Jewish Life Digital Edition September 2015 | Page 12

inside story

things you never knew you never knew

Noteworthy numbers
The word simcha, happiness, is mentioned 3
times in the Torah in connection with Sukkot –
more than any other holiday. This is reflected in the
expression “zeman simchateinu” – the time of our
rejoicing.
The number of times we confess on Yom
Kippur for sinning through the misuse of
our power of speech.

Something that has been used specifically for a mitzvah should be
treated with respect and not just thrown away in the refuse.
Therefore, it is customary to ‘recycle’ material once used for one mitzvah to another. For instance, the lulav used on Sukkot can be stored
for six months and used to enhance the fire when burning chametz on
erev Pesach. Etrogim can be punctured with cloves and used as besamim (spices) at Havdallah. Although there is not much juice in an
etrog, it can be extracted to make drinks and preserves.

…so may I merit next year to dwell in the
sukkah of the hide of the Leviathan.
The Talmud teaches that when Moshiach arrives, the righteous will
come to Jerusalem and the Leviathan (a giant sea creature created on
the fifth day) will be slain. Its skin will be used to make the walls of a
giant sukkah, and the righteous will dine on its flesh in that sukkah.
According to the Midrash, originally G-d produced a male and a female
Leviathan, but lest in multiplying the species should destroy the
world, He slew the female, reserving her flesh for the banquet that will
be given to the righteous on the advent of Moshiach.
The body of the Leviathan, especially his eyes, possess great illuminating power. This was the opinion
of Rabbi Eliezer, who, in the course of
a voyage in the company of Rabbi
Joshua, explained to the latter, when
frightened by the sudden appearance
of a brilliant light, that it probably
came from the eyes of the Leviathan.
He referred his companion to the
words of Job 41:10: “By his sneezes a
Job 41:10
light shines, and his eyes are like the
glimmer of the morning.”
However, in spite of his supernatural strength, the Leviathan is
afraid of a small worm called “kilbit”, which clings to the gills of large
fish and kills them (Shabbos 77b). It is also said (Bava Basra 75a) that,
in Messianic times, for those who do not merit to dwell in the sukkah
made from the skin of the Leviathan, Hashem will make a necklace
from it for those with less merit, an amulet for those with even less
merit, and the remainder of the hide will be spread on the walls of
Jerusalem, illuminating the entire world with its brightness.

By his
sneezes a light
shines, and his
eyes are like
the glimmer of
the morning.

8 JEWISH LIFE n ISSUE 88

In accordance with Ashkenazi tradition, the shofar is blown 100 times during the Rosh Hashanah
services. Sephardim add one extra blast, after Aleinu.

A YOM KIPPUR WAR MIRACLE

6 October 1973 was Yom Kippur. It was also the day on
which Egypt and Syria, supported by Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Jordan, Algeria and
Kuwait, launched a surprise attack on Israel.
The War, which lasted a total of 21 days, challenged the
very survival of Israel. But, as with all Israel’s heroic battles against her enemies, the Hand of G-d could clearly be
seen at work. The following story happened in the north
of the country during the height of the conflict.
Commander David Yinni was in the process of pulling
his troops out of a confrontation with the Syrian army,
when he realised they were trapped in a minefield.
Knowing it would take a miracle for them to make it out
alive, the troops began crawling on their bellies while using their bayonets to try and find the mines without setting them off. At some point, one of the soldiers uttered a
heartfelt prayer. As the story goes, all of a sudden a fierce
windstorm blew in. Such was the magnitude of the storm
that even the tanks were being rocked by its force. The
soldiers hunkered down until the storm subsided, and
when it did, they discovered the wind had blown away so
much of the top soil that the mines were exposed and the
entire platoon managed to escape unharmed. JL

Evacuated casualties of the Yom Kippur War.

text: liz samuels; PHOTOGRAPHS: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM, WIKIPEDIA.ORG

MITZVAH ‘RECYCLING’

Maimonides believed the etrog had 70 different healing properties.