“I shall fortify him because he knows My name.” Tehillim 91:14
In Jewish tradition, names are of great significance as
they reveal the spiritual essence and fundamental characteristics of the thing named. It necessarily follows that in knowing the Names of G-d, we can better understand His characteristics.
While many names of HaShem can be found in Tanakh, the 72 Names of G-d can be found encoded in three remarkable verses in the book of Exodus, which in Hebrew is called
Shemot (Names). These three verses tell the story of the splitting of the Sea and they stand out from other verses because each consecutive verse contains 72 letters – something that is rare indeed.
“וַיִּסַּע מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים הַהֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵי מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּלֶךְ מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם, וַיִּסַּע עַמּוּד הֶעָנָן מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיַּעֲמֹד
מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם:
וַיָּבֹא בֵּין מַחֲנֵה מִצְרַיִם וּבֵין מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל, וַיְהִי הֶעָנָן וְהַחֹשֶׁךְ וַיָּאֶר אֶת הַלָּיְלָה, וְלֹא קָרַב זֶה אֶל זֶה כָּל הַלָּיְלָה:
(וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת יָדוֹ עַל הַיָּם,
וַיּוֹלֶךְ יְהוָה אֶת הַיָּם בְּרוּחַ קָדִים עַזָּה כָּל הַלַּיְלָה, וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת הַיָּם לֶחָרָבָה, וַיִּבָּקְעוּ הַמָּיִם ”: (ספר שמות, פרק יד, פסוקים יט-כא
“The Divine angel who went before the Jewish camp traveled and went in back of them. The Pillar of Cloud traveled before them and stood in behind them. It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of
Israel. There were clouds and darkness – yet the night was illuminated. They did not come close the entire evening. Moshe spread his hand over the Sea. G-d moved the Sea with a powerful east wind the whole night – making the Sea into dry land, the water split.” Shemot 14:19–21
From these three verses are derived the 72 Names of G-d [also called the 72 Letter Name
of G-d, the 216 Letter Name of G-d and the 72 Shemot]. The 72 Names of G-d involve energetic permutations of letters that create tremendous spiritual vibration. The Zohar says that by virtue of these 72 Shemot, Moshe split the Red Sea...
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