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MILAYOMIT Digest 243
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) MILA YOMIT 125: CHAYIM-Life
by "M.Y." <[log in to unmask]>
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From: "M.Y." <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Mila Yomit: The Torah Word By Word" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: MILA YOMIT 125: CHAYIM-Life
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 18:00:07 -0800
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MILA YOMIT: THE TORAH, WORD BY WORD
by Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein.
---------------------------------------
"May the Torah shared and learned through Mila Yomit serve as a Bracha:
Blessing and Tefilla: Prayer for a Refuah Shleima: Complete Healing for
Amitai Bar Or Ben Sara ve Itzchak, all those on the Mila Yomit Healing List
and all who need a healing. We invite anyone reading this to offer a short
prayer for these people.
=====================================================
MILA YOMIT 125: CHAYIM-Life
חַיִּים
(Breishit 2:7)
_________________________________________
Context:
"וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם-VaYitzer YHVH ELOHIM ET Ha'Adam-
And YHVH ELOHIM Formed The Human-
עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה-Aaphar Meen Ha'Adamah-
Dust From The Earth-
וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו-Va'Yipach BeApav-
And Breathed Into His Nostrils-
נִשְׁמַת-Nishmat- The Soul/Breath Of..."
_________________________
MILA CHADASHAH-New Word:
חַיִּים - CHAYIM
________________________
OTIOT: Letters-
CHET-(CH)-The life dynamic (Ginsburgh)-
Chet is formed by a Vav And Zayin or Zayin and Zayin with a bridge.
Rav Kook explains it as the tension of creation/destruction-the vibration of
life.
YUD-(Y)-Divine Spark manifested-the little that holds the much.
YUD-(I)-Divine Spark multiplied-
MEM-(M)-Waters of creation-
---------------
The <YUD, MEM> ending here serves to make the word plural.
_______________________
MEANING and RELATED WORDS:
CHaYIM is a M. plural noun meaning 'life'.
---------------
CHaY <CH,Y> is an adjective meaning 'alive,living'
-----------------
CHaYA <CH,Y,HEH> is the verb- 'to live'
It is also a F. noun meaning 'living thing, animal','spirit of life.
As well a F.noun meaning 'community'.
Modern Hebrew F. noun for 'midwife'.
-----------------
CHeeYuT <CH,Y,VAV,TAV> is a F. noun for 'life, vitality, vividness'
----------------
CHeeYUNY<CH,Y,VAV,NUN,Y> is an adjective for 'vital, indispensable'
--------------------
CHaYL <CH,Y,LAMED> is a M. noun for 'strength, power'
CHaYaL <CH,Y,LAMED> is a M. noun for 'soldier'
--------------
Words Contained Within:
-CHaY YaM-<CH,Y> <Y,M> -'the ocean lives'
Interesting that the plural form <YUD,MEM> is also the same word as
YaM-'ocean'.
It is water than enables life as we know it.
____________________________________________________
CONCEPTUAL MEANING-
I debated [with myself] whether to count this a new Mila.
In Breishit 1: 2, at the beginning of Day 5 of Creation,we had CHAYA as Mila
Yomit 69.
"וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים--יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם, שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה-
Va'Yomer ELOHIM-And ELOHIM Said
Yishretzu HaMayim-Let The Waters Teem
Sheretz Nefesh CHAYA-[With] Swarms Of Living Creatures."
I decided because of the significance and widespread use of this Mila
to treat it independently.
Though it is certainly connected.
In Mila 69, we explored the connections of CHaY-Life:
"Klein connects CHAI as the first element in -CHaYAAD- (CH,Y,
AYIN,DALET)-Ayzoon, a genus of plant derived from Greek origin, meaning
'living forever'.-from CHAY (life) and AAD (forever).
Also CHAYZERAA (CH,Y,Z,REISH,AYIN)- spermatozoon-living seed.
CHAYDAAK (CH,Y,DALET,KUF)-bacterium, from CHAY and DAAK (small, thin)
He explains it is the second element in TZIMCHAI
(TZADIK,MEM,CH,Y)-zoophye-living plants
And DUCHAI (DALET,VAV,CH,Y)-meaning -amphibian."
--------------------------------
Also then we looked at this teaching by Rav Ginsburgh:
"We are taught in Chassidut that there are two levels of life:
-'essential life-CHaY Be'etzem-' and
-CHaYIM lachyot-'life to enliven'.
G-d, as it were, is in the state of 'Essential life.'
His creative power, continually permeating all of reality is 'life to
enliven'.
So in the...soul: the essence of its root, at one with G-d, possesses the
state of 'essential life'.
The reflection of the light of the soul which shines below to enliven the
body and its physical experience is at the level of 'live to enliven'. The
second level of life,
as we know it in general, manifests itself as pulsation..." (Alef-Beit, P.
122)
-------------------
We have seen that the vessel of ADAM was made up of Aaphar Meen
Ha'Adamah-Dust From The Ground. We now see that this vessel was filled with
Nishmat CHAYIM-Soul/Breath of Life.
The Sages speak of capacities that are included as part of CHAYIM.
-'Koach HaTzmicha'-Power of growth- as in plants.
-'Koach HaHargasha ve Tnua'-Power of feeling and movement- as in fish,
animals and every other out of the ground life form.
-'Koach HaSechel-Power of intellect, thinking'- a uniquely human activity.
----------------
ELOHIM CHAYIM is a Divine Name found in the first paragraph of Sefer
Yetzira.
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains:
"[This] name is associated with the essential creative forces, represented
by
the Sefirah of Yesod (Foundation). In [the hu]man, this force parallels the
sexual organ.
[ELOHIM CHAYIM] takes all the forces, collectively referred to as ELOHIM,
and presents them in an active, procreative mode.
Life is defined as that which is active and procreates..." (Sefer Yetzirah,
P. 17)
------------------
It is so interesting that CHAYIM-Life is a plural word, without a real
singular.
CHAY-alive is an adjective, not a noun.
Life is somehow a multiplicity organic woven together.
The Torah offers it as the Breath from YHVH ELOHIM.
What an extraordinary gift.
So simple, and yet so miraculous.
We are often so concerned in the 'small' that we forget
that we are in this extraordinary 'large'.
And our very breath and soul has been seeded by the Loving Creator.
In Innerspace, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains:
"The term ChaYaH or CHaY denotes a primal life-force.
It points to a creature that is able to receive its life-force from its
progenitors
and transmit it to its progeny." (P. 176)
The Torah is telling us that our progenitor is YHVH ELOHIM.
Rav Kook's writings emanate from a soul who knew deeply the reality of this.
"Teelchash Lee Sod Ha'Havaya Koola-
All of existence whispers to me its secret-
CHAYIM Lee Yesh-
I have Life,
Kach Na, Kach...
Take it, please take it..."
---------------
May we be blessed to fully know the fullness of this gift of CHAYIM.
Le'Chayim
BeShalom
ve Shabbat Shalom
Itzchak
__________________________________
Notes:
The snow is melting in Saltspring, I'm going to birthday dinner with Raizy
(Razelle).
On her 18th birthday....ChaY....the numeric of ChaY- is 18....
May her life be truly blessed with the fullness of life.
---------------------------------
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