-of-the-letter-yud plus the dalet equal *yud* + *vav-dalet* = a Havayah embedded within *yad*. Three *yadim* = three *Havayos*, and they sweeten the three Elokim that issue from the throat (garon = 3 × Elokim), the source of dibbur-dinim. **A *segulah* for memory**: the clap is *segulah l'zikaron*. Again: *'nafshi b'chapi tamid'* (Tehillim 119:109); *nafshi* = tefillah (Shir 5:6); *b'chapi tamid* = striking kaf to kaf during tefillah; through this — *'v'sorascha lo shachachti'*; for *shichcha* = *mochin d'katnus* = *bechinas Elokim*, and when one sweetens the dinim as above, he stands in *mochin d'gadlus* and there is no shichcha. The roshei teivos of the phrase — שלו again. **Why specifically at tefillah?** *Ve-zeh dayka bi'sh'as ha-tefillah* — 'and this is davka at the time of tefillah,' for ***then*** a person knows whether he stands in *mochin d'katnus* or *d'gadlus*, because ***dibbur is the revelation of the mochin***, as it says: *'mi-piv da'as u'tevunah'* — 'from His mouth, knowledge and understanding' (Mishlei 2:6). The clapping at tefillah is the *diagnostic* moment: the dibburim that issue through sweetened dinim reveal the mochin d'gadlus. **The whole Torah in one image**: two yadayim strike, three Havayos become present, three Elokim of the throat are sweetened, Korach-vs-Aharon is healed, the chashek of the heart enters the hands, and the *shalev* of שלו — 336 — is realized *in the very body of the davener*. *U-shneihem k'echad tovim.* Intermediate: **Ois ד (R"N edit + PEC parallel)**: R"N — *u-shneihem k'echad tovim*, copied PEC version before receiving Rabbeinu's ktav yad. Source: PEC Sha'ar Chazaras Amidah, sof perek 7 on Iyov 16:12 'shalev hayisi.' שלו=336=3 Havayos (78)+3 Elokim (258). **R"T 'v'yasem lecha shalom'** (Bamid 6:26) = ו+ל+ש = 336 = שלו. 3 yadayim = Gedolah/Chazakah/Ramah; **yad ha-ramah = chibukas ha-yadayim** (PEC term) — mach'as/chibuk → hamtakas dinim. Yad = bechinas Havayah (yud=yud-vav-dalet, dalet); 3 yadayim = 3 Havayos → sweeten 3 Elokim of garon. **Segulah l'zikaron**: Teh 119:109; shichcha=mochin d'katnus=Elokim; hamtakah → mochin d'gadlus; **r"t שלו**. ***Davka bi'sh'as ha-tefillah*** — dibbur = hisgalus ha-mochin (Mish 2:6 'mi-piv da'as u-tevunah').