Last week a sound truck went around my neighborhood to
announce the funeral of the father of one of my neighbors.
The deceased was a talmid chochom of note, a
dayan and a leader of his community. He had lived to
celebrate the marriages of many of his grandchilden and was a
great-grandfather many times over. Was this a consolation for
his grieving children?
Partially, yes. They understood that their beloved father had
lived a full life and accomplished much, but that did not
mean that they will not miss him.
There is an English word, palindrome, that connotes a word,
phrase or number that reads the same way forwards or
backwards. The prototype palindrome in loshon kodesh
is mayim, water, constituted of mem- yud-
mem.
Every school child who has studied science can tell you about
the water cycle in nature. Basically, the sun evaporates
water from the sea. That water rises and forms clouds. The
winds blow the clouds over the land, the clouds burst and
rain falls. The rainwater reaches land, where it runs down to
rivers, which flow into the sea and the cycle begins another
revolution.
Hence, the water goes back and forth, as the letters of the
palindrome indicate. There is something else we see in this.
The water cycle repeats itself. We see that there is an
element of continuity and therefore, an aspect of eternity in
something that goes back and forth.
Let us look at other palindromes. There is dod, uncle.
The gemora tell us that a prospective chosson
should look at the brothers of a prospective kalla and
study their traits because these will be manifest in the
children.
Similarly, we know that events that took place with our Ovos
are lessons for their children. History repeats itself. What
was will be. The word for was, hayah -- hey, yud, hey,
is a palindrome, as is the word for present, hoveh -- hey,
vov, hey.
Look at the symbol for warfare: the horse. Hashem has vowed
to wage war with Amalek in every generation. Again, an aspect
of continuity. And what is the word for horse? A little
drumroll, please. "Sus -- samach, vov, samach" -- a
palindrome.
Lastly, the same letters that make up dod, also spell
Dovid. We know that the House of Dovid continues
throughout history and will culminate at the end of days in
the coming of Moshiach ben Dovid.
Since we see this important aspect of the palindrome in
loshon hakodesh, it is not surprising that we have
tried, whether consciously or subconsciously, to borrow a
little of its significance and to implant it into our
everyday spoken languages.
Beginning in childhood and continuing into adulthood, we
maintain the hope and wish that our loving and beloved
parents will stay with us forever. We know on a rational
level that this is not possible, that the days of a person's
life number "70, and with great vigor, 80." Although we give
a blessing of "until 120", it is most unusual to see someone
in our day live much past age 100.
But for our parents, even 120 years is not long enough. We
want them to be here to share our simchas, to heal our
sorrows, to give us counsel and to share our lives. We want
to call to tell them about a baby's first tooth, a child's
siddur party, upcoming bar mitzvahs and weddings.
Whether it is the oldest daughter or the youngest
granddaughter who has become a kalla, we want to be
able to run down the block or pick up the phone and say, "I
get a mazel-tov!"
When we wish to address our parents most formally, we call
them "Father" and "Mother"; however, most often and most
affectionately, we use the terms, abba --
alef/beis/alef and ima -- alef/mem/alef, both
palindromes, even in English -- "Mom" and "Dad".
It must surely be our inner longings that we never have to
part with those we love the most!
[Ed. Perhaps this palindrome indicates a reciprocation, a
cycle. Either of necessity, for as parents get older, they
may have to rely upon us, as we did on them when we were
young, or out of a show of gratitude, when we reach that
stage when we can best appreciate all they did for us. And
what better, more significant palindrome can we find than
venosnu -- "And they shall give." Again,
reciprocation, in that what one gives away to charity is what
one ultimately keeps forever in one's eternal and heavenly
bank account!]
(The author wishes to thank Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, Rav of
Agudath Israel of Staten Island, for introducing her to the
concept and significance of palindromes in our holy language.
Perhaps readers would like to offer their own discoveries of
meaningful palindromes.)
