“These are the generations of the Heavens and the Earth when they were created (Hebrew: b’He’baram) (Bereshis 2:4)

Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov points out the importance of the number five related to Yom Kippur. There are five afflictions on this holy day: no eating/drinking, washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes, nor marital relations. These five afflictions correspond to the Five Books of the Torah and also the five senses which we use to perform mitzvos. The word nefesh, which means soul, appears in the Yom Kippur Torah reading five times. The Kohen Gadol used to immerse himself in a mikveh five times on Yom Kippur when the Bais HaMikdash stood. Finally, we have five prayer services on Yom Kippur: Maariv, Shacharis, Musaf, Mincha, and Neilah. Why do we constantly have the number five?

In the verse above, Rashi points out that the word created (b’He’baram) can also be read as “b’ HEH baram” which means the world was created with the letter “heh”, which is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The letter “heh” is basically a box which is totally open on the bottom and has a small opening on the top left. Why was the world built with the letter “heh” I was recently listening to a shiur from Rabbi Paysach Krohn in which he explained the significance of the letter “heh”. It is open on the bottom to teach people that if they become too worldly, they can easily fall to the lowest depths. But there is a small opening on the top to teach that no matter how low a person has fallen, there is always a chance to return, even if they have fallen to the lowest level.

Rabbi Krohn explained the fifth bracha in the weekday Shemone Esray is Ha’shivanu, which is asking Hashem to return us to Him. The first letter of this bracha is a “heh” and the last letter of this bracha is a “heh”. So, the fifth bracha, which is the numeric value of the letter “heh”, starts and ends with a “heh”. This is to teach us that to do tshuvah properly, we need to understand the lesson of the “heh”.

All of us have sinned in this past year. Some of us have done big sins and it seems hopeless for us ever to be able to be granted forgiveness. But Yom Kippur is a day which is signified by the number five and the letter “heh”. No matter how far we have fallen, there is always a chance to return.

Gmar Chasima Tova!
-yes
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