"Seven" - What Does It Mean?

23 Sivan 5785

(H/T LS)

"What does it mean?"   This is what my daughter, who inspired this post, asked me about last Shabbat's (7th day) parashah.  "Why all the sevens?"  I had no answer then.  I had not even noticed, but after this morning's activity, I pulled out my chumash and looked back over it again.  This is what I found...

Like bookends, at the beginning 7 lamps on the Menorah and at the end, 7 days outside the camp (repeated three times).

In the middle is a derivative of 7 - 70 men "from the elders of Israel." 

(70 can be broken down into 7 x 10.  10 is the result of adding up all the days of the war - 6+2+2 - since Oct 7th until today.)

Now looking back to the haftarah of Beha'alotcha...

"...the stone that I have placed before Joshua, 7 eyes toward one stone." The commentary says this is a figurative way of saying "all eyes are upon it." 

Are not all the eyes of the world upon Israel right now?

It goes on to describe the Menorah (the connection between parshah and haftarah) with 7 lamps and 7 tubes. 

Ok.  I had paid it no mind until my daughter pointed it out again, those sevens...

TODAY!  7 direct hits at 7 am on the 7th Day of the War with Iran in the 77th year of the State.

As I mulled this over, I wondered what were the chances we are responding to attacks from 7 different directions and sure enough...

7 enemies we've been fighting:  Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Palestinian Authority ("West Bank")

And then I was jolted - 7 Canaanite nations to defeat on our entrance into the Land of Israel coming up in this week's parashah - Shlach lecha!

It really isn't so hard to understand the meaning of 7.  Most of the world gets that "7" is the number of completion - 7 days make a full week - Shabbat is the 7th and final day of a complete week.  Even AI gets it...

In the Bible, the number seven frequently symbolizes completion, perfection, and divine completeness. This is evident in the creation narrative where God rested on the seventh day after creating the world in six days.

Here's why seven is associated with completion:

God's Creation:
Genesis 1 and 2 depict God completing his work of creation in six days and then resting on the seventh.

Biblical Feasts:
Several important Jewish feasts, like Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, were structured around the number seven.

Perfection and Divine Order:
The number seven is often linked to divine perfection and God's perfect order.

Symbolic Use:
In summary, seven in the Bible signifies the end of a cycle, a state of completion, and the perfection of God's work.

Today, with this proclamation of "7," something has reached completion and something new is beginning.  Cryptic remarks earlier in the week notified us that this was coming:  "When the dust settles, you’re going to see some surprises on Thursday night and Friday that will make the beeper operation almost seem simple.” (Yechiel Leiter, Israeli Ambassador to US on June 17th)

Last week's haftarah ends with one of the most famous assurances given by HKB"H to His people Israel...

"Not through armies and not through might, but through My spirit," says Hashem, Master of Legions.

It doesn't mean we don't have the army and the weapons, only that it all only succeeds if HKB"H wills it to succeed. Right now, they have to decide whether to squander all the gains and sacrifices until now waiting on a word from Trump to proceed or whether to trust in our Master and King to give us the success that we are capable of with His help and act now.

We learn that when the megillah says "king," it often is referring not to the mortal king but to HKB"H as King.  In the time of Esther and Mordechai a proclamation went out on this very date - 23 Sivan - granting us the permission (and the right) to defend ourselves and take vengeance on our enemies. If we but trust HIM, we will surely succeed!!

Many people believe that only with the US "bunker-buster" bomb can the Fordow facility be demolished, but our government, in Heaven-inspired foresight, did not go into this war depending on American deliverance.  As we know so well from our prophets and history, "Egypt is a weak reed."  Undependable!  They have a plan, actually a more sure-fire plan, to take out Fordow.  All they need is confidence in Hashem!!

This week's parashah records the saddest event in the history of our nation - the first Tisha b'Av.  Our leaders lacked confidence and trust in HKB"H then and this same lacking in all of us has haunted us these last 3300 + years.  Let's rectify it once and for all NOW, TODAY, TONIGHT, TOMORROW...

No more waiting! This is the time!! Act NOW in the Name of our God!!  
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VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!

"...the US bunker buster, specifically the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) or GBU-57, is not a "sure thing" in terms of guaranteeing the complete and permanent cessation of Iran's nuclear program according to NPR. While it is capable of causing significant damage to deeply buried facilities like Fordow, experts believe it would likely only delay Iran's program, not stop it entirely."

Israel's plan to strike Fordow nuclear facility

The IDF plan is preferable for several reasons, one of which is that the bunker buster is not a sure thing.  If an elite force goes in to physically take it out, they will know for sure if it remains a threat or not.  Also, it is far better to do this ourselves and stop all the evil ones from claiming - as they are right now - that we started this war without a plan to finish it with the expectation that the US could be forced to come to our rescue.

It needs to be just us and HKB"H and no one else!!!  With God's help we can overcome every obstacle including Donald Trump the TACO* President!!  

(*TACO - Trump Always Chickens Out allegedly coined by "the Wall Street boys".)