As we introduced several weeks ago, Kabbalah teaches us that each of the
Jewish months is created through a Hebrew letter that is connected to the
spiritual themes of that month. The letter for the month of Kislev is SAMECH.
Although it is not always the case, the name of this month contains the letter
SAMECH (Kaf, SAMECH, Lamed, Vav). Last month, Cheshvan, also contained the
letter for the month -- NUN. There is a further connection between the month of Cheshvan and the month of Kislev: When we join together the letters for these two months, we get NUN SAMECH, which spells the word "Nes" meaning miracle -a theme for the month of Kislev and the holiday of Chanukah.

Over the next few weeks we will explore with you the letter SAMECH from different
perspectives. As in the past we will contnue to "live with the times" by connecting the SAMECH to the Torah portions that we read this month, the holiday of Chanukah which we celebrate beginning on the 25th of Kislev, and the Sense of the Soul which is associated with this month ( sleep or relaxation and dreaming). Each week we will also focus on key words that connect to this letter and pose questions that further an inquiry into the mystery of meaning of the letter SAMECH.

ABOUT SAMECH...

To begin our study we'd like to share a few of the characteristics of SAMECH:

1. The shape of the letter SAMECH is the closest Hebrew letter form to a perfect circle. The circle is connected to the idea of the endless cycle as it is said, "Their end 'sof' (SAMECH, Vav, Peh) is enwedged in their beginning and the beginning in their end" [Sefer Yetzirah 1:7].

2. The word SAMECH is most closely connected to the word "Somaych" which means to uphold or support. Just as the verse in "Ashrei" beginning with SAMECH supports the NUN of the "unwritten" previous verse, the SAMECH of Kislev functions to support the fallen state of the NUN of Cheshvan.

3. SAMECH and the final MEM are the only letters of the Alef-Beit that are completely closed. When these letters were engraved on the tablets of the covenant, they penetrated through the tablets and were suspended in midair. (Exodus 32:15) Rabbi Chisda said: "the MEM and SAMECH of the tablets stood miraculously" [Shabbat 104a].

4. The gematria of SAMECH is 60. In addition to the whole number (60), SAMECH is also connected to the fraction 1/60 which is associated with the idea of nullification. The most well known application of this kind of nullification is in the laws of kashrut. For example, if an amount of milk accidently falls into a pot of chicken soup, the milk is nullified by the soup if the milk is 1/60 th or less in volume compared to the soup. It is then not considered a mixture of meat and milk.

5. SAMECH is the 15th letter of the Alef-Beit which corresponds to the gematria (numerical equivalent) of one of G-d's names (YUD =10, HEY=5), and the first two letters of the ineffable name of G-d.

7. The first time that the letter SAMECH is found in the Torah is in the word "ha'sovev" (Hey, SAMECH, Bet, Bet),[Genesis 2:11]. "Ha'sovev" means to encircle and refers to the flow of rivers emerging from the Garden of Eden. In Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) it says "All the rivers run into the sea ... to the place where the rivers run, there they return again."

8. The word "ha'sovev," to encircle is also related to Chanukah's most popular game of dreidel, which in modern Hebrew is a "s'vee'vone" (SAMECH, Bet, Bet, Vav, NUN.) Again we notice a SAMECH and a NUN together. In addition, the letters on the dreidel are an acronym for "Nes Gadol Haya Sham," A Great Miracle "Nes" (NUN, SAMECH) Happened There.

We notice that the SAMECH is connected with the circular nature of things, the ability to uphold - even miraculously, and what happens when a small part joins something larger and is subsumed by it.

THE LADDER - SULAM (SAMECH, LAMED, MEM)

In this week's Torah portion of Vayeitze we first encounter the letter SAMECH in the word "sulam" which means ladder - "And he (Jacob) dreamt, and behold! A ladder was set earthward and its top reached heavenward; and behold! Angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it " [Genesis 28:12].

After Jacob sees the ladder, his dream continues. He sees G-d standing over him and G-d says, "I am Hashem, G-d of Abraham your father and G-d of Isaac; the ground upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your descendants. Your offspring shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out powerfully westward, eastward, northward and southward; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and by your offspring. Behold, I am with you; I will guard you wherever you go, and I will return you to this soil; for I will not forsake you until I will have done what I have spoken about you." (Genesis 28:13-15)

We see that G-d's promise to Jacob is to be a "somaych" for him, to support him. G-d promises to guard Jacob wherever he goes and not to forsake him. Given that part of the purpose of even a garden-variety ladder is to support the one who is going up and down, this promise itself also appears to be a "sulam," a ladder, of sorts. G-d also promises to "return (Jacob) to this soil." This place appears to be both a beginning point and an end point. Jacob will come full circle.

It is interesting to note that the word "sulam" is spelled SAMECH, LAMED, MEM and contains both of the letters that are completely connected and were miraculously suspended in the tablets of the covenant (see #3 above). In addition, the letter in the middle of the word "sulam," LAMED, is also a the only letter of the Hebrew letters to go "above the line." It towers above all of the other letters. LAMED, the letter connected with both the ideas of learning and teaching as well as the heart, ascends up high (see divrei Torah for the month of Tishrei). In contrast, the letter Mem, related to Mayim, water, can represent a flow downward. The LAMED-MEM in the word sulam then has that directional flow of up and down. What does the SAMECH, as the lead letter indicate?