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Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9 This study of mysticism in Hebrew Gematria is dedicated in the loving memory of Dr. Kathryne Lynn Wright, may she rest in peace. In the Torah we read, "Great righteousness pursue so that [you may have] rebirth and inherit the land that Hashem your G-d is giving you." Deuteronomy 16:20 Some translations may say "..so that you will have life.." What does it mean to pursue righteousness? How does one pursue righteousness? Recently a Yid that I know had a very unpleasant experience with another Yid of the same community. He contacted us at JewishPath. A staff member spoke with me regarding the matter. It is serious. It involves a rabbi of an important kashrus organization that many of us EXPECT RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM AND PLACE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN. Let me explain why this is serious: If a person who owns let's say a kosher deli is not Shomer Shabbos then we teach that even though this person claims to follow all the necessary Torah requirements necessary to operate a 100% kosher deli it is NOT possible. WHY? The individual is NOT Shomer Shabbos. In other words, in his private life he is NOT fulfilling Torah as an observant Jew. He has chosen to omit certain very important Torah mitzvahs. As a result we cannot rely on him to operate a kosher deli with close supervision. Dear readers, in the same fashion if an important leader of a kashrus organization chooses to omit certain very important Torah mitzvahs in his personal life how can we depend upon the products he certifies? Now the most unfortunate part of all this pain experienced by the Yid that contacted us is that righteousness was NOT pursued! A powerful person in an important position chose to judge his fellow Yid unfavorably. He chose a path of less observance rather than a path of greater observance. Yet this Yid judges other kashrus organizations based upon the very same principles that he is guilty of. He tells his followers that certain kosher symbols are "NOT RECOMMENDED." Why are they not recommended? It is because of questionable practices by the leadership or the employees of those certification bodies. There are either issues in their kashrus practices or issues in their private lives that make their certification less than acceptable. Any time that Jews choose to be less observant... that is, to select a lower road instead of a higher road, that is most unfortunate. It is normally less than the intention of Tzadek Tzadek Teer Dof, meaning "Great righteousness pursue." The idea here is NOT TO JUST SQUEAK THROUGH THE DOOR. It is NOT to just pass the exam. It is to obtain the best grade possible! Because the word Tzadek occurs twice in this passage instead of saying "Righteous righteous pursue" we say, "Great righteousness pursue." Why? It is because the Tzadek is repeated. That being the situation it places emphasis upon Tzadek, "RIGHTEOUS". It is not just righteous / righteousness, but because of the second Tzadek it becomes "GREAT" righteous / righteousness! Dear readers, this has profound meaning to all of us. The message that is intended here is, do more than just enough. Don't seek the most lenient opinion. Take the higher road. If we want to experience rebirth in the next life, if we want to enjoy life in the fullest sense, then it is necessary to observe "ALL" Torah and not just a few select mitzvahs. Chassidim, notice the Gematria of the next two words that follow Tzadek Tzadek Teer Dof. They are Li Mah Ahn - Teeach Yeh, meaning, "so that [you may have] rebirth... / ...so that you will have life..." The Gematria of Li Mah Ahn - Teeach Yeh is 613. So mystically this means to have life, to have rebirth one MUST select the higher road, the road of great righteousness, the road of ALL 613 Torah Mitzvahs. Li Mah Ahn - Teeach Yeh {...so that you will have life..} 613 = All the Mitzvahs of Totah Best wishes, Dr. Akiva G. Belk JewishPath is a sponsor of B'nai Noach Torah Institute. As a sponsor we are permitted to offer one FREE E-Mail course on a limited basis per individual from BNTI's Introduction Courses. We invite you to visit and choose an E - Mail Intro Course. BNTI offers Intro Courses in Judaism and Spirituality {7 Noaich Laws}. BNTI Responses are NOT AUTO!!
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