The Letter 'Samech' - Material Supported by Spirit

In the Talmud, it is explained that the letters on the Tablets of the Covenant were engraved through and through. Therefore, the "final Mem and Samech on the Tablets stood by a miracle," as the inner part of the space within these two letters has nothing to hold on to or attach to the body of the Tablets since they are engraved through and through, creating a hollow space around them. It was miraculous that they stood. This indicates that beyond suggesting the infinite light surrounds and fills all existence as "He is the place of the world, and the world is not His place," it teaches that in the true dimension of creation, material does not support spirit, as happens when drilling a hole in a material, where the spirit is surrounded by material (hence the word "hole" is an inversion of the letters in "spirit"), but the inner soul of all material, and the spiritual systems created through our good deeds, are what allow the existence of all material.

An example can be learned from Abraham, our forefather, requesting from Hashem not to destroy Sodom. Initially, he asks for the sake of fifty righteous people that might be there, and he goes down from fifty to ten righteous people, until it becomes clear that even ten do not exist in Sodom - and Sodom is overturned. And surely, if there were ten Torah scholars sitting and studying Torah, Sodom would have remained because of them, and it is plausible to assume that the people of Sodom, passing by the yeshiva, would have mocked those ten who are not like them, unknowingly that their Torah and righteousness allow them to breathe, live, and...scoff. Indeed, even today, looking at the size of our land compared to the lands of our enemies, one can sensibly understand that only the power of the Torah studied and the mitzvot kept by the Jewish people, and the promise of Hashem that we will not be lost, stand for us.

Moreover, a deep explanation is added according to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev in his book "Kedushat Levi," that the black of the letters hints at the material world felt by the senses, and the white surrounding and penetrating the letter is the spiritual light, in the dimension of the soul, sustaining and enlivening it. This is how it is for all letters with an opening. But in the final Mem (representative of the Sefirah of Gevurah) and the Samech (representative of the Sefirah of Binah, which is also on the line of the Gevurot), closed to the entrance of the surrounding spiritual influence into them, what sustains them? From where does the flow and enter the light of the whiteness within them? Only by a miracle do they stand. That is, by a miracle they exist. It signifies that when judgments and strictness descend upon the world due to the actions of Israel, only by a miracle, the kindness of Hashem's promise to us, do we stand.

The Numerical Value

The numerical value of the letter 'Samech' is sixty. A number representing protection. As hinted in the verse: "Behold, the bed of Solomon, sixty mighty men around it, of the mighty of Israel. All holding swords, skilled in battle, each with his sword on his thigh due to fear in the nights." The blessing of protection, the Priestly Benediction, is also composed of sixty unique letters, standing like an army of soldiers around the person blessed by the priests, to guard and protect from any harm, each letter according to its content and its combination with the other letters. Therefore, it is beneficial for a person to make sure they are blessed daily by the Priestly Benediction during the Shacharit prayer at the synagogue. As Hashem's blessing to His people passes through them like channels, reaching the people before them through their ten fingers, aligned with the ten highest Sefirot, to the point where one is forbidden to look at their fingers while blessing due to the abundance of light flowing through them that could harm the viewer, like invisible radiation. Therefore, the priests customarily cover their hands with a tallit when blessing Israel. Although they themselves, acting only as channels for the divine light at that time, and receiving none for themselves, are guaranteed by Hashem to be blessed. As it is written: "And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I shall bless them [the priests]."

The letter 'Samech' with its numerical value sixty parallels the letter 'Vav' with its numerical value six, expressing unity. Protection, support, and aid are achieved through unity. Similarly, a wall surrounding a city for protection and defense consists of many parts, built together in the shape of the letter 'Samech.' The wall also unites all the people and other elements within the enclosed city.

The 'Samech' According to the Secret

According to the secret, the letter 'Samech' signifies the Sefirah of Binah, the first sefirah on the line of the Gevurot, whose strength and might are also expressed in closure around. It is similar in this regard to the final Mem, which symbolizes the Sefirah of Gevurah descending from Binah. Since the essence of the line of Gevurot is to hold back the abundance of kindness. Therefore, they are both closed around without an opening, but this one is more rounded as it is closer to the secret of the limitation made in a circle, and the other is more distant and less round.

Therefore, the letter 'Samech' is one of the letters representing the female. For the whole line of the Gevurot is in the secret of the female, which in the dimension of the circle, as explained above about the letter 'Nun.'

In the Holy Zohar, it explains the difference between "Apiryon" and "Afarsimon" mentioned in the Song of Songs. Here is a summary of his words: "'Apiryon made for Solomon the king' Apiryon is the lower palace made by the complete king, and it is the lower Gan Eden called 'Apiryon' (which is the Sefirah of Malchut, Nukva of Zeir Anpin, the last sefirah). And 'Afarsimon' is the upper palace that is the upper Gan Eden. It appears with the supporting letter 'Samech' and the letter 'Mem,' which do not appear in 'Apiryon.' The souls ascend from Apiryon to Afarsimon, from lower Gan Eden to upper Gan Eden, to revel in the delight of Hashem. And the lower Gan Eden is supported and receives its abundance from the upper Gan Eden, containing the letter 'Samech' that resembles the closed Mem except that this one is round and the other square. Refer to 'Honey and Sweetness' commentary for the secrets of these matters.

The 'Samech' in the Secret of Woman as a Wall for Man

The secret of a woman protecting a man is also hidden in the letter 'Samech,' in the aspect of "one who dwells without a wife dwells without a wall" because the woman, rooted in the Sefirah of Gevurah, protects and restrains the man’s boundless spread, rooted in Chesed, from excessive giving and sin.

This is explained in the Holy Zohar, that when Eve was created, Adam received a support and helpmate opposite him. Therefore, in the creation narrative, the letter 'Samech' does not appear concerning the living until "and He closed the flesh" mentioned in the creation of the woman, because only then was the supporting power within man created.

However, following the desires for women, a man might fall into grave sins if entangled in an improper union. As mentioned in Genesis Midrash, the first appearance of the letter 'Samech' in the creation narrative, in the word "and He closed the flesh," indicates that at that time, the S"M was created.

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