A man went to his rabbi for a bit of marriage counseling. “Rabbi, she’s always trying to prove that I’m wrong. I think our relationship is on a downward path. How can I turn it around?” The rabbi answered, “You should go on a relaxing journey together. Take her to a beautiful secluded island.”

The man returned home and announced, “Honey, let’s go to Havaii, just the two of us.” “That would be wonderful,” she said, “and by the way, it’s pronounced Hawaii.” “Oy! I never knew someone so stubborn!” he replied, “it’s pronounced Havaii!”

The argument continued, even as they traveled. As they got off the airplane, a native man welcomed them. The husband abruptly stopped his wife and asked the native, “Now that we’re on the island, you can settle an argument between me and my wife. Is this Hawaii or Havaii?” “This is Havaii,” the man replied. “Aha!” the husband said, turning to his wife, “Didn’t I tell you never to argue with me? I’m always right!” As they began to walk away, he turned to the native and said, warmly, “Thank you!” The native replied, “You’re velcome!”

* * *

Behaalos’cha: Fish that Swim Upstream

When the Ark would journey, Moses said, “Arise, G-d, and let Your foes be scattered, let those who hate You flee from before You.” And when it rested, he would say, “Reside tranquilly Oh G-d, among the myriad thousands of Israel.”[1]

This passage is book-ended by two backward letter Nuns. There’s an opinion in the Talmud that there are not five books of the Torah, there are seven.[2] The reason given for this opinion is: the Nuns on either end of our passage indicate that the passage “is a significant book in and of itself.” In other words, the Book of Numbers is divided into three separate “books”: the first book is prior to the first Nun, the second is the passage we’re discussing, and the third is the rest of the Book of Numbers, after the second Nun.

QUESTIONS
1) Why does the letter Nun in particular delineate the beginning and end of this short book? 2) Why are these two Nuns backwards? 3) Why do these divisions occur specifically in the portion of Behaalos’cha?

We will offer answers to these questions by looking into the gematria, the meaning, and the graphic design of the letter Nun.

GEMATRIA OF ‘NUN’
Nun equals fifty. There are fifty gates of understanding. Fifty also alludes to Shavuos, when we received the Torah on the fiftieth day of counting the omer-offering.

Rabbeinu Bechaya explains that the backward Nuns teach us that this “book” should have been positioned fifty chapters earlier, when we talk about the travels of the Jews in the desert.[3]

MEANING OF ‘NUN’
In Aramaic, nun means “fish”. In order to be deemed kosher, a fish must be able to swim upstream.[4] The backwards Nun reminds us of our ability to turn around–to make teshuvah—and ‘swim upstream’.

Nun also stands for nefilah, ‘falling’ to a low spiritual level. A reversed Nun therefore alludes to a reversal of nefilah. The transformation of a fall into an elevation is a nes, a miracle. The word nes is spelled Nun-Samach. When a person experiences a Nun, a nefilah, it is followed by Samach, hinting the Somech, the One who supports the fallen. In other words, G-d Himself comes to support and uplift us when we fall. This miraculous support empowers us to rise again, to ‘swim upstream’, back to G-d. The letters Nun and Samach are also found within a word in the ‘short book’: bin‘so’a, ‘journey’.[5]

Since all double letters allude to Redemption,[6] the double Nuns tell us that the general subject of the ‘short book’ is our journey toward Redemption. Finally, Nun stands for nasi, the ‘prince’ or leader of the Jewish People.[7] The leader of every generation inspires us to return to G-d, guiding us closer and closer to the ultimate Redemption.

GRAPHIC DESIGN OF ‘NUN’
According to the Eimek HaMelech,[8] two Nuns that face each other () join to form a letter Mem (). Mem, as we have explained in the portion of Tzav, stands for Torah.[9] The two Nuns that make up this Mem allude to the two aspects of Torah–niglah, ‘revealed’, and nistar, ‘hidden’. ‘Revealed’ refers to Talmudic and halachic teachings. ‘Hidden’ refers to the mysticism of Midrash, Kabbalah and Chassidus.

NAASEH V’NISHMAH
The pair of Nuns also stand for the response of the Jews when Hashem offered them the Torah–Naaseh v’nishmah, “We will do, and we will listen.” Chassidus explains that the first Nun, corresponding to naaseh, “we will do,” means ‘We accept G-d as King’. This expresses a readiness to serve G-d in general. Nishmah, “we will listen,” means ‘We accept the yoke of the mitzvos.’ This expresses a readiness to act upon each of G-d’s commandments in particular.[10]

BLUEPRINT OF REDEMPTION
What does all of this have to do with the portion of Behaalos’cha? The portion begins with G-d’s commandment to Aaron the High Priest, to light the seven candles of the Menorah. We are to emulate Aaron by lighting up our homes with ‘the candles of mitzvos and the flame of Torah’.

What about outside our homes? The ‘short book’ tells us that when “the Ark would journey…” it would smooth the way for the Israelites. We, too, must take the Ark of Torah with us wherever we travel. We must light up the world around us. The marketplace and the business world also need illumination.[11]

When our soul first sets out on its worldly journey, it experiences a nefilah–a descent and a culture-shock–relative to the pure and holy atmosphere of its original home, symbolized by the Mishkan. However, when we journey with the Torah, symbolized by the Ark or the Nun, we can shine the light of G-dliness wherever we go in the world. We can even bring about a miracle of ‘return’ in ourselves, and the people that we influence. Therefore, our ‘short book’ is truly the blueprint of Redemption.

A STORY [12]

Once, Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Bardichev sent a message to Rebbe Baruch of Medzibuz, asking to visit him. Rebbe Baruch was the grandson of the holy Baal Shem Tov and Rebbe Levi Yitzchak so much wanted to have the honor of meeting him. Rebbe Baruch sent back a message refusing. He said, “Your way and mine are totally opposite. You’ll disrupt everything I do here.” Rebbe Levi Yitzchak sent another message promising to control himself the whole time he was in Medzibuz. “I’ll do everything your way. I won’t lead prayers or make kiddush; I’ll just say ‘Amein‘ when you make the blessing over the wine. Once I lose myself in love of the Creator, I can’t control myself. I promise I’ll be quiet.” So Rebbe Baruch agreed to a visit.

The Barditchever arrived and Friday night the chassidim of Rebbe Baruch were waiting to see the wild, ecstatic devotion in prayer that they had heard about. But nothing of the sort happened. Rebbe Levi Yitzchak was very quiet and still, just like Rebbe Baruch. The chassidim were surprised. They were waiting to hear his amazing kiddush but he didn’t even make his own kiddush at the Shabbos table; he only said ‘Amein‘ softly when Rebbe Baruch made the blessing over the wine.

Then came the meal. There is a Chassidic custom to serve two types of fish–one sweet and one sour. A waiter asked the Barditchever, “Holy Rebbe, which kind of fish do you love?” That is all he had to say. The Barditchever yelled, “Which kind of fish do I love? I don’t love fish, I love only G-d!” With that, he lost it; he grabbed hold of the tray with the fish and threw it up in the air. Pieces of gefilte fish and herring went flying about and everyone was ducking and taking cover.

A big piece of fish fell, plop! right on the beautiful tallis that Rebbe Baruch was wearing. He had been sitting in stillness at the head of the table, in a trance of awe. He hardly knew what was happening around him, but when the fish landed on his tallis, he awoke.

When the chassidim saw the piece of fish dripping down the beautiful tallis of their rebbe, they were aghast and ran to wipe it off. Rebbe Baruch would not let them, because, he said, the stains were holy. He said, “These stains were caused by a Jew who loves only G-d. How can I wipe them off?” He never, in fact, cleaned that tallis again.

After Rebbe Baruch’s death, his tallis was considered so precious and holy that it was handed down as an inheritance from one rebbe to another. They wore it only on Shabbos. During the last century they wore it only on Yom Kippur. The last rebbe to possess it was the Munkatcher Rebbe, who wore it only for the final and holiest service of Yom Kippur, Ne’ilah. The Munkatcher must have known the destruction that would befall the Jewish People with the Holocaust, because he removed that holy tallis from the world and asked to be buried in it, saying he wanted to be buried in a tallis that had on it stains that were caused by a Jew who loved only G-d.

ACTION: When you eat fish this Shabbos, meditate on the two letter Nuns and resolve to love only G-d.

FOOTNOTES
[1] Numbers, 10:35-36
[2] Shabbos, 116a
[3] Commentary on Numbers 10:35-36
[4] Salmon, a fish that instinctually swims upstream, is kosher. Similarly a duck, in order to be kosher, must have the strength to swim upstream.
[5] Sefer HaSichos 5751, p. 387, and references in footnote 72. See also Chidushei Agados to Maharsha on Shabbos, 115a.
[6] Pirkei d’Rabi Eliezer, chapter 48. See also Sefer HaSichos 5751, p. 388
[7] Ibid, p. 408, footnote 148.
[8] Sefer Eimek ha Melech, “Gateway One”, Chap. 51. See also Sefer Ha Lekutim by the Tzemach Tzedek, on the letter Nun.
[9] See also Letters of Light, “The Letter Mem”, and the references there.
[10] Sefer Hamamarim 5629. Also Sefer Hamamarim Milukat, “Kuntres Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5750″, Chap. 7, etc.
[11] Based on Sefer HaSichos, 5749, Behaalos’cha [12] From Jewish Tales of Mystic Joy, by Yitzchak Buxbaum, p. 111.