"They embittered their lives with hard work, with mortar and with bricks, and with every labor of the field; all their labors that they performed with them was crushing labor." ~Shemot 1:14
וימררו את חייהם בעבדה קשה..." ~שמות א:י"ד"
Note: When clicking the link above to view the text on sefaria.org, you always have the option of viewing the text in English, Hebrew, or linear translation. This week, I've quoted the beginning of the phrase in Hebrew, as well, since my topic for this week pertains to the special notations that indicate cantillation for reading the passage (these notations are referred to as "trop"). The trop can be seen on the hebrew and linear translation views on the sefaria.org link.
In previous posts, one ongoing activity option has been to use the timing and referential ages, time spans, etc. to calculate an ongoing timeline. Based on the information provided in the entirety of the whole book of Bereishit and up through the beginning of the book of Shemot (just to bring us to-date), it is possible to create a timeline from the Creation of man through to the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt.
If we look back at Bereishit 15:13, Avraham is told that his descendants will be slaves in a land that is not their own, and they will be afflicted for 400 years. If you put the events up until this week's parsha on a timeline, you will find the discrepancy that the number of years that the Israelites were actually in Egypt do not add to 400. Different commentaries make sense of this discrepancy in different ways. Rashi offers one explanation with a calculation of a different sum of years along with mathematical proof that it's not possible that the Israelites could have been in Egypt for 400 years based on relevant numbers that we know. His explanation can be seen here.
The Vilna Gaon offered a different type of explanation. His explanation was based on Gematria. Gematria, which I explained in more detail last year for Parshat Vaetchanan, is a system of establishing numerical values of words based on assigned values for each letter. A quick reference chart for letter values can be seen here.
The steps to the Vilna Gaon's explanation are worked out below:
Here is where I refer back to the Hebrew quote above. The first 3 words, which translate to "They embittered their lives", have the two trop signs called "kadma" (קדמא) and "azla" (אזלא). The meaning of the Aramaic words "kadma" and "azla" is "get up and go".
If you check the math of the timeline for the actual number of years that the Israelites were in Egypt (from the time Yaakov moved his family to Egypt until the Jews fled Egypt), you will find that they were there for 210 years. If you calculate the discrepancy between what Avraham was told would happen and what actually happened, you will find that the discrepancy (400 years minus 210years) is 190 years.
Now, let's check the gematria for קדמא ואזלא (kadma and azla- get up and go) :
ק -100
ד -4
מ -40
א -1
total= 145 (remember to line up your place values before adding!)
ו -6
א -1
ז -7
ל -30
א -1
total= 45 (remember to line up your place values before adding!)
Let's add those 2 together: 145 + 45 = 190.
Based on the value of 190 found here, the meaning of the words ("get up and go"), and the fact that they are found specifically on the words referring to the Egyptians embittering the lives of the Israelites, the Vilna Goan used all of this information to explain the mathematical discrepancy in the following way:
Avraham was told that his descendants would be strangers in a land and they will serve the inhabitants of the land. The Egyptians, however, took it a step further (as we see here in Shemot 1:14) and they specifically sought to embitter the lives of the Israelites. Due to the extra burden that the Egyptians put on the Israelites, G-d made it possible for the Israelites to leave Egypt early- "Get up and go!". How early did he let them go? By exactly 190 years (the value of "get up and go").
Students of varying levels can either identify this question as part of a larger timeline that they are following and tracking, or they can work through just the calculations that present to identify the question. Looking at and working through various commentators explanations of the discrepancy with their mathematical calculations is an activity that students of varying skill levels can handle. Younger students could look at a timeline provided by a teacher to look at the calculations, while older students can calculate the different time spans offered by the commentators and double-check the calculations that the commentators offer.
"I implored Hashem at that time, saying, 'My Lord, Hashem, You had begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for what power is there in the heavens or on the earth that can perform according to Your deeds and according to Your mighty acts? Please let me cross and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon.' But Hashem became angry with me because of you, and He did not listen to me; Hashem said to me, 'It is much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter...'" ~Devarim 3;23-26
"When you beget children and grandchildren and you will have been long in the land, you will grow corrupt and make a carved image of the likeness of any thing, and you will do evil in the eyes of Hashem, your G-d, to anger Him." ~Devarim 4;25
Rashi on Devarim 4;25:
"And you will have been long"- He hinted to them that they would be exiled from [the land] at the end of eight hundred and fifty-two years, like the numerical value of the word v'noshantem (and you will have been long in the land). But [G-d] advanced the date and exiled them at the end of eight hundred and fifty years. He advanced the exile two years ahead of the number represented by v'noshantem so that "you will surely perish" should not be fulfilled in them. This is the meaning of that which is said, "Hashem hurried regarding the evil and brought it upon us for Hashem, our G-d, is charitable; that is, He acted charitably with us for He hurried to bring [the exile] two years ahead of time.
Gematria & Simple Addition:
For young students who are trying to improve their simple addition skills, practice is critical. While a student might be able to handle the process of addition, every opportunity for practice that a student has will contribute to his fluency and speed in mental calculation. Gematria is the Jewish concept that every letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value assigned to it. Using these values, it is possible to add the value of each letter in a word, phrase, sentence, etc. to find a deeper meaning between the meaning of the word or phrase and the numerical value assigned to it through Gematria. This Gematria chart gives the values assigned to each hebrew letter. There are places throughout Judaism where you can find Gematria based interpretations for things- throughout the Torah, related to holidays, etc. Younger students can calculate the Gematria of their name or of individual words and phrases. I've had older students search for Gematria patterns in words related to specific holidays.
Parsha Connection:
In this week's parsha, alone, we have at least two instances of significant Gematria that is explained. The very first word of the parsha- "va'etchanan"- is discussed in Midrash Rabbah. In the beginning storyline of th e parsha, Moshe is praying to Hashem to please allow him to enter the land of Israel along with the Jewish people, and Hashem subsequently angers towards Moshe insisting that Moshe stop this line of prayer. The explanation is given that the Gematria value of the the word va'etchanan (the word meaning Moshe prayed) is 515. Let's check this:
vav- 6
aleph- 1
taph- 400
chet- 8
nun- 50
nun- 50
6 + 1 = 7 + 400 = 407 + 8 = 415 + 50 = 465 + 50 = 515
Midrash Rabbah explains that Moshe offered 515 prayers (the Gematria value of va'etchanan) to Hashem to plead to be allowed to lead the Jewish people into Israel. If Hashem had not cut him off, but had allowed him to pray for the 516th time, it is explained, then Hashem would have had to allow Moshe to enter Israel with the Jewish people.
The second instance of Gematria significance in the parsha come in 4;25, where we are told of the Jewish people being settled and living for many generations in Israel, and then they will anger Hashem. Rashi here uses the Gematria value of the word "v'noshantem", which means "you will have been long in the land". Rashi explains that the Gematria value of the word is 852- let's check this:
vav- 6
nun- 50
vav- 6
shin- 300
nun- 50
taph- 400
mem- 40
6 + 50 = 56 + 6 = 62 + 300 = 362 + 50 = 412 + 400 = 812 + 40 = 852
According to Rashi, this means that the Jewish people should have been settled in the land for 852 years before they were exiled. However, when looking at the timeline of Jewish History, the Jews were actually only settled for 850 years before they were exiled. Why this discrepancy? Rashi explains that if they had been settled for the full 852 years, then they would have strayed so far that their behavior would have caused Hashem to not only exile them, but they would have also been destroyed. In an act of mercy, Hashem caused the Jewish people to be exiled 2 years early so that when they were exiled, they did not perish as well.
Everyday Connection:
Gematria offers one way of integrating interesting, deeper insights into Judaic studies concepts while practicing simple addition and even offering opportunities for students to look for patterns within a given topic. While I find these added spiritual connections interesting and insightful, each person has their own subjects, ideas, or activities that they connect with. In what ways can you find basic math skills, patterning skills, etc in your everyday activities to help offer skills review and practice to the math students in your life? One person might naturally calculate all around them- calculating time until an alarm should go off, combining any types of numbers that may appear in their surroundings -street signs, page numbers, etc; someone else might need to search out problem solving scenarios within their daily activities to find meaningful calculation practice- if I can read a page every 3 minutes, how long will it take me to finish this book? how many pages do I have left to read? if I want to finish the book and walk my dog for 10 minutes before dinner time, do I have enough time to do both if I start right now?
