Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Vav
Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. In today’s NachDaily we’ll discuss perek 119, concentrating on the letter Vav.
The letter Vav means connection, joining, and union.
The first time that it is used as the first letter of a word, and not just as a prefix, is in the description of the different parts of the Mishkan. The passuk in Shemos 26:37 says, “Vaveyhem zahav, the hooks shall be gold.” These hooks were used at the top of the pillars of the Mishkan as a way to join together and connect its different parts.
The Zohar in Pekudey says that the hooks were in the shape of a Vav. The letter Vav is straight with its head bent, which actually makes it look like a hook!
This is why the Vav is always referred to as the “os hachibur, letter of connection.” As a prefix in the beginning of a word, the Vav means “and,” as in the passuk, “es hashamayim V’es ha’arets, the heavens and the earth.”
All of the 22 letters of the Aleph-Beis use the letter Vav in some form except for the letter yud. For example, an aleph is a combination of a Vav and two yuds. A chuf is comprised of three Vavs. A mem is made up of a chuf and Vav, and so on.
[It should be noted that the reason why the yud is the exception to the rule is because the Vav is really just an expansion of the light which emanates from the yud. We’ll explain that more when we get to the letter yud.]
Vav is the only letter that doubles to spell itself: Vav Vav. As the Vav is used for joining, it’s combined with itself even in its own spelling!
The numerical value of Vav is 6. This represents the 6 sides of the physical world, north, west, east, south, up and down. It is precisely the union of these forces which make up the world, which was created in 6 days, represented by the Vav.
On a more spiritual level, there are 6 books of the Mishna. The Mishna is considered Torah she’b’al Peh, the Oral Torah, which wasn’t meant to be written down. The 6 books of the Mishna represent the union and merging of Torah she’b’al Peh and Torah she’bichsav, the oral and written Torahs, into one.
The number 6 in Hebrew is shesh, which is spelled with two shins. Again we see how Vav is the os hachibur, connection, as the letter shin is composed of 3 vertical Vavs. The word shesh, with two shins, gives us 6 Vavs, each with the numerical value of 6!
Kabbalistically, Vav represents the lower 6 sefiros. The upper 3 are Chochma, Bina and Daas (known as Chabad). The lower 6 sefiros are Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferes, Netzach, Hod and Yesod (also known by its acronym Chagas Nehy). The last sefira is Malchus, which contains no light of its own and is merely a reflection of the upper 9.
The 6 middle sefiros of Chagas Nehy are considered the connection between the higher sefiros of Chabad and Malchus. The middle sefiros of Chagas Nehy are like a pipeline to bring Hashem’s light into the lowest sefira of Malchus. The 6 sefiros represented by Vav, therefore, are in essence used for joining, connection and union, which is what the letter represents.
