Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Beis
Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll be discussing the letter beis. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Lets jump write in.
The letter Beis has the numerical value of two. Being the letter Aleph stands for Hashem who’s the singular force behind creation. The letter Beis stands increase, multiplicity, dissention and many. Because Hashem is one. When you introduce two there’s the possibility for divisibility.
That’s also one of the reasons why the Torah starts with letter Beis in the word Bereishis. To teach at the exact moment when Hashem created the world and the Torah there’s now a seemingly individuation, increase and many.
Interestingly, scientifically, Because Bies represents dissention and it was used in the creation of the word, that’s why even in the physical word, we are learning, you can always break down the smallest part down to be even smaller. For example: it used to be thought an atom was the smallest form, than a partical, now its thought of as energy, quarks and vibrations are even smaller. This all comes for the power of the Beis.
Another reason why the Torah starts with the letter Beis is, If you spell out the letter Beis you get the word Bayis - Beis, yud, suf which means house. Because Hashem created this world to house and contain His Divine Presence. So this world can be dira b’tachtonim house in the lower worlds for Hashem.
It also should be noted although the Torah opens with the letter Beis in Bereishis. The letter Beis in the word is really not part of the world itself. It just a prefix. The true first time the letter Beis is used as an actual part of a word is the second word in the Torah, Bara created. Kabbalistically the letter Beis corresponds to the second highest of the four worlds which is the world of Briya creation. After Hashem was hi’tzil refracted His light, only than did a briya creation begin.
The letter Beis has the numerical value of two. In Hebrew all the numbers are written in the singular form accept for the number two which is written in the plural form. As follows; 1 is Achas, 3 is shalosh, 4 is arba, 5 is chamisha, All in the singular form. However, the number 2 is shtayim in the plural! Again, we see how the essence of the Beis is duality and multiplicity.
On a deeper level, the whole world is created in equal opposite pares; male and female, night and day, body and soul, heaven and earth, and spiritual and physical. This again all comes from the power of the Beis.
The Medrish osiyos d’rebbi Akiva asks: Why is the opening of Beis facing the Gimel? To teach its doors are wide open for all who want to enter. Therefore, the letter Beis is the letter which always represents internal hidden pnemiyus.. Because its precisely in the Bayis house one lives a private life.
Similarly, the Bayis House of a person is their body, which happens starts with B, because the body is the sanctuary for the soul.
If we take a closer look at the letter Beis we will see its shaped like a house. It has a roof on top, a wall on the side and floor on the bottom. And it has an opening a door way for people to enter.
Kabblistly if you take an even closer look at the letter Beis it has a point on top and a point on the bottom known as the uketz shel malah and uketz shel matah. These two points look like thorns sticking out. As if the letter Beis’s was to be saying “even though I look like house and I made stand on my own. I am reaching towards the heavens and towards the earth to God who created me.” Once again, we see how the Bies includes creation in its entirety. While simultaneously pointing towards Hashem, who is the Aleph, behind the scenes making the house run. ...
