4

I remember having been told that there are those who assign each of the 5845 pesukim in the Torah to each year since creation. This is from memory as I have not found the reference yet. Would anyone have a reference that talks about this?

Thanks to @Loewian who found Missing Pesukim which gives counts. However I found some places in this post where a 1 is shown as an 8 (108 vs 101 for Tetzaveh and 118 vs 111 for Vayikra) based on what is printed at the end of the parsha in Art Scroll.

UPDATE I finally managed to go through the Art Scroll Chumash with the Parsha counts. However, the totals at the end of the Chumash for each sefer do not match up with the totals calculated from the list at the end of each Parsha or from counting the verses printed, as follows: Shmos has 1207 or 1210 depending how you count between Ta'amei elyon and ta'amei tachton of Aseres Hadibros (10 vs 13) in Yisro. Vayikra differs because of Tzav (96 vs 97). Devorim totals 953 or 956 depending how you count between Ta'amei elyon and ta'amei tachton of Aseres Hadibros (10 vs 13) in Vaeschanan where taamei tachton in Artscroll starts at 5:6 and ends at 5:18 for a count of 13 (as it has in Yisro). The mesorah count at the end of Vaeschanan says 118 while the printed count shows 7+49+30+25+11 = 122 for a difference of 4. The ta'amei tachton accounts for the three of the difference. The other parshios match the physical count and the individual parsha mesorah count exactly according to the Art Scroll Chumash. The book totals below though are still off.

Double AA points out: In another answer I show that the correct mesorah note in old manuscripts for Vaeschanan is 119 which solves the issue in that parsha, but the book total issue remains for Artscroll. However, in Mechon Mamre's edition based on the old manuscripts, Yisro has only 74 verses and Vaeschanan has only 121 verse (counting both with taamei tachton, unlike how the individual parsha mesorah does) which gives the correct traditional book totals below of 1209 and 955. So the individual parsha mesorah uses the taamei elyon while the book total uses the taamei tachton, and there are no issues remaining when we use the manuscript versions.

Torah Facts says that they got the following numbers from the mesorah. This matches the numbers shown at the end of the Art Scroll Chumash for book totals, but does not match the number of verses they print if you count them.

Bereishis - 1534

Shmos - 1209

Vayikra - 859

Bamidbar - 1288

Devorim - 955

Total - 5845

As an example, I estimated (by subtracting) that the current year is about Haazinu 32:24

מְזֵי רָעָב וּלְחֻמֵי רֶשֶׁף וְקֶטֶב מְרִירִי וְשֶׁן בְּהֵמֹת אֲשַׁלַּח בָּם עִם חֲמַת זֹחֲלֵי עָפָר:

They will sprout hair from famine, attacked by demons, excised by Meriri. I will incite the teeth of livestock upon them, with the venom of creatures that slither in the dust.

Vayelech would begin the year 5682 (1922), which would make 1940 about 31:18

וְאָנֹכִי הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עַל כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה כִּי פָנָה אֶל אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים:

And I will hide My face on that day, because of all the evil they have committed, when they turned to other deities.

The flood (1656) would have been pasuk 122 in Shmos of the 124 pesukim counted at the end of the parsha which would make it 5:22

וַיָּשָׁב משֶׁה אֶל יְהֹוָה וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָה לָעָם הַזֶּה לָמָּה זֶּה שְׁלַחְתָּנִי:

So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me?

Community
  • 1
sabbahillel
  • 43,108
  • 7
  • 47
  • 88
  • 1
    http://torahweek.blogspot.com/2012/12/missing-pesukim.html – Loewian Jan 21 '16 at 05:17
  • @Loewian Tetzaveh in the post has 108 but Art Scroll has 101. Similarly for Vayikra post has 118 but Art Scroll has 111 – sabbahillel Jan 22 '16 at 20:25
  • @Loewian see my blog at http://sabbahillel.blogspot.com/2016/01/count-of-pesukim-in-each-parsha.html for the pesukim count for each parsha which fixes the typos in the post that you pointed to. – sabbahillel Jan 24 '16 at 02:11
  • @DoubleAA It appears that the mesorah at the end of Yisro uses Ta'amei Elyon (10 pesukim for Aseres Hadibroe, while the mesorah total for Shmos uses Ta'amei tachton (13 pesukim) changing the total for the sefer. – sabbahillel Jan 24 '16 at 02:13
  • @sabbahillel The total uses Taam Tachton = 12 pesukim. Otherwise you'd get 1210. Count it. 124+121+106+116+72+118++96+101+139+122+92=1207. We need two more verses. That's because in Taam Elyon there are 10 verses, but in Taam Tachton there are 12. Two extra verses. (Note also there has to be 10 verses in the Taam Elyon or else it'd be 71 verses.) – Double AA Jan 26 '16 at 06:25
  • @DoubleAA Taam tachton in Yisro starts with 20:2 (Anochi) and ends with20:14 ((Lo Sachmod) for a count of 13. As you said, the ta'am Elyon at the end of the Parsha has a count of 10. Vaeschanan starts at 5:6 and ends at 5:18, also for a count of 13. This accounts for the three total difference. However the mesorah count at the end says 118 while the printed count shows 7+49+30+25+11 = 122 – sabbahillel Jan 26 '16 at 12:20
  • @sabbahillel No it only goes to Sh 20:13. I don't know what 3 total difference you are talking about, but in Shemot there is a difference of 2 between 1207 and 1209, and this solves it. Count the verses in Shemot and this will be clear. – Double AA Jan 26 '16 at 14:10
  • @sabbahillel (Note the Mesorah count of 118 for Vaetchanan is a printers error in the 1500s. All old manuscripts say correctly 119. Here are pictures from 6 of them http://i.stack.imgur.com/DMuU7.png) We can then do the same for Devarim adding up all the Parsha lengths 105+119+111+126+97+110+122+70+52+41=953 to find again a two verse discrepancy between 953 and 955 because while there are 10 verses in Taam Elyon, there are 12 in Taam Tachton, because the Taam Tachton in Vaetchana goes until 5:17. – Double AA Jan 26 '16 at 14:14
  • @DoubleAA Interesting. Chabad.org has the last pasuk as 5:18 יח וְלֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ ס וְלֹא תִתְאַוֶּה בֵּית רֵעֶךָ שָׂדֵהוּ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ: – sabbahillel Jan 26 '16 at 15:35
  • @sabbahillel Unfortunately, since that section of text was often written with two sets of Trop/Vowels overlain, many errors crept into it when people tried separating the two. The old manuscripts are clear in their position and internally consistent with all their Mesorah notes. Mechon Mamre does a good job presenting the traditional information. – Double AA Jan 26 '16 at 15:35
  • @sabbahillel I've made an edit where I try and clarify what you found and how the manuscript evidence supports the traditional sums. Feel free to edit further. – Double AA Jan 26 '16 at 16:23
  • @DoubleAA Thanks. Looks good. I will leave it this way. – sabbahillel Jan 26 '16 at 17:51

1 Answers1

2

The students of the Gra had a different system. Maaseh Bereishis corresponds to the first millenium, the rest of Bereishis to the second, Shemos to the third... so that Devarim corresponds to the sixth millennium. There are 10 parshios in Devarim, each describes a different century.

By that system, the year of the Vilna Gaon's birth (5480) lines up to Devarim 25:15, "אבן שלמה וצדק יהיה לך איפה שלמה וצדק יהיה לך למען יאריכו ימיך על האדמה אשר ה׳ אלקיך נתן לך. -- A whole and honest weight you should have for your self, a whole and honest measuring eifah you should have for yourself, so that your days shall be long on this earth which Hashem your G-d is giving you."

"Even Sheleimah", a whole [measuring] stone, is taken as a reference to R' Eliyahu Shelomo of Vilna. Which is why the collection of his Mussar thoughts was titled "Even Sheleimah".

It is also why students of the Vilna Gaon made aliyah at the beginning of the next century -- 5601. After all, the next parashah begins "והיה כי תבוא אל הארץ אשר ה׳ אלקיך נתן לך נחלה וירשתה וישבת בה -- And it will be, when you come to the land which Hashem your G-d is giving you as a legacy, and you will inherit it, and live in it."

Micha Berger
  • 9,648
  • 33
  • 41
  • 1
    I am familiar with what you are discussing. But it should be noted that the Vilna Gaon had many different systems which he used to discuss this subject of time. It wasn't just limited to what you are saying here. These are spread out primarily through his writings on pnimiyut haTorah, like Sifra d'Tzniyuta, Yahel Ohr and his commentary on Tikkunei Zohar Chadash. There are also some amazing things in Sefer Kol HaTor. Some of the details about time and the 6000 years and the redemption relate to the general structure and details of human anatomy, etc. – Yaacov Deane Jan 21 '16 at 13:43
  • Leshem Shevo v'Achlama also gets into this subject in great detail. – Yaacov Deane Jan 21 '16 at 13:44
  • While this appears to answer the question (attributing the idea (or a variant of it) to the Talmidei HaGra) it would be much improved if you could cite support for you assertion that it is indeed they who make this claim. – Double AA Jan 22 '16 at 16:03
  • I thought I did when I pointed to the choice of the mame of Even Shelei,ah. – Micha Berger Jan 22 '16 at 20:39
  • @MichaBerger How do you know that's why it's called that? Is it in the introduction to that work? – Double AA Jan 23 '16 at 23:24