We opened our last D'var Torah with the quote
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" to introduce initial ideas
about the letter Chet, the letter for the month of Tammuz. We have been looking
in the Torah portions read during Tammuz for the development of the theme around
the words Chelek (Chet-Lamed-Kuf) which means portion, as in a portion of land,
and Nachalah (Nun-Chet-Lamed-Heh) which means inheritance, as in the
inheritance of land or property.

Standing At Sinai

Why does the Chet of Tammuz follow the Vav of Iyar and the Zayin of Sivan? If we look back at the experience of standing at Sinai to receive the Torah, we recall that it was a tremendous spiritual moment when B'nei Yisrael stood as one. In Parshat Yitro
(Exodus 19:2), the text specifically says that Israel encamped, "Va'yichan" (at
the mountain) using the singular for the verb of camping (rather than the
expected plural) to which our Rabbis add: "they were (camped) as if one person
with one intent." The question arises, why is it not the ideal for the Jewish
people to try to remain in this state of undivided oneness? Why does the
remainder of the Torah (especially the entire Book of Bamidbar-Numbers) spend so
much time spelling out the importance of individual tribes -- the census of each
Tribe , the Prince of each Tribe, how the camp would march by Tribe; how the
encampment would be set up by Tribe; how the land would be divided and
maintained through intricate inheritance laws by Tribe?

If Chet did not follow Vav and Zayin, we might think that we should stay as we did at Sinai, an undivided oneness. In fact, we had to leave Sinai, divide ourselves into our
tribes and strengthen the attributes of each one. There is something about the whole of B'nei Yisrael that can only be realized by dividing it into separate but related parts.

The Jewish people have not preserved our tribal
identification, with the exception of the Tribe of Levi (including the
Kohanim-priests). We are taught that with the advent of the Mashiach each person
will be told their tribal lineage! The re-division into tribes rather than a
homogeneity of our people is the pre-requisitie for achieving the higher
spiritual state that Mashiach will bring.

Creation: The Initial Split

In the first account of the creation of man and woman we read that G-d created the
first person as both male and female. Later, woman and man are separated (woman
is "taken" from Adam's side). Once they are separate, their goal is to
re-connect. Adam recognizes Woman as bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. He
recognizes that they are similar, yet distinct (the emphasis in the separation
account in Genesis 2:21-25 is the word Lakach; Lamed-Kuf-Chet, which means to
take, in which the letter Chet is at the end of the word while in the word
Chelek-portion it is at the beginning). At the end of this account we are told,
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife and
they shall become one flesh." (Bereshit 2:24) If it is so important to become
one flesh, why did G-d separate them?

When a bride and groom stand under the Chupah, under the Chet, they are reminded that it is through their separateness as well as their connection that they are able to enter the transcendent state of marriage. Their potential is greater like this than as a merged, male-female being or as two separate, disconnected beings. This is consisent with the graphic form of the Chet which has both the Vav (masculine) and the Zayin (feminine) standing at the same level, side-by-side. Separate and distinct-yet connected to form a whole that is greater than the sum of the individual parts (it is a new letter!).

The Land of Israel

Just as the people of Israel were divided into their tribes, so too is the Land of Israel divided into physical portions for each tribe. Again, if the entire Land of Israel is holy, why does
it need to be divided up according to the tribes? Why is it so crucial that each
tribe have its identified Chelek-portion and immutable Nachalah-inheritance.
This can't be a simple governmental policy program. What is achieved by dividing the land?

Now it is absolutely clear that this question is intended to be
asked, for the daughters of Tzelafchadform the Tribe of Menasheh come forward
and assert their claim to their inheritance. They want their family's portion
and inheritance (and will not be satisfied to see it tranfer to some other
family). The importance of the ruling in this case is signified by G-d being the
one to rule on it. G-d says to Moshe, "The daughters of Tzelafchad speak
properly. You shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among the
brothers of their father... If a man will die and he has no son, you shall cause
his inheritance to pass over to his daughter..." (Bamidbar: 27:6-8). Yet, the
final chapter of Bamidbar brings us back to their story and the redress of the
elders of the Tribe of Menasheh on the ruling in favor of the daughters of
Tzelafchad. If daughters do inherit, then what happens if they marry outside
their tribe? The inheritance will then shift to their husband's tribe. The
resolution is well known, the original ruling remains- a daughter inherits, and,
she must marry within her tribe to preserve the Chelek, the portion of the tribe.

Seeing the Whole

Appreciating the whole really means being able to see the different parts that make up the whole and how and what they contribute to it. Nurturing and strengthening each of those parts strengthens the entire entity. Interestingly, the spiritual sense for this month of Tammuz is sight,
being able to see the good in people and experiences. Seeing the good is what
enables us to see the whole. If we cannot or do not see the good in something or
in someone, then that is a hint to us that our sight is incomplete -- we are not
seeing the whole. This doesn't mean that we don't recognize each part for what
it is, it just means that we lack the total picture. This limits our ability to
transcend and see the complete picture.

Other Examples of Divisions:

Time: The Jewish calendar, which divides time into months (Chodesh - Chet- Dalet-Shin),
achieves with time the same thing that the tribes achieve with people and the
divisions of the Land of Israel accomplish with space and the Chupah illustrates
with the husband-wife relationship. We could say that all time is basically the
same, all people are basically the same, all land basically the same, etc. In
the end bringing things together is paramount, yet the diversity is what is
unified therefore the need is there to divide, separate, segment, identify, and
distinguish.

We need to keep in mind that the relationship between each of
these separate parts must also be retained and nourished. Just as a Chet that is
missing the small bridge that connects the Vav and Zayin is an invalid letter,
separations, divisions, and distinctions that don't maintain their connections
do not lead us to ultimate unification. Diversity allows the ultimate potential
to be realized, but without the unification, without being able to see the whole
picture, fragmentation is the outcome.

Perhaps this is why the letter Chet is also associated with the word for life, Chayim -- all of life is about division (cells dividing and differentiating) and can seem like fragmented pieces that
have no connection. Our understanding of the letter Chet and the word Chelek
leads us to search for and see that all of the separateness is ultimately
connected. In valuing each part we can search for, and see, the fine-lined
bridge that connects everything together.

Addendum

We mentioned above that the Jewish people have lost their tribal identity save for the Tribe of Levi. It was the Tribe of Levi that specifically had no "Chelek v'Nachala" no portion or
inheritance in the Land of Israel (Bamidbar 18:20). It is a paradox that the one
tribe that had no identified land is the one tribe that preserved its identity!
The tribe of Levi is told that it is G-d Who is "their portion and inheritance"
Perhaps we can best preserve our singular identity when we are G-d's portion and
inheritance.