Introduction.
This booklet is based on one statement of the Vilna Gaon in which he wrote that the last ten Parshiyos of the Torah hint to what would happen throughout
the last one thousand years of history. This way, the last book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) predicts the history of the sixth
millennia and every century is hinted to by one parsha.
We will try to evaluate this statement of the Gaon
and understand the history accordingly. We certainly do not assume the
knowledge of all of the hints. Everybody who studied the Talmud knows full well
that we sometimes don’t know answers to even much simpler questions. Even the
great sages often end their commentaries with the words “Tzarich
Iyun” – this needs further examination. Still, after
analyzing the recent history, we found a wonderful correspondence between the
years and the Torah portions and hence we decided to publish this article.
The Vilna Gaon also
explains that the spiritual root of the ten Torah portions of Devarim is in ten Sefiros of the
world of Asya. This is the lowest of the spiritual
worlds and it is a projection of the worlds above it, just as the fifth book of
Torah is a projection of the books before. Thus, to better understand the
history of the ten centuries, we need to have some understanding of Sefiros as well. In general, Sefiros
can be viewed as parts of Divine will or as ways of Hanhaga
– Hashem’s rule over the universe. There are ten such
ways. Everything in the spiritual and physical realms is a result and
projection of some combination of the ten Sefiros.
Just as all physical materials with their great variety are composed of just a
little more that one hundred elements, so too, is everything spiritual, a
combination of these ten general spiritual roots. The names of the Sefiros are:
Keser – Crown, Chochma – Wisdom, Bina –
Understanding, Chesed – Kindness, Gevurah
– Strength, Tiferes – Harmony,
Netzach – Perseverance, Hod – Splendor, Yesod – Foundation, Malchus – Royalty.
The projections of these Sefiros
are in everything including the human body. Even though some knowledge of
Kabala will enhance the understanding of this booklet, such knowledge is not
required. One can learn a lot from this article even without it.
Let us study the history starting with year
5000, i.e. 1240 by secular calendar. According to the Gaon’s
arrangement we have the following correspondence:
|
Parsha |
Sefira |
Jewish years |
Secular years |
|
Devarim |
Keser |
5000-5100 |
1240-1340 |
|
Vaeschanan |
Chochma |
5100-5200 |
1340-1440 |
|
Ekev |
Bina |
5200-5300 |
1440-1540 |
|
Ree |
Chesed |
5300-5400 |
1540-1640 |
|
Shoftim |
Gevurah |
5400-5500 |
1640-1740 |
|
Ki Setze |
Tiferes |
5500-5600 |
1740-1840 |
|
Ki Savo |
Netzach |
5600-5700 |
1840-1940 |
|
Nitzavim-Vayelech |
Hod |
5700-5800 |
1940-2040 |
|
Haazinu |
Yesod |
5800-5900 |
2040-2140 |
|
VeZos HaBracha |
Malchus |
5900-6000 |
2140-2240 |
Note, that Nitzavim and Vayelech are the same Parsha. When
there are two Shabbosim between Rosh Hashanah and Sukkos, we split them, however
they are generally considered one Parsha. Thus, there
are 53 Parshiyos in the Torah, like the gematria of the word “Gan” –
garden. If we were to consider Nitzavim and Vayelech separately, we would have a total of 54 Parshiyos.
The written Torah as well as the Talmud and the book
of Zohar predict many elements of our history.
However, the statement of the Gaon shines additional
light on it. If you will have questions or comments, please call (347)
645-2274. I would like to thank Mrs. Chaya Bartel and Mrs. Chana Ziegelheim for their help in editing this work. If you will
have questions or comments, please call +1-347-645-2274.
A short summary of the book
of Devarim.
In general, the book of Devarim covers the last month
and seven days of Moshe’s life. During this time, he chastised our people, he
reviewed the Torah’s commandments with them, he predicted their future and, at
the end he blessed them. Thus, the book can naturally be divided into four
parts. The first three weekly readings have to do with the past. Moshe was
reprimanding our nation for its sins. The next three Parshiyos
are completely dedicated to mitzvos. The following
three weekly portions deal with predictions of the future. The last Parsha is Moshe’s blessing of the twelve tribes, each
according to its spiritual root. This general division fits perfectly into the teachings
of Kabala. According to Kabalistic works, the general division of the Sefiros is also into groups of three. These groups also
correspond to the three levels of the soul – Neshama,
Ruach and Nefesh, as well
as to the three times – past, present and future, and to the three levels of
the body. Thus, the first three Sefiros correspond to
the Neshama, to the past tense and to the head. In
general, all Neshamos were created in the beginning,
and one can’t change them or damage them. Our actions only affect the levels
below Neshama. The Neshama
itself simply leaves a person at the time of sin. This is also the explanation
of Kares – the spiritual incision. The lower levels
of the soul are cut off from Neshama. The next level
– Ruach – corresponds to present tense and to the
middle level of the body. We breathe through our lungs, and indeed the meaning
of the word Ruach is wind. The lowest level – Nefesh – corresponds to the lowest part of the body, below
the diaphragm. Our qualities come from this part of the soul. It has to do with
the future tense and we have to work on it all our lives. It is thus taught
that Ruach is riding on top of the Nefesh, like a rider on a horse. Some people have a hard
time taming their “horse,” for they are born with many bad qualities, but if
they succeed in the end, their reward is very great. Similarly, our
After this introduction, the general order of the
book of Devarim becomes clear. The first three
chapters have to do with the first three Sefiros, and
they are mostly dedicated to our past history. Even though there are some mitzvos in VaEschanan and Ekev, these mitzvos mostly have
to do with strengthening our Emuna – faith. The next
three portions are completely dedicated to describing the detailed commandments
of the Torah and correspond to the Sefiros that have
to do with the present. We will later see that a tremendous rise of Torah
learning happened in the period of time corresponding to these chapters. The
following three Parshiyos describe the predictions of
the future and correspond to the Sefiros that have to
do with the future. In these chapters, our deviation from Torah is predicted,
as well as our punishment and the return to Judaism – the Baaley
Tshuva movement. At last, the blessings of the tribes
correspond to Malchus – for this Sefira
shows our readiness to receive the Divine blessing, and it is also the source
of the Jewish souls. Let us delve a bit further into each Parsha
separately.
Parshas Devarim.
This chapter is an introduction to the whole book. Just as Kabala teaches us, Keser is the Sefira that connects
each world with the world above it. It is thus taught that the Malchus of the higher world becomes the Keser
of the world below. Thus, this Parsha summarizes
everything that happened until now and introduces us to what will be discussed
in the book.
From a historical point of view, two fundamental
books saw light in this century – the Tur and the Zohar. The author of the Tur,
Rabbi Yakov ben Asher, summarized all the works of
the Rishonim before him, producing a unique
compendium which describes all the laws that apply to us. Centuries later,
Rabbi Yosef Karo used this
work as the basis for his Shulchan Aruch. Therefore, most of the halachic
works we have
today are completely based on the Shulchan
Aruch and the Tur.
Certainly, the Tur can be considered the root of all
other works of halacha, corresponding perfectly to Sefiras Keser.
The Zohar was also
rediscovered during this century. After being hidden for generations, it became
the root of all subsequent writings of Kabala. Interestingly, the other
principal Kabalistic writings of Ramban and his
students were also composed in this century.
Parshas VaEschanan.
In general, the sages of the past one thousand years are divided into Rishonim (early ones) and Acharonim
(the last ones). Usually, the exile of Spanish Jewry is considered the splitting
point. According to this, the Rishonim continued
their activity in the time corresponding to the first three Sefiros.
In general, all of the first three Sefiros are hidden
and so is the activity of most sages of the time. Some of the known writings of
this Parsha’s period include the Maharil’s
compilation of our customs and his answers to halachic
inquiries.
Parshas Ekev.
This is the last of the Torah portions in the first
group of three. In many ways, it is similar to the previous one just as Chochma is similar to Bina. It is
known, that in every group of three Sefiros there is
right, left and middle. The right side is that of kindness, while the left is
of judgment. Thus, in this group, Bina is from the
left side. Even so, the judgment that comes from this Sefira
is not as severe as from Gevura and Hod, because this Sefira is
included the first three, where in general there is a lot of mercy.
This Parsha warns us that
when we build nice houses and multiply our possessions we should not forget Hashem. If we forget about the Creator, we will be
destroyed.
The most important historic event in this Parsha is the exile of Spanish Jews. The Rabbis of the time
wrote that this punishment came, due to the comfort in which our people lived.
As opposed to German and French Jews who were accustomed to anti-Semitism, the
Spanish Jews lived in a golden country. Their beautiful houses and their wealth
caused the envy of their gentile neighbors, which encouraged their hostility.
Interestingly, once faced with the choice of exile or conversion, the majority
of Spanish Jews chose the latter. With the Spanish exile a whole chapter in
Jewish history as well as the Divine rule through the first three Sefiros ended.
Parshas Ree.
This is the first chapter dealing with practical
commandments. It corresponds to Sefiras Chesed – the kindness of Hashem.
In this period of time, both the teaching of open Torah as well as the teaching
of Kabala flourished. During this century, Rabbi Yosef
Karo wrote the main code of Jewish law and Rabbi
Moshe Isserles added a gloss to it. Also, at this
time lived the greatest Kabalist - Arizal. All later writings of Kabala and Chassidus are based on his teachings. It is worth noting
that this weekly portion also deals with the laws applicable to the
Another interesting observation is that this weekly
portion warns us not to listen to an idolatrous false prophet. Other laws of
false prophets are discussed in the next Parsha as
well. The false prophet mentioned here may be Nostradamus.
This man, a descendent of Jewish converts to Christianity, still fascinates
many Non-Jews by his “predictions”.
Parshas Shoftim.
Here, the Torah continues discussing many commandments. This portion
corresponds to Gevurah – the Sefira
of Divine judgment. Thus, the name of this Parsha is Shoftim – judges. Regarding the study of the Torah, many
major commentators on the Shulchan Aruch lived in this century. Concerning the books on Kabala, the most famous
ones written in this period are from Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto.
His own life however was quite sad; he spent a long time in exile and died at
young age. The tribulations of his life fully correspond to the attribute of
this century.
Regarding the general history of our people,
terrible tragedies happened in this time period, for whole Jewish communities
were destroyed during Chmelnitzky’s massacres.
Our weekly portion also discusses the false
prophets. Indeed, one of the most famous false Messiahs in our history, Shabbatai Tzvi, lived during this
time. The damage this man brought was certainly enormous. Most of our nation
was fooled by him, and when he converted to Islam, many followed suit. Some of
his followers continued to believe he is Moshiach
even after his conversion. These people plagued our nation for a long time
afterwards.
Another infamous person who lived during this
century was Baruch Spinoza. At first glance, one might find it too far fetched to
call this man a false prophet, however after some
analysis this becomes quite plausible. It is known, that for centuries most of
our people were religiously observant. Those who did not want to keep the
commandments usually converted to other faiths, but the people who called
themselves Jews always followed the Torah. Baruch Spinoza became a
representative of a new phenomenon – that of the irreligious Jew. On the one
hand, he did not formally convert to another faith. On the other hand, he
abandoned the ancient traditions our nation faithfully preserved and invented
his own “principles of faith”. Later, there would be many such people, but he
was the first and therefore his blame is greater.
Parshas Ki
Setze.
More commandments are described in this Parsha than
in any other, for this is the main portion of the Torah, corresponding to the Sefira of Tiferes. It is
impossible to overestimate the development of Torah learning in this century.
We will describe only a few of the leading sages.
The Vilna Gaon lived in
this period. Interestingly, he found a hint to his name in this Parsha, in the words “Even Shleima”.
He and his students wrote hundreds of books on all topics of open and hidden
aspects of Torah. Afterwards, many more books were based on the Gaon’s writings. Thus, for example, Chofetz
Chaim based his main halachic decisions in Sefer Mishna Berura on the opinion of
the Vilna Gaon.
Chassidus developed in this century.
Most of the main leaders that put down the foundations of this movement lived
in the one hundred years corresponding to this Parsha.
Thus, the founder of Chassidus, the Baal Shem Tov, died 40 years into this century. Some of the major Rebbis that lived at this time include Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Lyadi
(the founder of Chabad), Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum
(founder of Satmar and other dynasties) and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
Rabbi Yechezkel Landau
(the Node BeYehuda), Rabbi Akiva
Eiger and Rabbi Moshe Sofer
(the Chasam Sofer) also
lived in this century. Chasam Sofer
was able to establish a world famous yeshivah, where
most of the prominent Hungarian Rabbis learned.
Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin,
the greatest student of the Vilna Gaon established
the world famous Volozhin Yeshiva. This yeshivah served as a model for all subsequent Lithuanian
yeshivas.
Regarding the great Sefardi
Rabbis, two of the most famous ones lived during this century – the Chida and the Rashash. Chida (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) wrote many encyclopedic works that are studied and
quoted by the Jewish people until the present. The Rashash
(Rabbi Shalom Sharabi) composed a Kabalistic sidur of crucial importance. Most people
that pray with kavonos (Kabalistic meditations) uses
this sidur.
Parshas Ki
Savo.
It is important to mention immediately, that in the
realm of Divine rule, the two Sefiros Netzach and Hod work together.
Thus, for example, in the human body they correspond to the two legs. As
opposed to the hands, each of which can function independently, the legs of a
person are used jointly. Thus, the two weekly readings: Ki
Savo and Nitzavim with Vayelech are joined into one complete whole, for Nitzavim is simply a continuation of Ki
Savo, as we will see later.
Interestingly, the book of Zohar
predicts tremendous scientific progress starting with the beginning of Ki Savo (year 5600, 1840 by the
secular calendar). The Zohar claims this progress
will prepare the world for the coming of Moshiach.
Note, that according to Kabala, the Sefiros starting
with Netzach are all connected directly to Malchus, thus, from the century of Netzach
starts the preparation for Melech Hamoshiach
– the kingship of Messiah. Interestingly, according to the writings of Arizal, the top of Malchus
actually reaches up to the previous Sefira – Tiferes. This agrees with the traditions of the GR”A (in
his commentary to Sifra Detzniusa)
and of Chasam Sofer (in his
tshuva 62 in the second volume of Choshen
Mishpat), that the preparations for the coming of Moshiach already began in year 5500.
Even though Netzach is related to the right side,
while Hod – to the left, the influence of the two Sefiros is mixed as we mentioned. Thus, it is taught that
the end of Netzach is connected to Hod and judgment flows from it. While the beginning of Ki Savo is quite happy, it ends
with curses and punishments. Nitzavim continues with
further curses and then speaks about our coming back to the observance of the
commandments.
Now, the beginning of Ki Savo discusses the new fruits that we will gather from the
land given to us as eternal inheritance. Interestingly, at this time period
some settlements were founded in the
Towards the middle of the Parsha,
the Torah describes eleven curses for those who do not keep various
commandments. The curses are concluded by the words: “Cursed is the man that
will not uphold the words of this Torah”. The entire second half of the Parsha is devoted to the terrible curses that will befall
our nation if we don’t observe the commandments. This portion of the Torah is
read quietly – for these are the sad words of rebuke.
Speaking from historic perspective, it is well known
that the majority of the Jewish people abandoned the observance of the
commandments during this century. By the time of World War II, most of our
nation did not keep the mitzvahs. The fast momentum at which the Jewish people
were going astray was astonishing. Together with the going away, the
punishments started befalling us. On the saddest day of our year – the Ninth of
Av, World War I started. The Russian revolution, pogroms in
Parshas Nitzavim and Vayelech.
Terrible curses continue being described in the
beginning of this Parsha. Such expressions as “Sulfur
and salt burned all the soil … like the destruction of
After the terrible curses are described, the Torah
predicts our return to Hashem and renewal of the
observance of commandments. This passage is speaking to our generation. In the
previous generations some people left traditional Judaism, and their
descendants continued the downhill slide and assimilated even further. The concept of return to Torah
observance was virtually unknown. In our day this is quite common. People who
were born into families with completely irreligious backgrounds come back to
Orthodox Judaism and they often succeed in bringing their parents along with
them.
Parshas Haazinu.
This Parsha is called a small Torah, so as Yesod is the projection of the other Sefiros.
Indeed the very commandment to write the Sefer Torah is learned from this Parsha. Based on the verses in this short Parsha, we can judge that the events will greatly speed up
once we reach the next century. This weekly portion also contains severe
warning should we not listen to Hashem.
Parshas VeZos HaBracha.
The blessings of the twelve Jewish tribes contained
in the Parsha correspond to Malchus,
for this Sefira shows our readiness to receive Divine
blessing. It is this Sefira, from which the Jewish
souls descend. It certainly seems that this weekly portion hints to the times
of Moshiach, corresponding perfectly to the kingship
that this Sefira represents. However, it is our
belief that Moshiach could come in any generation if
we deserve. According to the Vilna Gaon (in his
commentary to Sifra Detzniusa),
Moshiach ben Yosef will come earlier if we are worthy. Just as Shaul ruled over our people
before David, so too Moshiach ben
Yosef can come before Moshiach
ben David. Our sages say that during this time
period life will not change significantly. The only difference will be is that
after his coming we will reside in the