One Should not THROW a Blessing

"And one should not throw a blessing from his mouth."

ולא יזרוק ברכה מפיו

-- Talmud Bavli, Berachot 47a

"And the kohen shall THROW the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting." 

-- Leviticus 17:6


==Following shechitah (slaughter), the blood is collected in a service vessel and carried to the altar before the priest may THROW the blood upon the altar.

The statement from the sages is a 'segulah' for amplifying energy on the etheric plane. 

There's always more levels of meaning, but there's a difference between meaning, which must be given in thought, versus function, which means the formula from the Bavli can be used as a tool. Once installed in the brain, it makes one's blessings more energetically powerful. This should be combined with the connection to the avodah of the sacrifice.
  

Talmud Bavli Shabbat on Fear as Prerequisite to the Study of the Six Orders of the Mishnah

"Reish Lakish said: What is implied by that which is written: 'The stability of your time and the strength of salvation is wisdom and knowledge; the fear of God is in His storehouse' (Isaiah 33:6)? 'Stability' - this refers to Seder Zera'im; 'your time' - this refers to Seder Mo'ed; 'the strength' - this refers to Seder Nashim; 'salvation' - this refers to Seder Nezikin; 'wisdom' - this refers to Seder Kodashim; 'and knowledge' - this refers to Seder Toharot. But even so, 'the fear of God is in His storehouse.'"

-- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 31a

Talmud Bavli Shabbat on Fear as Prerequisite to Torah Knowledge

"Rabbah bar Rav Huna said: Any person who has acquired for himself Torah knowledge, but has not acquired for himself the fear of Heaven is comparable to a treasurer to whom the keys to the inner chambers have been handed, whereas the keys to the outer chambers were not handed to him. How can such a treasurer possibly gain entrance to either the inner or the outer chambers?"

-- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 31a-b

Rambam on Meriting Eternal Life in the World to Come by Performing Mitzvot with Love

"It is a fundamental principle of the Torah that in order to merit eternal life in the World to Come a person must fulfill at least one mitzvah properly with complete devotion to God. This mitzvah must be performed without incorporating in it any personal interest in the observance, intending it only fulfill God will with love."

-- Rambam, Peirush HaMishnayot, Makkot 3:16

The Rambam is commenting on the following mishnah:

"Rabbi Chananaia ben of Akashya says: The Holy One, Blessed is He, wanted to confer merit upon Israel, therefore he gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance. As it says, 'Hashem desired for the sake of Israel's righteousness, that the Torah be expanded and strengthened.' (Isaiah 42:21)." -- Mishnah, Makkot 3:16

One should clarify Rambam's conception: "... performed without incorporating in it any personal interest..." This would be negated should one be performing the mitzvah with the intention to "merit eternal life in the World to Come."
  

The 3 Essential Daily Prayer Sessions and the 12 Essential Daily Prayers

There are 3 Essential Daily Prayer Sessions:

1. Morning (Shacharit) - instituted by Abraham.
2. Afternoon (Minchah) - instituted by Isaac.
3. Evening (Maariv) - instituted by Jacob.

The 12 Essential Daily Prayers:

1. First Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Shacharit)
2. Second Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Shacharit)
3. The Shema (Shacharit)
4. Third Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Shacharit)
5. Shemoneh Esrei (Shacharit)
6. Shemoneh Esrei (Minchah)
7. Fourth Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Maariv)
8. Fifth Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Maariv)
9. The Shema (Maariv)
10. Sixth Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Maariv)
11. Seventh Blessing of the Recitation of the Shema (Maariv)
12. Shemoneh Esrei (Maariv)


The entire round of 12 prayers is a mathematically precise sequence. There are certain Metatronic wavelengths that can only be accessed by the complete performance of all 12 prayers.

Midrash Rabbah Devarim on the Meticulousness in the Enunciation of the Letters of the Recitation of the Shema

"A halakhic question: A man of Israel who recited the Shema reading and was not meticulous in enunciating each of its letters, has he fulfilled his obligation?

"The Sages taught in a Mishnah: If one recited the Shema and was not meticulous in enunciating each of its letters, Rabbi Yose says that he fulfilled his obligation, but Rabbi Yehudah says that he has not fulfilled his obligation.

"And what is 'meticulousness of the letters'? Our Rabbis taught us: With regard to the words 'bechol' and 'levavchem' (Deut. 11:13), one must separate between the lamed at end of bechold and the lamed at the beginning of levavchem. Similarly with regard to the words 'vaavadtem' and 'meheirah' (Deut. 11:17), one must separate between the mem at the end of 'vaavadtem' and the mem at the beginning of 'meheirah'."

-- Midrash Rabbah, Devarim Rabbah, 2.31


This is a very straightforward proof-text for the fact that halakhic regulations are expressed as morphic functions of the vibrational effect generated by the person's actions in the world. That is, there is a mathematical physics to halakhah, in addition to the scholarly dimension of Talmudic analysis.

Here, the fulfillment of the Shema is a function of the correct pronunciation of each letter that comprises each of the 248 words that make up the daily Shema recitation. 

Talmud Bavli Pesachim on the Allure of the Book of Chronicles

"Rami bar Rav Yuda said in the name of Rav: From the day that the Book of Yochasin was hidden, the strength of the Sages became weak and their eyesight was dimmed. Mar Zutra said: The section in the Book of Chronicles between the first mention of Atzel and the last mention of Atzel holds four hundred camel-loads worth of exposition."

-- Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 62b

"The Book of Yochasin was a collection of Tannaitic expositions on the Biblical Book of Chronicles." 

-- Rashi


"And to Atzel were six sons." -- I Chronicles 8:38

"These are the sons of Atzel." -- I Chronicles 9:44

Midrash Rabbah Devarim on the Halakhah of Reciting Shemoneh Esrei after the Shema

"A question of halakhah: If an Israelite were reciting the Shema, would it be permissible for him to wait following the reciting of the Shema [i.e. get up and do something else], and only later pray the Shemoneh Esrei (Eighteen Blessings)?

"The Sages taught as follows: Immediately following the blessing of redemption [i.e. the blessing after the Shema is read] is the Shemoneh Esrei prayer.

"And one who does these things, what is his reward? Rabbah bar Avin said: If he recites Shema with the accompanying blessings, and immediately following, prays the Shemoneh Esrei, he may be assured that his prayer will be heard."

-- Midrash Rabbah, Devarim Rabbah 2.10 (on Devarim 4:7).


This is coded for Overself Dynamics.
 

Beit & Shabbat

Beit: first letter of Torah,
Beit: second letter of Alef-Beit.

Beit = BYT = 2+10+400 = 412 = 7,
Beit = 'house'.

A house defines inside,
and defines outside.

Work: outer processing,
Rest: inner processing.

Six days of outer processing,
One day of inner processing.

The completion of the outer Beit is Shabbat,
Shabbat is the beginning of the inner Beit.

The house is prepared to dwell inside,
The bride is welcomed into her home.

-- S.A.O.

Mishnah Kiddushin on the Laws of Witnesses to the Process of Kiddushin

The Mishnah tractate Kiddushin describes the process by which a woman is legally married by her husband. Generally in Talmudic law, witnesses are required to be present in order for an act to be considered legally binding. However, consider the conflict instigated by the very first mishnah:

"A woman many be acquired in one of three ways: through money, through a document of betrothal, or through cohabitation." -- Mishnah, Kiddushin 1:1

The commentators indicate their sensitivity to the laws of testimony:

THROUGH MONEY : "He gives money or an object of monetary value. This must be performed in the presence of two witnesses." -- Rashi

THROUGH A DOCUMENT : "Her gives a document which states that she is betrothed to him." -- Rashi. "It must be handed to the woman in the presence of two witnesses." -- Rambam

THROUGH COHABITATION : "He cohabits with her, telling her in advance that he is betrothing her through intimate relations." -- Rashi. "The witnesses do not observe the actual act, but observe the couple entering a private place together." -- Rambam

I find Rambam's last comment here to be interesting, since it conveys an ethical value that is not readily apparent in the original text of the mishnah.

Sefer HaZohar on the Stones Jacob Arranged

"And arranged them מראשותיו at his 'heads' [the literal translation]. At whose heads? At the heads of that place. What does this mean? If you say, 'Like a person putting something under his head' - no! Rather, at its heads, at the four heads, directions of the world: three stones to the north, three to the west, three to the south, three to the east, with that place above them arrayed upon them. Then, 'he lay down in that place'. Once the bed was prepared, he lay upon it. Who lay upon it? The sun."

-- Sefer HaZohar, 1:148a


This Zohar passage contains an esoterically encrypted meditation exercise. The specific step-by-step directions and geometrical placements will be obvious to those who already know them; the upshot here is to link this practice to the recitation of the verse from the Torah.

 

Sefer HaZohar on the Body Parts of the Torah

"Everything exists for the sake of humanity, as is written: 'I made the earth and created humankind upon it' (Isaiah 45:12). Torah stands calling out to human beings to engage in her, strive for her, but no one bends an ear.

"Come and see: Whoever engages in Torah sustains the world, maintaining every work of creation perfectly, fittingly. Every single smooth member in the human body corresponds to a creature in the world. For just as a human being is composed of members upon members, all standing rung upon rung, arrayed one upon another, yet all one body, so too the world: all those creatures are members upon members, standing one upon another, which when arrayed actually form one body.

"All these resemble Torah, for Torah is entirely members, joints, and sections - standing one upon another, all arrayed, becoming one body."

-- Sefer HaZohar, 1:135a


This section is coded for Shi'ur Qomah.

Sefer Hashi'ur on the Divine Body - The Use of the Word "Gubah" as the Height of the Body

Sefer Hashi'ur begins with a description of the divine body.  The Hebrew word for the height of the body is "gubah" (גובה).

This word was also used in the Babylonial Talmud as the word for "log", but specifically as the log of the palm tree in Bava Kamma 96a:


"If one stole a palm tree and made it into logs, he does not acquire it.  For even now, at any rate, they are still called 'palm-tree logs'.  Their name, then remains essentially the same.  If however, he stole logs and made them into beams, he does acquire them."

The reason is that the logs are called 'palm tree logs', while the beams are simply called 'beams', not 'palm tree beams'.  This indicates that a change of name effects the ruling.  This reveals a similarity in the concept of names between the halakhic ruling and the names of the parts of the divine body. 

The word is also used in tractate Shabbat 109a as the word for the pieces of a snake, in the following sense:

"One who swallowed a snake should be fed hops with salt, and be made to run for three mils.  There are those who report that Rav Shimi bar Ashi swallwed a snake. The prophet Elijah came and appeared to him as a horseman. He made him eat hops with salt, and he made him run in front of him for three mils. The snake came out of him in pieces."

The idea behind the word "pieces" means that the parts that came out were still intact to the point of being called 'pieces' of snake, and not as an amorphous decomposed matter.  This indicates that the word can represent the concept of a system being divided into pieces that all retain their ordered relationship to the whole, both in terms of the part-to-whole and part-to-part connections.

The teaching is that the names are the secret codes used by the divine intelligence to map words onto body parts with a mathematical precision that is a function of the sequence of Hebrew letters that make up the word.

Talmud Bavli Shabbat on One Who Swallowed a Snake

"One who swallowed a snake should be fed hops with salt, and be made to run for three mils.

"There are those who report that Rav Shimi bar Ashi swallwed a snake. The prophet Elijah came and appeared to him as a horseman. He made him eat hops with salt, and he made him run in front of him for three mils. The snake came out of him in pieces."

-- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 109b

Talmud Bavli Bava Batra on the 'Double' Cave of Mechpelah

"Rabbi Bana'ah would mark the boundaries of burial crypts, so that people would not inadvertently walk over them and contract tumah (ritual impurity). When he reached the crypt of Abraham and sought to enter in order to measure its dimensions, he found Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, standing at the front of the entrance. Rabbi Bana'ah said to him, 'What is Abraham doing?' He replied, 'He is lying in the arms of Sarah, and she is peering at his head.' Rabbi Bana'ah said, 'Go and tell Abraham that Bana'ah is standing at the entrance.' Abraham said to him, 'Let him enter. It is well known that there is no physical desire in this world.' Rabbi Bana'ah entered the crypt, surveyed its dimensions and departed.

"When he reached the nearby crypt of Adam, and attempted to enter to measure its dimensions, a Heavenly voice came forth and proclaimed, 'You have gazed at the likeness of My image [i.e. Jacob]. Do not gaze at My image itself [i.e. Adam]. Rabbi Bana'ah replied: 'But I want to mark the extent of the crypt in order to ascertain the precise dimensions.'

"The heavenly voice responded, 'As the dimensions of the outer crypt (where the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were buried), whose size you have already determined, so are the dimensions of the inner crypt, in which Adam is buried. There is no need for you to enter and measure. And according to the one who says that the 'double' cave of Machpelah was configured as two rooms, one atop the other: As the dimensions of the upper room, in which the Patriarchs and Matriarchs are buried, so are the dimensions of the lower room, in which Adam is buried. Either way, no additional measurements need be taken.'

"Rabbi Bana'ah said, 'I glimpsed Adam's two heels from outside the crypt, and they were like the two orbs of the sun."

-- Talmud Bavli, Bava Batra 58a

Mishnah Yoma on Reviewing One's Torah Learning Often

It is a great virtue to review one's Torah learning regularly and consistently. It is reported that the Vilna Gaon reviewed the entire Babylonian Talmud every month (which normally takes 7.5 years by the Daf Yomi cycle), and that he reviewed the entirety of the tractates "Shabbat" and "Eruvin" every Sabbath. The word "Mishnah" means repetition, and it is especially important to verbally recite mishnayot often, so that they are always fresh in one's mind.

This virtue is brought to light in the Mishnah itself, in tractate "Yoma". This mishnah describes the preparations made by the Kohen Gadol during the week before the Yom Kippur avodah:

"They assigned the Kohen Gadol two elders from among the elders of the Sanhedrin. They would read to him from the Torah passage that describes the order of the Temple service on the Day of Atonement, and elaborate on its laws. And they would say to him: 'My master, Kohen Gadol, you should read this passage with your own mouth, in case you have forgotten, or in case you have not learned.'" -- Mishnah, Yoma 1:3.

Notice that the suggestion that the Kohen Gadol read the passages out loud, in case he forgot or didn't really learn them, is not taken an insult to the Kohen Gadol's stature. We learn from this that even the greatest Torah scholars should review their learning often and with great care.

The Distribution of Mitzvot in the Torah

The Torah is primarily thought of as a book of law. While the word "Torah" means "a teaching / the teaching" generically, some translate the word as "law". This comes from the idea of God giving commandments to Israel through his prophet Moshe. These 'laws' are the 613 mizvot (commandments).

The 613 mitzvot are distributed among the five books as follows:
1. Sefer Beresheet - 3 mitzvot
2. Sefer Shemot - 111 mitzvot
3. Sefer Vayiqra - 247 mitzvot
4. Sefer Bamidbar - 52 mitzvot
5. Sefer Devarim - 200 mitzvot

If you've been reading the weekly Parshah, know that the mizvot will be scarce in Sefer Beresheet. So far, we have only encountered the mitzvah to "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28) and the mitzvah that "every male among you shall be circumcised" (Gen. 17:10).

Why are there so few mitzvot in the first book of the Torah? The purpose of the first book is to first set the stage and define the rules of the game, otherwise there would be no context to the narrative of God giving commandments to Moses from Sinai or from the Tent of Meeting. Additionally, the rest of the mitzvot would be incomprehensible if not for the narrative context that they are embedded within.

God gave the commandments to Israel. But who is Israel? We need Sefer Beresheet to first understand how Israel came about. This is why we find detailed lists of the generations of Adam and Noah and the patriarchs in Sefer Beresheet, while very little of this type of material appears elsewhere in the Torah.

Sefer HaZohar on Abraham's Circumcision and The Covenant

"Rabbi Hiyya opened, 'The blossoms have appeared on the earth, the time of singing has arrived; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land' (Shir haShirim 2:12). 

"'The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land', for the word of the blessed Holy One was absent from the world until Adam was created.  As soon as Adam appeared, everything appeared.  Once he sinned, everything disappeared from the world and the earth was cursed.

"Noah arrived, but later, 'he drank of the wine and became drunk' (Gen. 9:21).  The inhabitants of the world came and sinned before the blessed Holy One, so the powers of the earth disappeared as before, and so they remained until Abraham arrived.

"As soon as Abraham arrived in the world, immediately, 'the blossoms appeared on earth' - all powers of earth were arrayed and revealed.

"'The time of pruning has arrived' - when the blessed Holy One told him to circumcise himself.  The moment that the covenant manifested in Abraham through circumcision, this entire verse was fulfilled, the world was firmly established, and the word of the blessed Holy One was openly revealed, as is written, 'YHVH appeared to him' (Gen. 18:1)."

-- Sefer HaZohar 1:98a

Sefer HaZohar on Torah Study and the Tree of Life

"How intensely human beings should contemplate the service of the blessed Holy One and engage in Torah day and night!  For on everyone engaging in Torah, the blessed Holy One prides Himself above and below - since Torah is a tree of life, a tree of life for all those grasping her, extending them life in this world and in the world that is coming."

-- Sefer HaZohar, 1:107a

Midrash Rabbah Beresheet on Abraham's Circumcision as an Offering

"Rabbi Levi opened: 'And a bull and a ram for a peace-offering (shelamim) to slaughter before the Lord, ... for today the Lord appears to you' (Leviticus 9:4).  Rabbi Levi said: Now if for this one who offered a bull and a ram for My sake, I will reveal Myself to him and bless him, then regarding Abraham, who circumcised himself for My sake, how much more so!  This is why immediately after the story of the circumcision it is written: 'The Lord appeared to him in the plans of Mamre' (Genesis 18:1) to indicate that God came to bless him in reward for having performed the mitzvah of circumcision."

-- Midrash Rabbah Beresheet, 48.5


Implicit in Rabbi Levi's midrash is the idea of Abraham's circumcision being analogous to the ritual sacrifices offered by the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash.

Sar Torah on Seeking Torah and Talmud

"I know what you seek and My heart recognizes what you crave: you seek an abundance of Torah and a tumult of Talmud, you hope for a multitude of legal discussions, to ask about the law. For a tumult of extension you are longing in order to multiply testimony - mountains and mountains of it; to set down sound wisdom - hills and hills of it; to magnify Talmud in the streets and dialectic in the squares; to multiply laws 'like the sand of the sea' (Gen 32:13) and my mysteries like the dust of the inhabited world."

-- Sar Torah, §287

The Sotah and The Parah revealed through Beresheet 18:27

"And the Lord said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men within the city, I will forgive the entire place for their sake.' And Abraham answered and said, 'Behold now I have commenced to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ash (עָפָר וָאֵפֶר). Perhaps the fifty righteous men will be missing five. Will You destroy the entire city because of five?' And He said, 'I will not destroy if I find there forty-five.'"

-- Sefer Beresheet 18:26-28

ALTHOUGH I AM BUT DUST AND ASH :

"As a result of this statement, Abraham's descendants merited the two mitzvot involving the ashes of the red cow, and the dust used for the sotah."

-- Baal HaTurim, Commentary on Beresheet 18:27

Moreover,

עפר = "dust"
=350
לשוטה = "for the sotah"
=350

ואפר = "and ash"
=287
בפרה = "regarding the cow"
=287

The "sotah" or suspected adultress, was forced to go through the ordeal described in Numbers 5:11-31.

The "red cow" is the Parah Adumah, whose ashes ashes are used for the purification ritual described in Numbers 19:1-22.

There is an entire tractate in the Mishnah called "Sotah" which deals with the laws of the suspected adultress. It is in the third order Nashim.

There is an entire tractate in the Mishnah called "Parah" which deals with the laws of the red cow. It is in the sixth order Taharot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordeal_of_the_bitter_water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_heifer

The Three Angels of Beresheet 18:2

From the beginning of Parashat Vayara, who are the three beings who appeared to Abraham?

"He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! three men were standing over him.  He perceived, so he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and bowed toward the ground."

-- Beresheet 18:2


"Who were these 'three men'?  They were the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.  Michael, who came to relay good tidings to Sarah that she would bear a son; Raphael, who came to heal Abraham; and Gabriel, who went to overturn Sodom."

-- Talmud Bavli, Bava Metzia 86b


והנה שלשה = "and behold! three men (=701)"
אלו מיכאל גבריאל ורפאל = "these are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael (=701)"

-- Ba'al HaTurim, Commentary on Beresheet 18:2

Midrash Tanchuma Beresheet on the Order of Creation

"Rabbi Yitzchak said: When a mortal builds a palace, be begins building from the bottom and then builds the upper part. But, the Holy One, Blessed Is He, first built the upper part and then He built the lower part, as it is stated, 'In the beginning of God's creating the heaven', and then afterward, 'and the earth'."

-- Midrash Tanchuma, Beresheet §4

Midrash Rabbah Vayiqra on the Eight Character Traits of Moses

"Any Torah scholar who lacks knowledge (Da'at), an animal carcass is better than he. Know that this is so. Go forth and learn from Moses, the father of wisdom, the father of the prophets, who took Israel out of Egypt, and through whom numerous miracles were performed in Egypt, and awe-inspiring deeds at the Sea of Reeds, who ascended to the heavens above and brought down the Torah from heaven, and who was the one who concerned himself with the work of constructing the Tabernacle. Yet, he did not enter the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle until God called him, as it is stated, 'He called to Moses and God spoke to him' (Leviticus 1:1)."

-- Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus 1.15


FATHER OF WISDOM : Chesed
FATHER OF PROPHETS : Hod
OUT OF EGYPT : Malkhut
NUMEROUS MIRACLES : Gevurah
AWE-INSPIRING DEEDS: Netzach
ASCENDED TO THE HEAVENS : Yesod
TORAH FROM HEAVEN : Tif'eret
TABERNACLE : Keter, Chokhmah, Binah

Introduction to Mishnah and Talmud

The Talmud is the Mishnah and the Gemara. Gemara means Completion. The Gemara is the completion of the Mishnah. The Mishnah is written with an extreme brevity of language; its statements are highly-terse and compact, requiring it to be unpacked and expanded in order to fully understand.

The Sages of the Mishnah began their tradition long before the writing the the Talmud as we know it today (these sages are referred to as "Tanna'im"), which consists of the redaction of the Mishnah and the much lengthier Gemara, which comprises the overwhelming bulk of the text of the Talmud.

The Gemara is the accumulated documentation of a period of intense Torah scholarship that lasted for well over 300 years. The scholars whose debates and inquiries are recorded in the Gemara are known as the "Amora'im".

There are in fact two Talmuds: Talmud Yerushalmi and Talmud Bavli. The Talmud Yerushalmi was begun slightly earlier than the Bavli. The Yerushalmi was written in Eretz Yisrael while the Bavli was written in Babylonia.

Talmud Yerushalmi contains a Gemara for every Tractate until the end of the Fourth Order of the Mishnah. The Sages of Yisrael were unable to complete the redaction of the Gemara for all Six Orders of the Mishnah. Talmud Bavli contains a Gemara for almost every Tractate for the Second through the Fifth Order of the Mishnah.

So for neither the Yerushalmi or the Bavli were the Sages able to finish the Gemara. The major missing component of both Talmuds is therefore the Sixth Order of the Mishnah, the Order of Purities.

The result of this analysis proves that the Sixth Order of the Mishnah remains the most elusive and difficult to understand of all the Orders of the Mishnah.

Talmud Yerushalmi on Keeping a Torah Scroll in the House

"If one sells a Torah scroll he inherited from his father, he will never see a sign of blessing. But whoever keeps a Torah scroll in his house, about him scripture states, 'Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever' (Psalms 112:3)."

-- Talmud Yerushalmi, Bikkurim 26b


"A continuous fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not go out." 

-- Leviticus 6:6

Sefer haZohar on the First Verse of Genesis and the Image of the Cherubim on Top of the Ark Cover

"This image extended in the spreading of the cover, and in that spread two images formed, one male and one female, standing as two youths in passionate love, clinging to one another.  This mystery is: 'In the beginning God created' - spread of concealed cover.  'Heaven and earth' - two cherubim, standing in passionate cleaving.  It is not written שמים וארץ (shmayim va-aretz), but rather את (et) - to include two cherubim as one. This cover is spread within, in the secrecy of the Temple, and these two stand on two sides."

-- Sefer haZohar 2:277b


SPREADING OF THE COVER : As it is written, "The name of the Lord is a tower of strength; the righteous runs into it and is strengthened."  (Proverbs 18:10).

TWO IMAGES : This refers to the conjunction of יה with וה.

ONE MALE AND ONE FEMALE : Each image is comprised of male and female. In the first image, י (Yod) is male and ה (Heh) is female.  In the second image, ו (Vav) is male and ה (Heh) is female.

STANDING : They stand together in their place, as it is written, "Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place." (Ezekiel 3:12).

TWO YOUTHS : Each image is comprised of male and female, and these are the two youths.

SPREAD OF CONCEALED COVER : This refers to the Throne of Glory and the Seven Palaces.

TWO CHERUBIM, STANDING : The image of assembly for the Mishkan above, and the image of construction for the Beit haMiqdash below.

TWO CHERUBIM AS ONE : They are included as one under one sign.

COVER SPREAD WITHIN : The concealed emanation of the Head is revealed within the Body.

SECRECY OF THE TEMPLE : The secret is known to those two whom has been revealed the secret emanation from above spreading into below, as it says, "And I shall no longer hide My face from them, for I shall have poured out My spirit upon the House of Israel," says the Lord God."  (Ezekiel 39:29).

THESE TWO : These are the male on each side.  The י (Yod) is above, concealed, and the ו (Vav) is above, concealed.

STAND ON TWO SIDES : They stand above the female on each side.  The י (Yod) stands above the ה (Heh) on their side, in the image of the Throne of Glory inside the Seven Palaces.  And the ו (Vav) stands above the ה (Heh) on their side, in the image of the Mishkan inside the Beit haMiqdash.

Hekhalot Zutarti in the Four Who Entered Paradise and a Hidden Parallel in the Zohar

"And these are they who entered paradise (פרדס): Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Avuyah, and Rabbi Akiva.

"Ben Azzai peered and died. Concerning him the Scripture says, 'Worthy in the eyes of YHVH is the death of His pious ones' (Psalms 116:15).

"Ben Zoma peered and was struck down. Concerning him the Scripture says, 'Have you found honey? Eat only your fill, lest you become sated and vomit it up' (Proverbs 25:16).

"Elisha ben Avuyah peered and cut the plants. Concerning him the Scripture says, 'Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin' (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

"Rabbi Akiva entered safely and went forth safely. Concerning him the Scripture says, 'Draw me after you, let us run. The King has brought me into His chambers' (Song of Songs 1:4)."

-- Hekhalot Zutarti, §339, 345


BEN AZZAI : The one who teaches the Pshat (פשט), the literal meaning.
BEN ZOMA : The one who teaches the Remez (רמז), the allusions in scripture.
ELISHA BEN AVUYAH : The one who teaches the Derash (דרש), the homiletical discourse.
RABBI AKIVAH : The one who teaches the Sod (סוד), the secret wisdom.


"Come and see: The blessed Holy One formed the human being corresponding to the pattern above, all according to wisdom, for you cannot find a single human limb not founded upon supernal wisdom. Look! When the whole body is arrayed in its limbs fittingly, the blessed Holy One joins with it, inserting a holy soul - to teach the human how to walk in the ways of Torah and observe His commandments, so that he will perfect himself."

-- Sefer haZohar, 1:186b (Pritzker ed. 3.137)


THE PATTERN ABOVE : This is the soul of Ben Azzai.
ARRAYED IN ITS LIMBS FITTINGLY : This is the soul of Ben Zoma.
JOINS WITH IT : This is the soul of Elisha ben Avuyah.
A HOLY SOUL : This is the soul of Rabbi Akiva.


"And God said, 'Let us make...'" -- Genesis 1:26 

Talmud Bavli Shekalim on The Day the Mishkan was Erected

"On the day that the Mishkan was erected, on that very day the withdrawal of half-shekel donations was made from the treasury to pay for the communal offerings."

-- Talmud Bavli, Shekalim 2a


MISHKAN - This is the human body, about which it is said, "From my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:26).

MISHKAN WAS ERECTED - This refers to Betzalel, about whom it is said, "Bezalel knew how to combine the letters by which the heavens and earth were created" (Berachot 55a).

THE WITHDRAWAL - These came from Salem. DONATIONS - These were brought to Zion. This is proved from "His Tabernacle was in Salem, and His dwelling place in Zion" (Psalms 76:3).
   

Talmud Bavli Succah on Torah Study in Breadth and Depth

"This is similar to the practice of Rava and Rami bar Chama.  When they would stand before Rav Chisda, they would first run through the Gemara with one another to review the material, and then analyze the material with logic."

-- Talmud Bavli, Succah 29a

This dictum encodes a formula for Torah study: breadth first, then depth.

Talmud Bavli Kereitot on the Preparation of the Anointing Oil

"This was the method used in preparing the anointing oil that Moses made in the wilderness: He would boil the hin of olive oil together with the roots of the spices - the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Yose said to him: But there is not enough oil to even smear the roots with the olive oil, let alone boil the roots in it! Rather, how does one proceed? First they brought the spice roots and soaked them in water, then Moses removed the roots from the water and he poured oil on them until they were covered with a layer of olive oil, and the oil absorbed the fragrance of the spices. Moses then quickly removed the oil from the bowl and wiped off the oil still clinging to the roots, and deposited it all into a flask."

-- Talmud Bavli, Kereitot 5a

Ramban on the Leshon haQodesh - Hebrew as the 'Holy Language'

"This is also the reason, I believe, for why our Sages call the language of the Torah 'the Holy Language' (Leshon haQodesh); it is because the words of the Torah and the prophecies and all kinds of other holy words were all said by the prophets to the people in this language. And furthermore, you see that it is the language in which the Holy One, Blessed is He - may His Name be blessed - speaks with His prophets and with His congregation, such as the first two Commandments, 'I am YHVH your God' and 'there shall not be for you other gods' as well as all the other communications from God recorded in the Torah and in the books of prophecy.

"And furthermore it is in that language that God is called by His sacred Names: El, Elohim, Tzeva'ot, Shaddai, Yah, and the ineffable, four-letter, great and unique Name. And furthermore it is in that language that He created His world and gave names to the heaven and the earth and everything that is in them. And furthermore, His angels and all His heavenly hosts - all of them He calls by names in that language, such as 'Michael' and 'Gabriel'. And furthermore it is in that language that He gave names to the holy ones who are on earth, such as to Abraham, Isaac, Solomon, and others besides him."

-- Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban), Commentary on the Torah - Exodus 30:13.

Mishnah Sanhedrin on the Mold of the First Adam

"Therefore was man created singly, to teach you that whoever destroys a single life from Israel is considered by Scripture as if he had destroyed an entire world; and that whoever preserves a single life from Israel is considered by Scripture as if he had preserved an entire world. [...]

"And to teach the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed is He: For a man mints many coins from one mold, and they are all similar to one another; but the King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed is He, minted all men from the mold of the First Adam, and not one of them is like his fellow man. Therefore each and every one is obligated to say, 'For my sake was the world created'."

-- Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5


"ISRAEL" - this is Metatron on the Spiritual plane, about whom it is said, "Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." (Genesis 35:10).

"AN ENTIRE WORLD" - this is Metatron on the Physical plane, about whom it is said, "the whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3).

"THE MOLD OF THE FIRST ADAM" - this is Metatron on the Astral plane, about whom it is said, "and on the likeness of the throne, was a likeness like the appearance of a man upon it above." (Ezekiel 1:26).  

Midrash Rabbah Vayiqra on Moses Entering the Tabernacle

When the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Moses, 'Make for Me a Tabernacle (Mishkan)', on every single thing Moses would write, 'as YHVH commanded Moses'. The Holy One, blessed is He, said, 'Moses arranged all this honor (kavod) for Me, yet I am inside it and he is still outside'. He called him to enter the innermost chamber of the Tabernacle. Therefore it is stated, 'He called to Moses and YHVH spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting' (Leviticus 1:1)."

-- Midrash Rabbah Vayiqra, 1.7


This is somewhat of a puzzle. Did Moses actually write these words on all the holy vessels, with a marker or something? The Midrash is revealing that the letters of the Holy Language have the power to transform the vibration (which the Midrash calls 'kavod') when written on objects. The vibrational resonances of the holy vessels were not complete upon their building ─ it was only when Moses came through and declared them to be 'as YHVH commanded', in other words, a vibrational witness that they were not just physical objects, but pure patterns and blueprints in the mind of God, and impressed this vibrational signification on each object, that they lit up with the vibrational resonance of divinity, so that then Shekhinah could dwell in the Tabernacle.

Still, this interpretation implies that the actual writing took place. Another interpretation: The holy vessels and furnishings of the Tabernacle were not primarily physical objects, but patterns and blueprints within the divine mind. They existed first as blueprints, and then later as physical objects. But before they even existed as blueprints, they primordially existed as the verbal descriptions as they are written in the Torah. When writing these designs into the Torah, Moses concluded them with the phrase 'as YHVH commanded', thereby serving as a written signification that they were not just paragraphs that Moses came up with on his own, but that they were patterns of thought in the mind of God.
 

Talmud Bavli Shabbat on Converting to be Appointed as Kohen Gadol

"There was an incident involving a certain gentile who was once walking past the rear of a study hall when he heard the voice of the teacher reciting the following verse to his class of students: 'These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod...' (Exodus 28:4). The gentile stopped and said to the class: 'These lavish garments, what are they for?' The students replied to him: 'They are for the Kohen Gadol'. The gentile said to himself: 'I will go and covert so that they will appoint me as the Kohen Gadol!'

"So the gentile came before Shammai and said to him: 'Convert me on the condition that you have me appointed as Kohen Gadol.' Shammai pushed him aside with the ruler he was holding in his hand. Undeterred, the gentile came before Hillel and presented him with the same request, and Hillel converted him."

-- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 31a

Talmud Bavli Sotah on a Congregation Full of Kohanim

"Adda said in the name of Rabbi Simlai: In a synagogue whose attendance consists entirely of Kohanim, they all ascend the platform to recite the Blessing. One must wonder about Rabbi Simlai's statement: To whom, then, is their Blessing addressed, if there is no one else present among the congregation to receive the Blessing?"

-- Talmud Bavli, Sotah 38b

Talmud Bavli Ta'anit on Reading Scriptural Sections on Offerings to Atone for Sins

"Abraham said: Master of the Universe! Perhaps Israel will sin before You and You will do to them as You did to the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion. God answered him: No! Abraham said before God: Let me know by what means shall Israel atone for their sins and thereby be saved from destruction. God answered Abraham: 'Bring Me three calves and three goats...' (Genesis 15:9).

"Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! That is fine for the times when the Holy Temple will be in existence, but in the times when the Holy Temple will not be in existence, what will be with them? God answered Abraham: I have already established for them the Scriptural section of offerings. Whenever they read from them before Me, I will consider it as if they had brought offerings before Me, and I will forgive them of all their sins."

-- Talmud Bavli, Ta'anit 27b


This teaches that there is something significant about reciting the sections of Torah that describe the priestly rituals. The way the Torah works is that it is a vibrationally coded instruction manual. The word "sacrifice" comes from a root meaning "to be made close to", in other words, the sacrifices are the means by which we can be made close to God. The sacrifices are not meant to be carried out physically, but instead through speech, as it is the vibrational effects of the sounds of the words that are significant. Thus, the morning prayer service contains several readings of the Torah passages detailing the rituals of the Kohanim.

Midrash Rabbah Shemot on God's Inseparability from the Torah

"Is there any acquisition in which the seller himself is sold along with the acquired item? The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Israel, 'I sold you my Torah, and as it were, I Myself was sold along with it', as it is stated, 'And let them take for Me a portion' (Exodus 25:2).

"This can be illustrated by a parable. It can be compared to a king who had an only daughter. One of the other kings came and took her as a wife. Subsequently, he sought to return to his land and to take his wife with him. The father-in-law king said to him, 'My daughter whom I have given you is an only daughter, thus I am unable to part from her. But I am equally unable to tell you, Do not take her to your land. Rather, do this favor for me: Any place that you go, prepare a room for me so that I may dwell near you. For I am unable to leave my daughter.

"So too, did the Holy One, blessed is He, say to Israel, 'I have given you the Torah. I am unable to part from it, but I am also unable to tell you, Do not take it. Rather, do this favor for Me: Any place that you go, prepare a house for Me that I may dwell therein.' As it is stated, 'They shall make for me a Sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them' (Exodus 25:8)."

-- Midrash Rabbah Shemot, 33.1

Talmud Bavli Avodah Zarah on Reciting Verses of Torah and Talmud

"And Rava said: A person should always recite, even if he forgets, and even if he does not understand what he is saying."

-- Talmud Bavli, Avodah Zarah 19a


That is, he should read the verses of Torah and Talmud out loud in the original Hebrew. This teaches that there is great merit for those who learn to speak the Holy Languages.

Midrash Rabbah Leviticus on Stringing Together Words of Scripture

"Ben Azzai was sitting and expounding Scripture while a great fire was blazing all around him. Later, his students asked him about the incident: 'Is it perhaps that you have been delving into the arrangements of the Merkavah?' He replied to them: 'No. Rather, I string together passages from the Torah with passages from the Nevi'im, and passages from the Nevi'im with passages from the Ketuvim, and thus the words of Torah were as joyous as they were on the day they were given at Mount Sinai."

-- Midrash Rabbah Leviticus, 16.4


Here, Ben Azzai means that he is mapping out vibrational resonances between the various sections of the TaNaK. The indication is that this is a mystical activity that is similar in intensity to the Ma'aseh Merkavah when performed with skill.

Sefer haZohar on the Mishkan as the Vessel of Shekhinah

"Mystery of mysteries for those who know Wisdom: When an impulse arose in the will of Secret of Secrets to form glory for Its glory, It blew a spirit from a supernal point extending from above to below, and placed Its array to settle in this world. Why? Because without an essential root of this world, there would be no vessel to pour to this world at all. And without pouring to this world, it would immediately perish, unable to exist for even one moment. But since its arrayal stems from this world, it is filled ─ from one side to pour to this world, and from another side to pour to supernal angels. All are nourished by it as one."

-- Sefer haZohar, 2:146a (transl. Matt)


The "array" is the Mishkan. It is the "vessel" into which the "spirit" from above can be poured. There is a Mishkan in this world, and a Mishkan in the angelic world.  There is a correspondence between the lower Mishkan and the upper Mishkan. When human beings build their lower Mishkan, it motivates the angels to become active at their level, and a conduit of communication is opened between human beings below and the angels above.

Talmud Bavli Megillah on Studying the Laws of Sacrifice

"Abraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe! Perhaps, Heaven forbid, Israel will sin before you, and You will do to them as You did to the generation of the flood and the generation of the Dispersion. He said: No! Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! Whereby shall I know? With what will they atone for their sins? God said to Abraham: 'Bring Me three calves' (Genesis 15:9).

"Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe! That is fine for the times when the Holy Temple will be in existence, but in the times when the Holy Temple will not be in existence, what will be with them? God said to Abraham: I have already established for them the Scriptural section of offerings. Whenever they read from them, I will consider it as if they were bringing an offering before Me, and I will forgive them of their sins."

-- Talmud Bavli, Megillah 31b


Perhaps the Temple never existed as a historical reality. But the plan of the Temple exists eternally in the divine mind. Then all the laws of sacrifice are seen as coded formulas for theurgic enactment.

The Torah teaches us how to become like Moses, whereby we receive instructions from the divine mind and teach them to others, and how to become like Aaron, whereby we serve as priests in the temple and perform blessings and prayers and rites of purification, atonement and mystical elevation.
  

Sefer haZohar on the Ten Commandments and the Holy Name of God

"Rabbi Elazar taught: In these ten statements are embodied all the commandments in the Torah, decrees and punishments, cleanness and uncleanness, branches and roots, trees and plants, heaven and earth, sea and the deeps. For the Torah is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. Just as the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is embodied in the ten statements, so the Torah is also embodied in the ten statements, These ten statements are the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And the whole Torah is one name, the actual holy name of the Holy One, blessed be He. Happy is the man who gains it. Whoever gain the Torah gains the holy name."

-- Sefer haZohar, 2:90a (transl. Tishby)

Sefer haChinukh on the World to Come not Mentioned in the Written Torah

"Should one ask further: After you have said that the primary aspect of all Creation is the world of souls (olam ha-neshamot) and that the ultimate reward for observance of the mitzvot is received there, why does God not mention it in the Written Torah and say explicitly, 'When you perform My mitzvot, I will bequeath you a share in the World to Come'?

"The answer is as follows: It is because the idea of the World to Come is known and obvious to all who possess intelligence; it is as clear as the sun. There is no nation or culture that does not agree that souls endure after the bodies have ceased to be; nor is there anyone who disputes that commensurate with the goodness of a soul, its wisdom, and the righteousness of its deeds, its pleasures in that world is correspondingly greater.

"This is logical, for the origin of the intelligent soul is the Source of Intelligence, i.e. God, and the closer the soul draws to its natural environment, to the place from which it originates, the greater is its pleasure."

-- Sefer haChinukh, Introduction

While the anonymous author of the Chinukh was well versed in the thought of Maimonides, who was thoroughly of Aristotelian persuasion, this passage is very similar to Platonist doctrines on the soul, such as found in Phaedrus, Philebus, etc.

Talmud Yerushalmi on The Death of the Sons of Aaron and Yom Kippur

"Rabbi Chiyah bar Ba says: The sons of Aaron died on the first day of Nissan, which was the eighth day of the miluim. So why does the Torah mention their deaths in the passage about the Yom Kippur service? To teach you that just as Yom Kippur atones for the sins of Israel, so do the deaths of righteous people atone for the sins of Israel."

-- Talmud Yerushalmi, Yoma 2b

Hekhalot Rabbati on Who is Like Our King, YHVH Our God

"Who is like our King among all the majestic ones who hold kingship? Who is like our Former? Who is like YHVH our God? Who is like Him among those who fasten on the fastenings of crowns? For with six voices the beings who are bearers of the throne of His glory sing before Him, the cherubim and the ophannim and the holy living creatures, with voice after voice that his made to ascend over its companion and is modulated before Him.

"Who is like our King? Who is like our Former? Who is like YHVH our God? The sun and the moon rule and lead forth the crown of His head. The Pleiades, Orion, and the morning star, groups of stars, and stars and constellations drip and go forth from the robe of Him who is garlanded and He is enthroned in it upon the throne of His glory and it emits a great light between His eyes, for He is a King of miracles, a King of mighty acts, a King of holy wonders, and a King of explications, according to the word that is said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy' (Isaiah 6:3)."

-- Hekhalot Rabbati, Synopse §§103, 105 (transl. J. Davila)

Talmud Bavli Yoma on the Foundation Stone in Zion

"Rabbi Eliezer says: The world was created from its center, as it says: 'When dirt was poured to a single bedrock and clumps stuck around it' (Job 38:38). Rabbi Yehoshua says: The world was created from its four sides, as it says: 'For he says to the snow: Become the earth! From showers and rain, from showers and his mighty rains' (Job 37:6). Rabbi Yitzchak said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, threw a stone into the sea and from that stone the earth was founded, as it says: 'Do you know into what its bases are sunken, or who cast down its cornerstone?' (Job 38:6). But the sages say: The world was created from Zion, as it says: 'A song by Asaph, O Almighty God, YHVH spoke and called forth the earth' (Psalms 50:1). And it says in the next verse, 'Out of Zion, consummation of beauty'. From Zion, the beauty of the world was consummated."

-- Talmud Bavli, Yoma 54b

Talmud Bavli Menachot on The Tagin (Crownlets) of the Hebrew Letters

"Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: When Moses ascended to the Heavenly Heights, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, as He was sitting and attaching crowns to some of the letters of the Torah.  Moses said before Him, 'Master of the Universe, who is holding You back from giving the Torah as it is?'  God said to him, 'There is one man who is destined to exist at the end of many generations, Akiva ben Yosef is his name, and it is he who will expound upon each and ever point heaps and heaps of halachot (oral laws)'."

-- Talmud Bavli, Menachot 29b

Talmud Bavli Menachot on the Mitzvah to Write a Torah Scroll

"And Rabbi Yehoshua bar Abba said in the name of Rav Gidel, who said in the name of Rav: One who buys a Torah scroll from the market is like on who grabs a mitzvah from the market.  If he wrote it himself, Scripture considers him as if he received it personally from Mount Sinai."

-- Talmud Bavli, Menachot 30a

"And now write for yourselves this song, and teach it to the Children of Israel, place it in their mouths."

-- Deuteronomy 31:19

Sefer haZohar on the Mishkan of Metatron

"Moses fashioned the Mishkan in the desert to bring Shekhinah down to earth, and on that same day another Mishkan was erected along with it above, as they have established, for it is written: 'The Mishkan was erected' (Exodus 40:17) ─ another Mishkan erected with it, namely the Mishkan haNa'ar (Tabernacle of the Youth), Metatron, and nothing further."

-- Sefer haZohar, 2:143a (transl. D. Matt)

Sefer haZohar on the Mishkan as Body of Shekhinah

"The making of the Mishkan resembled the pattern above, one corresponding to the other, so that Shekhinah would be embraced on all sides, above and below.  Here in this world, its workmanship is like that of the body, to contain spirit within ─ namely, Shekhinah, who is included above and below.  She is Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), continuously entering and drawn into the mystery of the body, so that kernel will dwell within shell, all fittingly."

-- Sefer haZohar, 2:140b (transl. D. Matt)

Rashi on a Reference to Metatron in Exodus 23:21 - "My Name is Within Him"

"Behold! I send an angel before you to protect you on the way, and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.  Beware of him ─ hearken to his voice, do not disobey him, for he will not forgive your transgression ─ for My Name is within him."

-- Exodus 23:20-21

"Our Rabbis have said that this is the angel Metatron, whose name is like the Name of his Master, in that the numerical value of Metatron (314) equals that of Shaddai."

-- Rashi, Commentary on Exodus

Sefer haZohar on Reciting the Shema Fulfills the Entire Torah

"When the people of Israel enact unification by this verse ─ in the mystery of twenty-five letters: שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד (Shema Yisra'el YHVH Eloheinu YHVH ehad), 'Hear O Israel, YHVH our God, YHVH is one'; and ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד (Barukh shem kevod malkuto le-olam va-ed), 'Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever', which contains twenty-four letters ─ focusing on each one of the, all those letters join as one and ascend to forty-nine gates, in the mystery of Jubilee. Then one must elevate ועד (va-ed), 'and ever' ─ no further ─ upon which gates are opened, and the blessed Holy One considers that person as if he had fulfilled the complete Torah, which appears in forty-nine facets, completely.

"Therefore, one should focus the will on twenty-five and twenty-four, elevating them by aspiration of the heart through the forty-nine gates that we have mentioned. Having focused on this, one should focus on the unification described by our Master ─ שמע ישראל (Shema Yisra'el), 'Hear O Israel! ...', and ברוך שם (Barukh shem), 'Blessed be the name...', are the entirety of the whole Torah. Happy is the share of one who focuses on them, for this is surely the entirety of Torah, above and below! This is the mystery of the complete Human, male and female, and mystery of all faith."

-- Sefer haZohar, 2:139b (transl. D. Matt, Pritzker ed. vol. 5, pp. 284-5)

One who recites the Shema is as one who has fulfilled all 248 positive commandments, which are body parts of the "complete Human" - supernal Adam.

The 3 paragraphs of the Shema contain 245 words. Including the 3 words אל מלך נאמן (El melekh ne'eman) 'God, faithful king', brings the count up to 248.

The 248 words of the Shema are coded for the mathematics of the exceptional simple Lie group E8, a 248-dimensional Lie group that is part of the foundations of mathematical physics, in particular string theory and supergravity. Below is an image of E8 projected into the Coxeter plane:

The Lie group E8