Category Archives: Sefer Vayikra

Parashat Behar-BeChukotai

Parashat Behar

Chapter 25;v 23

וְהָאָרֶץ לֹא תִמָּכֵר לִצְמִתֻת כִּי־לִי הָאָרֶץ כִּֽי־גֵרִים וְתֽוֹשָׁבִים אַתֶּם עִמָּדִֽי

The land shall not be sold forever; for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.

God said to Israel: “The relationship between you and Me is always that of ‘strangers and settlers.’ If you live in the world like strangers, remembering that you are only here temporarily, then I will be a settler in your midst, in that My Presence will dwell with you permanently. But if you will regard yourselves as settlers, as permanent owners of the land on which you live, forgetting that the land is actually not yours but Mine, My Presence will be a stranger in that it will not dwell in your midst.”

“In any case, you (Israel) and I (God) cannot be strangers and settlers at the same time. If you act like a stranger, then I will be the settler, and if you act the settler, I must be the stranger.”

(Ohel Yaacov)

Parashat Behukotai

Chapter 26, Verse 42

Missing Vav in  “Eliyahu”

 וְזָֽכַרְתִּ֖י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י יַֽעֲק֑וֹב וְאַף֩ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֨י יִצְחָ֜ק וְאַ֨ף אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶזְכֹּ֖ר וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֶזְכֹּֽר

Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

Rashi

In only five places*in Scripture the name יעקוב is written in full (i.e. with a Vav) ,
and only in five places** the name אליהו is written with the vav missing from his
name i.e. אליה .

Jacob took the letter “vav”from the name of אליהו the prophet as security-that he (Eliyahu) will come and herald the redemption of his (Jacob’s) children, speedily in our days. The
five instances of the Vav symbolize the five fingers of the hand i.e. this
security arrangement between Jacob and Elijah was sealed with a
handshake.(GurAryeh)

*The five places with the full name of יעקוב are as follows:
Vayikra Ch. 26 v.42
Jeremiah Ch. 30 v.18
Jeremiah Ch. 33 v.26
Jeremiah Ch. 46 v.27
Jeremiah Ch. 59 v.19
**The five places of Eliyahu without the Vav are as follows:
2 Kings Ch.1 v. 3
2 Kings Ch.1 v. 4
2 Kings Ch.1 v. 8
2 Kings Ch.1 v. 12
2 Kings Ch.3 v. 27