AlgART / Articles and Books / Tikkun ha-Berit
What King Solomon did not know
Anyone knows that King Solomon was the wisest of men to have ever lived on earth. In the prime of his life he wrote the book “Mishle” (“Proverbs”), containing the following words. “There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: the way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man (גבר from the word גבורה: “courage”) with a maid (עלמה)” (30:18–19). Indeed, even the wisest man cannot foresee the way of an eagle in the sky, nor the way in which a serpent crawls upon a rock, nor the exact path of a ship at sea. The fourth thing is surprising at first glance. It is clear that here there cannot be any question of the physical level. But if the energy contact of a man and woman can always be described as איש and אשה, then what could be unknown here to King Solomon? We can also find the answer to this question with the help of ”Sepher Yetzirah.”
“He made מ king over Water, bound a crown to it, and combined one with another (i.e. the letters). And with them sealed Earth in the universe, the Cold in the year, and the Belly in the human; the male with מא"ש, and the female with מש"א.” (3:8)
המליך אות מ"ם במים וקשר לו כתר וצרפן זה עם זה וחתם בהן ארץ בעולם וקור בשנה ובטן בנפש זכר במא"ש ונקבה במש"א
“He made ש king over Fire, bound a crown to it, and combined one with another. And with them sealed Heaven in the universe, the Hot in the year, and the Head in the human; the male with שמ"א, and the female with שא"ם.” (3:9)
המליך אות שי"ן באש וקשר לו כתר וצרפן זה עם זה וחתם בהן שמים בעולם וחום בשנה וראש בנפש זכר בשמ"א ונקבה בשא"ם
Let's represent what was written schematically. If we replace the letter מ with י or ה according to the what is said in “Kol Yehuda,” then the letter combinations themselves become meaningful words:
As we can see, the Torah describes the ideal state only, while ”Sepher Yetzirah” gives non-ideal options also. (It is interesting that the brief version of ”Sepher Yetzirah” gives only אמ"ש and אש"ם too.)
Now let's try to represent the combinations of all the “male” diagrams with all the “women” ones:
אמ"ש + אש"ם
Description: there is an energy exchange; אדם = איש + אשה; everyone feels the sense of Shlemut (integrity); harmony.
מא"ש + מש"א
Description: there is no energy exchange; he feels the despair, she feels the rise, but there is no feeling of satisfaction.
שמ"א + שא"ם
Description: there is no energy exchange; she feels the devastation, he feels the climax, but not the harmony.
מא"ש + אש"ם
Description: the directions of the energy are same, so there is an exchange; he feels the despair, but she feels like a Woman.
שמ"א + אש"ם
Description: there is an exchange of energy, however not simultaneous, but sequential; each in turn “gets one's own back;” both feel dependence on each other; when he gives her a chance to feel herself like a woman, then he easily feels despair himself, but then at another time she lets him to feel at the top level.
שמ"א + מש"א
Description: “on a razor's edge” — every time the relations lead either to harmony or to conflict.
מא"ש + שא"ם
Description: he feels the despair, she feels the devastation at the end, with the conflict in the process; both are unhappy: “they make a pair.”
אמ"ש + מש"א
Description: there is an exchange of energy, but there is no harmony and easiness; everyone “stays himself;” the energy moves in an infinite circle, causing some feeling of tiredness (due to descend on the front line, reminding the movement on אש"ם).
אמ"ש + שא"ם
Description: there is an energy exchange, and he feels like man, but she feels the devastation.
”Sepher Yetzirah” says about the fact, that the real states of man stand behind permutations of the letters: “...and the circle rotates forward and backward, and this is the sign: there is no good higher than Oneg (ענג: ‘pleasure, delight’), and there is no evil lower than Nega (נגע: ‘wound, damage, misfortune’).” (2:4)
וחוזר הגלגל פנים ואחור וזהו סימן לדבר אין בטובה למעלה מעונג ועין ברעה למטה מנגע
As we see, both words ענג and נגע consist of the same letters, but “the circle rotates forward and backward.” In the same way “six rings” אמ"ש describe six directions of the energy in man: three in him and three in her.
Now the words of King Solomon, “I know not... the way of a man with a maid” becomes understandable to us. Indeed, the flow of energy is such a thing that is hidden from our eyes, and it is impossible to identify it based on a person's appearance. This problem stands not only before the King Solomon.