VEYEITZEI - THE NAMING OF THE AVOS

We find in this week’s sedra that when, at long last, Rochel gave birth to a son, the Torah tells us the following. ותקרא את שמו יוסף לאמר יסף ה' לי בן אחר She called his name Yosef, יוסף, saying, Hashem should add for me, יסף, another son. As a baal koreh, I immediately noticed that the first time the Yosef is spelt, it has in it a ו, יוסף, whereas the second time the ו is omitted. There must be a very good reason why, especially in the same verse, a word is spelt מלא, and then חסר.

In order to understand this, I think we have to go back to the first time we find a person is instructed to give his son a name in Torah. I am referring to Avrohom who was told to name his son Yitzchok, יצחק. Rashi explains that this was because of the merriment and happiness that Avrohom experienced when he learned that he was going to have a son, at long last, at the age of 100 with his beloved wife, Soroh, who would then be 90.

Rashi, furthermore, comments that each individual letter has a significance. The י refers to the 10 tests that Avrohom was put through. The צ refers to the 90 years of Soroh. The ח is an allusion to the 8 days of the bris mila. Finally, the ק is the 100 years, the age of Avrohom at that the time that Yitzchok was born/

Obviously, there is more depth in that name than just a simple explanation, as we can all see.

What occurred to me, was that the full gemmatria, numerical equivalent, of the name Yitzchok is 208 (י equals 10, צ is 90, ח is 8 and ק equals 100).

The significance of that figure is that it is exactly 8 times 26. 26 is the numerical value of י-ה-ו- ה. We have a rule that 7 is the apex of nature. Hashem created the world in 7 days, we have 7 in the case of shmitta etc. 8 refers to that which is למעלה מן הטבע higher than nature, supernatural.

As both Avrohom and Soroh were elderly and it was a miracle, למעלה מן הטבע, that they were blessed with a son. Not only were they blessed with a son, but one who was very holy. Therefore, his name, numerically 208, is 8 times 26 as mentioned above.

When Yitzchok had two sons, everybody called Eisav by his name, as the Torah states. In the case of Yaakov, Rashi comments that הקב''ה called him by that name. Yaakov equals 182 (י equals 10, ע is 70, ק is 100 and ב equals 2). This equals 7 times הוי'. Yaakov Avinu represented the maximum that a person could elevate himself naturally in this world. Our chochomim tell us that the beauty, שופרא, of Yaakov was similar to that of Odom Harishon. Namely, his spiritual level reached a similar level to that of Odom Harishon the prototype, ideal man created by Hashem, Himself.

At the beginning of Vayeishev, the Torah tells us אלה תלדות יעקב יוסף. The commentators tell us that the main son of Yaakov was Yosef who was on a higher level than the 11 שבטים, his brothers. If you calculate the gemmatria of יוסף, it adds up to 156 (י equals 10, ו equals 6, ס is 60 and פ is 80). This equates to 6 times 26.

We therefore see a pattern emerging. Yitzchok equals 8, Yaakov equals 7 and Yosef equals 6 times the שם הוי'.

As far as Avrohom is concerned, we all know that his father was Terach, who originally named his אברם, therefore his name does not fit into the pattern. Hashem gave him the extra ה in his name and by doing so the numerical value of אברהם equals 248 (א equals 1, ב equals 2, ר is 200, ה is 5 and מ equals 40). That, of course, is the same as the 248 limbs which a man possesses. It is also equal to the 248 positive mitzvos in the Torah. Avrohom positively elevated his whole being physical as well as spiritual to an indescribably high level.

Coming back to the original question I posed as to why in the one verse the name Yosef is spelt with a ו and then without, I believe that the answer is now apparent. The first time, it is spelt fully, as I have explained above, because it equals 6 times 26 and it is to convey the continuity of the holiness of the generations of our אבות. However, although Rochel was asking for another son, she knew that even though her son, eventually born, namely Benyomim, would be a Tzaddik, he could not be on the same level as Yosef. Therefore, the ו is omitted and the word is spelt יסף.

ז כסלו תשס''ט