Part 4
In the last article we elaborated on the different
translations of the name Naftoli, and their respective
connections to prayer. Rashi explained the word
Naftulei as an expression of "persistent and obstinate
in prayer, analogous to the constant twisting of fibers that
produce a continuous thread."
When woolen fibers are sheared from the sheep's back, they
have to be cleaned to remove any external dirt that adheres
to the wool. Each individual fiber is coated with lanolin, a
substance that keeps the sheep dry from the rain. This too is
removed, by washing the wool in a large vat. The lanolin is
extracted and used in manufacturing hand creams and
lotions.
The fibers are then dried and passed through a carding
process that aligns them all in one direction. The tongue of
wool produced is now ready for spinning, a process that will
interlock all the individual fibers together into a long and
useful thread that can subsequently be woven into cloth.
Spinning is accomplished, for example, by twisting the tongue
of wool in a clockwise direction. A problem arises when one
lets go of this twisted thread. It has a natural tendency to
unravel again in an anti-clockwise direction, reversing the
previous spinning. In order to avoid this, two clockwise spun
fibers are subsequently spun together in an anti-clockwise
direction, which has a combined effect of stabilizing the
spun wool. The initial clockwise spin has a natural tendency
to unwind in an anti-clockwise direction, while the combined
fibers that were spun in an anti- clockwise direction have an
opposite tendency, to unwind in a clockwise direction.
These combined forces neutralize each other and there is no
unwinding of the spun fibers at all. They remain in their
manufactured state, the way they were intended to be. Every
thread of wool is comprised of two plies that were
individually spun clockwise, and then twisted together in the
opposite anti-clockwise direction. To manufacture thicker
threads, this same process is repeated, producing four or six
ply wool. By this process of spinning, threads can be
manufactured to any desired thickness and required length.
Rashi at the end of gemora Succos explains how the
composition of the seventy-two-lettered Name of Hashem is
found. There are three consecutive pesukim in the
Torah (Shemos 14:19, 20, 21) that each contain seventy-
two letters in them. These are combined to form seventy-two
three- letter sets.
The first set is formed by taking the first letter of
posuk 19, the last letter of posuk 20, and the
first letter of posuk 21. This process continues. We
take the following letters of these pesukim, and then
read posuk 19 and 21 in their normal forward order,
and posuk 20, in reverse order. Thereby, the
composition of this Name of Hashem is produced by the
combination of two pesukim being used in their normal
order, and one in the reverse. This resembles the actual
process of spinning fibers into a thread, where two threads
are spun one way, and then spun together in the opposite
direction.
Similarly, Avrohom Ovinu who instituted the Shacharis
prayer, is credited with the middoh of Chesed.
Yitzchok Ovinu, who established the Mincha prayer,
represents the opposite middoh, of Gevuroh,
whereas Yaakov Ovinu who instituted Ma'ariv,
represents the mitigating middoh of
Emes.
The way the Seventy-Two-Letter Name of Hashem is composed,
accurately represents the middos of the Ovos who
established our three daily tefillos. By tracing the
word "Naftulei" to that which means a spun thread, Rashi
associates tefilloh to the Revelation incorporated in
the full seventy-two letter Name of Hashem and at the same
time incorporates the continuous merit that the Ovos provide
us with, which helps to achieve success in prayer.
The number seventy-two will occur frequently in subsequent
explanations to many of our tefillos. It is a number
that corresponds to this special Name of Hashem, and also to
the numerical value of chesed, the middoh of
Avrohom.
We need to understand, however, why the meaning of the word
tefilloh is expressed by the name of Naftoli, more
than any other of the twelve tribes?
The Rokeach points out that the numerical value of the name
Naftoli is five-hundred-and-seventy. This has the same value
as the word esser — the number ten, which is the
minimum number of people required to form a minyan.
The name Naftoli thereby incorporates all the different
meanings of tefilloh, and also the important
requirement of tefilloh betzibbur.
Rashi (Bamidbor 14:27) quotes the gemora
(Megilla 23b) that derives the minimum requirement of ten
people to form a minyan, from the word Eidoh,
referring to the ten spies who spoke badly about Eretz
Yisroel. The Rokeach points out that the word Eidoh is
spelled out as: Ayin, Daled, Hei, which expand into
the letters: Ayin Yud Nun, Daled Lamed Tov, Hei Alef.
These eight letters also have a total numerical value of five
hundred and seventy! (70 + 10 + 50 + 4 + 30 + 400 + 5 + 1 =
570) In this unique way, the spelling of the word
Eidoh incorporates the requirement of having ten
(esser) people to form a minyan for tefilloh
betzibbur.
End of Part 4
