THE DAILY CENTURY

“The hundred talents of silver were to cast the sockets of the Sanctuary and the sockets of the Partition; a hundred sockets for a hundred talents, a talent per socket.” (Shmot 38:27)

Included in the audit of the metals used to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle) is a reckoning of the silver that was collected. Each male Israelite over the age of twenty gave a silver half-shekel. There were 603550 men, giving a total of 301775 full shekels. A talent of silver is equivalent to 3000 shekels, hence there were one hundred talents and an extra 1775 shekels. In the verse above, the Torah explains that each talent was used to manufacture a socket. There were 48 wooden beams that served as the walls of the Sanctuary of the Mishkan and a further four beams that held up the Partition curtain (parochet) between the Holy and the Holy of Holies. Each wooden beam of the Sanctuary had two pegs, giving a total of 96 pegs. Add to this the four beams of the Partition curtain which had one peg each, and there was a total of 100 pegs. Hence there were 100 sockets into which were inserted the pegs of the beams.

Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher writes the following about these 100 sockets in his Torah commentary Ba’al HaTurim, “A hundred sockets, corresponding to the verse (Song of Songs 5:15), “set upon sockets of finest gold.”  Corresponding to these hundred sockets, our Sages (Menachot 43b) ordained the recitation of one hundred blessings every day.” Perhaps the connection between the sockets and the blessings is this: the sockets served as the foundation of the Mishkan; they held up the super-structure and kept it stable. So too, the blessings that we recite on a daily basis are the foundation of our ongoing relationship with God. They create an anchor that keeps us steady in an ever-changing world.

In the Talmud (Bava Kamma 30a), there is a discussion regarding what field of Torah one should study in order to achieve the elevated level of chassidut (piety). Rabbi Yehudah is of the opinion that one should carefully study the concepts and laws of damages (nezikin). Rovah is of the opinion that one should study Pirkei Avot and the final, anonymous, opinion holds that one should study the laws of blessings (brachot). The Maharal (introduction to Derech HaChaim) explains that each field of study corresponds to one of the three aspects of a person through which he can achieve perfection: one must be complete and whole with his fellow man; one must be complete and whole with himself; and one must be complete and whole with his Creator. Rabbi Yehudah maintains that the main principle of chassidut is not to be the cause of any harm to any person, hence one should study nezikin. Rovah feels that the main principle of chassidut is to be a complete and whole person with the finest character traits, hence one should study Pirkei Avot. The final opinion holds that the main principle of chassidut is a constant and never-ending relationship with God that can only be achieved through an ongoing ‘conversation’ through blessing His name constantly. It is also possible, notes the Maharal, that there is no argument at all, but that each Sage is simply emphasising one part of the essential three-part relationship that every person must have and attempt to perfect.

The requirement to recite one hundred blessings daily is codified by Rambam (Hilchot Teffila 7:14) and the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 46:3). One reason for this practice, offered by Rabbi Meir who is the source of this law in the Talmud, is a play on words. Rabbi Meir cites the verse (Devarim 10:12), “Now, O Israel, what does Hashem, your God, ask of you? Only to fear Hashem etc.” In Hebrew, the opening words of the verse are “V’ata Yisrael ma Hashem Elokecha shoel mei’imach?” The word ma, “what”, can be vowelized as meah, meaning one hundred. Hence the verse would read: “And now, O Israel, Hashem, your God, asks one hundred [blessings] of you…”.  Another reason is offered by the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 18:21 and Tanchuma, Korach 12). There it is related that King David instituted this practice after a plague broke out in Jerusalem that caused the death of exactly one hundred people per day. He instituted the recitation of one hundred blessings daily and the plague subsided.

At first glance, this seems to be a hefty task but it is actually very manageable. The Chofetz Chaim writes (Mishna Berura 46:14) that, on average, we say more than one hundred blessings daily: Before retiring we say the hamapil blessing in the bedtime Shemah; first thing in the morning we recite the blessings for washing hands and using the toilet. Then there are 16 blessings in the first part of the morning service and a further 3 blessings for the mitzvah of Torah study. There is one blessing for tzitzit (tallis) and two for tefillin.  Then there are the blessings of Baruch She’amar and Yishtabach in the morning service. The blessings recited before and after the Shemah in the morning and evening services add up to 8. Then there are the 19 blessings of the Amidah, which is recited three times a day, giving a total of 57. If one has two meals a day that include bread, then there are a further 8 blessings as Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals) consists of four blessings. Add to this the blessings for washing hands and hamotzi for bread, and the total for two meals is 12. This gives a grand total of 104. And this does not include blessings recited over snacks during the day or the blessing recited each time one uses the bathroom. The number decreases somewhat on a fast day when one meal is missing and on Shabbat and Chaggim when the Amidah consists of only 7 blessings instead of 19. However, on those days there is an additional service, Mussaf, so the total blessings for the Amidah on Shabbat and Chaggim would be 28. On those days, one is encouraged to make up the missing blessings by eating fine foods outside of the three meals. The third meal of Shabbat also contributes an additional 6 blessings, such that on Shabbat one is missing only 13 blessings.

Reciting blessings is an excellent way to maintain a bond and connection with Hashem. If you don’t know them by heart, carry a small siddur with you. Every siddur has a list of blessings that is usually printed after the morning service. Try to hit a century every day!

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Liebenberg

Rabbi’s YouTube message:  https://youtu.be/Kd72NbhreXw?si=tNPQbdms8NRMXetE

*PARSHAT HACHODESH

This Shabbat we read the last of four special parshiyot (portions) that began with Parshat Shekalim. The parsha is called HaChodesh, literally “the month,” and it describes the mitzvah to sanctify the new moon, in particular, the month of Nissan, as well as the preparations for the Seder and the Exodus from Egypt. This is an appropriate reading as we enter the month of Nissan and the run-up to Pesach. 

**SUNDAY 30 MARCH – ROSH CHODESH NISSAN

Nissan contains the festival of Pesach. It was also the month during which the Tabernacle was dedicated over a twelve-day period in the wilderness (see Bamidbar chapter 7). Due to the festive nature of the month, the Tachnun prayer is omitted as are eulogies and fasts, other than the Fast of the First-Born on Erev Pesach. For more on Pesach, please consult the Pesach Newsletter which will be sent early next week. The Molad (appearance of the new moon) for Nissan is on Shabbat, 29 March, at 07h46 and 1 chelek (a chelek, literally a “portion”, is a Talmudic measure of time equal to one-eighteenth of a minute, or 3 and 1/3 seconds).