Where Are the 600,000 Letters of the Torah?

Physically, we cannot see black letters because they do not reflect light. They letters represent places where there is no light. We can only see the white "spaces" around the letters, so we perceive letters. It's like black letters on a white computer screen.

Recently, I opined that it is equally important to look at the "evil" people in the Torah as they have as much to teach us as the good people. Perhaps, more correctly, we should look at the evil actions to recognize unfortunate causes and effects.

For instance, by looking at Laban's actions a person could find many "bad" things we may have in our own personality.

I haven't seen any commentary that directly agrees with me. Répondre

One opinion about how stummot (closed paragraph separations) need to written discusses that the different letters have different widths measured in the number of yuds wide (vav, yud and nun sofit are 1; shin is 3; the rest are two). Based on this, the ~300,000 letters of the Torah correspond to ~600,000 yuds. And especially nice in this interpretation is that a yud, or yid, is a Jew, so this corresponds to the 600,000 Jewish souls. Répondre

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi says this in Likuteu Torah Behar 43d Répondre

There is discussion in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem talmuds on what script the Torah was given in. Jerusalem gives evidence of the Ivri script and the Babylonian gives evidence of the current Asshurit script. If both were accepted as true, then The 600,000 letters could be the 304,805 of Assurit, and 304,805 of Ivri. Just a thought.

Samuel Répondre

The final Mitzvah is to write a scroll and the 600,000 souls that left Egypt weather it was a son of a father who had passed are the 600,000 souls who were alive when Moses first gave the oral version . The process of writing the first written torah was made that each of the 600,000 souls was able to write a letter or mark in the scroll to finish it in order to fulfill the first time the Mitzvah of Sefer Torah.

Therefore it may not be indicative of the actual number of letters in the Torah but the number of souls who were involved with the writing of the first written Torah. Répondre

French composer Claude Debussy said, “Music is the space between the notes.” That fits the discussion well. All are to be considered whether they are heard/seen or not. Répondre

Possible answer Perhaps the additional letters lie in the letters themselves... for example: it is known that the aleph is composed of a van and to yuds, perhaps if the calculation of the breakdown of specific letters would become a total 600K letters.. a jew is not an individual jew, but brings along with him a family from his seed as to the letters are composed of other letters. As is seen and understood from a different example similar to gematria counting to see hidden past and future stories of the world and individuals.... Répondre

number of letters in the TORAH Excuse me, but there are exactly 304,805 letters in a legal Torah. NOT 600,000... you may be thinking of the Tanach (which is also incorrect for a count!). Répondre

gender duality, mismatched numbers So I read in multiple places that the black and white letters represent a gender duality -- that somehow the black on white is male and the white on black is female. If each letter represents a soul, though, and there are 600,000 letters, and each soul has a single body divided in two on the earth...then apparently male and female mean something non-standard here. Also, for the census -- 600,000 isn't 603,550 and 600,000/2 (if the letters are both directions) isn't 304,805. What could this possibly mean? Répondre

the significance of the Hebrew Letters I see that our quotation marks, do resemble the YOD, as in YOD YOD, and I am saying I see within all words, the Hebrew letters, and I find myself sometimes on my knees with what I am gifted to see, namely, a script we did not write and that we are truly co-creating the universe.

I once wrote about the SHIN in SHINE, and I think people thought me quite "out there", but for me, the SHIN is truly, a menorah, and so how beautiful, how relevant this is. And if no one ever perceives it, as I do, it doesn't matter. What I am gifted to see, what throws me to my knees, at every turn, is a story, so beautiful, so amazing, so incredible, I see the menorah in cacti, in plants, wherever I turn.

We are all one soul, and I do deeply believe that RUAH, the soul, that embodies the compassion of Ruth, well that soul, to reach that soul, through our own compassion, is the "key". We are gifted a story that turns on the letters themselves. However we write about this, it all does deeply connect Répondre

600,000+ Presumably, the significance of the number 600,000 is based on the recorded census of the Jewish people leaving egypt and recorded in the "written" Torah and thus has eternal significance for all time.

The census number is 603,550.

Our sages are telling us that the Jewish souls are bound up in and relate to the Torah at an essential level. Whether you know how and what to count is beside the point. Répondre

Black letters, white letters What a beautiful concept! Many of us want to be "black letters," and may feel disappointed in our lives if we aren't, but the total picture, how G-d sees us, is that the white letters, too, the folks who make up the unnoticed background, are also essential. I hope that I can keep that idea in my thoughts. Répondre

Male-Female Duality After reading this wonderful article and agreeing with its findings, my wife said to me, "Maybe, the 'inverse' letters are feminine in nature and hidden by G-d for the sake of their modesty. I liked the idea of the Torah having modesty embedded within it, so I thought I would share this insight from a modest female. Thanks for the articlem, Malkie. Répondre

Wow, what a concept. Thank you I really enjoyed this. Répondre

What about ancient Hebrew? Sarah, from what we can see in the Torah Scrolls of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Israel Museum), the ancient Hebrew script hasn't changed that much over time. Those readable ancient Torah letters, the oldest known, have almost the same shape as the actual letters. The Dead Sea Scrolls make the Torah more valid, even if our understanding may have diminished over time. Répondre

What about ancient Hebrew? The Hebrew letters have changed shape over time, from the ancient Hebrew script to what we have today. Very much so.

This means that the letters being written now in Torah scrolls are not the same as the letters that were originally written in the Torah.

This means that not only have the black letters changed, but this has also changed the shape of the hidden white letters.

Wouldnt the entire Torah we have today be invalid because of this?

I would like to see a Torah scroll be found with the ancient form of Hebrew letters on it. Or a Torah scroll created like that today by a sofer who knows how the ancient Hebrew letters were formed. Répondre

Torah's 600G words Why is the total of 600G words so important that such explanations are needed? To defend the sages who said it? Did they mean it literally? Is there another source beside Rabbi Zalman? Répondre

This makes more sense to me because given that the Torah is sung, whether out loud or silently, every mark of pronunciation and pitch that makes recitation possible should be counted.

If we're counting the Torah according to the physical aspects of it (i.e. the written letters), then why leave out the parchment, handles, casing, pointer, etc.

My guess is that even if the Torah had never been written down, the sages would still count each piece of language that builds it. Répondre

295195 missing letters In Hebrew some letters are composed of other letters (i.e. the letter Aleph is composed of one diagonal Vav, one letter Yud on one side and another inverted Yud on the other side). Therefore we could count three letters for each Aleph and so on. This accountability could give you the missing 295195 letters in order to get 600000 letters.
Besides, the sages use volatile metaphors, difficult symbols, and poetic images TO HIDE very strong and concrete concepts that reflect a reality in contradiction to the complacent commonplace of most people. Therefore most of the people are not ready to be unplugged and will never get inside the head of the ancient people who wrote these letters. Répondre

Beautiful! Yes, there are the invisible letters, just so, we all contribute, even those of us who live lives in veritable obscurity. So many Souls on Fire, and then there are those reputedly righteous Jews, chosen to "hold up the world", also invisible. Could be your neighbor. God hides behind everything. We call it the invisible face of God.

It is beautiful to describe the letters as black and white fire. It is beautiful also because of that story we all know, about Moses and the burning bush, the bush that was not consumed.

A rabbi recently, in a course, was saying about that fire, well, God knew how to be dramatic. But he didn't perceive what I see, and that fire itself, the word itself, the flame, is about love, as in to have a flame, about ire, as in anger, and about beauty, and something so amazing, because fire, IS so amazing in all its aspects. In the matzah, the burnt portions I do see, a manuscript, deeply burned, and though I cannot read this, I do think of mtazoh itself this way. Répondre